Since the United States Constitution was ratified in 1789, twenty-seven amendments have been made to the Constitution. It is very important to know these amendments in order to understand the current government. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights and were ratified along with the Constitution. The Bill of Rights lists all the rights of people living in the United States. Here are all of the amendments summarized.
The Bill of Rights
Although twelve articles of amendment were submitted for ratification back in 1789, only ten of them were ratified at the time to become part of the Constitution. One of the two remaining amendments was ratified in 1992 as the Twenty-seventh Amendment, over 202 years after it was proposed. The other, the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, failed to be ratified.
First Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The First Amendment protects Americans’ freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition against the Government. It prevents Congress from establishing a national religion or restricting the free exercise of religion (separation of the church and the state).
Second Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Second Amendment protects people’s right to bear arms. The wording of the amendment is a subject of controversy that had to be resolved by the Supreme Court.
Third Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Third Amendment prevents the army from quartering soldiers in private property without the consent of the owner.
Fourth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also requires “probable cause” for warrants to be issued, which must specifically describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Fifth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Fifth Amendment protects people from being indicted without a grand jury present. It prevents against double jeopardy (where the accuser could keep charging the defendant of a crime until the defendant was sentenced) and self-incrimination. It ensures the due process of law for all people charged with crimes and prevents the government from taking private property for public use without just compensation (eminent domain).
Sixth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Sixth Amendment ensures the accused in criminal prosecutions be given the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury formed in the state and district where the crime was committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted by witnesses, to obtain witnesses, and to have a lawyer represent him/her in court.
Seventh Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Seventh Amendment provides the right to a jury in all civil lawsuits.
Eighth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Eighth Amendment protects those accused of crimes from excessive bail, and protects those charged with crimes from excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishment.
Ninth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Ninth Amendment states that rights not explicitly mentioned, but are implied by the Constitution, are retained by the people (unenumerated rights).
Tenth Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.
The Tenth Amendment states that the Federal Government possesses only the powers the Constitution delegates to it or are enumerated by it. All other rights are reserved to the states or the people.
All other amendments to the Constitution are given in chronological order.
Eleventh Amendment
Proposed in 1794 and ratified in 1795.
The Eleventh Amendment grants state sovereign immunity. It prevents non-state citizens from suing a state.
Twelfth Amendment
Proposed in 1803 and ratified in 1804.
The Twelfth Amendment requires the President and the Vice President to be elected by the same ballot in the Electoral College, rather than the Vice President being the runner-up. This ensures both the President and Vice President are from the same party.
Thirteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1865 and ratified in 1865.
The Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for a crime.
Fourteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868.
The Fourteenth Amendment is arguably the most important amendment, and it also appears the most frequently in Supreme Court cases. It defines the following:
- Declares all people born in the jurisdiction of the United States automatically citizens.
- Prevents states from passing laws that would infringe a person’s privileges or immunities.
- Prevents a person from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
- Prevents states from denying to any person the equal protection of the laws (Equal Protection Clause)
- Abolishes the three-fifths compromise, and the freed slaves would be counted as one whole person, as well as other issues dealing with freed slaves’ rights.
- Prevents any person who engaged in insurrection, rebellion, or treason against the United States from being apportioned to any state or federal office without a two-thirds approval by Congress.
- Prevents the United States from assuming the debt or obligations incurred in aid of insurrection against the United States, and declares all such obligations illegal and void.
- Makes debt incurred by the United States in preventing insurrection or rebellion valid.
- Gives Congress the power to enforce the contents of this article.
Fifteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870.
The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the use of race, color, or previous condition of servitude in determining whether citizens may vote.
Sixteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1909 and ratified in 1913.
The Sixteenth Amendment repeals the limitations on Congress to levy an income tax without first apportioning it among the various states or basing it on the census. More specifically, it removed the limitations set by Article I, Section 9, Clause 4 of the Constitution.
Seventeenth Amendment
Proposed in 1912 and ratified in 1913.
The Seventeenth Amendment allows Senators to be elected via popular vote, rather than by state legislature.
Eighteenth Amendment (repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment)
Proposed in 1917 and ratified in 1919.
The Eighteenth Amendment was the Prohibition Amendment. It prevented the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It was ratified at the height of Prohibition in the U.S., a period where people believed alcohol was harmful and destructive to society. However, it started a black market for alcohol and caused organized crime. As such, it was repealed in 1933 by the Twenty-first Amendment.
Nineteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1919 and ratified in 1920.
The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote, prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on sex. Prior to this amendment, only a couple of states permitted women to vote or hold office.
Twentieth Amendment
Proposed in 1932 and ratified in 1933.
The Twentieth Amendment changed the date of which the terms of the President and Congress began. It moved the date the terms of the President and Congress ended to January 20 and January 3 respectively. If the elected President dies before his inauguration, the elected Vice President takes over. It also allows Congress to decide who should be acting president should one not have been chosen by January 20.
Twenty-first Amendment
Proposed in 1933 and ratified in 1933.
The Twenty-first Amendment repeals the Eighteenth Amendment, making it legal once again to sell, manufacture, and transport alcohol in the United States, ending Prohibition.
Twenty-second Amendment
Proposed in 1947 and ratified in 1951.
The Twenty-second Amendment limits the number of terms a person can be President to two. Prior to this amendment, nothing in the Constitution stopped a person from holding office for more than eight years. It was an unwritten rule set by George Washington. However, Fraklin D. Roosevelt broke this rule by running for a total of four terms.
Twenty-third Amendment
Proposed in 1960 and ratified in 1961.
The Twenty-third Amendment gives people living in the District of Columbia Electoral College votes, and thus the right to vote for President. However, the number of Electoral Votes must be no greater than the state with the fewest votes (currently three). Prior to this election, those living in the District could not vote for President.
Twenty-fourth Amendment
Proposed in 1962 and ratified in 1964.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits states from levying a poll tax for voting. Prior to this amendment, poll taxes and literacy “tests” were often used to prevent Black Americans from voting.
Twenty-fifth Amendment
Proposed in 1965 and ratified in 1967.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment deals with issues regarding presidential succession. If the President dies or becomes unable to hold office, the Vice President becomes acting president. When there is a vacancy in the Vice President’s seat, the President shall nominate a new Vice President. The President can also voluntarily transfer his authority to the Vice President via a written declaration and regains his powers when he writes again that he is ready to regain them.
It also has a never-used clause that allows cabinet members to declare the President unfit of his duties if he is dead or incapacitated, and allows the President, should he become able again, to submit a declaration claiming he is fit for his duties.
Twenty-sixth Amendment
Proposed in 1971 and ratified in 1971.
The Twenty-sixth Amendment prohibits the government from denying the right to vote to any citizens aged over 18, effectively lowering the voting age.
Twenty-seventh Amendment
Proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1992.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment prohibits laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives. It was believed that this amendment would make congressmen more aware of their vote regarding congressional pay if they had no stake in it. This article remained pending for over two hundred years before it was finally ratified in 1992.
And that was the 27 amendments of the Constitution summarized. I hope you found this helpful in understanding the amendments made to the Constitution. Which do you think is the most important amendment? Write it in the comments below.