ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

September 25, 1789

The First Federal Congress Proposes The Bill of Rights
to the State Legislatures

On this day in 1789, the First Federal Congress proposed twelve amendments to the United States Constitution. The first two dealt with the number of constituents per Representative and the second dealt with compensation of Congress. Amendments three through twelve were known as the Bill of Rights.

Although the states began to ratify these amendments later that year, they did not go into affect until December 15, 1791 when they had been ratified by 3/4 of the states. Massachusetts, Georgia, and Connecticut did not ratify the Bill of Rights until 1939.