• Amendments to the United States Constitution
• The Bill of Rights
First 10 Amendments
Scope of Federal Government Power
11th and 16th Amendments
• Federal Elections and Terms
12th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, and 25th Amendments
• Civil War Amendments
13th, 14th and 15th Amendments
• Suffrage Amendments
15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th and 26th Amendments
• Prohibition - 18th and 21st Amendments
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Amendment 1. Guarantees our 5 GREAT BASIC FREEDOMS.
[“Civil Liberties” or freedom of expressions are the
keystone of individual freedom.
a. Freedom of Religion or not to have a religion.
People may worship or not worship as they please.
The government cannot favor one religion over
another [separation of church and State – no
prayers or devotional reading from the Bible in school.]
31 b. Freedom of speech – this freedom is restricted if it
harms others. We have laws against slander [spoken]
or libel [written statements] intended to damage one’s
reputation.
Speech that offends the moral sense [obscenity] of
others or speech that endangers the safety of the
nation [military secrets] may be punished.
c. Freedom of the Press means we can write our
opinions and circulate them to others through T.V.,
newspapers, or magazines. This freedom also
protects our right to know. Obscenity cannot be sent
through the mail but may be viewed in the privacy of
your own house. There can be no prior restraint –
stopping the spreading of news before they are
published or broadcast.
d. Right to assemble for any peaceable purpose.
Any political party or interest group has the right to
hold a meeting as long as they are peaceful.
e. Right to petition government officials, or convey
our opinions to them. You can get people to sign a
petition and send it to government officials.
Amendment 2. Right To Keep And Bear Arms
The purpose was to prevent Congress from denying
States the right to have a militia of armed citizens.
The States and federal government can regulate the
possession and use of firearms by individuals.
Amendment 3. No Quartering of Troops In Homes
This is absolute during peacetime; limited during wartime.
Amendments 4-8 protect the individual in dealing with the
police and courts.
Amendment 4. Limits The Conditions Under
Which Police May Search for and Seize
Evidence and People [Privacy Amendment]
A. No “Fishing Expeditions” by public officials [a search
must be reasonable and based on probable cause].
B. In most cases, a search or arrest warrant will be
necessary. The warrant must describe the specific place
be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
C. A police officer may chase a suspect into his house
not secure a warrant (this would be probable cause).
D. The Supreme Court has ruled that evidence gained
as a result of an unlawful search or seizure cannot be
used at the trial. [Exclusionary Rule–has to be excluded]
to
&
Amendment 5. Rights of Accused Persons
[5-8 have to do with “rights of the accused”]
A. A person can be tried for a serious crime only if
he has been accused of that crime by a grand jury.
B. No one may be tried twice for the same offense.
[Double Jeopardy clause] – no one may be put in
jeopardy twice for the same offense]
So, if the jury foreman says?
There will be no 2nd trial.
C. No one may be forced to testify against himself
or his spouse. You don’t have to answer questions
by the police or the courts. [Plead the “5th”]
D. No one can be deprived of life, liberty,
or property without due process of law
[fair and equal treatment under the law].
E. The government may take private property for a
legitimate public purpose; but when it exercises that
power of EMINENT DOMAIN [taking property for
public use], it must pay a fair price.
New Cowboys stadium
meant property losses.
Can city officials who want to redevelop an area with pricey
townhouses and an upscale mall, that is “promote
economic development” in a “distressed” community?
In Kelo(Susette) v. City of New London[Connecticut] [2005],
the justices decided, by a 5 to 4 majority, that the
Constitution allows the government to seize property, not
only for “public use” such as building highways, but also to
“promote economic development” in a “distressed
community”. [Even though they didn’t think their community
was distressed].
Amendment 6. Right To A Speedy Trial
A. IMPARTIAL JURY. You do not have to use a jury
and can have the case transferred if it has received
too much publicity.
B. Right to be told what crime
you are accused of.
C. Right to hear and question all witnesses
against you.
D. The right to compel [require their
testimony] witnesses to appear at
a trial to tell your side of the story.
E. Right to a lawyer.
Marcia Clark
Amendment 7. Jury Trial In Civil Cases [not a
criminal matter – but where one person sues
another] Applies to all disputes in excess of $20.
Amendment 8. No Excessive Bail or Fines, or
“Cruel and Unusual Punishment” [like
torture and beheading] [The Court of Military
appeals has abolished an old Navy punishment
of 3 days on bread and water as both cruel and
unusual]
Tar and
Feathering
The
“Rack”
Amendment 9. Unenumerated Rights – The Constitution
does not describe all of our rights. This amendment
guarantees those fundamental rights not enumerated.
Courts can’t define all your rights but that doesn’t mean
you don’t have them.
Amendment 10. Limits The Power Of The Federal
Government. Powers not granted to the U.S., nor prohibited
to it by the States are given to the States or the people.
But what are they? State and federal governments have fought
over what this means. In 1860, Southern States thought they
had the right to quit the Union, starting the Civil War. The
Union victory cemented the supremacy of federal power.
Both the 9th and 10th Amendments echo the theory of the social
contract; if the people have not agreed to delegate the powers,
people still have them.
As people put the Constitution into practice, they found that the
machinery of government did not work exactly the way its
designers had expected. Slight changes were made in the
11th and 12th Amendments.
Amendment 11. [1798] Removed From The Federal Courts
All Lawsuits By Individuals Against States.
You can bring suit against any State by introducing the case
in the courts of the State that is being sued.
Amendment 12. [1804] Changed The Electoral system
For Choosing The President & Vice President.
Originally, there was no distinction between candidates
for president and vice president.
32 Civil War Amendments – 13, 14, & 15 – wiped out slavery.
[13 – freed the slaves; 14 – gave citizenship; 15 – gave right vote]
33 Amendment 13. [1865] Banned Slavery and
Involuntary Servitude.
34 Amendment 14. [1868] Guaranteed Citizenship to
the Freed slaves and Guaranteed Their Rights.
All citizens were to get “Due Process” [now was applied
to the States] and “Equal Protection” of the laws.
35 Amendment 15. [1870] Guaranteed The right Of Freed
Slaves To Vote.
36 Amendment 16. [1913] Income Tax Laws are Legal.
37 Amendment 17. [1913] Senators Will Be Elected By People,
Not Legislatures.
38 Amendment 18. [1919] Prohibition [Prohibited the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages]
UT student
A. Prohibition didn’t stop drinking, or people from
making and selling beer, wine, or whisky.
B. Bootleggers became rich by selling illegal liquor and bribing
government officials. [In 1933, it was canceled by the 21st Amendment]
[This attempt to make public policy was a disaster. It lasted for 14
years (1919-1933). Gangsters bootlegged liquor; people died from drinking
homemade booze; and millions broke the law by drinking anyway.]
39 Amendment 19. [1920] Women’s Suffrage [Right to vote] In 1972,
218 women from 26 States were arrested for picketing the
White House. 100 went to jail, some for months. Hunger strikes
followed. The movement had began in 1873 by Susan B. Anthony.
Women had been voting in some State and local elections since 1869.
It took 133 years for women to get to vote in national elections.
Amendment 20. [1933] “Lame Duck Amendment”
A. Set new dates for the start of terms for
Congress [January 3, instead of the first
Monday of December following the election]
and for the inauguration of the President
and Vice President [January 20, instead
of March 4]
B. Defeated candidates were called “Lame Ducks”
suggesting that their political wings had been clipped.
This shortened the time they could remain in office.
40 Amendment 21. [1933]
Repealed
the 18th Amendment [Prohibition]
Amendments 22–26 deal with the presidency
and with presidential elections.
Amendment 22. [1951] Two-term Limit For Presidents
or Not More Than 10 Years.
Amendment 23. [1961] Presidential Electors For Washington DC.
A. People living in the nation’s capital could not vote in previous national
elections.
B. This gave them 3 members of the Electoral College, the same number
elected by each of the less populous States. They now could vote.
Amendment 24. [1964] Poll Tax Banned In Federal Elections
A. Five States were still requiring a fee to vote.
Many thought this was discriminatory.
B. Poll taxes were banned in State and local elections in 1966.
[It violated the “equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment]
Amendment 25. [1967] Presidential Disability and Succession
A. Vice President Succession – President nominates a Vice
President and a majority of both houses must approve.
B. Presidential Disability – this is decided by the Vice President & a majority
of the Cabinet. They send a written proclamation to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. The Vice President
takes over as acting President. When the president recovers, he sends a
written declaration to the same officials. If there is a disagreement over his
recovery, the Vice President and Cabinet sends a new declaration within 4
days of the President’s. Congress must decide by a 2/3 vote within 21 days.
AMENDMENT 24: ABOLITION OF POLL TAXES - 1964
• The right of United
States citizens to vote
in Presidential and
Congressional
elections will not be
denied by reason of
failure to pay any poll
tax or other tax
1942 cartoon critical of Poll Tax
41 Amendment 26. [1971] Voting Age is Lowered To 18.
Who cannot vote? [the insane, criminals and those dishonorably
discharged from the armed forces]
Amendment 27. [1992] Congressional Pay.
No law changing the compensation for the services of the Senators
and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of
Representatives shall have intervened.
TODAY’S CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
• Gun Control and the 2nd
Amendment
• Death Penalty and Cruel and
Unusual
• Prayer in Schools 1st
Amendment
• Censorship & Free Speech
• Terrorism and Seize and
Seizure rules – 4th
• Term Limits for Congress
• Campaign finance reform
• Abortion and Due Process
rights – 5th