Exposé sur le bill of rights américain (en anglais)

The American Bill of Rights
On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States. The new United States Constitution had already been ratified and went into effect the 4th March 1789, but the new country was still in danger/unsettled. Many of the founding fathers were demanding a “bill of rights” to protect people from the new government, to make surethat it would never treat citizens like the old colonial government did. The idea of protection of rights had plenty been incorporated in spirits by: – the English Bill of Rights passed in 1689 – writings of thinkers/philosophers like John Locke who introduced the idea of natural rights that are inherent to all individual being. – the Virginia Declaration of Rights drafted initially by George Masonin 1776 to proclaim the inherent natural rights too, including the right to rebel against “inadequate” government. In spite of this current, the question of the necessity of a bill of rights divided. Two groups opposed each other, the Federalists who wanted a strong government and no bill of rights. The Anti-Federalists wanted more power for the states and a bill of rights. They feared that astrong national government was a threat to individual rights and that the President would become a king. James Madison believed that citizens needed to be protected from the states government and the national government. On June 8, 1789, he submitted his proposal to the Congress; and came up with 42 rights that needed to be protected. Madison’s 42 rights where cut down to 27 by the House ofRepresentatives, then to 12 by the Senate and finally only the last 10 articles were approved by the states. These 10 rights became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution on December 15, 1791 and became known as the Bill of Rights. The first amendments proposed but not ratified by the states, dealing with the number and apportionment of U.S Representatives, never became part of the Constitution. Thesecond one, limiting the power of the Congress to increase the salaries of its members, was ratified two century later as the 27th Amendments of the Constitution.

Seventeen amendments were added to the Constitution afterwards, in particular the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth ones, which abolish slavery and guarantee all citizens the same protection by law and the Nineteenth giving women the rightto vote. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, of assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The Second Amendment proclaims United States as a Sovereign State and guarantees the right to keep and bear arms for the security of the Free State. At the time of the Revolution, there was a strong mistrust of the government ofGreat Britain and colonists knew that the citizens had to be able to protect their freedom. This Amendment illustrates this need of protection. Today, guns and youth violence are in the news almost daily and became a problem. The Third Amendment protects from quartering of troops. During the Colonial Period, colonists were forced to let British soldiers sleep in their homes and eat their meals.It’s one more protection against the British government. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The Fifth Amendment The Sixth Amendment The Seventh Amendment The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The Ninth Amendment protects the rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights. This protection had vocation toreassure the Federalists who believed that their rights would be limit to those listed in the Constitution The Tenth Amendment defines power of States and people.

The evolutions and limits. Every amendment is important, but as the Bill of Rights covers a wide panel of rights, I will only focus on two major aspects, I found to be the most important. A) Freedom of Speech. Freedom of speech is…