7b The Bill of Rights

Learn about the Bill of Rights & its historical roots! Discover key figures and amendments.

Use textbook pages 114 115 to complete the worksheet. 1. The development of the Constitution of the United States was significant to the foundation of the American republic. 2. George Mason played a huge role in America's fight for independence. His Virginia Declaration of Rights inspired Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. 3. Mason wanted the Constitution to end the slave trade into the United States. 4. Mason believed that the Constitution had created a national government that was too powerful. 5. Mason was concerned that the Constitution had no Bill of Rights to protect personal freedoms. He worried about laws that Congress might pass too easily. 6. In 1789, James Madison presented 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten were ratified. 7. The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, were based on George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights and Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom. 8. The Bill of Rights give each of us a guarantee of individual freedom. 9. Some Americans were beginning to speak out against slavery. Others found themselves deeply concerned about the international slave trade. 10. Delegates of Congress agreed to let each state decide the matter of slavery, they also gave the states 20 years to do it. 11. Without the 3 Compromise, as well as the compromise over the slave trade, the Deep South states of Georgia and South Carolina would never have agreed to the new Constitution. Using pg. 115 what amendment do you think is most important? Justify your answer with details.