The Bill of Rights Day is observed on Dec. 15 every year in the United States to celebrate the passage of "The Bill of Rights," which denotes the first 10 amendments made to the U.S. Constitution on the day in 1791 following days of national debate. The ratification of the constitutional framework was proposed by James Madison, who later became the fourth president of the United States.

The revolutionary ratification lists rules to safeguard all Americans' fundamental rights, which the founding fathers of the U.S. Constitution missed including in their first draft. It was due to Madison's efforts that the notions like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to protest, equal protection under the law, the right to not testify against yourself, the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right to an attorney, and protection against excessive fines and unusual punishments were included in the Constitution.

The day came into being in 1941 when then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation, marking Dec. 15 as Bill of Rights Day in honor of the draft's 150th anniversary. The first-known observance of the day fell eight days after the Pearl Harbor attack, which influenced the United States' participation in World War II.

In honor of the day, here are some quotes on the U.S. Constitution made by notable figures of the federation:

  • "We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."- Abraham Lincoln
  • "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."- Thomas Jefferson
  • "The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon." - George Washington
  • "Good intentions will always be pleaded, for every assumption of power; but they cannot justify it ... It is hardly too strong to say, that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intention, real or pretended." -Daniel Webster
Bill Of Rights Day
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