Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times since its original ratification in 1788. The amendments address a wide range of issues, including the protection of civil rights and liberties, the powers of the federal government, and the election of representatives. The most recent amendment, the 27th Amendment, was ratified in 1992 and addresses Congressional compensation. Other notable amendments include the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the 2nd Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. As the foundation of the US legal system, the Constitution and its amendments have a profound impact on the lives of Americans and continue to shape the country's political and social landscape.
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment and citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868. It is considered one of the most consequential amendments, addressing citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government.
The Citizenship Clause, found in Section 1 of the amendment, formally defines United States citizenship. It states 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 clause overruled the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, which held that Americans descended from African slaves could not become American citizens. It also affirmed that birthright citizenship could not be revoked based on race or ethnicity, explicitly rejecting anti-Romani sentiment.
The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting freed slaves following the American Civil War. It extended the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people, guaranteeing citizenship without regard to race, colour, or prior enslavement. This was a significant shift, as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which had guaranteed citizenship for all regardless of race, was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson.
The Citizenship Clause has been interpreted to grant both national and state citizenship, with the basic principle of a federal rule of race-blind citizenship based on birth or naturalization. However, there are two notable exceptions to this rule: American-born persons "subject to any foreign power" and "Indians not taxed." The former refers to individuals with diplomatic immunity, while the latter relates to members of Indian tribes with limited political relations with the United States.
Understanding the Fifth Amendment: Constitutional Rights Explained
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The Second Amendment and gun rights
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791, protects the right to keep and bear arms. 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 interpretation of this amendment has been the subject of much debate, with some arguing that it creates an individual constitutional right to possess firearms, while others argue that the Framers intended only to restrict Congress from legislating away a state's right to self-defence. This latter interpretation, known as the collective rights theory, asserts that citizens do not have an individual right to possess guns and that legislative bodies at the local, state, and federal levels have the authority to regulate firearms without violating a constitutional right.
The US Supreme Court has weighed in on this debate in several notable cases. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for self-defence in the home. However, the Court also acknowledged that this right is not unlimited and does not prevent the existence of certain long-standing prohibitions, such as those forbidding the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill. In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Court extended this ruling, holding that state and local governments are limited in the same way as the federal government from infringing upon this right.
More recently, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court created a new test for laws seeking to limit Second Amendment rights. This test requires that such laws be based on the history and tradition of gun rights in the United States. This decision has been criticised for lacking a consistent jurisprudential approach and has resulted in conflicting and unpredictable rulings in lower courts.
Changing the Constitution: Informal Ways to Alter Our Founding Document
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The Third Amendment and housing soldiers
The Third Amendment to the US Constitution is one of the least controversial elements of the Constitution and is rarely litigated. It states that "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
The amendment was written in the eighteenth century, at a time when Americans and Englishmen had developed a deep dislike of standing armies and objected to the government compelling them to quarter soldiers in their homes. This dislike was partly due to the Quartering Acts imposed by the British during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, which forced colonists to provide food and shelter for soldiers. The Third Amendment was introduced in 1789 by James Madison as part of the United States Bill of Rights and was ratified on December 15, 1791.
The amendment has had little practical impact, and there have been no major Supreme Court decisions based on it. However, it has been interpreted to include tenants as "owners" and to apply to National Guard troops as well as federal soldiers. Some historians and legal scholars have argued that the amendment has modern implications for matters such as eminent domain, government responses to terrorist attacks and natural disasters, and police militarization.
In conclusion, the Third Amendment to the US Constitution reflects the historical experience of forced quartering of soldiers and stands as a protection of individual rights and domestic privacy, even if its specific circumstances are unlikely to arise in modern times.
Amending the Constitution: A Necessary Evolution
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The Fifth Amendment and criminal charges
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees several constitutional rights and limits governmental powers with respect to criminal procedure. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes.
Firstly, it states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury. The Grand Jury Clause outlines basic constitutional limits on police procedure. The number of grand jurors is typically set between 12 and 23, with the federal grand jury number falling between 16 and 23. A person being charged with a crime that warrants a grand jury has the right to challenge members for partiality or bias.
Secondly, the Fifth Amendment protects individuals from being forced to incriminate themselves. Incriminating oneself is defined as exposing oneself or another person to an accusation or charge of a crime. "Pleading the Fifth" is a colloquial term used to invoke the Self-Incrimination Clause when witnesses decline to answer questions that might incriminate them.
Thirdly, the Fifth Amendment provides the right of defendants to be tried only once for the same offence, also known as the Double Jeopardy Clause. This means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence. However, in Heath v. Alabama (1985), the Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment rule against double jeopardy does not prohibit two different states from separately prosecuting and convicting the same individual for the same illegal act.
Finally, the Fifth Amendment includes a Takings Clause, which allows the federal government to take private property only for public use and only if it provides "just compensation". The Fifth Amendment also contains a Due Process Clause, stating that no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". This clause has been used by the Supreme Court to extend most protections of the Fifth Amendment to the state and local levels.
The 13th Amendment: Freedom from Slavery in the US
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The Sixth Amendment and trial rights
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791, guarantees criminal defendants eight distinct rights during criminal trials, ensuring that prosecutions are accurate, fair, and legitimate.
One of the most important rights granted by the Sixth Amendment is the right to a "speedy and public" trial. While the specific interpretation of this right has evolved over time, it generally implies that criminal trials should commence promptly and be of reasonable duration. Trials are typically open to the public and the media, except when the defendant requests privacy or in cases involving national security or public safety concerns.
The Sixth Amendment also guarantees the right to an impartial jury. This jury must consist of unbiased jurors from the state and district where the alleged crime was committed, reflecting a representative cross-section of the community. The right to a jury applies only when the penalty for the offence exceeds imprisonment of six months. The Supreme Court has ruled that a jury of six is sufficient, but anything less would deprive the defendant of their right to a trial by jury. Additionally, the Sixth Amendment mandates unanimity in all federal and state criminal jury trials, requiring all jurors to be impartial and unbiased.
Furthermore, the Sixth Amendment provides criminal defendants with the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against them and to call their own witnesses, compelling their testimony if necessary. This is known as the Confrontation Clause and the Compulsory Process Clause, respectively.
The Assistance of Counsel Clause ensures that defendants have the right to be assisted by counsel for their defence. The Supreme Court has ruled that defendants who cannot afford an attorney must be provided with a public defender in all state court trials where imprisonment is a possibility. This right to counsel also includes the implied right for defendants to choose self-representation if they so choose.
The Sixth Amendment thus plays a crucial role in safeguarding the rights of criminal defendants, ensuring that trials are fair and just.
The Process of Proposing Constitutional Amendments
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Frequently asked questions
The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlines procedures for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency and addressing presidential incapacitation, whether temporary or permanent.
The validity of the public debt of the United States authorised by law shall not be questioned. However, neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.
Amendments 11-27 are amendments to the U.S. Constitution that were proposed and ratified after the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first 10 amendments.
