Amendments 11-27

What IS amendment 11?

It states that states cannot be sued in federal courts by citizens of another state.

What IS amendment 12?

It talks about electing the President and Vice President, including the use of separate ballots in the Electoral College.

What IS amendment 16?

Allowed Congress to levy income taxes without dividing them among the states proportionally.

What IS amendment 17?

Stated that Senators would be elected directly by the people of the United States instead of state legislatures.

What IS amendment 18?

It prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors (not the drinking of liquids though!).

What IS amendment 19?

It stated that everyone could vote, regardless of SEX. It granted women in particular, the right to vote.

What IS amendment 20?

It shifted the presidential inauguration from March to January and the congressional session start date, reducing the time between elections and office assumptions (lame duck time).

What IS amendment 21?

It repealed the 18th amendment and allowed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

What IS amendment 22?

This limited a president to two, four-year terms. It also stated that you cannot act as president for more than two years of someone’s term.

What IS amendment 23?

This granted residents of Washington, D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections. It also gave three electoral votes to this place.

What IS amendment 24?

This abolished poll tax from taking place in every federal election.

What IS amendment 25?

This established procedures for presidential succession AND vice presidential succession if either person is unfit for office.

What IS amendment 26?

This lowered the voting age to 18 years, making citizens be able to vote in federal, state, and local elections.

What IS amendment 27?

It prevents any law that changes the salary of congress members from taking effect until AFTER the next election of the HOR.

What is the context around amendment 11?

It arose after the Supreme Court heard Chisholm v. Georgia which allowed foreign citizens to sue other states. The states feared this would infringe on their sovereignty.

What is the context around amendment 12?

There was a tie in the election of 1800 between Jefferson and Burr, so this was created to resolve those disputes and future ones.

What is the context around amendment 16?

There was a need for a stable federal revenue service and previous attempts at it had failed in court.

What is the context around amendment 17?

There was a lot of growing concern about corruption in state legislatures’ election of senators.

What is the context around amendment 18?

The temperance movement's push against alcohol gained momentum and led to the desire to ban alcohol.

What is the context around amendment 19?

Decades of activism by women’s suffrage movements led to the adoption of this.

What is the context around amendment 20?

The Great Depression also made it important to have quicker transitions of power. Advances in transportation and how long it took to count votes sped up and people didn’t like the idea of waiting that long.

What is the context around amendment 21?

It faced challenges in enforcement and was seen as ineffective, leading to widespread illegal alcohol production, consumption, and sales. Crime also rose.

What is the context around amendment 22?

Adopted in response to FDR’s four terms as president.

What is the context around amendment 23?

People in the District of Columbia lacked representation in presidential elections and protested.

What is the context around amendment 24?

People believed that this tax disproportionately affected low-income individuals and minorities.

What is the context around amendment 25?

Came after President Kennedy’s assassination that highlighted the need for clear presidential sucession procedures.

What is the context around amendment 26?

During the Vietnam war, many people were enlisted and dying for their country; however, they were unable to vote. So there was a push to lower the voting age.

What is the context around amendment 27?

Originally proposed in late 18th century, it finally gained public interest to be passed.