1939 April 19

Connecticut Ratifies the Bill of Rights – 148 Years Late

 

Connecticut finally ratified the Bill of Rights, 148 years late.

Its action on this day was prompted by the heightened awareness of the Bill of Rights and civil liberties in the 1937–1941 period, which was stimulated by awareness of totalitarianism around the world, in Nazi Germany, Stalinist Soviet Union, and Imperial Japan.

The year 1937 marked the 150th anniversary of the Constitution (see Constitution Day, September 17, 1937) and 1941 marked the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created Bill of Rights Day on December 15,1941.

Read: Akhil Reed Amar, The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction (2000)

Learn more about the timeline for ratification of all Constitutional amendments: http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html

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