Bill of Rights

This is the text from the Bill of Rights for the United States. It includes the wordings of the amendments as well. There are no images or commentary. There is a short table of contents to jump to particular sections.

During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered. On September 25, 1789, the First US Congress therefore proposed to the state legislatures the first 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. Others followed over the years.