The Origins of the Bill of Rights (Part 1: British Tyranny, the First Amendment)
During Colonial rule, the British Crown and Colonial Governors were not shy about using the British Army or Navy against the Americans. The British Army was used to intimidate, seize property, enter homes or be quartered among the populace to present a posing threat. It was not only the Army that was used against the Colonists, but other Government forces or powers that were used against the Colonists, but Police, Tax Collectors, Justice of the Peace and on. The British Army or the other British Government Forces use against the populace is not short or limited even if not by direct force, just intimidation, and eventually led to the fighting to begin in 1775. This use of the Armed Forces directly led to two Amendments to the Constitution, the Second and Third.Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No one instance can be pin pointed as the need or desire for the Second Amendment, rather it is the entire scope of the American Revolution itself. The abuse of power by government against the people, the use of the military against the people, and the desire and unalienable right of the people to control their own destiny are at the root of the Second Amendment. This view is expressed in the Declaration of Independence;
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
The exact origins of Memorial Day are lost to history, with numerous stories and claims to its beginning. But the known facts surrounding Memorial Day have its origin in the Civil War, and was first officially declared on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. The first State to officially recognize Memorial Day was New York in 1873, and over time various types of Memorial Days were established by different States. Northern States typically had a Memorial Day in May, while Southern States had Confederate War Dead Day. In 1971 Memorial Day finally became a National Holiday as the last Monday in May.
The Bill of Rights when submitted to the States in 1789 contained 12 approved Articles by Congress, 10 of which would be ratified by the required States on December 17, 1791, and an additional one would eventually be ratified in 1992 and is now the 27th Amendment. But it is the first 10 Amendments that will be explored here.