"200th Anniversary The Bill of Rights" Button, circa 1991

Many Americans in the late 1780s opposed the formation of a new American government under the U.S. Constitution because it lacked a bill of rights. Through compromise, Congress eventually sent twelve rights-related amendments to the states. Ten were ultimately ratified in 1791, becoming known as the "Bill of Rights." This button commemorated the bicentennial of one of the core documents of democracy.