Existing comment:
Our Rights
A History of Expanding Democracy and Freedom
More than anything else, the history of constitutional amendments is a history of expanding rights and democracy. Seventeen of the 27 ratified amendments secure or expand individual rights. Some proposed amendments would limit or remove individual rights, but none of these have ultimately been successful.
Our Rights explores:
The Bill of Rights: Our first 10 amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, secure the fundamental rights that Americans believe belong to all free people. They attempt to balance majority rule with minority rights.
The Vote: Five ratified amendments granting suffrage -- the ability to vote -- have brought new voters into our constitutional foundation of "We the People," but the right to vote still isn't guaranteed to all Americans.
Equality: The Declaration of Independence stated that "all men are created equal." Those words inspired several proposed amendments dedicated to renewing our nation's commitment to this principle.
By the Numbers:
* 12 amendments sent by the First Congress to states for ratification
* 10 Number of those amendments that were ratified, and became known as the Bill of Rights
* 6340 Number of members of the House of Representatives if the first amendment proposed by the First Congress had
passed (today we have 435)
* 17 ratified amendments that are related to right
* 28 number of rights listed within the Bill of Rights amendments |