Bill of Rights – Freedom of Petition

“Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — from the First Amendment The right to “petition the Government for redress of grievances” is among the oldest in our legal heritage, dating back 800 years to the Magna Carta, and […]

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Bill of Rights – Freedom of Assembly

Congress shall make no law  . . .  or the right of the people peaceably to assemble . . . The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States Congress from enacting legislation that would abridge the right of the people to assemble peaceably.  The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution […]

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The Constitution – The “Bill of Rights”

The idea for a Bill of Rights was certainly not new. Documents that specified and guaranteed individual rights and liberty had been around for centuries. They were historical documents and experience that formed the foundation of the United States government, and included: The Magna Carta (1215) The Petition of Right (1628) The Massachusetts Body of […]

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Anti-Federalists – Their Argument

During the epic debates in late 1787 and early 1788, theFederalists were led by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. They weren’tnecessarily the “good guys.” They were theindividuals who strongly advocated ratification of the Constitution as approvedduring the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The Anti-Federalists were a diverse coalition of patriots and were NOT the […]

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