PEACETOPIAN MILESTONES

A holistic movement for a better world
has been evolving throughout history...

September 25 , 1789 -
United States Bill of Rights

While the US Constitution was being drafted, some of the Founding Fathers were concerned that it gave the new federal government too much power. They feared that it posed a threat to the rights and freedom of individuals and surrendered too much of the individual states' authority. Some refused to sign it until it was agreed that a Bill of Rights would be added that would guarantee all men's natural rights to freedom and property, limit the government's judicial power, and ensure the authority of individual states in many matters. The Bill of Rights was drafted by James Madison, and was adopted by Congress on September 25, 1789 as the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution. The ideas in the Bill of Rights were greatly influenced by the philosophers of the Enlightenment in Europe, like John Locke, who wrote about the natural rights of all people to be free, possess property, and have a voice in their government. The language used in the US Bill of Rights did not explicitly exclude any of the new nation's inhabitants, but what was implied, and became the basis for the nation's body of laws, was that only the rights of free white men were protected; the Bill of Rights did not pertain to Native Americans, African Americans and women. It wasn't until the 13th Amendment was adopted in 1865 that slavery was abolished, the 15th Amendment in 1870 that allowed African American men to vote and the 19th Amendment was adopted in 1920 that women were granted the right to vote. Only then were the ideals that inspired the Bill of Rights finally realized to include all American citizens.