Isabella Carter
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, with over 11,000 proposals introduced in Congress since 1789. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and include the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. Amendments are proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, with the most recent amendment, the 27th, being ratified in 1992. Notable amendments include the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women's suffrage, and the 22nd Amendment, which limited presidents to two terms.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments | 27 |
| First 10 Amendments | The Bill of Rights |
| Date of Ratification of the First 10 Amendments | December 15, 1791 |
| 11th Amendment | Passed by Congress on March 4, 1794 and ratified on February 7, 1795 |
| 12th Amendment | Passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified on June 15, 1804 |
| 13th Amendment | Abolition of slavery |
| 14th Amendment | Modified Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution |
| 19th Amendment | Women's suffrage, ratified on August 18, 1920 |
| 21st Amendment | Repeal of Prohibition |
| 22nd Amendment | Limited presidents to two terms, ratified on February 27, 1951 |
| 26th Amendment | Lowered the voting age to 18, ratified on July 1, 1971 |
| 27th Amendment | Changes to the salary of Congress members will take effect from the next election, ratified on May 7, 1992 |
| Total Proposals to Amend the Constitution | Approximately 11,848-12,000 |
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What You'll Learn
The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10)
The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. They were ratified on December 15, 1791, and pertain to personal and individual rights.
Amendment 1
The First Amendment protects freedom of religion, speech, and the press. It prohibits Congress from making any laws that would impede these freedoms, as well as the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government.
Amendment 2
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.
Amendment 3
The Third Amendment prevents the government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes.
Amendment 4
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. It also states that warrants must be based on probable cause and describe the specific places to be searched and items to be seized.
Amendment 5
The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be initiated by a grand jury, and that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy). It also protects against self-incrimination and guarantees the right to just compensation if property is taken.
Amendment 6
The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to be informed of the nature of the accusation.
Amendment 7
The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases.
Amendment 8
The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and fines, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.
Amendment 9
The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that other rights not listed do not exist.
Amendment 10
The Tenth Amendment states that the Federal Government only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution, and that all other powers are reserved for the states or the people.
The First Amendment: Its Place in the Constitution
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The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (Reconstruction Amendments)
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were passed in the aftermath of the Civil War and were critical in providing African Americans with the rights and protections of citizenship.
The 13th Amendment, passed by the Senate and the House on April 8, 1864, and January 31, 1865, respectively, and ratified on December 18, 1865, formally abolished slavery in the United States. It states that "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."
The 14th Amendment, passed on July 9, 1868, established African Americans as equal citizens of the United States. It overturned the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that Black Americans were not citizens and thus had no legal rights. The 14th Amendment guaranteed birthright citizenship and ensured "due process" and "equal protection of the laws" under federal and state governments. It also eliminated the three-fifths rule and punished states that did not permit male citizens over the age of 21 to vote by reducing their proportional representation.
The 15th Amendment, ratified between 1865 and 1870, expanded voting rights by prohibiting discrimination based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It gave African American men the right to vote, though it did not explicitly mention women's suffrage.
The Reconstruction Amendments provided the constitutional basis for enforcing and implementing Reconstruction policies, such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 and the Enforcement Acts of 1870-71. They were essential to reuniting the country during Reconstruction, and Confederate states were required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments to be readmitted to the Union.
Amending the Constitution: Understanding the Process
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The 19th Amendment (Women's Suffrage)
The 19th Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was introduced in 1878 by Senator Aaron Sargent (R-CA). It was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and the wider women's rights movement.
The women's rights movement began at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York, where women's rights advocates drafted the "Declaration of Sentiments," which included a provision to extend the right to vote to all women. The National Woman Suffrage Association was founded in 1869 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who brought the issue to federal court, arguing that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments together guaranteed voting rights for women. However, the Supreme Court rejected their justification.
In 1878, a suffrage proposal that would eventually become the 19th Amendment was introduced to Congress but was rejected in 1887. In the 1890s, suffrage organizations focused on a national amendment while still working at the state and local levels. Lucy Burns and Alice Paul emerged as important leaders whose different strategies helped move the 19th Amendment forward. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt became the first presidential candidate to support a constitutional amendment for women's suffrage, but it was not until 1918 that President Woodrow Wilson endorsed women's suffrage in his State of the Union address and appealed to Congress.
The 19th Amendment was approved by the Senate on June 4, 1919, and by the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption and going into effect on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee provided the final ratification. The 19th Amendment officially extended the right to vote to women, declaring that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Louisiana Amendment 2: Who's in Support?
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The 22nd Amendment (Presidential Term Limits)
The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, also known as the "Presidential Term Limits" amendment, was ratified on February 27, 1951. This amendment limits the president of the United States to a maximum of two terms in office, each consisting of four years. The full text of the amendment is as follows:
> "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term."
The idea of imposing term limits on elected officials has been a topic of debate since the early days of the US Constitution. During the initial debates surrounding the Constitution's ratification, there was no concept of a president under the Articles of Confederation, as the Congress held both legislative and executive authority. When the idea of a presidential office was introduced, there were differing opinions on how the president should be elected and for how long they should serve. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, for example, envisioned a president who would be nominated by Congress and serve for life. This idea sparked concerns that the US would become an "elective monarchy," but other proposals for limited presidential terms also had their drawbacks.
The 22nd Amendment was proposed in 1947, two years after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been elected president four times from 1932 to 1944. The House of Representatives proposed Joint Resolution 27, which called for a definitive two-term limit for all future presidents. After revisions by the Senate, the proposed amendment was approved and sent to the states for ratification on March 21, 1947. The amendment was officially ratified in 1951 after almost four years of deliberation. Since then, all US presidents have served for no more than two elected terms.
Despite its ratification, the 22nd Amendment has faced attempts to modify or repeal it by politicians across the political spectrum. Arguments for repealing the amendment include the desire for consistent leadership during crises and allowing non-consecutive terms. However, the amendment has had a lasting impact on the presidency, shaping the way Americans view the office and its role in the nation's democracy.
Amendment Power: Voting Age Lowered to 18
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The 26th and 27th Amendments (Voting Age and Congressional Salary)
The US Constitution has 27 amendments, with the first 10 being known as the Bill of Rights. Over 11,000 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789, but only a small fraction have been ratified.
The 26th Amendment, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The earliest calls for this change emerged in the 1940s, with Congressional proposals being endorsed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to publicly support lowering the voting age in his State of the Union address. The increasing public opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s further fuelled the debate, as the age for the US military draft was set at 18 years. This led to a situation where many citizens were conscripted to fight in a conflict that they had no political authority to vote on.
The 27th Amendment, ratified on May 7, 1992, addresses changes in pay for members of Congress. It stipulates that any modifications to the salary of those in Congress should not take effect until the next election of representatives. This amendment was proposed in 1789, but it took over 200 years to be ratified due to the complex amendment process and the public resentment towards congressional pay raises. Congress had been passing frequent pay raises, with U.S. Senators and Representatives earning $125,100 per year by 1991. They also created different types of commissions to decide on salary increases, further alienating the public. The 27th Amendment ensures that Congress members cannot increase their salaries right before getting voted out of office.
Missouri's Constitution Amendments: A Historical Timeline
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Frequently asked questions
James Madison wrote the first 10 amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights.
Approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789.
27 amendments have been ratified, out of 33 passed by Congress and sent to the states.
