Eleanor Finch
The Constitution of the United States is the oldest written national constitution still in use and acts as the fundamental law of the US federal system of government. It was written in 1787 by 55 delegates to a Constitutional Convention and has been amended several times since. The US Constitution defines the basic rights of citizens and the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions. The Fourteenth Amendment, for example, grants US citizenship to former slaves and to all persons subject to US jurisdiction. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, while the Eighteenth Amendment protects people from excessive bail or fines and cruel and unusual punishment. The US Constitution has had a profound impact on the country's history and continues to shape the lives of American citizens today.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Constitutions | 1 |
| Date of the Constitution | 17 September 1787 |
| Date of Ratification | June 1788 |
| Date of Commencement of New Government | 4 March 1789 |
| Date of First Elections | Late 1788 |
| Date of Amendments | 15 December 1791 |
| Number of Amendments | 27 |
| Subject | Rights of citizens, checks and balances of power, and limiting government power |
| Voting Rights | Initially, only white male adult property owners could vote in most states; New Jersey was an exception, allowing women to vote |
| Amendments to Voting Rights | 1865-1870: Reconstruction Amendments granted citizenship and voting rights to former slaves; 1920: 19th Amendment prohibited denying US citizens the right to vote based on sex |
| Citizenship | Granted by the 14th Amendment to former slaves and "all persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction"; does not include those born to non-citizen parents or those on temporary visas |
| Notable Amendments | 8th Amendment (1791): protection from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment; 13th Amendment (1865): abolished slavery and involuntary servitude |
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What You'll Learn
- The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery
- The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to former slaves
- The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits denying US citizens the right to vote based on sex
- The Eighth Amendment protects people from cruel and unusual punishment
- The Ninth Amendment declares that individuals have fundamental rights outside of the Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude across the nation and in all its territories. The Amendment states:
> "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
The Thirteenth Amendment was a significant step in the expansion of civil rights in America, and it rendered several parts of the original Constitution inoperative. While the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves in rebelling states to be "forever free," it did not end slavery nationwide. The Thirteenth Amendment provided a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery.
The Amendment also restricted other forms of bound labour and servitude, such as indentured servitude and peonage. Through the 20th and early 21st centuries, the enforcement clause in Section Two of the Amendment has been used to combat racial discrimination in various sectors, including private employment, public transportation, and housing. It has also been applied to address modern-day human trafficking.
The Thirteenth Amendment is one of three Reconstruction Amendments, along with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, passed in the years following the Civil War to address the status of former slaves and expand civil rights for Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to former slaves and imposed new limits on state power to protect the rights of citizens. It stated that a state shall not "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law" and must provide "equal protection of the laws."
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The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to former slaves
The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. However, it did not grant citizenship to former slaves. This was achieved by the Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, which granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof".
The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted as one of the Reconstruction Amendments, which were passed in the five years immediately following the American Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment had rendered several parts of the original Constitution inoperative, and the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to address issues affecting freed slaves following the war. It was bitterly contested, and the states of the defeated Confederacy were required to ratify it to regain representation in Congress.
The Fourteenth Amendment's first section includes the Citizenship Clause, which broadly defines citizenship and supersedes the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). In this case, the Court held that Americans descended from African slaves could not become American citizens. The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause overruled this decision and ensured that everyone born or naturalized in the United States was a citizen, including former slaves.
The Fourteenth Amendment also contained three new limits on state power: a state shall not violate a citizen's privileges or immunities; shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and must guarantee all persons equal protection under the laws. These provisions extended the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and formed the basis for landmark Supreme Court decisions, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which prohibited racial segregation in public schools.
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The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits denying US citizens the right to vote based on sex
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States. It defines the system of governance in the country and outlines the fundamental rights of its citizens. The Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote, allowing each state to determine voter eligibility. In the early history of the US, most states allowed only white male adult property owners to vote. The notable exception was New Jersey, where women were able to vote on the same basis as men.
The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and final Reconstruction Amendment. The Reconstruction Amendments were adopted between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the American Civil War. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude." It grants the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status.
While the Fifteenth Amendment was a significant step forward in ensuring voting rights for male citizens of all races, it did not address sex-based discrimination in voting laws. Activists advocating for women's rights continued to push for their inclusion in the amendment, but ultimately, the language referring to women's suffrage was omitted. It would take several more decades and another amendment—the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920—for the Constitution to explicitly prohibit denying US citizens the right to vote based on sex.
In the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, the Supreme Court interpreted the Fifteenth Amendment narrowly, upholding ostensibly race-neutral limitations on suffrage, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. These discriminatory practices disproportionately affected African Americans in the Southern states, and by the 20th century, the overwhelming majority had little to no electoral power. It wasn't until the first half of the 20th century that a series of Supreme Court decisions began to chip away at these discriminatory voting restrictions.
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The Eighth Amendment protects people from cruel and unusual punishment
The United States Constitution is a single document, but it has been amended several times. The original document was ratified in 1787, and the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. Since then, there have been additional amendments added, bringing the total number of amendments to 27. The most recent amendment was adopted in 1992. Therefore, American citizens are subject to the provisions of the original Constitution, as well as all of its amendments.
One of the most important amendments is the Eighth Amendment, which protects people from cruel and unusual punishment. This amendment was adopted in 1791 and states: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." The Eighth Amendment serves as a limitation on the federal government's ability to impose unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants, both before and after a conviction. The amendment also prohibits certain methods of punishment, such as drawing and quartering, which are considered to be cruel and unusual.
The Eighth Amendment has been interpreted and applied in various ways over the years. For example, it has been used to challenge prison conditions such as extremely unsanitary cells, overcrowding, insufficient medical care, and deliberate failure by officials to protect inmates from one another. The amendment has also been cited in death penalty cases, with opponents arguing that capital punishment is a "cruel and unusual" punishment that violates the Eighth Amendment.
The interpretation and application of the Eighth Amendment continue to evolve as society's standards of decency change over time. For example, progressive interpretations of the amendment argue that the probability of an innocent person being executed is unacceptably high, rendering the death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Eighth Amendment. Additionally, modern punishments such as solitary confinement and death-in-prison sentences for children or the mentally ill may be prohibited under the Eighth Amendment, even though they did not exist when the amendment was first adopted.
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The Ninth Amendment declares that individuals have fundamental rights outside of the Constitution
The US Constitution sets forth the structure of the federal government and protects individual liberties. The Bill of Rights encompasses the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which protect essential democratic rights, including the freedoms of speech and religion. These amendments are crucial in safeguarding the fundamental liberties central to a democratic society.
The Ninth Amendment to the US Constitution states that individuals have fundamental rights outside of the Constitution. It was ratified in 1791, and it declares that the first eight amendments do not exhaust the basic and fundamental rights held by individuals. The Ninth Amendment protects unenumerated rights not specifically listed in the US Constitution, preserving liberties and safeguarding individuals against governmental overreach.
The Ninth Amendment emerged as a compromise between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, who held opposing views on handling rights within the Constitution. The Federalists were proponents of a robust central government, while the Anti-Federalists championed stronger state governments and the protection of individual liberties. The Anti-Federalists argued that a Bill of Rights should be added to the Constitution during the ratification debates, and the Ninth Amendment was included to garner support for the Constitution's ratification.
The Ninth Amendment has significant legal implications, empowering courts to affirm that citizens have rights beyond those named in the Bill of Rights. It has been used to protect fundamental rights that emerge from enumerated liberties, such as the right to privacy. Legal professionals and scholars still debate the meaning of the Ninth Amendment, with some interpreting it as endorsing a presumption of liberty, while others disagree with this view.
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Frequently asked questions
American citizens are primarily subjected to the United States Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government. It defines the basic rights of citizens and the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions.
The framers of the Constitution were focused on limiting the power of the government and securing the liberty of citizens. The Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances, with legislative, executive, and judicial separation of powers, to ensure a balance between authority and liberty.
The US Constitution, as originally adopted, assumes the existence of citizenship but does not provide a clear rule for determining who is a citizen. The Fourteenth Amendment addresses this by stating that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." This is known as the Citizenship Clause.
