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The
Constitution of the United States of America,
-
Amendments -
With Explanatory
Notes
ARTICLES in addition
to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United States of
America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the several states,
pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
AMENDMENT 1
Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Many countries have made one
religion the established (official) church and supported it with
government funds. This amendment forbids Congress to set up or in
any way provide for an established church. It has been interpreted
to forbid government endorsement of or aid to religious doctrines.
In addition, Congress may not pass laws limiting worship, speech or
the press, or preventing people from meeting peacefully. Congress
also may not keep people from asking the government for relief from
unfair treatment. The Supreme Court has interpreted the 14th
Amendment as applying the First Amendment to the states as well as
to the federal government.
All the rights protected by this
amendment have limits. For example, the guarantee of freedom of
religion does not mean that the government must allow all religious
practices. In the 1800s, some Mormons believed it was a man's
religious duty to have more than one wife. The Supreme Court ruled
that Mormons had to obey the laws forbidding that practice.
AMENDMENT 2,
A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right
of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
This amendment prohibits only the
national government from limiting the right to carry weapons. The
amendment was adopted so that Congress could not disarm a state
militia.
AMENDMENT 3, No
Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in house, without the
consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
This amendment grew directly out of
an old complaint against the British, who had forced people to take
soldiers into their homes.
AMENDMENT 4,
The right of the
people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This measure does not forbid legal
authorities to search, to seize goods or to arrest people. It simply
requires that in most cases the authorities obtain a search or
arrest warrant from a judge by showing the need for it. The Supreme
Court has held that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth
Amendment may not be admitted in evidence in a criminal trial.
AMENDMENT 5,
No person shall be
held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on
a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be
subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for
public use without just compensation.
A capital crime is one punishable by
death. An infamous crime is one punishable by death or imprisonment.
This amendment guarantees that no one has to stand trial for such a
federal crime unless a grand jury has indicted (accused) him. A
grand jury is a special group of people selected to decide whether
there is enough evidence against a person to hold a trial. A person
cannot be put in double jeopardy (tried twice) for the same offense
by the same government. But he may be tried a second time if a jury
cannot agree on a verdict, if a mistrial is declared for some other
reason or if he requests a new trial. The amendment also guarantees
that a person cannot be forced to testify against himself. The
statement that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property "without due process of law" expresses one of the most
important rules of the Constitution. The same words are in the 14th
Amendment as restrictions on the power of the states. The phrase
expresses the idea that a person's life, liberty and property are
not subject to the uncontrolled power of the government. This idea
can be traced to the Magna Carta, which provided that the king could
not imprison or harm a person "except by the lawful judgment of his
peers or by the law of the land." Due process is a vague rule, and
the Supreme Court has applied it to widely different cases. Until
the mid-1900s, the court used the due-process rule to strike down
laws that prevented people from using their property as they wished.
For example, the court overturned the Missouri Compromise, which
prohibited slavery in the U.S. territories. The court said the
compromise unjustly prevented slave owners from taking slaves --
their property -- into the territories. Today, the courts use the
due-process rule to strike down laws that interfere with personal
liberty.
The amendment also forbids the
government to take a person's property for public use without fair
payment. The government's right to take property for public use is
called eminent domain. Governments use it to acquire land for
highways, schools and other public facilities.
AMENDMENT 6,
In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein
the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his
favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
A person accused of crime must have
a prompt, public trial by an open-minded jury. The requirement for a
speedy and public trial grew out of the fact that some political
trials in England had been delayed for years and then were held in
secret. Accused individuals must be informed of the charges against
them and must be allowed to meet the witnesses against them face to
face. Otherwise, innocent persons may be punished if a court allows
the testimony of unknown witnesses to be used as evidence. This
amendment guarantees that individuals on trial can face and
cross-examine those who have accused them. They may be able to show
that their accusers lied or made a mistake. Finally, accused persons
must have a lawyer to defend them if they want one. If a criminal
defendant is unable to afford a lawyer, the Supreme Court has held
that one must be appointed to represent the accused individual.
AMENDMENT 7,
In Suits at common
law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a
jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
The framers of the Constitution
considered the right to jury trial extremely important. In the Sixth
Amendment, they provided for jury trials in criminal cases. In the
Seventh Amendment, they provided for such trials in civil suits
where the amount contested exceeds $20. The amendment applies only
to federal courts. But most state constitutions also call for jury
trials in civil cases.
AMENDMENT 8,
Excessive bail shall
not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
Bails, fines and punishments must be
fair and humane. In the case of Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court
ruled in 1972 that capital punishment, as it was then imposed,
violated this amendment. The court held that the death penalty was
cruel and unusual punishment because it was not applied fairly and
uniformly. After that decision, many states adopted new capital
punishment laws designed to meet the Supreme Court's objections. The
court has ruled that the death penalty may be imposed if certain
standards are applied to guard against arbitrary results in capital
cases.
AMENDMENT 9
The enumeration in
the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
Some people feared that the listing of
some rights in the Bill of Rights would be interpreted to mean that
other rights not listed were not protected. This amendment was
adopted to prevent such an interpretation.
AMENDMENT 10,
The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.
This amendment was adopted to
reassure people that the national government would not swallow up
the states. It confirms that the states or the people retain all
powers not given to the national government. For example, the states
have authority over such matters as marriage and divorce. But the
Constitution says the federal government can make any laws
"necessary and proper" to carry out its specific powers. This rule
makes it hard to determine the exact rights of states.
AMENDMENT 11,
The Judicial power of
the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in
law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United
States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of
any Foreign State.
This amendment makes it impossible
for a citizen of one state to sue another state in federal court.
The amendment resulted from the 1793 case of Chisholm v. Georgia, in
which a man from South Carolina sued the state of Georgia over an
inheritance. Georgia argued that it could not be sued in federal
court, but the Supreme Court ruled that the state could be. Georgia
then led a movement to add this amendment to the Constitution.
However, individuals can still sue state authorities in federal
court for depriving them of their Constitutional rights.
AMENDMENT 12,
The Electors shall
meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President
and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; the shall name in
their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for
each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed
to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate; -- The President of the Senate shall, in
the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all
the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; -- The person
having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the
list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing
the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a
choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a
President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them,
(before the fourth day of March next following,) then the
Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death
or other constitutional disability of the President -- The person
having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the
two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the
Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of
Vice-President of the United States.
This amendment provides that members
of the Electoral College, called electors, vote for one person as
President and for another as Vice President. The amendment resulted
from the election of 1800. At that time, each elector voted for two
men, not saying which he wanted for President. The man who received
the most votes became President, and the runner-up became Vice
President. Thomas Jefferson, the presidential candidate, and Aaron
Burr, the vice presidential candidate, received the same number of
votes. The tie threw the election into the House of Representatives.
The House chose Jefferson but took so long that people feared it
would fail to choose a President before Inauguration Day. The House
has chosen one other President -- John Quincy Adams in 1825.
AMENDMENT 13,
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.
President Abraham Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 had declared slaves free in the
Confederate States still in rebellion. This amendment completed the
abolition of slavery in the United States.
AMENDMENT 13,
Section 2
Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT 14,
All persons born or
naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The principal purpose of this
amendment was to make former slaves citizens of both the United
States and the state in which they lived. The amendment also forbids
the states to deny equal rights to any person. The terms of the
amendment clarify how citizenship is acquired. State citizenship is
a by-product of national citizenship. By living in a state, every
U.S. citizen automatically becomes a citizen of that state as well.
All persons naturalized (granted citizenship) according to law are
U.S. citizens. Anyone born in the United States is also a citizen
regardless of the nationality of his parents, unless they are
diplomatic representatives of another country or enemies during a
wartime occupation. Such cases are exceptions because the parents
are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. The
amendment does not grant citizenship to Indians on reservations, but
Congress passed a law that did so.
The phrase "due process of law" has been
construed to forbid the states to violate most rights protected by
the Bill of Rights. It has also been interpreted as protecting other
rights by its own force. The statement that a state cannot deny
anyone "equal protection of the laws" has provided the basis for
many Supreme Court rulings on civil rights. For example, the court
has outlawed segregation in public schools. The judges declared that
"equal protection" means a state must make sure all children,
regardless of race, have an equal opportunity for education.
AMENDMENT 14,
Section 2
Representatives shall
be apportioned among the several States according to their
respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each
State, (excluding Indians not taxed.) But when the right to vote at
any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the
Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United
States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in
rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall
be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of
age in such State.
This section proposes a penalty for
states which refuse to give the vote in federal elections to all
adult male citizens. States which restrict voting can have their
representation in Congress cut down. This penalty has never been
used. The section has been set aside by the 19th and 26th
amendments.
AMENDMENT 14,
Section 3
No person shall be a
Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and
Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United
States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such
disability.
This section is of historical
interest only. Its purpose was to keep federal officers who joined
the Confederacy from becoming federal officers again. Congress could
vote to overlook such a record.
AMENDMENT 14,
Section 4
The validity of the
public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But
neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against
the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any
slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held
illegal and void.
This section ensured that the
Union's Civil War debt would be paid, but voided all debts run up by
the Confederacy in fighting the war. The section also said that
former slave owners would not be paid for slaves who were freed.
AMENDMENT 14,
Section 5
The Congress shall
have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of
this article.
Amendment 15, Section
1
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 race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
Blacks who had been slaves became
citizens under the terms of the 14th Amendment. The 15th Amendment
does not specifically say that all blacks must be allowed to vote.
The states are free to set qualifications for voters. But the
amendment says that a voter cannot be denied the ballot because of
his race. Some states have attempted to do this indirectly. Such
measures have been struck down by Supreme Court decisions, federal
and state laws, and the 24th Amendment.
AMENDMENT 15,
Section 2
The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT 16,
The Congress shall
have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source
derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without
regard to any census or enumeration.
In 1894, Congress passed an income
tax law, but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. This
amendment authorized Congress to levy such a tax.
AMENDMENT 17,
(1) The Senate of the
United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State,
elected by the people thereof for six years; and each Senator shall
have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of
the State legislatures.
(2) When vacancies
happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the
executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to
fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until
the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may
direct.
(3) This amendment
shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any
Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
This amendment takes the power of
electing the Senators of a state from the state legislature and
places it in the hands of the people of the state.
AMENDMENT 18,
Section 1 This is the prohibition amendment, which forbade people to
make, sell or transport liquor. It was repealed by the 21st
Amendment in 1933.
AMENDMENT 19, Section
1
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.
AMENDMENT 19, Section
2
Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendments giving women the right to
vote were introduced in Congress one after another for more than 40
years before this one was finally passed.
AMENDMENT 20,
Section 1
The terms of the
President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of
January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on
the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have
ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their
successors shall then begin.
AMENDMENT 20, Section
2
The Congress shall
assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin
at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a
different day.
AMENDMENT 20, Section
3
If at the time fixed
for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect
shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If
a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the
beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed
to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President
until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law
provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice
President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act
as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be
selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or
Vice President shall have qualified.
AMENDMENT 20, Section
4
The Congress may by
law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from
whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever
the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case
of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a
Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon
them.
AMENDMENT 20, Section
5
Sections 1 and 2 shall
take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of
this article.
AMENDMENT 20, Section
6
This article shall be
inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to
the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its submission.
This amendment, called the lame duck
amendment, moves the date that newly elected Presidents and
Congressmen take office closer to election time. A lame duck is an
official who continues to serve though not re-elected. Before the
amendment came into force, defeated Congressmen continued to hold
office for four months.
AMENDMENT 21,
Section 1
The eighteenth article
of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed.
AMENDMENT 21, Section
2
The transportation or
importation into any State, Territory or possession of the United
States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in
violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
AMENDMENT 21, Section
3
This article shall be
inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to
the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided
in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to States by the Congress.
This amendment simply repeals the
18th Amendment. Section 2 promises federal help to "dry" states in
enforcing their own prohibition laws.
AMENDMENT 22,
Section 1
No person shall be
elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no
person who has held 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 the 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.
AMENDMENT 22, Section
2
This Article shall be
inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to
the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its submission to the
States by the Congress.
This amendment provides that no
person can be elected President more than twice. No one who has
served as President for more than two years of someone else's term
can be elected more than once. One President can hold office for no
more than 10 years. The amendment was supported by people who
thought President Franklin D. Roosevelt should not serve four terms.
No other President had run for election to more than two consecutive
terms.
AMENDMENT 23,
Section 1
The District
constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall
appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors
of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of
Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would
be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least
populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the
States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the
election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed
by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such
duties as provided the twelfth article of amendment.
AMENDMENT 23, Section2
The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This amendment allows citizens of
the District of Columbia to vote in presidential elections. However,
they cannot vote for members of Congress.
AMENDMENT 24,
Section 1
The right of citizens
of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for
President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice
President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of
failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
AMENDMENT 24, Section
2
The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This amendment forbids making voters
pay a poll tax before they can vote in a national election. A poll
tax, also called a head tax, is a tax collected equally from
everyone. Some states once used such taxes to keep poor people and
blacks from voting. The term poll tax does not mean a tax on voting.
It comes from the old English word poll, meaning head. The Supreme
Court has interpreted the 14th Amendment equal protection clauses as
forbidding the imposition of a poll tax in state elections.
AMENDMENT 25,
Section 1
In case of the removal
of the President from office or his death or resignation, the Vice
President shall become President.
AMENDMENT 25, Section
2
Whenever there is a
vacant in the office of the Vice President, the President shall
nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by
a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
This section provides for filling a
vacancy in the vice presidency. In 1973, Gerald R. Ford became the
first person ever chosen Vice President under the terms of the
amendment. He was nominated by President Richard M. Nixon after Vice
President Spiro T. Agnew resigned. In 1974, Nixon resigned and Ford
became President. Nelson A. Rockefeller then became Vice President
under the new procedure. For the first time, the United States had
both a President and Vice President who had not been elected to
their office. Before this amendment came into force, vacancies in
the vice presidency remained unfilled until the next presidential
election.
AMENDMENT 25, Section
3
Whenever the President
transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until
he transmits to them a written declaration to the country, such
powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as
Acting President.
This section provides that the Vice
President succeeds to the presidency if the President becomes
disabled.
AMENDMENT 25, Section
4
Whenever the Vice
President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers
and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the
President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of
his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive department or of such other body
as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives their written declaration that the President is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours
for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within
twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or,
if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress
is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both
Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge
the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume
the powers and duties of his office.
AMENDMENT 26, Section
1
The right of citizens
of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of age.
AMENDMENT 26, Section
2
The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This amendment grants the vote to
citizens 18 years of age or older.
AMENDMENT 27
No law varying the
compensation for the services of the senators and representatives
shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have
intervened.
This amendment prevents Congress
from passing immediate salary increases for itself. It requires that
salary changes passed by Congress cannot take effect until after the
next congressional election. It had been passed in 1789 and set to
the states for ratification. The amendment had no time limit for
ratification. It became part of the Constitution in 1992, after
Michigan became the 38th state to ratify it. |
