First Amendment to the United States Constitution restrained but by despotic Governments." Eight of the other twelve states made similar pledges. However, these declarations were generally considered "mere admonitions to state legislatures", rather than enforceable provisions. After several years of comparatively weak government under the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia proposed a new constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring among other changes a stronger chief executive. George Mason, a Constitutional Convention delegate and the drafter of Virginia's Declaration of Rights, proposed that the Constitution include a bill of rights listing and guaranteeing civil liberties. Other delegates—including future Bill of Rights drafter James Madison—disagreed, arguing
Amendments to the Constitution of Canada following table, many important changes were made to the constitutional structure of Canada by adding entire extra documents to the Constitution. These include orders that added provinces to Canada, such as the "British Columbia Terms of Union" and documents that altered the structure of the government of Canada, such as the "Parliament of Canada Act, 1875". For a complete list of documents added to the Constitution before 1982, see List of Canadian constitutional documents. Amending the Constitution has been a topic of much debate in contemporary Canada, and the two most comprehensive attempts to revise the document have both been