Comprehensive Study Guide to the Amendments of the U.S. Constitution
Second, Third, and Fourth Amendments
2nd Amendment:
Guarantees the right to bear arms.
Framed specifically for the purpose of maintaining a "well regulated militia".
3rd Amendment:
Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes during times of peace without the owner's consent.
In wartime, a specific law can override this peacetime restriction.
Serves as protection from abuses of military authority by the government.
The Supreme Court has upheld that rights can be suspended under specific circumstances.
4th Amendment:
Protects citizens against unreasonable search and seizure.
Search warrants must be issued by a judge.
Warrants must identify specific items to be used as evidence in court.
Requires probable cause ("I plead the PROBABLE CAUSE").
Fifth Amendment Rights
Presumption of Innocence:
An accused individual is innocent until proven guilty.
Indictment:
Requires a formal accusation by a grand jury after determining there is sufficient evidence for a trial.
Double Jeopardy:
A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense.
No Self-Incrimination:
An individual cannot be forced to testify against oneself.
Due Process of Law:
Life, liberty, or property cannot be denied without legally established procedures.
Eminent Domain:
Limits the government's power to take private property for public use.
Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Amendments
6th Amendment (Rights in Criminal Procedures):
The accused must be formally charged.
Guarantees trial by a jury of peers.
Guarantees a speedy and public trial with an impartial jury.
Provides the right to hear and question witnesses testifying against the accused.
Guarantees the right to a lawyer; if the accused cannot afford one, one will be appointed at government expense.
7th Amendment (Civil Jury Trials):
Guarantees a right to a jury trial in civil cases where more than is involved.
If both sides agree, a judge may decide the case instead of a jury.
8th Amendment (Bail, Fines, and Punishment):
Prohibits excessive bail and excessive fines.
Bail determination is based on the type of crime, the accused person's prior record, and the likelihood of appearing in court.
Forbids cruel or unusual punishment.
Ninth and Tenth Amendments
9th Amendment (Unenumerated Rights):
Establishes that the explicit rights listed in the Constitution are not the only rights retained by the people.
10th Amendment (Reserved Powers):
Powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution belong to the individual states or to the people.
Constitutional Amendments 11 through 15
Overview of Subsequent Constitutional Changes:
Later amendments alter elections, expand citizenship and voting rights, and change presidential rules.
11th Amendment (1795):
Placed limits on lawsuits against states.
12th Amendment (1804):
Revised procedures for electing the President and Vice President.
Directly tied to resolving the controversy of the Election of 1800.
Civil War / Reconstruction Era Amendments (13th–15th):
13th Amendment (1865):
Abolished slavery.
14th Amendment (1868):
Defines a U.S. citizen as anyone "born or naturalized in the U.S."
Requires every state to guarantee "equal protection of the law" to all citizens.
Requires "due process of the law" for all citizens.
Served as the constitutional basis for Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared segregation unconstitutional because it denied equal protection.
15th Amendment (1870):
Extended voting rights to African American men.
Subsequent voting barriers such as poll taxes and literacy tests were later addressed through the amendment process.
Progressive Era Amendments (16th through 18th)
16th Amendment (1913):
Gave Congress the power to levy an income tax.
17th Amendment (1913):
Allowed direct election of U.S. Senators by the voters.
Replaced the prior system where state legislatures chose Senators, which allowed state legislators to pick friends or be bribed to select Senators.
18th Amendment (1917):
Prohibited the making, drinking, or selling of alcoholic beverages.
Voting Rights, Term Changes, and Repeal Amendments (19th through 21st)
19th Amendment (1920):
Granted women the right to vote nationwide.
Wyoming granted women the right to vote earlier in 1869.
Prominent leaders of the women's suffrage movement included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott.
20th Amendment (1933):
Changed the effective dates of presidential and congressional terms.
Set the presidential inauguration for January 20.
Set the start date for Congress as January 3 at noon.
Addressed presidential and vice presidential succession rules.
21st Amendment (1933):
Repealed Prohibition (18th Amendment).
Holds the unique distinction of being the only amendment ratified by special state conventions instead of state legislatures.
Mid-to-Late 20th Century Amendments (22nd through 27th)
22nd Amendment (1951):
Limits the President to two terms (or a maximum of ten years).
Passed following Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) being elected four times.
23rd Amendment (1961):
Provides presidential electors for the District of Columbia.
24th Amendment (1964):
Abolished poll taxes, which served as a structural barrier to voting.
25th Amendment (1967):
Established official presidential succession procedures.
Outlined procedures for filling a Vice Presidential vacancy and responding to presidential inability.
26th Amendment (1971):
Lowered the voting age to 18 for national, state, and local elections.
27th Amendment (1992):
Mandates that congressional pay raises passed by Congress for itself do not take effect until the next session of Congress begins.