The Bill of Rights originally 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. This understanding was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, which held that the Bill of Rights placed no limits on state authority unless a state's own constitution provided such protections.

James Madison, on June 8, 1789, introduced the proposed constitutional amendments that became the Bill of Rights. He argued that state governments were just as likely as the federal government to infringe upon these fundamental rights and therefore should be equally restrained. Madison stated, "Because it must be admitted, on all hands, that 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."

An example of state-level restrictions occurred in 1831 when the Georgia legislature authorized a $5,000 bounty to be paid by the Governor to anyone who arrested and prosecuted the editor or publisher of "the Liberator," or anyone circulating the paper within Georgia.

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

Thus, Madison's early advocacy for limiting state power over individual rights was ultimately realized through the 14th Amendment, which extended constitutional protections to apply against state governments as well.

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