The United States Constitution was originally drafted in 1787 and did not contain a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 (McClenaghan 71). At the time, George Mason and others argued that it should not be included (Bender 27). James Madison believed that adding a bill of rights could give the government the power to take away people's private rights (Madison 44). He stated that wherever power gives people the right to do something wrong, wrong actions will be done (Madison 44). Madison also believed that a bill of rights would give the new government the power to provide security that did not exist with state governments (Madison 44). Thomas Jefferson argued that even a partially functioning bill of rights is better than not having one at all (Jefferson 47). He believed that the judicial branch would gain too much power and impose restrictions on the actions of the government as well as the actions of individuals (Jefferson 47). There was a fear that, without proper interpretation, the Constitution would tell us what we cannot do, instead of protecting all of our rights (Schroeder 70). Many of the amendments have since been challenged. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights is hotly debated as unconstitutional. A First Amendment challenge always involves freedom of religion. Justice Felix Frankfurter, appointed to the Supreme Court in 1939 and a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union, believed that laws that limit or promote religion could be permitted because he argued that freedom of religion is not absolute (Frankfurter 119). Thurmond argued that the First Amendment should only prevent the government from establishing a specific, required de... middle of paper... ese-Americans during World War II were not justified. The Bill of Rights. Ed. Bruno Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994.Sanford, Edward. “Free speech must be curbed for the public good.” The Bill of Rights. Ed.Bruno Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. Schroeder, Theodore. “Freedom of speech must be protected.” The Bill of Rights. Ed. Bruno Leone. SanDiego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. Thurmond, Strom. “School prayers do not violate the First Amendment.” The Bill of Rights. Ed. BrunoLeone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994.Vinson, Fred. “The defense of communism is not protected by the Bill of Rights.” The Bill of Rights. Ed.Bruno Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. Wigmore, John. “Political protest should be limited.” The Bill of Rights. Ed. Bruno Leone. San Diego:Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994.