ABSTRACT
The Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom of religion, took effect in 1791. According to the mythic view of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights should have protected Americans against violations of such basic freedoms. Most of the Bill of Rights has been interpreted as applying to the states, but the process has been gradual and is incomplete. The idea that the Bill of Rights didn’t cover the states wasn’t illogical. The rights amendments, written primarily by James Madison in the first Congress, was the product of a debate about states’ rights and the limits of the new federal authority. John Barron owned a lucrative wharf in Baltimore until a city street-grading project changed the shape of the waterfront, creating shoals and shallows that rendered Barron’s wharf worthless. Ironically, the Sedition Act, which was intended to help the Federalists hang onto power, was extremely unpopular and helped Jefferson beat Adams in the election of 1800.
