27 Amendment Notes
27 Amendment Notes
\ Directions: Record the rights and importance of each amendment in the spaces below
\ 1st Amendment
A - Freedom of religion
B - Freedom of speech
C - Freedom of the press
D - Right to petition the government
E - Freedom of assembly
\ \ 2nd Amendment
A - Right to bear arms
B - Keep state militia
\ \ 3rd Amendment
A - prohibits the government from forcing citizens to house troops
\ 4th Amendment
A - Protection from unreasonable search a seizure
B - Government may not conduct a search without a warrant
\ \ \ \ 5th Amendment
A - Cannot subject citizens to criminal prosecution and punishment without a trial, Indicted by a grand jury
B - Pleading the 5th-protected from self-incrimination
C - cannot be tried for the same crime twice (Double jeopardy)
D - Eminent domain - private property can be seized by the government
E - Due Process - treated equally by the law
\ \ \ 6th Amendment
A - right to a speedy trial/fair
B - right to a trial with a jury of one’s peers
C - right to be informed of what crimes one is being charged with
D - right to confront + obtain witnesses brought forward by the government - cross-examine
E - right to a legal representative
\ \ 7th Amendment
A - provides that civil cases preserve the right to trial by jury
B - right to trial by judge
\ Right to a trial by jury when the amount in dispute exceeds $20
Civil trials
\ \ \ 8th Amendment
A - prohibits excessive bail
B - prohibits excessive fines
C - prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
\ \ 9th Amendment
A - Listed (enumerated) rights in the Constitution do not infringe on unlisted individual rights
\ 10th Amendment
A Reserved state powers,
B Creates federalism in a general sense
\ \ 11th
Prohibits a citizen of one state or a citizen of another country from suing another state in federal court.
Defines the jurisdiction - Supreme court can just take
\ 12th
\ Requires members of the Electoral College to cast two separate ballots: one for president and one for vice-president
13th
Abolishment of slavery
\ 14th
Former slaves were now American Citizens and should be treated equally. Removed the 3/5ths compromise
\ 15th
Former slaves had the right to vote (men).
(Effective) - not really because of Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, poll tax
\ 16th
Congress can collect a tax on people’s income without regard to the population
\ 17th
People instead of the state legislature elect U.S senators. Prior state legislature elected senators
Anti-corruption amendment
Governor may fill the senate vacancy until the new election
\ 18th
Prohibition
\ 19th
Women get the right to vote
\ \ 20th
Changes the date of the inauguration to January 20. Called lame duck amendment because it refers to an elected official's attitude after losing an election
\ 21st
Repealed the Prohibition
\ 22nd
No president can’t be elected more than twice
Two terms or 10 years
\ 23rd
Grants the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections
Total number of electoral votes = 538
100 senators
\ 24
the Poll taxes are illegal
\ 25th
If the president can’t be in power, the Vice president takes
If the president is sick, he can temporarily give power to the Vice President
\ 26th
Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
\ 27th
Congress can't vote itself a pay raise - any pay raise only counts for the next Congress