The First 10 Amendments - An Overview

The United States of America is the first country in modern times to be a truly
representative state, with no monarchs or kings ruling over it. This happened sh
ortly after they gained their independence from the state of England, or, as we
know it today, Great Britain. While this revolution happened hundreds of years a
go, the men who negotiated and lead this new country decided that they had to le
ave a legacy of equality and egalitarianism that would last long after the revol
utionary spirit would be gone. They enacted the first laws of the United States,
the Bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments.
The first 10 amendments were written with the common man in mind. Quick in the m
emory of all the different delegates from each of the 13 original states was the
tyrannical oppression under the rule of a unelected and irreplaceable king. The
se delegates might in the Constitutional Conventions in 1787. Here, the drafted
the Constitution, which was a sort of mission statement and business plan of the
newly formed country. In addition to making the rules on how the government wou
ld divide up federal powers, the Founding Fathers wrote an additional number of
amendments to protect civil liberties for all.
The first 10 amendments protect a variety of rights that have now become so prev
alent that it is nearly impossible to imagine a world where such rights were lux
uries or dreams. These rights in the first 10 amendments include such things as
the freedom of speech and the press. Before this, it would be possible for the g
overnment to arrest you just based on whatever you were saying, if they didn't l
ike it. Other rights, such as freedom of religion, made the United States of Ame
rica the most popular destination for many persecuted peoples all over the world
, as it still does today.
In fact, the legacy of the first ten amendments are perhaps the greatest innovat
ion created by the United States for the rest of the world. These Bill of Rights
, as they are commonly called, are the foundation for civil rights in nearly eve
ry free country today. While the Bill of Rights is a term for only the first 10
amendments, there are no 27 adopted amendments that have been added leading up t
o present day. With these amendments in place, American citizens are guaranteed
a great degree of personal freedom and equal rights that no neighbor or governme
nt official can take away from you. It is the core of your democracy and should
be celebrated in schools, homes and churches.