The Bill of Rights, More than the First Ten Amendments; Writing a compelling Blog

This is the sixth article in my series for Toastmasters Leadership Development, Level 4, Write a Compelling Blog

A number of years ago, an extra copy of the Bill of Rights was discovered. The document went on a tour of cities all over the country. When the document arrived in Denver, Colorado I took the opportunity to see it. I was surprised to discover the Bill of Rights has twelve amendments, not ten. I can attest that I now know the bill of rights has twelve amendments because I saw it with my own eyes.

The framers of the Constitution were worried that the new Constitution would not be ratified by the states so they proposed a series of amendments (what became known as the Bill of Rights) to make passage more likely. Ten of the twelve amendments passed rather quickly, two of the amendments did not.

The original first amendment was not about freedom of speech, religion, press, or the right to petition the government. The original second amendment was not about the right to keep and bear arms. The original first amendment was about the number of representatives and the size of their congressional districts. The second amendment was about congressional pay. The second amendment actually passed, but not until 1992 when it ratified as the 27th Amendment. One can, therefore, argue that the Bill of Rights consists of the first ten and the 27th Amendment.
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