Name of event: We the Terps
Title of presentation: The Bill of Rights: in Historical Perspective
Presenter: Dr. Holly Brewer, University of Maryland Department of History
Event time and place: September 17th, 2025, STAMP Student Union, College Park, MD
Every year, freshmen at the University of Maryland are given a “First Year Book.” This year, as freshmen began the college chapter in their life, they were given a copy of the US Constitution. The university chose this book as the Constitution nears its 250th anniversary. This was a way to educate the student body on the foundational document that determines how many of our lives in the US are shaped. The laws and amendments outlined in the Constitution are important, especially as policies and politics continue to change and affect our lives. The university created the “We the Terps” slogan and even hosted a Constitution Day event to promote it as the “First Year Book.” I had the pleasure of attending this Constitution Day event.
My Free Copy of The Constitution at the We the Terps Event
Hosted in STAMP, the event spread out along the whole first floor of the building. Tables with voter registration information and MDLaw clubs lined the halls of the STAMP Student Union. I entered the Prince George’s room and was handed a free copy of the Constitution. This was the room where four different talks from university professors were taking place, all centered around different parts of our Constitution. I had the pleasure of sitting in on “The Bill of Rights: in Historical Perspective” presented by Holly Brewer.
The presentation started with a short video with interviews from University of Maryland students and staff on why they think the Constitution is important. Most people said something about how it is a written document listing our rights and it is important to know so we aren’t taken advantage of as citizens. Many people in the video also mentioned how it is an imperfect document. However, it being a living and always changing document, its ability to keep American citizens safe from governmental overtake remains true.
Dr. Brewer began the talk with some information about the history of The Bill of Rights. It was not actually in the original Constitution, but it was soon added to please some of the states who were not willing to ratify the Constitution without one. The Massachusetts Compromise was the agreement reached in Massachusetts to get them to ratify the Constitution, on the condition that a bill of rights would be added later. This started a trend across the US in which states like North Carolina would agree to ratify the Constitution so long as a bill of rights was added. She also mentioned a bunch of points about how many of the bill of rights added were actually related to or based on the English Bill of Rights.
Dr. Brewer also talked about some of the arguments between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, two major arguers for and against the Bill of Rights. Jefferson believed a bill of rights was essential to preventing monopolies and making sure peoples’ rights were clearly listed. Madison argued that a bill of rights would prevent the executive branch from functioning properly and argued that we didn’t need one because we lived in a democracy, not a monarchy. In the end, Madison ended up agreeing that adding one would be essential.
The rest of the talk was mostly just about what each of the amendments were. I knew most of them like the right to free speech and the right to bear arms, but she did mention a couple that were originally proposed but never added. The first two amendments were going to be about how many constituents each congressman could have, and if those passed back then, we would be required to have over 7,000 members of congress today. Dr. Brewer also mentioned how radical many of the amendments were for their time. Freedom of speech was actually very rare and a good example was that it was illegal to criticize anyone in the government in England before the revolution. Therefore, newspapers in the US would have to censor names in their articles any time they wanted to talk about a member of government. It was also interesting to learn that freedom of speech in England at the time was limited to members of parliament and the royal family. Anyone else could face charges of treason for saying the wrong thing.
The talk ended with Dr. Brewer talking about how we shouldn’t take the Bill of Rights for granted. She said that the Constitution is imperfect, but the Bill of Rights was radical for its time and very important in the foundation of our country. She talked about how the Bill of Rights are just words on a piece of paper and it’s up to the government to uphold it. But she made it clear that, if the government is not upholding those rights, then it really is up to the people to take action and prevent an authoritarian overtake. Many people take the Bill of Rights for granted. Don’t.
After the talk, I began thinking about the different things she mentioned and how it related to my own life. For example, I am a US citizen, but I doubt I can list off all of the Bill of Rights, let alone all of the amendments. Dr. Brewer made it very clear that we as citizens should know our rights and be able to take action against our government if we are not being prioritized. Our first amendment gives us the right to protest when necessary, and as citizens we should be using that right. And this is something that I completely agree with. I definitely take my rights for granted, and it’s very easy when I don’t feel as though I am being actively attacked. But just knowing them is important to keep myself safe from a corrupt government.
Dr. Brewer was also just a convincing speaker. I definitely agree that the Bill of Rights is important and often taken for granted after listening to her talk. She appealed to all three modes of persuasion and I could not identify any logical fallacies. She used Ethos when talking about the arguments between Jefferson and Madison, convincing the audience that there were real leaders arguing for a bill of rights. She used logos when giving us examples about the shortcomings of prior bills of rights such as the English Bill of Rights. She even used pathos when urging her audience that the Bill of Rights is important. She made it very clear that it would be our necks on the line as citizens if our government would turn corrupt and that it was up to us to make sure our rights are upheld.
In her talk, whether intentionally or not, she steered clear of logical fallacies. She didn’t use ad hominem because she never attacked anyone, she just emphasized the importance of knowing your rights in general. She also made sure not to fall into the slippery slope fallacy. Of course she mentioned things could be bad if we don’t know our rights, but she wasn’t adamant that it would be the total end of the world. Dr. Brewer also used real evidence to show the importance of the Bill of Rights. She mentioned real examples of their use in the supreme court and she talked about their history and how it would be like to live without them. This showed how she kept away from hasty generalizations and any possible red herrings.
Overall, with all things considered, her arguments all made sense and were truly convincing. Steering clear of logical fallacies and using the three modes of persuasion made it a great talk. I walked away from her lecture feeling like I truly learned something. Before, the Bill of Rights were just words on a piece of paper. But Dr. Brewer talked through how truly radical some of the amendments were and talked about what it was like before the amendments. I felt I really learned to appreciate the document more because of that. I’m lucky to live in a country where I can criticize my government without fear of persecution. I’m lucky to not be completely controlled by those I’ve voted into office. I’m lucky to have my rights explicitly listed so no one can rightfully take them away. Maybe I’ve taken the Bill of Rights for granted before, but I definitely don’t anymore.