Editor's note: Sixteen-year-old home-schooled student Emilee Fragapane won the annual Bill of Rights essay contest sponsored by the Democratic Club of Amador County. Below is the essay that garnered her a $1,000 prize:

America's Constitution is widely perceived as the foundation of our country's government. However, it is not always recognized that this foundation requires a cornerstone, which is the Bill of Rights. This key document is a vital element of our country's law. America's founding fathers added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution because they did not believe the Constitution sufficient to adequately guard the rights of the American people. Through America's 213 years of history, the Bill of Rights has defended our freedom in conjunction with the Constitution. This demonstrates the perceptive foresight of our founding fathers. Despite this and although many of the founding fathers had concerns about the Constitution, the view was not unanimous.

This difference of opinion impeded the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Many wanted the Bill of Rights, but almost as many did not. These divisions were found frequently within the opposing political parties. Among the parties most strongly opposed to the Bill of Rights were the Federalists. Their general political philosophy was that America needed a strong centralized government, and that the people most involved in society should occupy governmental offices. Their views can be further summated with a quote by John Jay, a Federalist who was president of the Continental Congress from 1778-79. "The people who own the country ought to govern it," he stated, aptly articulating the Federalists' view.

In contrast, it was the Democratic-Republicans (which did not become an official political party until 1792), the Anti-Federalists and other smaller groups who supported the addition of the Bill of Rights. These political factions often opposed Federalist policies. They desired a weaker centralized government because they felt that it was too easy for a government to become too strong. Supporters of these two points of view often clashed. As a result, the ratification of the Constitution was delayed in several states which felt the Bill of Rights to be essential.

The Federalists maintained several reasons as to why the Bill of Rights should not be part of America's law. One was that they felt the Bill of Rights to be unnecessary. They were also convinced that it would become a set of laws which were never obeyed. Their primary argument, however, was that the Bill of Rights would prove to be dangerous. The Federalists believed that any rights which were not mentioned in the Bill of Rights would be put in jeopardy. With the Constitution's more general protection of people's liberty, there could be no right which was unmentioned as few rights were specifically mentioned at all.

However, it was just this ambiguity which concerned those founding fathers who supported the Bill of Rights. The Constitution dealt mainly with the government's function and structure. It established how the government was to operate, setting up elements such as the three governmental branches and peoples' representatives. Further, it included procedures as to how the Constitution itself could be changed. However, it did not clearly state what rights the people were entitled to, other than representation. Herein was the generality. No provision was made should the government attempt to detract from the peoples' freedoms. No rights were laid down as inalienable. No freedoms were guaranteed.

Additionally, representatives were essentially the peoples' only means of defending their inadequately protected rights. Therefore, the Constitution functioned primarily through the assumption that the peoples' representatives would always defend Americans' rights effectively. This was seen by many of the founding fathers as the most serious flaw in the Constitution, which they sought to rectify with the Bill of Rights.

While this concern took precedence, additional arguments arose in support of the Bill of Rights. However, many of these issues developed as a result of dissatisfaction with the Constitution. Having recently emerged from Britain's "tyrannical" rule, as many saw it, the founding fathers did not want to risk leaving any "loop-holes" in America's laws. This could lead to a shift from democracy to a form of monarchy in America. Loss of rights could easily cause America's government to decay into the very type of system which they had fought to escape. In America, the founding fathers were faced with the unique challenge of creating an entirely new form of government. Undoubtedly, they did not wish to waste this opportunity by leaving the rights of Americans inadequately protected. Also, this opportunity and their freedom were bought at a high price. Much was sacrificed, and they did not want this to have been in vain. As with doubts about the Constitution, many of the founding fathers foresaw the Bill of Rights as the solution.

Opinions concerning the Bill of Rights were divided even among the founding fathers. Not all of them supported it, as is sometimes presumed. For instance, Alexander Hamilton was a Federalist who believed the Bill of Rights to be unnecessary. Another of the founding fathers who was opposed to the document was James Madison. While he eventually became a supporter of the Bill of Rights and helped to found the Democratic-Republican Party, Madison was a Federalist when the Constitution was written and ratified. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson was equally as adamant about his views in favor of the Bill of Rights as Hamilton was in opposition to it. He once declared, "Better half a loaf than no bread. If we cannot secure all of our rights, then let us secure what we can."

Despite the divisions among the American people and the founding fathers, there was enough support that the government finally pursued adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Another influencing factor was the stance which the Anti-Federalists took, in that they refused to support the Constitution until it included a Bill of Rights. Support rose to its peak, and the government received over two hundred proposals requesting a Bill of Rights. In response, President George Washington chose James Madison, a member of the House of Representatives who was widely respected for his instrumental role in the Constitutional Convention, to draw up the Bill of Rights. As Madison was then a Federalist, he did not support this course of action. Despite this, he yielded in exchange for the Anti-Federalists' agreement to ratify the Constitution, granted it included a Bill of Rights. On Dec. 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights received sufficient votes and became part of American law.

In conclusion, the founding fathers who supported a Bill of Rights prevailed over the formidable opposition against them. Their convictions and that of many of the American people remained strong, and to a great extent their perseverance was responsible for their success. The opposition was determined as well, and both sides had valid arguments. However, time has shown that those who supported a Bill of Rights were correct in their convictions. Due to the first 10 amendments, the freedom of America's people has been essentially preserved. While it could not have been known how effective the Bill of Rights would be, many of the founding fathers recognized its necessity. Their wisdom and foresight helped them to craft this definitive protection of our rights.