Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was enacted in 1789. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The most recent amendment, the 27th, was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed. Two notable amendments are the 14th Amendment, which states that all persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens with equal protection under the law, and the 16th Amendment, which gives Congress the power to collect income taxes.
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What You'll Learn
The Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution has had 27 amendments, with approximately 11,848 proposals to amend it since 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were proposed by the First Congress on September 25, 1789, and ratified on December 15, 1791. These amendments are designed to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of US citizens and limit the power of the federal government.
The Second Amendment, for example, protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms as part of a well-regulated militia, which was considered necessary for the security of a free state. The Fourteenth Amendment, meanwhile, guarantees citizenship and equal protection under the law for all persons born or naturalized in the United States, while also addressing issues of representation in Congress.
The Tenth Amendment, which is part of the Bill of Rights, further emphasizes that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. This amendment underscores the limited nature of federal power and the importance of state autonomy in the US system of government.
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The right to keep and bear arms
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, often referred to as "the right to keep and bear arms," is one of the most well-known and debated amendments. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the United States Bill of Rights. The amendment states: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to possess weapons for their protection, the defence of their rights, and the protection of their property. The notion of average citizens possessing weapons is not new and predates the US Constitution. For example, in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, all Protestant English citizens were permitted to "have arms for their defence [sic] suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law."
The interpretation and application of the Second Amendment have been the subject of much debate and legal scrutiny over the years. In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment did not grant the right to bear arms but restricted the powers of the National Government from infringing upon this pre-existing right. The Court further clarified in United States v. Miller (1939) that the amendment did not protect weapon types without a "reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia."
In the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep a gun for self-defence, not just as part of a state-run militia. This decision was further reinforced by the Court's ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), which extended the limitation on infringing upon this right to state and local governments.
The Second Amendment continues to be a highly contested topic in American society, with ongoing debates around gun control, public safety, and the interpretation of the amendment's original intent. While some argue for a strict interpretation of the right to bear arms, others advocate for reasonable regulations to address modern concerns around gun violence and changing societal contexts.
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Voting rights for 18-year-olds
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was passed by Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971, grants citizens of the United States who are eighteen years of age or older the right to vote. This amendment changed a portion of the Fourteenth Amendment, which previously established protections for the right to vote for male citizens of the United States who were twenty-one years of age or older.
The drive to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 gained momentum across the country during the 1960s, influenced by several factors. One significant factor was the military draft for the Vietnam War, which conscripted young men between the ages of 18 and 21 into the armed forces. This led to a situation where these citizens were required to serve and risk their lives for their nation but did not have the legal right to vote or have a say in the government's decision to engage in the war until they turned 21. This discrepancy gave rise to a youth rights movement, with proponents of lowering the voting age adopting the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote".
Another factor contributing to the push for lowering the voting age was the increasing number of young people graduating from high school, attending college, and engaging in political and social activism. This led to a growing national awareness of the process of crafting laws and constitutional amendments among young Americans. Additionally, increasing high school graduation rates and improved access to political information through new technologies contributed to the perception that young people were better informed and prepared to participate in the democratic process.
Despite the growing support for lowering the voting age, there was resistance and legal challenges. In the case of Oregon v. Mitchell (1970), the Supreme Court struck down the provisions that established 18 as the voting age in state and local elections, upholding the voting age of 21 for those elections. However, the Court maintained the provision setting the voting age at 18 for federal elections. This decision created a situation where separate voter rolls were necessary to accommodate voters between the ages of 18 and 21, who could only participate in federal elections.
Recognizing the confusion and costs associated with maintaining separate voting systems, Congress proposed, and the states ratified, the Twenty-sixth Amendment. This amendment ensured that the right to vote could not be denied or abridged by any state on account of age for citizens who are eighteen years of age or older. The swift passage and ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment addressed a significant domestic controversy that had emerged during the Cold War era, affirming that citizens who were old enough to fight for their country were also old enough to have a voice in choosing its leaders and policies.
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Prohibition and repeal
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcohol, was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919. It was the result of decades of effort by the temperance movement, which argued that a ban on alcohol would eliminate poverty and improve social conditions.
The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors, although it did not make the consumption of alcohol illegal. Despite initial positive results, such as a decline in alcohol-related crimes, the act ultimately failed to prevent the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages. The demand for alcohol led to an increase in illegal alcohol production, which caused prices to drop. Furthermore, illegal alcohol production centres developed ties with organised crime organisations, such as the Chicago Outfit led by Al Capone.
By the late 1920s, public sentiment had turned against Prohibition, and the Great Depression further hastened its demise. Opponents argued that the ban denied jobs to the unemployed and revenue to the government. The nonpartisan Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA) also contributed to public disillusionment. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democratic presidential nominee, included a plan to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment in his platform. His victory that November sealed the fate of Prohibition.
On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed a new amendment to end Prohibition, which was ratified on December 5, 1933, as the Twenty-first Amendment. This amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, making it the only constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed. The Twenty-first Amendment is unique in both its ratification process and its purpose of reversing a previous amendment. Mississippi was the last state to lift all its Prohibition-era laws in 1966, while Kansas lifted its ban on public bars in 1987.
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Income tax
> The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
This amendment established Congress's authority to impose a federal income tax without determining it based on population. Before the Sixteenth Amendment, the majority of federal government funds came from tariffs on domestic and international goods. The first official federal income tax was the short-lived Revenue Act of 1861, enacted during the Civil War, which imposed a flat 3% tax on all incomes over $800. This was later modified to include a graduated tax, but the income tax was repealed in 1872.
In 1894, Congress enacted a 2% tax on income over $4,000 as part of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, but this was struck down by the Supreme Court. The concept of an income tax did not disappear, however, and it was kept alive by progressive groups and politicians. In 1909, progressives in Congress again proposed an income tax as part of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. This time, conservatives proposed a constitutional amendment, believing that an amendment would never be ratified and that this would kill the idea of an income tax for good.
However, the amendment was ratified by thirty-six states between 1909 and 1913, and it took effect on February 25, 1913, with the certification by Secretary of State Philander C. Knox. The long-term impact of the Sixteenth Amendment was a shift in the way the federal government received funding, and it had far-reaching social and economic impacts.
The Sixteenth Amendment has been the subject of several court cases, including Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad (1916) and Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co. (1926), in which the Supreme Court ruled on various aspects of the amendment and the federal government's power to tax income.
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Frequently asked questions
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution, with the first 10 being ratified simultaneously as the Bill of Rights.
The 16th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1909 and ratified in 1913. It gave Congress the power to collect taxes on incomes without considering the states.
The 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within the United States. It was passed by Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919.
The Second Amendment states that "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
