3. Constitutional Amendments

amendment

a change to the Constitution

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the Constitution; addressed protections for individual rights

11th Amendment

Concerns over the extent of federal power following Chisholm v. Georgia led to the passage of this amendment, which limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts in cases of this type

12th Amendment

altered the procedures of the Electoral College -separate balloting for president and vice president to avoid a tie in electoral votes, as in election of 1800

13th Amendment

abolished slavery; ratification became a requirement under President Johnson's Reconstruction plan.

14th Amendment

defined what persons were citizens of the United States and offered protection from state infringements on citizens' rights

15th Amendment

extended the right to vote to citizens regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

16th Amendment

allow for a federal income tax; addressed the issue of wealth distribution that had been raised by the Populist Party

17th Amendment

provides for the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people; response to concerns that party bosses and business leaders had too much influence on state legislatures and their selection of Senators.

18th Amendment

prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages; response to concerns that linked alcohol to poverty and the destruction of family life

19th Amendment

ended the denial of suffrage based upon the sex of a citizen

20th Amendment

shortened the time between elections and when presidents and members of Congress take office -

reflected improvements in transportation which allowed for easier travel to Washington and desire to avoid "lame duck" periods

21st Amendment

repealed 18th Amendment due to widespread disregard for Prohibition and increased criminal activities during the 1920s

22nd Amendment

imposed a two-term limit on presidential terms; passed following the four-term presidency of FDR

23rd Amendment

provided electors for the District of Columbia

24th Amendment

prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections that were used to disenfranchise the poor deny the right to vote to African Americans

25th Amendment

clarified that a successor to the presidency was designated as President of the United States and included provisions for filling the office of Vice President; passed after Lyndon B. Johnson, who had a history of heart problems, took office

following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

26th Amendment

extends the right to vote to citizens who are 18 years of age or older; passed because many young men being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War were not eligible to vote

27th Amendment

limits the power of congress to increase its own salaries