Through the many documents created to outline the American style of government liberty was constantly changing. With the creation of the Articles of Confederation liberty was complexly placed in the hands of the states. The Articles of Confederation outlines a weak form of National Government in which did not have the power to tax, enforce laws, and only consisted of one branch of government. However, with the creation of the Constitution of the United States, liberty became more of a permanent thought. Specifically, the Bill of Rights was the first established document of people’s rights, which we still refer to today.

The Bill of Rights was the first official document established in order to please not only the colonial legislators that created it within the colonies, but all the people. The Bill of Rights defined liberty for the American citizen. However, you were still only considered a citizen if you were white. The African American population was only considered a slave society, especially in the south. Liberty was never written in a permanent document until the Constitution was established.  The colonist stole some of their ideas of liberty listed in the Bill of Rights from the English Bill of Rights, but were not supported by the loyalist.

I personally feel like the colonist took the correct path by drifting away from English rule and establishing their own liberty known as the Bill of Rights. If that action did not occur, who knows where America would be today. Even throughout all the struggles and the division with the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists all colonist came together to form an outline of not only American government but for the liberties of the people. It amazes me how today those liberties that were created in the late nineteenth century still apply to all Americans and all Americans still abide by them.  Liberty went through many drafts as the colonist tried to establish a system of government, however turned out to be equal for all, except African Americans. Liberty defined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is the same liberty that we abide by today and the same liberty that I refer to when I asked, "what is liberty?"  However today, people seem to want to establish controversies over it the liberty that the colonist established.