Bill of Rights beloved now, but not so much in 1791
America this week celebrates the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. But while revered today, the Bill of Rights wasn't a big deal in its first 100-plus years.
"From the time that they were adopted in the early 1790s until roughly the 1920s or 30s nobody paid attention to the Bill of Rights," David Rubenstein, co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, told the Aspen Ideas festival in a July speech on the history and modern application of the Bill of Rights recently rebroadcast on MPR News.
Why? Because "that document didn't give anybody any rights," he said. "The Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government, it didn't apply to the state governments. And ultimately there weren't a lot of cases or litigation defending or involving protection of minorities and other people who often benefit from the Bill of Rights."
It's ironic the historic list is so meaningful to our system of government today because originally not many people in Congress wanted them, Rubenstein added. In fact, the original draft of the Constitution did not include them because, as James Madison said, the plan was for states to determine the rights of their citizens.
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When this first draft was brought to the states to ratify, some complained about the lack of a defined rights, but none of the states said they would require it — the Bill of Rights was added anyway in 1789.
It wasn't until the 14th Amendment, concerning "equal protection of the laws," was incorporated into state laws in 1921 that state governments really had to acknowledge and comply with the same Bill of Rights as the federal government, Rubenstein said.
That set the tone for the Bill of Rights becoming a much larger part of daily life in America, and today the Constitution and its intentions are the topics of constant debate.
Rubenstein said these discussions reinforce the belief that citizens should be informed about their government as a whole.
"A lot of us complain about the way our government operates, He added. "But maybe if we can get more people to learn about the sacrifices that were made to get the Constitution in effect, the good and the bad about our country's constitutional history, the terrible things that were in the Constitution like slavery, and some of the great things that are in it, we can be better citizens."
To listen to the full speech, click the play button above.
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