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Bill of Rights

The only part of the Constitution that people actually wanted was the Bill of Rights. Patrick Henry (the “Give me liberty or give me death” patriot from the American Revolution) launched DAYS of arguments against the Constitution, saying that it was impossible for regular citizens to defend themselves against a government so powerful, and he questioned the motives behind it.

Here's a quote that might help:
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. . . When power is granted to the new government to suppress “sedition and licentiousness,” Henry insisted, the proposal uses language that is “clear, express, and unequivocal.” When the subject turns to rights and privileges, he warned, “there is an ambiguity, sir, a fatal ambiguity — an ambiguity which is very astonishing.”

. . . Henry saw only “specious imaginary balances” and “ridiculous ideal checks and contrivances” in the new system. The president, eligible for reelection as long as he lived, could easily become a despot, especially since he was given command of the army; the Senate, indirectly elected for long terms, could be dominated by a handful of members and become a sinkhole of corruption and the president’s accomplice in diplomatic treachery; the national courts would not be bound, in all cases, to extend the protection of trial by jury.

Ordinary citizens needed protection against a consolidated government of such size, complexity, and power, and they had a right, nay a duty, to be suspicious of it. How could we punish abuses of power in such a government, without a bill of rights and sufficient powers retained by the states? “Will your mace-bearer be a match for a disciplined regiment?” Henry asked. Is it not likely that there will be a national riot act that will prohibit “a few neighbors” from assembling without “the risk of being shot by a hired soldiery”?
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- Henry Mayer, “A Son of Thunder; Patrick Henry and the American Republic,” New York: Grove Press, 1991, pp. 405-08.