Omar Bennett
Amendments are additions or alterations made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. In the United States, the Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was ratified in 1788. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were passed in 1789 and ratified in 1791. Amendments to a national constitution can fundamentally change a country's political system or governing institutions, and as such, they are usually submitted to an exacting procedure.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments | 27 |
| First 10 Amendments | Known as the Bill of Rights |
| Date of Ratification of the First 10 Amendments | December 15, 1791 |
| Seventeenth Amendment | Popular Election of Senators |
| Date of Ratification of Seventeenth Amendment | April 8, 1913 |
| Twenty-Sixth Amendment | Lowered the voting age to 18 |
| Date of Ratification of Twenty-Sixth Amendment | July 1, 1971 |
| Twenty-Seventh Amendment | Requires that changes in pay for members of Congress cannot be implemented until after an election |
| Date of Ratification of Twenty-Seventh Amendment | May 7, 1992 |
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What You'll Learn
The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789. They were ratified on December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights".
The first amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, of the press, or of the right of the people to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The second amendment states that a well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state, and that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The third amendment states that no soldier shall, in peacetime, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war, except in a manner prescribed by law.
The fourth amendment protects the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The fifth amendment states that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.
The sixth amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.
The seventh amendment extends the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases.
The eighth amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
The ninth amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.
The tenth amendment states that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated to it in the Constitution.
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The Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection and Other Rights
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, is a pivotal piece of legislation that significantly expanded civil rights and equal protection under the law for all citizens, particularly those who had been previously enslaved.
One of the key components of the Fourteenth Amendment is the Equal Protection Clause, which states that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This clause, located in Section 1 of the amendment, mandates that individuals in similar situations must be treated equally by the law. It was designed to validate and reinforce the equality provisions outlined in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of race or background, were entitled to equal protection under the law.
The Fourteenth Amendment also addresses various aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens. It grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," thereby extending the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved individuals. This amendment marked a significant shift in American constitutionalism by imposing greater constitutional restrictions on the states than had been in place prior to the Civil War.
While the Equal Protection Clause is now widely recognised as one of the most important and influential concepts in legal theory, it received relatively little attention during the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Instead, at the time of its ratification, the Privileges or Immunities Clause was considered the key tenet of the amendment. This clause prevents states from creating or enforcing any law that would abridge the privileges or immunities of US citizens.
The Fourteenth Amendment has had a profound impact on American jurisprudence and has been frequently invoked in landmark cases before the Supreme Court. The phrase "equal protection of the laws" is the most commonly litigated aspect of the amendment and has been central to cases such as Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), and Bush v. Gore (election recounts), among others.
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The Seventeenth Amendment: Popular Election of Senators
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on 8 April 1913, provides for the election of senators by popular vote. This system of "direct election" replaced the original procedure laid out in Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, which provided for senators to be chosen by state legislatures.
The amendment was proposed by Senator Joseph Bristow of Kansas in 1911, and soon gained support from other senators, including William Borah of Idaho. By the following year, 29 states had already adopted some form of popular vote for senatorial elections, and their elected senators became outspoken proponents for a direct election process. The amendment was passed by Congress on 13 May 1912 and was ratified by the required three-fourths majority of states on 8 April 1913, with Connecticut's approval.
The Seventeenth Amendment changed the process for electing senators, providing that each state shall be represented by two senators, elected by the people of that state, for six-year terms. Each senator has one vote, and in the case of vacancies, the state's executive authority shall issue writs of election to fill the vacancy. The amendment also allows for the state legislature to empower the state's executive to make temporary appointments until the vacancy is filled by election.
The direct election of senators was a controversial issue, with opponents arguing that it threatened the rights and independence of states, and that renowned senators may not have been elected under a popular vote system. However, proponents of the amendment, including reformers like William Jennings Bryan, argued that the existing system was flawed, highlighting corruption and electoral deadlocks, and advocating for a more populist system that would make senators more accountable to the people they represent.
In the decades following the amendment's ratification, there was a sharp decrease in the selection of senators by state legislatures, and some historians have observed that it allowed senators to make decisions based on the demands of their constituents, rather than the state legislatures. The Seventeenth Amendment has faced legal disputes in recent times, with certain senators and analysts advocating for its repeal, citing the importance of state loyalty for elected leaders.
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The Twenty-Sixth Amendment: Voting age lowered to 18
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 years for all Americans. The official text of the amendment is as follows:
> The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment was proposed by Congress in March 1971, and ratified by three-fourths of the states by July 1, 1971. This was the fastest ratification process for any constitutional amendment. The amendment was a response to the Supreme Court case of Oregon v. Mitchell, which held that Congress could lower the voting age for federal elections but not for state and local ones. Recognizing the confusion and costs of maintaining separate voting rolls, Congress proposed the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to standardize the voting age for all elections.
The drive to lower the voting age began in the 1940s and gained momentum in the 1960s, particularly due to the military draft for the Vietnam War, which conscripted young men between 18 and 21. Various public officials, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower, supported lowering the voting age. The Senate Report accompanying the amendment explained that younger citizens were mature enough to vote, with many having completed high school and some having received higher education. Additionally, it was argued that excluding 18-year-olds from the political process contributed to violent protests, and that younger voters deserved a chance to influence society peacefully.
Despite its widespread support, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment has faced legal challenges. These include questions about the representation of out-of-town college students, the extension of the amendment to other political institutions like juries, and the validity of voter identification laws. Courts have confirmed that the amendment does not confer protections outside of voting and does not require states to lower the age for activities like jury service, holding public office, or drinking.
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The Twenty-Seventh Amendment: Congressional Compensation
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Amendment, is one of the most unique amendments to the United States Constitution in terms of its history. Proposed in 1789, it was ratified over 200 years later in 1992, making it the most recently adopted amendment.
The amendment addresses the issue of Congressional compensation, stating that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress can only come into effect after the next election of the House of Representatives. This means that the public has the power to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase or decrease. The aim of this amendment was to reduce corruption in the legislative branch.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was one of the first twelve amendments proposed by James Madison, then a Virginia congressman, in response to concerns that the Constitution did not adequately protect the rights of states and individual citizens. The proposed amendment was largely forgotten until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper arguing that it could still be ratified and launched a letter-writing campaign to state legislatures.
From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, over 30 state legislatures ratified the amendment, reflecting public opposition to congressional pay increases. The amendment's unusual history, spanning over two centuries, and the lobbying campaign that brought it back into the public eye make it a notable chapter in American constitutional history.
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Frequently asked questions
There have been 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The 15th amendment, ratified in 1870, states that citizens have the right to vote regardless of race, colour, or previous servitude. The 26th amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18.
Amendments to the Constitution are proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the States.
