(Episode 11) Your Right to Party: An Introduction to the Bill of Rights

Now that we've made it through the Constitution and the debates surrounding its passage, what's the next logical step? Amending it, of course!

We now begin our trek through the Amendments to the Constitution. There are currently 27 Amendments, and the first ten of them are known as the Bill of Rights. The arguments surrounding these Amendments was going on at the same time as the debates over the main body of the Constitution. We dipped our toes into the pool of this topic back in episode 6 when we discussed ratification, but now, it's time to dive right in! (See what I did there?)

In Episode 11, we discuss the history of amending the Constitution, including some stats on the Amendments themselves, failed Amendments that are still floating out there in the ratification abyss, and fun facts about the Bill of Rights. Believe it or not, there's a second ratification math word problem you've probably never heard of (I promise it's fascinating), and there's a bit of weird story about Vermont.

One of the main reasons some states agreed to ratify the Constitution was because they were promised that a Bill of Rights would be included. In a speech before the first Congress, James Madison essentially said that we owe it to these people to make this our first order of business. If it's good enough for Madison to devote such time and attention to it, it's certainly good enough for IYCKI!