If you ask people to describe what is in the US Constitution, most would begin by citing

freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and maybe the right to bear arms.

But in fact, these are not part of the Constitution that came out of Philadelphia in September 1787.

They are the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They are part of what is known as the Bill of Rights.

And why was this Bill of Rights necessary?

The answer is that many Americans thought the Constitution, a document dedicated to limiting federal power,

didn't limit that power enough. This was not a fringe opinion.

People like Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Patrick Henry, and George Mason all shared this fear.

James Madison, one of the principal authors of the Constitution, disagreed.

He argued that all the assurances the doubters wanted were already in the Constitution.

They just needed to look a little more closely.

But Madison, ever the pragmatist, came around. Especially when it became clear that without

those assurances, the Constitution would not be ratified. So Madison took it upon himself to

draft the ten amendments. The first amendment is the most famous. It clearly sets out some of our

most fundamental rights, the rights for which America has been universally admired.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,

or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.

The second amendment protects the right of the people to possess firearms.

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,

the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

The third amendment is the most obscure but made perfect sense to a citizenry that had within

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