The First Amendment – indeed the entire Bill of Rights – was not included in the Constitution when it was written in 1787. However, the issue of a listing of rights that could not be infringed upon by the new, stronger national government became a key in the ratification debates. Those supporting the Constitution argued that many state constitutions already protected individual rights and that the failure to list the rights did not mean that they did not exist as natural rights, beyond government authority. Opponents, called the Anti- Federalists, disagreed. Remembering their ex...

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• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate