Name: Molly A Fredericks Date: February 22, 2012 Week 18, Day 3 Word Count: 479 The Bill

of Rights

The Bill of Rights would state the rights of the people. It would be a landmark protecting the people from those in power. However there were people who claimed that there was no need for a bill of rights. They felt that if a list of rights were created, any right not listed would not be considered a right. So would the bill of rights protect the peoples rights or endanger them? The antifederalists wanted the peoples most basic rights listed in the constitution. In society it is normal for men to give up some of their basic rights so that the government would have enough power to protect them. It was also very important that the people not give up too much power to the government, for if that happened they would become the governments slaves. The people need to be able to keep their most basic and important rights. In order that these rights are kept safe they need to be stated in a bill of rights. The bill of rights would keep those in power from taking away the peoples basic rights. The federalists believed that a bill of rights was unnecessary and could even be dangerous. They believed that if the federal government was given no constitutional power, it wouldnt have the means to endanger the freedom of religion or the press. It was also feared that any right not listed might not be seen as a right of the peoples. The federalists felt that the Bill of rights did not offer any real protection to the peoples rights. When a crisis accrued the Bill of Rights would be overridden. The peoples rights should not be secured by a bill of rights, but by men representing the people. Office holders should uphold the peoples rights while being held responsible by the people. Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms are basic rights of the people that need protection. The Bill of rights enumerates the most basic rights of the people. The federals fear that any right not enumerated might not be considered a right. That may turn out to be true, but as long as the peoples most basic rights are safe, there is nothing to worry about. Just because a right is not enumerated does not mean that it is forfeited, it just means that it is not as basic as other rights. Even if the bill of rights is over ridden in time of crises at least the people tried their best to uphold their rights. The peoples rights must never be forgotten. The bill of rights is necessary to remind those in charge where their power ends. By enumerating their rights, the people are not saying what is not enumerated is not a right, they are simply stating what is most important.

Bibliography John P. Kaminski and Richard Leffler Federalists and Antifederalists. Madison house publishers 1998