The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, after three-fourths of the existing state legislatures ratified the first 10 amendments of the Constitution. James Madison introduced 12 amendments to the First Congress in 1789, and ten of these amendments became the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was created to protect the rights that the original citizens believed were naturally theirs, including freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly, as well as privacy.