Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times since it was ratified in 1788. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. Since then, amendments have been proposed and ratified to address a range of issues, including voting rights, presidential term limits, slavery, and alcohol prohibition. The process of amending the Constitution involves proposals by Congress or a national convention, followed by ratification by a three-fourths majority of state legislatures or state ratifying conventions. The most recent amendment, proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1992, addresses congressional pay changes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments | 27 |
| Number of Amendments Proposed | 11,848 |
| Number of Amendments Proposed per Congress Term | 200 |
| Number of Amendments Proposed Since 1999 | 20 |
| First 10 Amendments | The Bill of Rights |
| 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments | Reconstruction Amendments |
| 18th Amendment | Prohibition of Alcohol |
| 21st Amendment | Repealed Prohibition of Alcohol |
| 22nd Amendment | Limited Presidents to Two Terms |
| 26th Amendment | Lowered Voting Age to 18 |
| 27th Amendment | Changes in Congress Members' Pay Only After an Election |
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What You'll Learn
What is the 13th Amendment?
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as "Amendment XIII", abolished slavery and involuntary servitude across the United States and all territories under its jurisdiction. The only exception stated is in cases where slavery or involuntary servitude is imposed as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. It was then ratified by the required number of states (27 out of 36) on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18, 1865.
The 13th Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War. It was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863, declaring that all enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas were free. Lincoln recognised that this proclamation would need to be followed by a constitutional amendment to permanently guarantee the abolishment of slavery.
The 13th 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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This amendment not only abolished chattel slavery but also restricted other forms of bound labour, such as indentured servitude and peonage.
The 13th Amendment, along with the 14th and 15th Amendments, significantly expanded the civil rights of Americans by providing a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery and requiring the federal government to protect individual liberties.
The Tenth Amendment: States' Rights and the US Constitution
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What is the Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791. The amendments were proposed by James Madison, then a member of the US House of Representatives, to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The Bill of Rights came about because the Constitution lacked limits on government power. Federalists advocated for a strong national government, while Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments. Madison altered the Constitution's text, but several representatives objected, saying that Congress had no authority to do so. As a result, Madison's changes were presented as a list of amendments that would follow Article VII. The House approved 17 amendments, of which the Senate approved 12, which were sent to the states for approval in August 1789.
The first Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments in total, and ten of these were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. These ratified articles constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, or the US Bill of Rights.
The amendments include protections for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable government intrusion in the home, and the right to bear arms. The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to a grand jury, protection from double jeopardy, and the right against self-incrimination. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections, including the right to a public trial and an impartial jury. The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out. The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has the powers delegated to it in the Constitution.
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How are amendments ratified?
The United States Constitution was written to endure for ages to come, and the framers made amending the document a difficult task. The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Alternatively, it can be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). Congress determines which of the two methods the states must use to ratify a particular amendment. The first method requires three-fourths of the state legislatures to ratify an amendment, and the second method requires three-fourths of state ratifying conventions to approve a proposed amendment. Amendments ratified by the states under either procedure are indistinguishable and have equal validity as part of the Constitution.
When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist of the United States an original or certified copy of the state's action. The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process. Upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, the Archivist issues a certificate proclaiming that the amendment has been ratified and is now part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to Congress and the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.
In recent history, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, including the President.
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What is the 19th Amendment?
The 19th Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying any citizen the right to vote based on sex. In effect, this recognised women's right to vote and was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States. The amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920.
The journey to achieving this milestone was lengthy and difficult. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of women's suffrage supporters gave lectures, wrote articles, marched, lobbied, and practised civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878 but was rejected in 1887. In the 1890s, suffrage organisations focused on a national amendment while still working at the state and local levels. Two organisations were formed in 1869: the National Woman Suffrage Association, which sought to achieve a federal constitutional amendment for women's voting rights, and the American Woman Suffrage Association, which focused on obtaining amendments in the constitutions of individual states. The two organisations merged in 1890.
By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organisations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York adopted women's suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift. The amendment was passed by the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919, and quickly followed by the Senate on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications, and went into effect on August 18, 1920.
The 19th Amendment has been celebrated in various cultural works, including songs, films, documentaries, and television programmes. An annual celebration of the passage of the amendment, known as Women's Equality Day, began on August 26, 1973.
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What is the 21st Amendment?
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the "Repeal of Prohibition", ended the ban on alcohol and allowed states to regulate the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Proposed by Congress on February 20, 1933, and ratified on December 5, 1933, it repealed the 18th Amendment, which had imposed a nationwide prohibition on alcohol in 1919.
The 18th Amendment was the result of a successful temperance movement, but it soon proved highly unpopular, with many Americans continuing to drink and an underground market for alcohol emerging. The 21st Amendment was unique in that it was ratified by state ratifying conventions, specifically selected for the purpose, rather than by state legislatures. This was due to the complexity of grassroots politics, with lawmakers in many states influenced by or fearful of the temperance lobby.
Section 1 of the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th, while Section 2 prohibited the transportation or importation of intoxicating liquors into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use in violation of state laws. This section also stipulated that the amendment would be inoperative unless ratified by conventions in the several states within seven years.
The 21st Amendment had a significant impact, with the end of prohibition thought to have created half a million jobs. However, it also led to a series of Supreme Court decisions regarding the regulation of alcohol, particularly in relation to the Commerce Clause and the Dormant Commerce Clause. The rulings have set general guidelines on advertising and pricing for alcoholic beverages.
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Frequently asked questions
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organisation, or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text.
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution.
Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. In the US, an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives or by a national convention called by two-thirds of the states. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791, make up what is known as The Bill of Rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments. The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919, prohibited alcohol, and was later repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
The process for amending a state constitution can vary. For example, in Ireland, Estonia, and Australia, constitutional amendments originate as bills and become laws through acts of parliament, but they must also be approved in a referendum. In the US state of Alabama, the constitution was amended 977 times between 1901 and 2022.
