amendments

+ vocab + extra info.

amendment 1

five freedoms guaranteed: speech, press, religion, assembly, petition (SPRAP)

speech (amend. 1)

you have the right to say whatever you want, unless it effects other physically (saying unnecessary stuff that aren’t true and could harm others, hateful language, etc)

press (amend. 1)

you have the right to post any news or anything online (to press), without censorship from government.

religion (amend. 1)

you have the right to believe in any religion, or none.

assembly (amend. 1)

you have the right to assemble people together without the government interfering (unless it gets out of hand, take forth, the jan. 6th insurrection)

petition

you have the right to tell government on what you may repeal or not on what they do. you can ‘petition’ on stuff you strongly believe in.

amendment 2

keep and bear arms, provides for ”bearing of arms”

what does bearing of arms mean?

to carry fire arms, keep an arm, may be used for defense

are there any restrictions for carrying a fire arm?

certain weapons are restricted by congress (it differs state to state)

amendment 3

quartering of soldiers

quartering of soldiers (troops)

to house a soldier in your own home

can a person house a soldier?

yes, if they choose to

amendment 4

protects against unreasonable search and seizure

writs of assistances

search warrants

what are 3 things today’s search warrants must include?

what you’re finding, where you’re going, who you’re finding (person, place, thing)

amendment 5

protects the rights of the accused

double jeopardy

you can’t be a put on trial more than once for the same crime

taking the fifth

person doesn’t have to answer (doesn’t have to testify against themselves)

miranda warning

suspect having the right to remain silent

due process of law

guarantee speedy conclusion (concept that government must follow clear rules & act reasonably)

eminent domain

power of government to take private property for public use

indictment

a formal charge/accusation of a serious crime

amendment 6

protects the rights of a person accused of a crime, there are 4 main ones

which rights does amendment 6 protect of a person accused of a crime?

to to question any witnesses, get a lawyer (federal & state courts must provide if can’t hire), to have a speedy \* public trial, must have an impartial jury

impartial

not biased

amendment 7

guarantees the right to a trial by jury in civil cases

how many people in jury?

12 members

amendment 8

limits fines, bails and punishments for an accused person

are there limits on punishments?

cannot be ‘cruel & unusual’, and MUST be reasonable

bail

money that an accused person pays to get out of jail

amendment 9

certain rights are in the constitution but that doesn’t mean that these are the only rights that people have nor does it make other rights less important

amendment 10

clarifies the power of the people

what power does the states and/or people have?

all the power that haven’t been specifically denied to the states

amendment 11

citizens of other states or foreign countries cannot sue a state in a federal court

amendment 12

changed the method the president and VP on how they are elected

what is the method that is stated in amendment 12?

nowadays, president and VP run together against others. before, president and VP would be chosen from the vote amount individually. the one with the most votes would be president, 2nd being VP.

amendment 13

abolished slavery and involuntary servitude

what is involuntary servitude?

having to work under someone, gaining no freedom of any such.

amendment 14

clarifies rights of citizens, cancelled the three fifths clause

what was the three-fifth clause?

it stated that out of 5 african americans, only 3 would be counted if there was any voting of such.

amendment 15

men 21 years or older could vote

which 2 groups were not allowed to vote at first?

women & african-american men

what was the standard of the people who could vote?

white, man, rich/wealthy, landowner

amendment 16

allows congress to pass and collect taxes

how is the amount of tax for each person determined?

how much a person makes

does everyone have the same amount of tax?

no, it depends on the earnings & income of each person

amendment 17

allows for the direction election of senators

what does the senator represent?

senators represent the state and/or people, they must listen to the people in the state who vote for them

amendment 18

forbade the production, sale and transport of alcoholic beverages

why was amendment 18 made in the first place?

after war, many men didn’t have jobs becoming unstable. but people thought men that kept on drinking was the whole issue, so they decided to put a ban to alcoholic beverages.

by which passage (amendment) was 18 repealed?

amendment 21

amendment 19

granted women the right to vote

suffrage

the right to vote

how old did the women have to be to vote

21 years or older

amendment 20

lame duck amendment

lame duck

incumbent who wasn’t reelected or didn’t run for reelection

incumbent

elected official

what day is the day for the inauguration of the president of the united states?

january 20th (saturday). if sunday, then january 21st

what day does congress meet each year?

january 3rd

amendment 21

repealed the 18th amendment (only amendment to ever be repealed)

repeal

cancel an act or law

amendment 22

limits the president and VP to 2 full terms

how many years can a president serve if they take over another president’s term that is less than half the term?

10 years

amendment 23

allows the citizens of washington dc to vote for the president of the usa

when was amendment 23 changed?

1961, but should’ve been changed in 1940’s for it to be more effective

amendment 24

prohibits poll taxes in federal elections

what is a poll tax?

fee that a voter must pay in order to vote, mostly in the souther states

why was poll tax a thing in the first place?

to keep african americans away from voting.

amendment 25

provides for who will replace the president and/or VP if they cannot serve

who replaces the president?

VP

who replaces the VP?

president is allowed to choose but they must be approved by 2/3 (majority) of the congress

amendment 26

gave 18 year olds the fight to vote.

why did amendment 26 happen?

people noticed that 18 year olds were drafted, but weren’t allowed to vote.

drafted

to be taken to fight for war (or generically stating: to be taken to another place)

amendment 27

states that if congress gives themselves a raise in salary that raise cannot go into effect until after the next election

why did amendment 27 happen?

to stop congress and president’s to gain power over and over again