Declaring rights: a brief history with documents

Part 1 Rights in Revolution

1 The Seventeenth-Century Background

English Precedents

American Precedents

2 Puzzels about Rights

Defining a Right

The Holders of Rights

The Threat to Rights

The Sources of Rights

The Form and Function of a Declaration of Rights

The Popularity of Rights-Talk

3 The Colonists' Appeal to Rights

4 The Legacy of 1689

Constraining the King

1 Convention Parliment, Declaration of Rights, February 12, 1688 o.s.

5 Rights in Resistance

Challenging the Stamp Act

2 Resolutions of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, October 29, 1765

Disputing the American Claim

3 A Letter from a Gentleman at Halifax (1765) / Martin Howard,Jr. Howard,Jr., Martin

Consitutional Rights in the British Tradition

4 The Earl of Clarendon to William Pym, January 27, 1766 / John Adams Adams, John

Declarations of Rights as Instruments of Negotiation

5 Contintental Congress, Declaration and Resolves, October 14, 1774

6 Rights in the First Constitutions

Constitutions: A New Definition

6 Four Letters on Interesting Subjects, 1776

Populist Suspicions

7 Resolutions of Concord, Massachusetts, October 21, 1776

Declaring Rights: The First Models

8 Third Draft of a Constitution for Virginia, Part IV, June 1776 / Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Thomas

9 Virginia Provincial Convention, Committee Draft of a Declaration of Rights, May 27, 1776

10 Pennsylvania Convention, Declaration of Rights, 1776

Massachusetts: A Final Example

11 A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1780

A Legislative Milestone

12 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786

Part 2 The Constitution and Rights

7 Madison and the Problem of Rights

8 Framing the Constitution

9 The Basic Positions Stated

A First Try at Amendments

13 Amendments Proposed to Congress, September 27, 1787 / Richard Henry Lee Lee, Richard Henry

A Crucial Federalist Response

14 Statehouse Speech, October 6, 1787 / James Wilson Wilson, James

10 The Anti-Federalist Case

The Traditional Position Restated

15 Second Essay Opposing the Constitution, November 1, 1787 / Brutus

Rights and the Education of Citizens

16 Federal Farmer, Letter XVI, January 20, 1788

11 The Federalist Position

Can We Enumerate All Our Rights?

17 Speech in the North Carolina Ratification Convention, July 28, 1788 / James Iredell Iredell, James

12 Madison and Jefferson: The Classic Exchange

Defending the Veto

18 Letter to Thomas Jefferson, October 24, 1787 / James Madison Madison, James

The View From Paris

19 Letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787 / Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Thomas

20 Letter to James Madison, July 31, 1788 / Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Thomas

Madison's Response

21 Letter to Thomas Jefferson, October 17, 1788 / James Madison Madison, James

Jefferson's Common Sense

22 Letter to James Madison, March 15, 1789 / Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Thomas

13 Framing the Bill of Rights Madison's Statemanship

23 Speech to the House of Representatives, June 8, 1789 / James Madison Madison, James

Unweaving the Amendments

24 U.S. House of the Representatives, Constitutional Amendments Proposed to the Senate, August 24, 1789

Editorial Changes

25 U. S. Congress, Constitutional Amendments Proposed to the States, September 28, 1789

Residual Ambiguities

Epilogue: After Two Centuries