Bill of Rights

Narrator: Bill of Rights. 1789. Handwritten document on parchment. About 30 inches high by 26 inches wide. 

The parchment is a creamy off-white color, unruled. It is closely covered in forward-slanting cursive handwriting. At the top is a heading reading “Congress of the United States.” The initial C of Congress and the U and S of United States are capitalized, and the title is written in the same cursive script as the rest of the document. The first s of the word Congress is the old-fashioned version of the letter, resembling a long f. Beneath the heading, there is a subheading of two lines in slightly smaller text; below, the body of the text is in small, closely written script, set out with subheadings in the left-hand margin.

Interpretive commentary follows.

Anna Deavere Smith: This is one of the original, official copies of what would become the Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. In 1789, President Washington sent a copy to each of the original 13 states for approval. 

Look closely and you’ll notice there are 12 amendments listed here, not ten; the first two were actually rejected at that time. It might be surprising that our precious First Amendment rights—freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government—were originally listed third.

Today, the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of American civil liberties. But in 1789, many political leaders weren’t sure a bill of rights was necessary—or even a good idea. Even James Madison, the drafter of the bill, was initially ambivalent. But he came to see the usefulness of a bill of rights: not only to appease those worried about a federal government with too much power over the states, but also in providing extra protection for individual freedoms, or as he put it, “additional guards in favour of liberty.” 

Of course it’s taken centuries of agitation and sacrifice by many for those “guards” to come closer to working for everyone, regardless of race, sex, or circumstance. But it’s the Bill of Rights that enabled the Constitution to become a living document, adaptable to changing times, and a more inclusive notion of "We the People."