Rights Under the Constitution

As a member of the House of Representatives in the first Congress, James Madison played the leading role in the creation of the Bill of Rights. He prepared an initial list of amendments, largely culled from the proposals submitted by the various states, and pushed for their consideration in the face of widespread lack of interest in Congress. Constitutional historians disagree about the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Many scholars argue that the amendment applies the Bill of Rights to the states, guarantees other rights against state infringement as well, and gives the federal government broad authority to protect those rights. The Fourteenth Amendment was the second of three amendments adopted after the Civil War during Reconstruction. Although the Thirteenth Amendment had outlawed slavery, the Southern states sought to perpetuate the economic and social subordination of African Americans through the infamous Black Codes.