Learn about the Bill of Rights and this web site, including an overview of the site showing the origins of the Bill of Rights by amendment.

The idea of written rights is as old as the Magna Carta. Explore the English, Colonial, State, and Continental origins of the Bill of Rights.

The call for a Bill of Rights began with the debate over the ratification of the Constitution. Read what was said in newspaper articles and in state ratification debates about the need for a Bill of Rights.

James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights in the First Congress. Learn about the debates in Congress and the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

Explore the documentary origins of each right contained in the Bill of Rights.