The Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments to the Constitution that grant certain freedoms and liberties to the citizens of the United States. The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments, such as the tortures that have been used throughout history. Many citizens are conflicted about whether the Eighth Amendment is still relevant. The Eighth Amendment is still relevant today, but does need some revision based on the unfair treatment from King George and the more current ways the Eighth Amendment is being used. To commence, the Founding Fathers introduced the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution because of the unfair punishments and treatment from the British Army and King George. During the pre-Revolutionary …show more content…
Another event that occurred was “In 1774 Parliament responded [to the Boston Tea Party] by passing a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. These laws were meant to punish the colonists for resisting British authority” (Appleby 119). American colonists were fed up with high British taxation and were upset that they did not have a voice in Parliament. Colonists in Massachusetts Bay resisted the tea tax by throwing British tea into the ocean, and Great Britain enacted the Coercive Acts as a punishment. The acts closed a key port and replaced local government leaders, and colonists felt that this was unfair and unjust. To prevent acts like this in the new country, they created the Bill of Rights. The Founding Fathers wanted the people at large to control the government, without giving too much power to appointed rulers and judges because they would make unfair and slanted rulings involving cruel and absurd punishments (“8th Amendment”). When they were creating the Bill of Rights, people feared the federal government would abuse the power given to them to create federal crimes and unfair punishment, just like Britain