Question

the bill of rights individual liberties the u.s. constitution is a document that informs us how the federal government will run and also lists our basic rights. when the u.s. constitution was first created, it only stated how the u.s. government will run itself; it didnt list any basic rights. not everyone agreed with this new constitution which was ratified (agreed upon) in 1787. of the 55 delegates that debated and developed the constitution, only 39 agreed with it. many declined to sign it because they felt the document did not secure individual liberties. individual liberties are basic rights where we are free to choose, think, and act without the government interfering. at first, the constitution didnt say anything about our individual liberties. this was a concern for many delegates and citizens because they feared the overall power of government. past governments, such as the king of england who ruled the colonies before the u.s. revolution, had a bad habit of trampling over peoples freedoms and rights. therefore, james madison and other leaders wanted to try and prevent the government from harming our freedoms by adding new laws to the constitution. these leaders wanted the new laws to place limits on the governments power and to guarantee individual freedoms. in order to change the u.s. constitution, leaders had to add amendments to it. an amendment is a law that is added to the constitution. james madison ended up writing several amendments that he felt would protect individual freedoms. in 1779, ten amendments were ratified by the states, and they became part of the constitution. these ten amendments became known as the bill of rights. more than 200 years later, the bill of rights still protects many of the rights that americans hold most dear. answer each question with a complete sentence on a separate piece of paper. 1. what is the u.s. constitution? 2. when the u.s. constitution was first created, what did it only tell us? 3. why did many of the delegates not sign the u.s. constitution? 4. what are individual liberties? 5. why did many delegates and citizens fear the government? 6. how did james madison want to limit the governments power and protect freedoms? 7. anytime, we want to change the u.s. constitution, what must be added? 8. what is the bill of rights and what do they protect?

Explanation:

1. The text states that the U.S. Constitution is a document that informs how the federal government will run and lists basic rights.
2. It mentions that when first created, it only stated how the U.S. government will run itself and didn't list basic rights.
3. Many delegates didn't sign because they felt the document did not secure individual liberties.
4. Individual liberties are basic rights where people are free to choose, think, and act without government interfering.
5. They feared the overall power of government due to past governments like the King of England trampling over people's freedoms.
6. James Madison wanted to add new laws (amendments) to the Constitution to limit government power and protect freedoms.
7. To change the U.S. Constitution, amendments must be added.
8. The Bill of Rights are ten amendments ratified by the states that protect many of the rights Americans hold dear.

Answer:

1. The U.S. Constitution is a document that informs how the federal government will run and lists basic rights.
2. When first created, it only told us how the U.S. government will run itself and didn't list any basic rights.
3. Many of the delegates did not sign the U.S. Constitution because they felt the document did not secure individual liberties.
4. Individual liberties are basic rights where we are free to choose, think, and act without the government interfering.
5. Many delegates and citizens feared the government because past governments, such as the King of England, had a bad habit of trampling over people's freedoms and rights.
6. James Madison wanted to limit the government’s power and protect freedoms by adding new laws (amendments) to the Constitution.
7. Anytime we want to change the U.S. Constitution, amendments must be added.
8. The Bill of Rights are ten amendments that were ratified by the states and became part of the Constitution, and they protect many of the rights that Americans hold most dear.