Most Important Amendments to Know for AP Government and Politics (copy)

First Amendment

Speech, religion, press, assembly, petition (RAPPS). Includes Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.

Second Amendment

The right to bear arms

Third Amendment

Prohibit quartering of soldiers in private homes without permission during peacetime.

Fourth Amendment

No unreasonable searches or seizures; warrants are required.

Fifth Amendment

No double jeopardy, no self-incrimination, due process rights (fed lvl), property rights.

Sixth Amendment

Rights of the accused: speedy trial, jury trial, right to an attorney.

Seventh Amendment

Trial by jury in civil cases.

Eighth Amendment

Excessive bail and cruel or unusual punishment.

Ninth Amendment

People retain rights not listed in the Constitution.

Tenth Amendment address

Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people.

Eleventh Amendment

Prevents lawsuits against states in federal court (ratified in 1798).

Twelfth Amendment

Established separate electoral ballots for President and Vice President (ratified in 1804).

Thirteenth Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime (ratified in 1865).

Fourteenth Amendment

Citizenship for all born or naturalized in the U.S., due process (state selective incorporation), and equal protection under the law (ratified in 1868).

Fifteenth Amendment

Voting cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (ratified in 1870).

Sixteenth Amendment

Authorized a federal income tax (ratified in 1913).

Seventeenth Amendment

Allowed for the direct election of U.S. Senators by citizens (ratified in 1913).

Eighteenth Amendment

Prohibition: banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol (ratified in 1919).

Nineteenth Amendment

Granted women the right to vote (ratified in 1920).

Twentieth Amendment

Moved the presidential inauguration date to January 20th (ratified in 1933).

Twenty-First Amendment

Repealed Prohibition (the Eighteenth Amendment) (ratified in 1933).

Twenty-Second Amendment

Presidents are limited to two terms in office (ratified in 1951).

Twenty-Third Amendment

Allowed residents of Washington, D.C., to vote for President (ratified in 1961).

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Prohibit poll taxes in federal elections (ratified in 1964).

Twenty-Fifth Amendment

Presidential succession and procedures for filling the Vice Presidency in cases of death, resignation, or incapacitation (ratified in 1967).

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowered the voting age to 18 (ratified in 1971).

Twenty-Seventh Amendment

Congressional pay raises cannot take effect until the next session of Congress (ratified in 1992).

Which amendments are part of the Civil War Amendments?

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Fifth Amendment

Right to due process, protection against self-incrimination, no double jeopardy, and compensation for private property taken for public use.

What is the collective name for the first ten amendments?

The Bill of Rights.

What did the Twenty-First Amendment repeal?

The Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition).

What phrase can help remember the First Amendment freedoms?

RAPPS: Religion, Assembly, Petition, Press, Speech.

Which amendment deals with equal protection under the law?

The Fourteenth Amendment.

What year was the Bill of Rights ratified?

1791

What was the last amendment added to the Constitution?

The Twenty-Seventh Amendment, ratified in 1992.

Which amendment sets the voting age at 18?

The Twenty-Sixth Amendment.

What is the significance of the Twenty-Second Amendment?

It limits the President to two terms in office.