Today is the 219th anniversary of the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution, adopted in 1787, established the framework for a three branch central government with a series of meaningful checks and balances between the branches. The people of this newly formed nation, however, still feared the potential abuse of power by a strong central government. A Bill of Rights, then, was developed as a list of checks against government to ensure vital freedoms. On December 19, 1791, this Bill of Rights was ratified. On the 150th anniversary of this ratification, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed the first Bill of Rights Day to celebrate the first and most basic set of rights that U.S. citizens hold so dear. The ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights is summarized below:
Amendment I - Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Amendment II - Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia.
Amendment III - Guarantee against forced quartering of soldiers.
Amendment IV - Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Amendment V - Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy.
Amendment VI - Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial.
Amendment VII - Right of trial by jury in civil cases.
Amendment VIII - Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments.
Amendment IX - Other rights of the people.
Amendment X - Powers reserved to the states.
On a lighter note, today is Cat Herders Day.
Seventy-one years ago (December 15, 1939), "Gone With The Wind," the biggest blockbuster of that era premiered. 120 years ago today, Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux leader, who defeated Lieutenant Colonel Custer at the Little Bighorn, died.
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