Amendment 1
Perhaps the most important and most widely cited part of the Constitution, the First Amendment protects individual
religious freedom, free speech, a free press, and the freedom to petition the government by written word, marching, and
picketing.
Amendment 2
The right to bear arms. This amendment has been the subject of heated debate in recent years. What it meant in the 1790s
may be quite different from what it means in the 1990s. Does it mean that individuals have the right to own and carry
firearms, or does it refer to the right of the people to maintain a militia for their mutual protection?
Amendment 3
In the 1790s citizens were still angry about the old British practice of quartering soldiers in the homes of colonists. This
provision addressed that concern, but in modern times this is obsolete.
Amendment 4
Guarantees that citizens be safe from “unreasonable” searches or arrests without a warrant.
Amendment 5
Provides certain protections in matters of law such as double jeopardy where a person cannot be tried twice for the same
offense. It also provides that no person shall be forced to give testimony in court against themselves. In popular language
this is known as pleading the Fifth Amendment.
Amendment 6
Provides for speedy public trials by jury for those indicted in criminal cases.
Amendment 7
Provides for jury trials in civil cases. Even though the Constitution sets a civil dispute with a minimum of $20 as
sufficient grounds for a jury trial, this amount has been increased considerably over two centuries, and the small claims,
which could overwhelm the court system, have been handled in other ways such as small claims courts.
Amendment 8
Punishment for crimes or bail shall not be excessive nor cruel and unusual. Does the death penalty constitute cruel and
unusual punishment? This has been hotly debated for many years, with no clear resolution in sight.
Amendment 9
This is a catch-all clause that retains for the people other rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
Amendment 10
The states or the people retain the powers not specifically granted to the federal government in the Constitution. Some use
this amendment to argue that the federal government should be limited and state government and states' rights should be
increased.
Amendment 11
Provides that states can only be sued in state courts. [Ratified 1798]
Amendment 12
Calls for separate elections for president and vice president. This amendment was added in 1804 following the unusual
circumstances of the presidential election of 1800, where Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in the electoral college,
forcing the House of Representatives to elect the president. [Ratified 1804]
Amendment 13
The first of the landmark Civil War and Reconstruction Era amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in
the United States. [Ratified 1865]
Amendment 14
Declares that African Americans born or naturalized in the United States were citizens subject to the equal protection of
the laws. Earlier, in the Dred Scott decision of 1857, the Supreme Court had declared African Americans were not
citizens. Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment also rendered obsolete the controversial passages in Article 1 which
declared that only three-fifths of African Americans held as slaves be counted in the census for purposes of representation
. [Ratified 1868]
Amendment 15
Protects the right to vote of African Americans. Even though this constitutional language is clear, many southern states
tried to circumvent the Fifteenth Amendment through their own state constitutions and state laws which made it difficult
or impossible for African Americans to vote. But the Fifteenth Amendment was a powerful tool for those who fought for
civil rights over the past century. This amendment is the basis of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. [Ratified 1870]
Amendment 16
Provides constitutional authority for the collection of income taxes. This amendment became necessary to overcome an
1895 Supreme Court decision which declared a federal income tax was unconstitutional. [Ratified 1913]
Amendment 17
Provides for the direct election of senators. Until 1913 senators were elected by the state legislatures rather than by the
people.
Amendment 18
This amendment ushered in the era of Prohibition, when the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was banned in
the United States. This so-called noble experiment lasted 14 years and saw the rise of organized crime, the development of
speakeasies (places where liquor was consumed illegally), and the rise of large government police units such as the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, which tried to enforce the provisions of this amendment and laws related to it. [Ratified
1919]
Amendment 19
While women had voted in some states before the adoption of the 19th Amendment, this important amendment
established uniform rules in all states that guaranteed women the right to vote. [Ratified 1920]
Amendment 20
Sometimes called the Lame Duck Amendment, this provision reduced the time between the November elections and the
beginning date of the new term of office for the president and Congress. It also provides for presidential succession should
the president-elect die before taking office. [Ratified 1933]
Amendment 21
This amendment repealed Prohibition as established in the 19th Amendment. Alcoholic beverages became legal again in
the United States. [Ratified 1933]
Amendment 22
This amendment, pushed by Republicans following the unprecedented election to four terms of Democratic President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, limited the president to two terms. [Ratified 1951]
Amendment 23
Provides for the first time for residents of the District of Columbia to vote for three presidential electors. The election of
1964 was the first time District residents could exercise their right to vote in a presidential election. [Ratified 1961]
Amendment 24
Eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting. The poll tax prevented many individuals from voting, especially in the
South where it was still in use in five states as late as the 1960s. [Ratified 1964]
Amendment 25
This amendment clarifies the language regarding what happens when the president dies in office or resigns. While it was a
long standing custom that the vice president succeeds the president, this amendment confirms that the vice president
becomes the president under these circumstances. [Ratified 1967]
Amendment 26
This amendment gives the right to vote to those 18 years of age or older. Its adoption was prompted by the circumstances
of the Vietnam War, where those 18 years of age were subject to be drafted into the military even though they were not
yet old enough to vote. This amendment corrected that disparity.
Amendment 27
One of the most unusual amendments because of the amount of time it took to be ratified, this amendment provides that
no congressional pay raise can take effect until the voters have had a chance to go to the polls in a congressional election.
Throughout American history the issue of congressional pay increases has often led to great political controversy. Under
this amendment, if Congress votes itself a pay raise, they must face the voters before that raise goes into effect, thereby
giving the voters an opportunity to decide if the raise is warranted. First proposed as one of the original amendments to
the Constitution in 1789, this amendment lay dormant and unratified until a recent flurry of states ratified it. Since there
was no time limit specified in the original amendment in 1789, this provision became part of the Constitution. [Ratified
1992]