The Bill of Rights
The Constitution of the United States was written by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787. Nine of the 13 states would have to ratify it before it could go into effect for those states. The debate between Federalists (who favored the Constitution) and Anti-Federalists (who did not) raged for months in newspapers, pamphlets, and state legislatures.
The Anti-Federalists had many objections to the Constitution. One of those objections was that it did not have a bill of rights. Bills of rights had been part of the traditional ways the British had tried to limit the King’s power. And even though the Constitution established a limited government by the people, many believed a bill of rights was needed.