Malcolm Rivera
The Constitution of the United States has been amended several times since it was first put into operation on March 4, 1789. The process of amending the Constitution involves proposing and ratifying amendments by the requisite number of states. Since its implementation, there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, with the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, being ratified simultaneously on December 15, 1791. These initial amendments set the foundation for the protection of civil liberties and the prevention of government overreach.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments proposed by the United States Congress | 33 |
| Number of Amendments ratified | 27 |
| First 10 Amendments | Ratified on December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights" |
| 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments | Collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments |
| Number of Amendments that have not been ratified by the required number of states | 6 |
| Number of Amendments that are still pending | 4 |
| Number of Amendments that are closed and have failed | 2 |
| 19th Amendment | Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, to give women the right to vote |
| 20th Amendment | Passed by Congress on March 2, 1932, and ratified on January 23, 1933 |
| 23rd Amendment | Passed by Congress on June 16, 1960, and ratified on March 29, 1961 |
| 27th Amendment | Ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed |
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What You'll Learn
The first 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. James Madison wrote the amendments to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press, as well as the right to assemble and petition the government. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. The Third Amendment prohibits the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes without consent. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, requiring a warrant.
The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to a grand jury, protection against double jeopardy, protection against self-incrimination, and the right to due process. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for the accused, including the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to confront witnesses and present one's own. The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial to federal civil cases.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The Ninth Amendment states that the enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people. Finally, the Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
Amending the Constitution: When and How?
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19th Amendment: Women's right to vote
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment XIX, prohibits the federal government and all states from denying any citizen the right to vote based on their sex. In effect, this amendment granted women the right to vote across the country.
The road to achieving this milestone was long and challenging. The campaign for women's suffrage began in the mid-19th century, with several generations of supporters employing various tactics, including lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and civil disobedience, to achieve what many Americans considered a radical constitutional change. Notable activists during this period included Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who called for a new constitutional amendment after legal arguments based on existing amendments were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1878, the first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress, but it was not until May 21, 1919, that the amendment finally passed the House of Representatives. Two weeks later, on June 4, 1919, the Senate also approved the amendment, and it was submitted to the states for ratification. By this time, nine western states had already adopted women's suffrage legislation through individual state acts, and the entry of the United States into World War I had helped shift public perception in favor of women's suffrage. The National American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman's Party played pivotal roles in swaying public opinion, leading President Woodrow Wilson to announce his support for the suffrage amendment in 1918.
On August 18, 1920, with Tennessee becoming the 36th state to ratify, the amendment secured the requisite number of state ratifications, and Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920. This historic achievement enfranchised 26 million American women, forever altering the American political landscape. However, it is important to note that the fight for full enfranchisement continued for decades, as many minority women were still disenfranchised due to discriminatory state voting laws.
Constitutional Amendments: States' Rights and the US Constitution
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13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments: Reconstruction Amendments
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 three constitutional amendments remain in use and are frequently cited.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the entirety of the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It was proposed in 1864 and ratified in 1865. The 14th Amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law for all persons. It was proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868. This amendment ensured that the Bill of Rights applied to all citizens, regardless of race. It also eliminated the three-fifths rule and punished states that did not permit male citizens over 21 years old to vote.
The 15th Amendment, proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870, prohibits federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. This secured voting rights for Black men, making it illegal to refuse them the right to vote due to their race or previous servitude status.
The Reconstruction Amendments were written and ratified by the Republican Party of the 1860s, with the Democrats opposing them. They were essential to reuniting the United States during Reconstruction, and Confederate states were required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments to be readmitted to the Union. These 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.
Amendment History: The Second Amendment's Origin Story
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27th Amendment: 1992 ratification of Article 2
The 27th Amendment, also known as the Congressional Pay Amendment, was certified on May 18, 1992, by the Archivist of the United States, Don W. Wilson. The amendment was first proposed on September 25, 1789, by Representative James Madison of Virginia, and it was largely forgotten until 1982 when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper claiming that the amendment could still be ratified. Watson's paper sparked a nationwide campaign to complete the ratification of the amendment.
The 27th Amendment seeks to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by addressing the compensation of members of Congress. Specifically, it requires an election to be held before any increase in the salary of members of Congress can take effect. This allows the public to hold Congress accountable and remove members from office before their salaries increase.
The process of ratifying the 27th Amendment was not without controversy. Michigan and New Jersey raced to be the 38th state to ratify, with Michigan achieving this on May 7, 1992. However, it was later discovered that Kentucky had ratified the amendment during its initial month of statehood. This made Alabama the state to finalize the amendment, as Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania had not ratified it.
Despite opposition and calls for a legal challenge, the 102nd Congress passed a concurrent resolution on May 20, 1992, agreeing that the amendment was validly ratified. The Senate unanimously approved the resolution, while the House vote was 414 to 3. The 27th Amendment officially became part of the United States Constitution, taking effect on May 5, 1992.
Amendments: How Does the Constitution Change?
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Amendments pending, failed, or closed
There have been a total of 27 amendments to the US Constitution, with 33 proposed by the US Congress. Six amendments have been adopted by Congress but are yet to be ratified by the required number of states. Four of these are still pending, while one is closed and failed by its own terms, and another is closed and failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
One of the pending amendments relates to the acceptance of titles of nobility from foreign governments. During the second session of the 11th Congress, this amendment was proposed to the Constitution. It states that after the first enumeration, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand until the number reaches one hundred. After this, there shall be a minimum of one hundred Representatives, with a maximum number of one for every fifty thousand persons.
Another proposed amendment that was not ratified by three-fourths of the states reads as follows: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (with two-thirds of both Houses concurring), that the following section be submitted to the legislatures of several states, which, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, shall be valid and binding as part of the US Constitution."
A further proposed amendment that was not ratified by three-fourths of the states relates to slavery. During the second session of the 36th Congress on March 2, 1861, this amendment was signed by the President, which is unique in the history of proposed amendments. The President's signature is typically considered unnecessary due to the constitutional provision that requires concurrence from two-thirds of both Houses of Congress before submission to the states for ratification. This amendment states that if any US citizen accepts or retains any title of nobility or honour from a foreign power, they shall cease to be a citizen of the United States and shall be barred from holding any office of trust or profit under the US government.
Women's Rights: Constitutional Amendments and Their Impact
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Frequently asked questions
27 amendments have been added to the US Constitution.
The first 10 amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are known as the Reconstruction Amendments.
The most recent amendment is the 27th Amendment, which was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed.
