DECEMBER 27, 2024 HISTORY from BUS page 7 to seniors and persons with disabilities. You are also encouraged to fill out a feedback form at www.theride.org/ about/contact-us. To many of us, a car represents an unparalleled freedom of movement. But perhaps with a more robust public transportation system and a community willing to embrace it, that freedom can be expanded by all. AAATA’s TheRide 2045 plan is standing at the forefront of the effort to ditch the cars and hop on the ‘bus’ train. Will you join them? Read TheRide 20245 Long-Range Plan Executive Summary online at t he r i de . o r g / abou t /p roje c t s / the-ride2045 GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 Results from onboard surveying regarding desired improvements. RIGHTS from last page “The Bill of Rights: How did it happen?” It is quite obvious that many Americans know a little bit about the Bill of Rights. Young Americans and older Americans can easily say what the First Amendment, Second Amendment, or Fifth Amendments stand for. They are rights, freedom and liberty clauses, which were explicated in the constitution so that no one government can take them away from the people. After the U. S. Constitution was drafted in September 1787, there was opposition to its ratification by some people in states like Virginia and Massachusetts. George Mason of Virginia was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and one of those who refused to sign the documents because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Initially, James Madison did not support a Bill of Rights set of amendments to the Constitution. He later led the movement to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution as a safeguard. The amendment was introduced in the first Congress on June 8, 1789. A joint resolution passed by Congress contained 17 amendments proposed by James Madison and his allies such as Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. When the Senate received 17 amendments from the house, it reduced them to 12. A joint House and Senate conference agreed on 12 amendments which was sent to the President in September of 1789. The national archive reports stated, “On October 2, 1789, President Washington sent copies of the 12 amendments adopted by Congress to the states. By December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states had ratified 10 of these, now known as the Bill of Rights. “National Today” published the history of the Bill of Rights Day. It said, “Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation that dedicated December 15 as Bill of Rights Day. This was made in honor of the Constitution and to celebrate the document’s 150th anniversary. The Bill of Rights Day took place just eight days after the Pearl Harbor attack and America’s entry into World War II.” In 1946, President Harry Truman issued another proclamation for the Bill of Rights Day. Congress sent a request to President Truman for the proclamation because World War II had ended. In 1952, President Dwight Eisenhower wanted the Bill of Rights Day to be proclaimed every year. “National Today” also noted that in 2019, President Donald Trump made a proclamation for the Bill of Rights Day. President Trump said, “During Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, Human Rights Week, we celebrate the Bill of Rights for safeguarding our Godgiven rights and protecting us from abuse of government powers. I call upon the people of the United States to mark these observations with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including community conversations. Conclusion In poet W.B. Yeats’s world-famous poem “The Second Coming,” he presented words which remind us of James Madison‘s Federalist paper. The paper said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.“ In “The Second Coming,“ Yeats stated it this way: “Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world ...” The last four years have been tough, the year 2024 has been the toughest! We survived the existential threat of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Knowledge of our founding documents will help us heal. Let’s have more conversations! It is possible that the second half of the 2020s will be rife with debates over individual first American rights, due process rights, citizenship rights, and of course, equal protection rights. The newspapers, broadcast news and social media will be trying to defend the constitutional provision known as the “freedom of the press.” Individuals and groups who gather to protest will claim their rights to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. People will try to emphasize all their constitutional rights. Historians, philosophers, research scientists know that the founding fathers contemplated that the nation would change and they designed a “living constitution.” America is based on an idea. Retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer says that America is an experiment, one he feels is working despite pitfalls, and will continue to, he strongly believes. Let’s keep talking, to ensure that it does.
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