<P> On the occasion of his April 30, 1789 inauguration as the nation's first president, George Washington addressed the subject of amending the Constitution . He urged the legislators, </P> <P> whilst you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience; a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen, and a regard for public harmony, will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question, how far the former can be impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted . </P> <P> James Madison introduced a series of Constitutional amendments in the House of Representatives for consideration . Among his proposals was one that would have added introductory language stressing natural rights to the preamble . Another would apply parts of the Bill of Rights to the states as well as the federal government . Several sought to protect individual personal rights by limiting various Constitutional powers of Congress . Like Washington, Madison urged Congress to keep the revision to the Constitution "a moderate one", limited to protecting individual rights . </P> <P> Madison was deeply read in the history of government and used a range of sources in composing the amendments . The English Magna Carta of 1215 inspired the right to petition and to trial by jury, for example, while the English Bill of Rights of 1689 provided an early precedent for the right to keep and bear arms (although this applied only to Protestants) and prohibited cruel and unusual punishment . </P>

Who should be credited for the federal bill of rights