AP The Amendments Part 1: 11-17

Ratified: 1795
Problem: Citizens of one state could sue the state governments of other states in federal court.
Solution: Prohibits suits against states by out-of-state citizens in Federal Court; establishes state sovereign immunity.
Historical Impact: Demonstrates that Congress can override Supreme Court rulings by constitutional amendment; protects the idea of sovereign immunity.

Ratified: 1804
Problem: The winner of the Electoral College became President, and the runner-up became Vice President; rising political parties meant the President and Vice President could be from opposing parties.
Solution: Established a separate ballot in the Electoral College to vote for the Vice President.
Historical Impact: Ensured the President and Vice President are from the same political party in every election since 1804.

Ratified: 1865
Problem: The nation could not resolve slavery before the Civil War.
Solution: Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime.
Historical Impact: Ended slavery; first of the Reconstruction Amendments; helped permanently settle the issue that caused the Civil War.

Ratified: 1868
Problem: Freed Black Americans denied citizenship and equal rights; former Confederates could be reelected and debts unresolved.
Solution: Defines citizenship; prohibits states from denying due process or equal protection under the law to all citizens.
Historical Impact: Referred to as the "Second Founding"; extended federal protections to state actions; basis for Civil Rights reforms in the 1960s; reconstruction policies waned in the 1870s leading to Jim Crow.

Ratified: 1870
Problem: Southern states denied voting rights to Black Americans.
Solution: Prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Historical Impact: Expanded Black suffrage; foundational for Reconstruction-era and later civil rights efforts.

Ratified: 1913
Problem: Disagreement over federal authority to impose an income tax.
Solution: Grants Congress the power to levy an income tax.
Historical Impact: Income taxes become the largest revenue source for the federal government.

Ratified: 1913
Problem: Senators were elected by state legislatures, enabling bribery and corruption.
Solution: Direct election of Senators by the people of the state.
Historical Impact: Reduced corruption; a major success of the Progressive Era reform movement.