December 15th, Bill of Rights Day

Is this one preprinted on your calendars?  It is not on mine.  What is the “Bills of Rights Day”?

In 1941 then President Roosevelt declared the 15th of December to be the “Bill of Rights Day” to signify the importance of the Bill of Rights and the protections that it gave to each and every individual in our country.  James Madison proposed the bill of rights to congress in 1789 to insure that individual and states rights were insured against a centralized federal government.  Fears of a strong centralized federal government was threatening the ratification of the new federal US Constitution and Madison felt that these ten amendments to the constitution would insure rights to the people and protection against a strong centralized government.  These amendments were designed to protect the citizens of the United States of America from any attack on individual or states rights from the federal government.  It is important to remember that in beginning of our country the founding fathers wanted to insure that a centralized government could not infringe on the rights of the citizens, this concern came from people that lived under strong centralized governments that imposed laws, taxes, and penalties on citizens without any regard for their welfare and well being.

The Bill of Rights was ratified and came into effect on December 15th, 1791.  Many do not know that there was a preamble to the Bill of Rights which I have included here.  This preamble is not generally know because it does not appear in the constitution.

”Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.”

“expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.”  This statement says a lot about the intent of the bill of rights.  It means that people did not want a government that could arbitrarily impose laws that could infringe on the rights of the people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We all should feel that are rights are ours and are inalienable afforded and guaranteed by our Creator.  The spirit of the Bill of Rights is that the federal government is restricted in what it can do in the name of the country and to the country, the individual is sovereign and affords authority to the government to run the day to day business of running the country and to keep the United States united.  Some feel that our country is growing away from the intent and purpose of the constitution and the fundamental ideals of our country. 

Growing movements against actions taken by Congress and the President our based on the protection against ‘misconstruction or abuse of powers’.  Their fears are real and based the preamble of the Bill of Rights.  So on December 15th and every other day of the year, think about what the Bill of Rights mean to the country and to you as a sovereign individual and act accordingly.