The Bill of Rights was proposed on September 25th, 1789 when the Congress felt that the Constitution needed a little tweaking and proposed 2 new amendments on December 25th, 1791. The new American makeover consisted of freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, the right to a fair trial and the fact that the government cannot impose an excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment. That James Madison was quite the reasonable guy! Source: TheBillofRights.org