A few states agreed to ratify the Constitution only if the condition that a bill of rights would be added was met. This concern emerged because the original text of the Constitution, as drafted during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, lacked specific protections for individual liberties. The promise of adding a Bill of Rights helped secure its ratification by several states. Subsequently, the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified and became part of the Constitution in 1791.
