12-15-2024 - On This Day in Insane History

On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified, but not in the staid, predictable manner historians often describe. In a delightful twist of bureaucratic irony, the amendment process that day resembled more of a legislative roller coaster than a dignified governmental proceeding.

Virginia, the crucial 11th state needed to officially ratify the first ten amendments, did so with a political maneuver that would make modern political strategists chuckle. Governor Beverly Randolph, a key player in the ratification, reportedly spent the morning in heated debate with fellow legislators, consuming copious amounts of Madeira wine and engaging in what contemporaneous accounts describe as "boisterous parliamentary gymnastics."

The Bill of Rights, which would fundamentally reshape American civil liberties, was approved with a marginally enthusiastic vote of 89 to 79 in the Virginia legislature. What makes this moment particularly fascinating is that several delegates who initially opposed the amendments eventually supported them, allegedly after some strategic behind-the-scenes negotiations and, one might speculate, strategic alcohol consumption.

This seemingly mundane bureaucratic act would go on to become the cornerstone of individual rights in the United States, protecting freedoms of speech, religion, and due process—a remarkable outcome from what could have been just another contentious political day in late 18th-century America.