Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on December 15, 2009

Sixty-eight years ago, under FDR, the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights was honored with its own day… today, December 15. Our Bill of Rights, coupled with our Constitution, forms the cornerstone of our nation’s nurturing of humanity, of our rare respect, compared to so many other oppressive and tyrannical countries, of human rights and inherent freedoms, helping make America the magnificent jewel that she is.

Thomas Jefferson said, “A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.”

Click image of Bill of Rights to enlarge

An excellent breakdown of the amendments at Cato@Liberty, Bill of Rights Day… here’s the opening of the post:

Since today is Bill of Rights Day, it seems like an appropriate time to pause and consider the condition of the safeguards set forth in our fundamental legal charter.

Let’s consider each amendment in turn…

From Ohioans for Concealed Carry, Remembering Bill of Rights Day:

In 1941, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights which were added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day.

It isn’t really surprising that a national holiday celebrating the first ten amendments to the Constitution would be ignored by many people, most of whom aren’t even aware the holiday exists. A couple hundred years have weathered much of the patriotic spirit to little more than flag waving in early July. Even some of our Founding Fathers would probably be ok with not commemorating the day since they were opposed to a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution in the first place.

It isn’t because they didn’t believe in those enumerated protected rights but because those men strongly felt that the government was prohibited from doing anything not specifically granted to it by the Constitution in the first place. If the Constitution didn’t say the government could restrict bearing arms, for example, then it couldn’t. The fear was that adding amendments denoting specific things that the government could not do then it would lead to interpretations that if the Constitution didn’t prohibit the government from doing certain things then it could do them rather than the other way around as was intended.

Related reading:
Conservative Libertarian Outpost: Bill of Rights Day
The Leith List: Happy Birthday, Bill of Rights
Examiner: Happy Bill of Rights Day
John Loudon, Big Government: Happy Bill of Rights Day
District 17 Republicans: Bill of Rights Day 2009
Stuff from Hsoi: Happy Bill of Rights Day

Categories: Freedom of Speech, Government, History, Law & Constitution, Social and Political Climate
Tags: America, Bill of Rights, Bill of Rights Day, Constitution, First Amendment, freedom, Second Amendment