Free America's Greatest 19th Century Presidents by Charles River Editors

long accustomed to have interposed between them and the magistrate who exercised the sovereign power: nor ought we to consider them safe, while a great number of our fellow citizens think these securities necessary.” To help assuage opponents’ concerns and persuade them to support the Constitution, Madison proposed that the new Constitution have a Bill of Rights affixed to it that would more explicitly spell out individuals’ rights. The idea was opposed by Hamilton, who believed not only that it was unnecessary but that the explicit listing of certain individual rights could possibly imply that any rights that were not explicitly named would be considered reserved by governments. Thus, the strongest advocate of centralized government predicted that the Bill of Rights would improperly strengthen the federal government.
     
    Contrary to Hamilton’s argument, Madison’s chief concern about a Bill of Rights is that it would open the door to further debate over the merits of the Constitution, which could lead to a breakdown of the entire system itself. In a 1789 speech before Congress, Madison said, “I should be unwilling to see a door opened for a re-consideration of the whole structure of the government, for a re-consideration of the principles and the substance of the powers given; because I doubt, if such a door was opened, if we should be very likely to stop at that point which would be safe to the government itself.”
     
    Much of what Americans now recognize as the Bill of Rights came from Madison, who took the initiative of authoring the first rough drafts of a Bill of Rights. While Madison proposed about 20 potential Amendments, the original Bill of Rights consisted of 10 Amendments that are now viewed as central to American freedoms, including the 1 st Amendment’s freedom of speech, the 4 th Amendment’s ban on illegal search and seizure, the 5 th Amendment’s Due Process, and criminal defense and civil trial rights guaranteed by the 5 th , 6 th , 7 th and 8 th Amendments. Finally, to address Hamilton’s main concern, the 10 th Amendment reserved all powers not explicitly named in the Constitution for the people: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. “
     
    Chapter 4 – Early American Government – 1789-1808

 
    House of Representatives and the Bill of Rights
     
    In 1789, James Madison joined the House of Representatives to serve in the nation's First Congress. Madison had initially hoped the Virginia legislature would appoint him to the U.S. Senate, but many in the legislature had been deeply opposed to the U.S. Constitution and were adamant that Madison not represent Virginia in the Senate because of his federalist views. The Father of the Constitution was thus left to make an independent run for Congress, hoping voters would be friendlier to him than the legislature, and while he won election, even his run for Congress was marred by political opposition. From the start, the Legislature tried to gerrymander his Congressional District in a way that prevented Madison from running.  In the end, though, Madison succeeded and narrowly won election, defeating future ideological ally (and his successor as president) James Monroe.
     

     
    Monroe
     
    Though his wish was not granted, Madison left a lasting impression on his compatriots in the House, and once he reached Congress, Madison quickly restored faith in him among the anti-Constitution faction in Virginia.  His most important accomplishment was his authoring of the U.S. Bill of Rights, which he proposed in Congress in August of 1789.  Within just a month, all ten Constitutional Amendments passed through Congress and were sent to the individual states for ratification.  By late 1791, the needed majority of the states ratified the amendments, officially certifying the Bill of Rights as an integral piece of American