Why were the Founding Fathers concerned about guarantees of civil rights?
Several of the founders shared a common concern about the guarantee of civil rights. To understand this concern one need only look at Colonial life under English rule. The King was constantly abridging rights and “ruling” with a heavy hand. The fear that the new elected “president” might one day morph into a dictator or quasi-king was real, and, therefore, the idea of “guaranteed rights” was attractive. The arguement against such usurpation of rights by an elected American president was struck moot with John Adams’support for the terrible Alien and Sedition Act of his presidency, which proved such a guarantee both wise and neccessary.
