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To: holdonnow

Nothing to do with the Bill of Rights?

"I disapproved from the first moment... the want of a bill of rights [in the new Constitution] to guard liberty against the legislative as well as the executive branches of the government." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Hopkinson, 1789. ME 7:300
"I do not like... the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land and not by the law of nations." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. ME 6:387

"A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. ME 6:388, Papers 12:440

"The general voice from north to south... calls for a bill of rights. It seems pretty generally understood that this should go to juries, habeas corpus, standing armies, printing, religion and monopolies. I conceive there may be difficulty in finding general modifications of these suited to the habits of all the States. But if such cannot be found, then it is better to establish trials by jury, the right of habeas corpus, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, in all cases, and to abolish standing armies in time of peace, and monopolies in all cases, than not to do it in any. The few cases wherein these things may do evil cannot be weighed against the multitude wherein the want of them will do evil." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788. ME 7:96

"It astonishes me to find... [that so many] of our countrymen... should be contented to live under a system which leaves to their governors the power of taking from them the trial by jury in civil cases, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce, the habeas corpus laws, and of yoking them with a standing army. This is a degeneracy in the principles of liberty... which I [would not have expected for at least] four centuries." --Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1788. (*) FE 5:3

"I consider all the ill as established which may be established. I have a right to nothing which another has a right to take away." --Thomas Jefferson to Uriah Forrest, 1787. ME 6:388, Papers 12:477

"I hope, therefore, a bill of rights will be formed to guard the people against the federal government as they are already guarded against their State governments, in most instances." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788. ME 7:98


10 posted on 06/22/2005 2:47:03 PM PDT by Mylo
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To: Mylo; holdonnow
Y'all are both half right. A copy of the new Constitution was sent to Jefferson in Paris. And, he did comment on it including the need for a Bill of Rights and for a restriction against deficit funding.

However, the writing of the Bill of Rights had nothing to do with Jefferson. The state ratifying conventions depended some 200 amendments as the price of ratifying the Constitution. All those requests were turned over to James Madison, newly elected Member of Congress from Virginia.

Madison boiled those down to 17 amendments which passed the House. The Senate then passed 12 of those, of which the States ratified 11. That is not an error. The Bill of Rights contains 11 Amendments, not 10. (See the history of the 27th Amendment, also known as the Madison Amendment.)

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "Say It Isn't So, Dickie Boy"

19 posted on 06/22/2005 3:17:35 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob (Anyone who takes the MSM seriously, deserves the likes of Dick Durbin.)
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