在1789年，身為美國眾議院成員之一，詹姆斯麥迪遜提出了憲法第一修正案，也就是眾所周知的權力法案；有些州政府認可新憲法時就同時提出憲法能進一步修正的期許，麥迪遜草擬了19項修正案，透過十二位議會同僚送交各州進行審核；在1791年12月15日，有十個州同意了這些修正案，也獲得法律規定上足夠的州數、讓這些修正案正式納入憲法條文中。

這些修正案保障了個人的公民權，包括言論自由、宗教自由、出版自由（第一修正案中制訂），這裡有一份麥迪遜在向議會代表介紹權力法案演說時、所準備的一份筆記；1785年，麥迪遜撰寫了一篇相當重要的文章、針對提出「政教分離」（separation of religion and government）所做的論述，無疑地也給了他一些制訂權力法案的靈感。

In 1789, as a member of the newly created U.S. House of Representatives, James Madison introduced the first amendments (additions) to the Constitution, which are now known as the Bill of Rights. Ratification of the Constitution by some states was based on the expectation that the Constitution would be changed by amendments such as these. Madison originally drafted 19 amendments, 12 of which his congressional colleagues passed on to the states for their approval. On December 15, 1791, 10 had been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.

These amendments guarantee our individual rights as citizens, such as the freedom of speech, religion and the press (in the First Amendment). Seen here is a copy of Madison's notes for his speech introducing the Bill of Rights on the floor of the House of Representatives. In 1785, Madison had written one of the most significant essays regarding separation of religion and government (often referred to as the separation of church and state), which no doubt gave him inspiration for some of the Bill of Rights.

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