'In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.'

The sixth Amendment was part of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments added to the US Constitution. The Bill of Rights actually started as a list of 12 Amendments proposed at the very first session of Congress held in 1789. Although the Bill of Rights was proposed by James Madison, it was heavily influenced by other participants of the Constitutional Convention in 1789 where the Constitution was written. During the Constitutional Convention, a group called the Anti-Federalists which included founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph and Elbridge Gerry demanded that a Bill of Rights be included in the Constitution. They threatened that their states would not ratify the new Constitution unless certain rights were explicitly guaranteed in the Constitution to protect individuals against the power of the government. A compromise was finally reached, and the Constitution was ratified in 1789. The Bill of Rights was then added as a group of amendments during the First Congress later that year. The ten amendments of the Bill of Rights were ratified and went into effect on December 15, 1791.

Interestingly, two Amendments included in Madison's original Bill of Rights were not initially ratified. These included an amendment prohibiting a congressional pay raise from taking effect until after the next election is over, and one changing the apportionment of Congress. The congressional pay raise amendment was actually ratified by enough states to become the 27th amendment in 1992, over 200 years after it was first proposed! And congressional apportionment was addressed by the 14th and 17th Amendments in 1868 and 1913.

Much has happened regarding the rights guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment since it was passed in 1789. For more information read this excellent article from NLADA.

For more on the History of the Bill of Rights, visit the U.S. National Archives online.