Why was congressional passage and ratification of the Bill of Rights so politically important to securing Americans' confidence in the new national government created by the Constitution?
Answer:
An ideal answer will:
1. Discuss the importance of fulfilling James Madison's promise to wary Americans during the Constitutional ratification process that a Bill of Rights would be enacted by Congress to protect individual liberties and limit the power of the new federal government.
2. Discuss the importance of passing the Bill of Rights to outmaneuver politically the Antifederalists who sought more far-reaching changes to the relationship between the federal government and the rights of individual Americans as contained in the Bill of Rights.
3. Discuss the importance of passing the Bill of Rights to outmaneuver politically some Antifederalists who demanded a new Constitutional Convention to "consider the defects of the Constitution."
4. Discuss the importance of passing the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to persuade Americans who were slaveholders or engaged in the slave trade that the federal government would not intervene in the institution of slavery.
5. Discuss the importance of Bill of Rights protections (such as trial by jury, the right to a speedy trial, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and to be free from requiring to house soldiers) in persuading skeptical Americans that the new federal government would not exercise coercive powers similar to that of Great Britain during the colonial years.
6. Write a concise and effective conclusion.
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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
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