On June 8, 1789, James Madison introduced a series of constitutional amendments that would become the Bill of Rights, emphasizing the need to guard against state governments infringing on fundamental liberties. Madison stated, "the state governments are as liable to attack these invaluable privileges as the general [national] government is, and therefore ought to be as cautiously guarded against."

Originally, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government, allowing states to enact laws that could restrict freedoms such as speech, press, religion, and assembly without violating the First Amendment. For example, in 1831, the Georgia legislature authorized a $5,000 bounty payable by the Governor to anyone arresting and prosecuting publishers of "the Liberator" or others circulating the paper within the state.

This dynamic changed with the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868. Jacob Howard (R-Mich.), who introduced the amendment in the Senate in 1866, explained that the constitutional rights "do not operate in the slightest degree as a restraint or prohibition upon State legislation." He added that the amendment's primary goal was "to restrict the power of the States and compel them at all times to respect these great fundamental guarantees."

Thus, while Madison originally sought greater limits on states' rights to protect individual liberties, the 14th Amendment later imposed constitutional constraints on state governments, extending protections initially applicable only to the federal government.

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