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The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times, with over 11,000 amendments proposed. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The Eighteenth Amendment, which established the prohibition of alcohol, was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are collectively referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments proposed | 11,000+ |
| Number of amendments ratified | 27 |
| Number of amendments proposed and sent to states for ratification | 33 |
| Number of amendments pending | 4 |
| Number of amendments closed | 2 |
| Number of amendments that failed | 2 |
| Number of amendments requiring ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures or conventions | 2 |
| Date first 10 amendments (Bill of Rights) ratified | December 15, 1791 |
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What You'll Learn
The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights
The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times, with 33 amendments proposed by the United States Congress. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and form the basis of the Constitution. These amendments were proposed following the 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and were written to address objections raised by Anti-Federalists.
The Bill of Rights adds to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, and assemble. It also includes other natural and legal rights, such as the right to keep and bear arms, due process of law, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Tenth Amendment states that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated to it by the Constitution. The Ninth Amendment clarifies that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not retain other rights not explicitly mentioned.
The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be initiated by a grand jury and that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. It also guarantees the right against self-incrimination and the right to due process of law. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections, including the right to a speedy and public trial and an impartial jury. It also guarantees the right to confront witnesses and be represented by a lawyer.
The Bill of Rights also includes limitations on the government's power. The Third Amendment, for example, prohibits the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes during peacetime without consent. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, while the Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
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The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, the Reconstruction Amendments
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was put into operation on March 4, 1789. The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously on December 15, 1791.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the American Civil War. These amendments were essential to reuniting the United States during Reconstruction, and the confederate states were required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments to be readmitted to the Union.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the entire United States, except as punishment for a crime. It also granted Congress the right to enforce this legislation if states defied the ordinance. The 14th Amendment ensured that the Bill of Rights applied to all citizens of the United States, regardless of race, and guaranteed equal protection of the laws for all persons. It also eliminated the three-fifths rule and punished states that did not permit male citizens over 21 years old to vote by reducing the state's proportional representation.
The 15th Amendment prohibited federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This amendment secured voting rights for Black men, making it illegal to refuse them the right to vote because of their race or previous servitude.
The Reconstruction Amendments provided the constitutional basis for enforcing and implementing Reconstruction and passing federal legislation such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 and the Enforcement Acts of 1870-71. These amendments ended slavery, ensured full citizenship, civil rights, and voting rights for freed African Americans, and addressed growing violence and intimidation against them in the South. However, these amendments were also the subject of controversy, with some seeking loopholes to disenfranchise people of color.
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The Twenty-Second Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was first enacted in 1789. One of the most notable amendments is the Twenty-Second Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.
The Twenty-Second Amendment was a direct response to Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms as president. Roosevelt's reelection sparked concerns about a president serving unlimited terms and the potential accumulation of too much power. The amendment, approved by Congress on March 21, 1947, and ratified on February 27, 1951, prohibits anyone from being elected president more than twice. It also sets additional eligibility conditions for presidents who succeed their predecessors' unexpired terms.
The debate surrounding presidential term limits dates back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. While some delegates, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, others, like Virginia's George Mason, strongly opposed the idea, comparing it to an elective monarchy. The early draft of the Constitution provided for a single seven-year term for the president. However, the Framers ultimately settled on four-year terms without any restrictions on the number of terms.
Despite the absence of formal term limits, the first and third presidents, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, voluntarily stepped down after two terms, setting a two-term tradition. Three of the next four presidents—Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson—followed suit, reinforcing the precedent. Roosevelt's decision to seek a third term in 1940 and his subsequent reelection in 1944 disrupted this longstanding tradition and prompted the enactment of the Twenty-Second Amendment to formally establish term limits for the presidency.
The Twenty-Second Amendment not only addresses term limits but also ensures a smooth transition of power and promotes democratic principles by preventing the concentration of power in a single individual for an extended period. It strikes a balance between stability and fresh leadership, allowing presidents sufficient time to pursue their agendas while providing a mechanism for regular leadership changes.
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The process of amending the Constitution
To propose an amendment, a two-thirds majority vote is required in both houses of Congress, or two-thirds of the states must petition Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments. This step ensures that any proposed amendment has sufficient support before moving forward.
Once a proposal is passed, it is sent to the state legislatures for ratification. Ratification requires approval from three-fourths of the state legislatures, which currently equates to 38 states. Alternatively, three-fourths of the states must approve the amendment at state ratifying conventions. This step involves the states directly and ensures that any amendment has broad support across the country.
An amendment can also be ratified through a combination of legislative and convention approval. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in 1933, is the only amendment to be ratified through this method. It is also the only amendment that explicitly repeals a previous one, ending the prohibition of alcohol established by the Eighteenth Amendment.
It is important to note that the process of amending the Constitution is deliberately designed to be challenging. This difficulty ensures that the Constitution remains a stable and enduring document, resistant to frequent or impulsive changes. As a result, while there have been 33 proposed amendments sent to the states for ratification, only 27 have successfully become part of the Constitution.
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Amendments that were repealed
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcohol, is the only amendment that has ever been repealed. The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919, after years of advocacy by the temperance movement, which argued that a ban on the sale of alcohol would improve societal issues such as poverty and immoral sexual behaviour.
However, the amendment was largely unsuccessful, as it proved unable to prevent the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages and inadvertently caused a massive increase in organised crime. Crime rates soared under Prohibition as gangsters, such as Chicago's Al Capone, became rich from a profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign included a plan for repealing the Eighteenth Amendment, and his victory led to the end of Prohibition. In February 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and modified the Volstead Act to permit the sale of beer. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 5, 1933, and it is the only amendment to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions.
The Twenty-first Amendment not only repealed the broad prohibition on alcohol but also added language to the Constitution stating that individual states had the ability to define alcohol laws within their borders. Several states continued to be "dry states" in the years after the repealing of the Eighteenth Amendment, and some continue to closely regulate the distribution of alcohol today.
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Frequently asked questions
27 times.
33 amendments have been proposed.
6 proposed amendments have not been ratified.
The Bill of Rights contained 10 amendments.
12 amendments were initially proposed, but only 10 were ratified.
