Why wasn’t the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll

翻译人员: Diana Li 校对人员: Qiyun Xing

Take a moment to think about the US Constitution.

花点时间思考一下美国宪法。

What's the first thing that comes to mind?

最先想到的是什么？

Freedom of speech?

言论自由？

Protection from illegal searches?

保护人们免于非法搜查？

The right to keep and bear arms?

拥有和携带武器的权利？

These passages are cited so often

我们对这些文段耳熟能详，

that we can hardly imagine the document without them,

以至于没有办法想象 没有这些条款的文件会是什么样，

but that's exactly what the writers of the Constitution did.

但是这正是当时那些宪法撰写人 所面临的情况。

The list of individual freedoms known as the Bill of Rights

列出来的这些个人权利 就是众所周知的《权利法案》，

was not in the original text

并不在最初版本之中，

and wasn't added for another three years.

并且直到三年之后才被添加进去。

So does this mean the founders didn't consider them?

所以，这意味着法案的撰写人 根本就没有考虑它们吗？

The answer goes back to the very origins of the Constitution itself.

问题的答案要回溯到 宪法制定初期。

Even prior to the first shots of the American Revolution,

早在美国独立战争开始之前，

the Thirteen Colonies worked together through a provisional government

十三个殖民地通过

called the Continental Congress.

名为“大陆议会”的临时政府合作。

During the war in 1781,

在1781年战争期间，

the Articles of Confederation were ratified

《邦联条例》通过批准

as the first truly national government.

成为第一个真正意义上的国家管理体系。

But establishing a new nation would prove easier than running it.

但是，事实证明建立一个新的国家 比管理一个国家要简单得多。

Congress had no power to make the states comply with their laws.

国会没有任何权力使 各个州遵从法律。

When the national government proved unable to raise funds,

当国家政府没有办法 筹集到足够的资金、

enforce foreign treaties,

执行外交条约、

or suppress rebellions,

或者是镇压叛乱时，

it was clear reform was needed.

显而易见，改革势在必行。

So in May 1787, all the states but Rhode Island

所以，在1787年五月， 除罗德岛之外的所有州

sent delegates to Philidelphia for a constitutional convention.

都指派代表前往费城 参加制宪会议。

A majority of these delegates favored introducing a new national constitution

大多数代表倾向于 通过编写新的国家宪法

to create a stronger federal government.

来建立更有影响的联邦政府。

Thanks to compromises on issues like state representation,

因为折衷解决了许多问题， 比如每个州的代表权、

taxation power,

征税权、

and how to elect the president,

以及如何选举总统，

their proposal gradually gained support.

他们的提议渐渐开始受到支持。

But the final text drafted in September

但是九月份起草的文件最终版

still had to be approved by conventions held in the states.

仍旧需要由州内保守派批准通过。

So over the next few months,

所以在接下来的几个月里，

ratification would be debated across the young nation.

批准与否在这个年轻的国家里 广为争议。

Among those who championed the new document

在那些力挺新文件的人中间，

were leading statesmen Alexander Hamilton,

带头的政治家有亚历山大·汉密尔顿、

James Madison,

詹姆斯·麦迪逊、

and John Jay.

和约翰·杰伊。

Together, they laid out eloquent philosophical arguments

他们利用85篇文章阐述立场，

for their positions in a series of 85 essays

陈述了他们具有说服力的哲学争论，

now known as the Federalist Papers.

这85篇文章就是现在的《联邦论》。

But others felt the Constitution was overreaching

但是其他人觉得 这份宪法要求过高，

and that more centralized authority

同时中央集权

would return the states to the sort of tyranny they had just escaped.

会使各个州退回到他们 最初逃离的暴政。

These Anti-Federalists were especially worried

这些反联邦主义者 尤其担心

by the text's apparent lack of protections for individual liberties.

这一文本明显缺乏对 人身自由保护的现实。

As the conventions proceeded,

随着宪法的推进，

many of these critics shifted from opposing the Constitution entirely

许多批评家从完全反对宪法

to insisting on adding an explicit declaration of rights.

转为了强烈要求增加 一条对权利的申明。

So what was the Federalists problem with this idea?

那么联邦制拥护者关于 这个看法的疑虑是什么呢？

While their opponents accused them of despotism,

在反对派指责他们

wanting to maintain absolute power in the central government,

想要在中央政府获得绝对权力 这种专制统治思想的同时，

their real motives were mostly practical.

拥护者们真正的目的大多都是 很有实践意义的。

Changing the constitution when it had already been ratified by some states

在一些州已经通过这份宪法 之后做出改动

could complicate the entire process.

会使整个系统变得复杂。

More importantly, Madison felt that people's rights were already guaranteed

更重要的是，麦迪逊认为

through the democratic process,

票选程序已经保证了人权，

while adding extra provisions risked misinterpretation.

增加其他条款只会增大曲解的可能。

And some feared that creating an explicit list of things the government can't do

也有些人人担心阐明 政府不能做的事情会

would imply that it can do everything else.

会暗示它可以做其他任何事。

After the first five states ratified the Constitution quickly,

在最初五个州很快通过宪法之后，

the debate grew more intense.

国内的争论愈演愈烈。

Massachusetts and several other states

只有同意他们根据情况提出修正案，

would only ratify if they could propose their own amendments for consideration.

马萨诸塞州和其他几个州才会批准。

Leading Federalists recognized the need to compromise

带头的联邦制拥护者们 意识到了妥协的必要性，

and promised to give them due regard.

并承诺会给予应有注意。

Once ratification by nine states finally brought the Constitution into legal force,

当九个州的批准使得 这份文件有法律效力之后，

they made good on their promise.

他们兑现了诺言。

During a meeting of the first United States Congress,

在美国第一届国会的一次会议中，

representative James Madison

詹姆斯·麦迪逊代表

stood on the House floor to propose the very amendments

在联邦厅宣布了这个他最初认为

he had previously believed to be unnecessary.

没有必要的修正案。

After much debate and revision,

经过许多争论与修订

first in the Congress,

先是在国会之内，

and then in the states,

接下来是在各个州中间

ten amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791,

1791年12月15日， 在宪法正式成为法律三年之后，

over three years after the US Constitution had become law.

批准通过了十份宪法修正案。

Today, every sentence, word, and punctuation mark in the Bill of RIghts

现在，《权利法案》中的每一句话、 每一个词、乃至每一个标点符号

is still considered fundamental to the freedoms Americans enjoy,

都被认为是美国人享受的基本自由，

even though the original framers left them out.

虽然最初的创作者们 并没有把它们考虑在内。