Freedoms afforded to you by Bill of Rights should be valued

December is known for holidays including Christmas and Hanukkah, but there’s another important day that falls this month. Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day, the anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution’s first 10 Amendments.

On Sept. 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 Amendments to the Constitution. Ten of the proposed 12 Amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislature on Dec. 15, 1791, the result of a compromise between Federalists, who advocated a strong national government, and Antifederalists, who advocated a strong national government, and Anti-federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments.

Unfortunately, far too many Americans know little about the history of the Bill of Rights, which was introduced by James Madison, who later became the fourth president of the United States, and struggle to identify these Amendments, which define what it means to be American. They guarantee our freedoms of religion, speech, press, to peaceably assemble and petition our government, and protect our right to bear arms, our private property rights, our right to a fair trial, and our right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

During the 150th anniversary commemorations in 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the President

“to issue a proclamation designating Dec. 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day, calling upon officials of the Government to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on that day, and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and prayer.”

In November, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation dedicating Dec. 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day. In his message, he referred to the document as “the great American charter of personal liberty and human dignity.”

Later, in his radio address on Bill of Rights Day — a week after the U.S. entered World War II — Roosevelt applauded liberty-loving nations who supported the rights outlined in our charter and denounced countries like Nazi Germany for its destruction of those very rights

.We encourage everyone to take the time to read the original 10 Amendments. As citizens who enjoy the protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, we owe it to ourselves to be informed and to educate ourselves and others on the important freedoms we possess.