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Constitution Day: The Original Bills of Rights

Constitution Day: The Original Bills of Rights
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Ronald J. Rychlak
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In honor of U.S. Constitution Day, on Sept. 17, we present a five-part series on the Bill of Rights. It reveals how the first 10 amendments to the Constitution guarantee freedom of speech, religion, and the press, and, in so many other ways, limit the power of the federal government and secure the rights of individuals.

Congressman James Madison, who co-authored the “The Federalist” papers along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, played an important role in drafting the U.S. Constitution at the 1787 constitutional convention in Philadelphia. He also worked for its subsequent ratification. In 1791, he penned what would become the American Bill of Rights.

Ronald J. Rychlak
Ronald J. Rychlak
contributor
Ronald J. Rychlak is the Jamie L. Whitten chair in law and government at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of several books, including “Hitler, the War, and the Pope,” “Disinformation” (co-authored with Ion Mihai Pacepa), and “The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East” (co-edited with Jane Adolphe).