Constitutional Amendments

1st Amendment

• Guarantees freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion, & petition to the people

2nd Amendment

• Guarantees the right to bear arms

• Incorporated on the state level with McDonald v. Chicago

3rd Amendment

• Soldiers may not reside in other people’s houses without their consent

4th Amendment

• Protects the people from unreasonable searches & seizures

• Search warrants and/or probable cause is required for evidence collected to be used in trial

• Mapp v. Ohio established the exclusionary rule, which prevents the govts from using unreasonably obtained evidence in trial

5th Amendment

• No convict has to answer for a crime unless charged by a grand jury

• **Establishes due process of law clause for federal actions**

• Restricts eminent domain, which is when the govt seizes private property for public use (they must compensate for doing so)

6th Amendment

• Gives convicts the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the ability to cross-examine witnesses

• Guarantees the right to counsel (an attorney) and that convicts are informed of the charges/accusations against them

7th Amendment

• Guarantees the right to trial with a jury if the money involved in it exceeds a certain amount

8th Amendment

• Prohibits any “cruel and unusual punishment” & excessive bails

9th Amendment

• Ensures that there are other non-enumerated rights that the people still hold

10th Amendment

• Reserves any power not specifically enumerated to the federal govt by the constitution to the States and/or its people

11th Amendment

• Prevents states from being sued in a federal court by a citizen of another state or foreign nation

12th Amendment

• Changed the way that the president and vice president were elected

• Separates the ballots so that there is an additional ballot for vice president

13th Amendment

• Abolished slavery & involuntary service

14th Amendment

• Gives citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the US (Citizenship Clause)

• Incorporates the due process of law clause to the states (new Due Process Clause)

• Prohibits the states from denying the Equal Protection of the laws to their people (Equal Protection Clause)

• Prohibits states from discriminating from other states (Privileges & Immunities Clause)

• Establishes US Census for drawing congressional district borders

15th Amendment

• Prohibits denying men 21 and over suffrage on the basis of race

16th Amendment

• Allows Congress to lay & collect income tax from states regardless of their populations

17th Amendment

• Changes the senator election process so that senators are elected by the people of their states

18th Amendment

• Banned the sale, distribution, and production of alcohol

19th Amendment

• Prohibits voting rights from being denied based on sex (women’s suffrage)

20th Amendment

• Fixes the end of POTUS/VP term to Jan 20, and Congress’ ends terms and establishes annual assembly to Jan 3

• Defines what happens if the president dies or can no longer be president (VP takes his place)

21st Amendment

• Repeals prohibition amendment

• Gives states the right to regulate alcohol

22nd Amendment

• Limits the president to 2 elected terms

• POTUS can now serve for up to 10 years (in cases where he went from VP to POTUS)

23rd Amendment

• Includes Washington DC in the presidential electorate, giving it 3 members in electoral college

24th Amendment

• Prohibits denying people the right to vote based on failing to pay any sort of tax, such as poll taxes

25th Amendment

• Establishes a detailed line of succession for the presidential office

• Details situations in which the offices of POTUS/VP are vacant or unable to be held by the current POTUS/VP

26th Amendment

• Grants suffrage to anyone 18 and older

27th Amendment

• Prevents members of Congress from fixing the salaries of their fellow congressmen until their next election