Beyond the Bill of Rights
More Amendments
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Congress adopted the Bill of Rights-the first ten Amendments to the
Constitution--in 1791.
From 1791 to
today, Congress
added just
seventeen more
Amendments.
• In 1798, Congress added the eleventh
Amendment.
• In 1992, Congress added the twentyseventh Amendment.
1798
1992
How many years are there
between 1798 and 1992?
Today, the U.S. Constitution still
has a total of twenty-seven
Amendments.
Let’s look at some of them.
• Amendment 13 makes slavery illegal in
America.
This amendment was approved in 1865,
just after the Civil War in America.
• Amendment 14 gives the rights of
citizenship to all people born in the USA
or naturalized.
• Amendment 16 allows Congress to collect a tax
on income.
Remember the last day you can send in
federal income tax forms is April 15th!
Four Amendments
since the Bill of Rights
are about who can vote.
• The fifteenth Amendment says a male
citizen of any race can vote.
• The nineteenth Amendment says any
citizen can vote.
This Amendment gives
women the vote!
• The twenty-fourth Amendment says you
don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
This gives equal access to rich and poor.
• The twenty-sixth Amendment says
citizens eighteen (18) and older can
vote.
For most of America’s history, citizens had to be
21 to vote. In 1971, during the Vietnam War,
the voting age was lowered to 18.
People thought citizens old enough to fight for
their country should be old enough to vote!
Today, all men between 18 and 26 years old
must register with the Selective Service
System.
When a man registers, he is telling the government
that he is available to serve in the U. S. Armed
Forces.
He can register at a United States post
office or on the Internet.
Only one Amendment has been
repealed (reversed).
• Amendment 18 makes liquor illegal in the
United States (a period in history known
as Prohibition).
• Amendment 21 repeals Prohibition
(makes liquor legal again).
In the next lesson, we look at
Rights and Responsibilities of
• United States
citizens
• Everyone
living in the
United States
Appendix
Each Amendment passed after
the Bill of Rights is listed below.
• 1798 Amendment 11 sets judicial limits: a state may not
be sued in federal court by someone in another state or
country.
• 1804 Amendment 12 establishes the process for the
Electoral College to choose the President and VicePresident.
• 1865 Amendment 13 makes slavery illegal.
• 1868 Amendment 14 gives the rights of citizenship to all
people born in the USA or naturalized.
• 1870 Amendment 15 gives the vote to all citizens
regardless of race or color.
• 1913 Amendment 16 allows Congress to collect a tax on
income.
• 1913 Amendment 17 says two Senators from each state
will be elected by the people of the state for a term of six
years.
• 1919 Amendment 18 makes liquor illegal in the United
States (a period in history known as Prohibition).
• 1920 Amendment 19 gives women the right to vote.
• 1933 Amendment 20 sets the beginning and ending of
the terms served by federal officials.
• 1933 Amendment 21 repeals Prohibition (makes liquor
legal again).
• 1951 Amendment 22 sets term limits for the President of
the United States.
• 1961 Amendment 23 treats permanent residents of
Washington, D.C. as if they were a state in elections for
President and Vice-President
(Residents of the District of Columbia live in a federal
district under the jurisdiction of Congress. Since they do
not live in a state, they could not vote for President and
Vice-President before this amendment was passed.)
• 1964 Amendment 24 says citizens can never be
charged a poll tax for the right to vote in federal and
state elections.
• 1967 Amendment 25 establishes procedures to fill a
vacancy in the offices of President and Vice-President
and establishes a procedure in the event of a
presidential disability. (This Amendment supersedes
Article 2.)
• 1971 Amendment 26 lowers the age to vote to 18.
• 1992 Amendment 27 says pay increases for Congress
may go into effect only after the next the next term of
office begins.