Student Question
What is the difference between the Bill of Rights and the U.S Constitution?
Quick answer:
The U.S. Constitution, created in 1787 and ratified in 1788, establishes the structure and powers of the federal government, including the three branches and federalism. It defines the government's positive roles and powers. In contrast, the Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments, was added in 1791 to protect individual liberties by limiting government power. These amendments were a response to Anti-Federalist demands for explicit rights protections during ratification.
There are two main differences between the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. One difference has to do with when and how they were created. The second difference has to do with their subject matter.
The Constitution was created by the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was ratified by the states in 1788. The Bill of Rights is the term we use for the first 10 amendments to this new constitution. A large number of amendments were introduced to Congress in June of 1789. The ones that Congress approved were sent to the states to be voted on in August of that year. Thus, these two documents were created in different ways at different times.
The two documents are also aimed at different purposes. The main purpose of the Constitution is to set up the structure of the US government. Much of the Constitution is devoted to saying what...
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the parts of the government are, how they are selected, and what powers they have. The Bill of Rights, by contrast, is solely concerned with saying what the national government cannot do. It is a list of rights that are specifically protected from infringement by the federal government. Thus, the Constitution is more of a positive document in that it says what the government is and what it can do while the Bill of Rights is aimed more negatively, telling the government what it cannot do.
References
What is the difference between the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
The United States Constitution is the document that emerged from the Philadelphia Convention in the summer of 1787. It established the basic structure and the functions of each of the three branches of government, set up the system of federalism that governed relations between the states and the federal government, and allotted certain powers to the federal government. It established the central government as supreme over the states and established a foundation for relations between each of these states. In short, it established the federal government. What it did not do is provide specific protections for individual rights. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, does that. These amendments were added to the Constitution as a result of demands made by Anti-Federalists during the process of ratifying the document. They became official in 1791 and include amendments that protect speech, religious practices, the right to assembly, due process rights, and many other specific liberties. They also refine the relationship between the states and the federal government by reserving all rights not specifically delegated to the national government to the states.