the bill of rights (1-12) and the rest of the amendments

first amendment

• Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition

• “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.”

second amendment

• Right to bear arms

• “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.”

third amendment

• Prohibits quartering of soldiers

• “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

fourth amendment

• Search and seizure

• Search and seizure is only allowed with a warrant and probable cause

fifth amendment

• Grand jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process, takings

• Prohibit abuse of authority in legal procedures. Includes the right to remain silent, and the right to due process of law.

• “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.”

sixth amendment

• Right to speedy trial by jury, witnesses, counsel

• The right to witnesses, a lawyer, and to know the accusations and the accuser. 

• “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 defence.”

seventh amendment

• Jury trial in civil lawsuits

• Already examined cases cannot be re-opened

• “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.”

eight amendment

• Excessive fines, cruel and unusual punishment

• “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

ninth amendment

• Non-enumerated rights retained by people

• Citizens have other rights not explicitly mentioned in the constitution

• “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

tenth amendment

• Rights reserved to states or people

• “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.”

eleventh amendment

1. Suits against states

2. States are protected from lawsuits from citizens of other states or foreigners that do not reside in the state. 

3. “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.”

twelfth amendment

1. Election of President and Vice President

2. Changed the way electors vote for president and vice president. Began casting separate votes for two candidates. 

thirteenth amendment

• Abolition of slavery

• “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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

fourteenth amendment

• Citizenship rights, equal protection, apportionment, Civil War debt

• Equal protection under the law for all citizens + birthright citizenship.

• “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.”

fifteenth amendment

• Right to vote not denied by race

• “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. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

sixteenth amendment

• Income tax

• “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.”

seventeenth amendment

• Popular election of senators

• Popular vote replaced selection by state legislatures

eighteenth amendment

• Prohibition of liquor

• Prohibited selling, transporting, and manufacturing alcohol

• “After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

nineteenth aamendment

• Women’s right to vote

• 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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

twentieth amendment

• Presidential term and succession, assembly of congress

• “Lame duck” amendment

• Establishes term start dates for congress and president

twenty-first amendment

• Repeal of prohibition

• “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. 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. 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 the States by the Congress.”

twenty-second amendment

• Two-term/10 year limit of presidency

• “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the 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.”

twenty-third amendment

• Presidential vote for DC

• “The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as 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”

twenty-fourth amendment

• Abolition of poll taxes

• “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 poll tax or other tax. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

twenty-fifth amendment

• Presidential disability and succession

• Establishes procedures when a President leaves office

twenty-sixth amendment

• Right to vote at age 18

• “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. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

twenty-seventh amendment

• Congressional Compensation

• Denies any laws that vary the salaries of Congress members until the beginning of the next terms of office for Representatives.

• No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.