Constitution Week spotlight

A bill of rights is a list of basic human rights guaranteed by law. To ensure these for all U.S. citizens, the Bill of Rights was written at the first meeting of Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791. Only 10 of the 12 articles proposed were ratified. George Mason is credited with being the “Father of the Bill of Rights.”

It took from Sept. 25, 1789, until Dec. 15, 1791, for the Bill of Rights to finally be part of the U.S. Constitution. In 1941, 150 years after the first 10 amendments were ratified, President Franklin Roosevelt declared Dec. 15 “Bill of Rights Day.”

Know your Constitution. See if you can answer these three questions:

1) What state’s Declaration of Rights was used as a basis for the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution?

a. Virginia

b. Maryland

c. Pennsylvania

2) The two amendments proposed but not ratified as part of the Bill of Rights concerned:

a. the compensation of congressmen

b. the number of constituents for each representative

c. both a and b

3) How often does the word “democracy” appear in the Constitution?

a. once, in the Preamble

b. zero

c. 10

This Constitution Week Spotlight was provided by Lieutenant George Farragut Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. For more information about DAR, please visit the chapter’s website at lgfdar.com.

Answers: 1) a. Virginia; 2) c. both a and b; 3) b. (zero)