<P> On June 8, 1789, Representative James Madison introduced nine amendments to the Constitution in the House of Representatives . Among his recommendations Madison proposed opening up the Constitution and inserting specific rights limiting the power of Congress in Article One, Section 9 . Seven of these limitations would become part of the ten ratified Bill of Rights amendments . Ultimately, on September 25, 1789, Congress approved twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution, each consisting of one one - sentence paragraph, and submitted them to the states for ratification . Contrary to Madison's original proposal that the articles be incorporated into the main body of the Constitution, they were proposed as supplemental additions (codicils) to it . Articles Three through Twelve were ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, and became Amendments One through Ten of the Constitution . Article Two became part of the Constitution on May 5, 1992, as the Twenty - seventh Amendment . Article One is technically still pending before the states . </P> <P> Although Madison's proposed amendments included a provision to extend the protection of some of the Bill of Rights to the states, the amendments that were finally submitted for ratification applied only to the federal government . The door for their application upon state governments was opened in the 1860s, following ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment . Since the early 20th century both federal and state courts have used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply portions of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments . The process is known as incorporation . </P> <P> There are several original engrossed copies of the Bill of Rights still in existence . One of these is on permanent public display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. </P> <P> Prior to the ratification and implementation of the United States Constitution, the thirteen sovereign states followed the Articles of Confederation, created by the Second Continental Congress and ratified in 1781 . However, the national government that operated under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to adequately regulate the various conflicts that arose between the states . The Philadelphia Convention set out to correct weaknesses of the Articles that had been apparent even before the American Revolutionary War had been successfully concluded . </P>

Where is the bill of rights located today
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