WGU C963 - Amendments

1st Amendment: is about Freedom of speech. The notion that the government will not interfere with the ability of the people, the press, or religious groups to express their views or to protest in favor of them

2nd Amendment: is about the right to bear arms. In the modern world, the continued right to own firearms and protect property according to the law

3rd Amendment: is a law stating that citizens do not have to house soldiers in wartime or peacetime if they do not consent to do so

4th Amendment: is about the right of the people of the United States to feel secure in their homes and possessions without fear of “unreasonable searches and seizures.” This relates to modern law concerning the need for a warrant to search property

5th Amendment: is commonly known as the double jeopardy law. Those tried and acquitted for a crime cannot be tried again for that same crime. Also, the accused cannot be asked to be a witness against themselves

6th Amendment: is about the right of all citizens of the United States to a speedy and fair public trial. This also means an impartial jury and the right to a defense counsel and witnesses in their favor. It also infers the concept of the assumption of innocence until proven guilty

7th Amendment: gives the right for any claimant to take a matter to court and trial by jury when the value in question exceeds $20

8th Amendment: is a ban on extreme punishments for crimes, focusing on those that are “cruel and unusual” and on excessive fines or bail

9th Amendment: clarifies that United States citizens have far more rights than those currently listed and that their absence doesn’t diminish their importance

10th Amendment: attempts to separate federal and state law, where the federal government only has the powers assigned to it via the United States Constitution. The states have power over everything else

11th Amendment: is the notion that the right for citizens to sue a state only applies to residents in that state. In other words, Texans can’t sue the State of New Mexico. It was ratified on February 7, 1795

12th Amendment: is a complex amendment that lays out all the laws for how Presidents and Vice Presidents progress through the nomination and election process. It goes into who is allowed to vote and qualified electors and delegates. Also, the requirements for becoming president. It was ratified on June 15, 1804

13th Amendment: is about the abolition of slavery. The promise that slavery, or “involuntary servitude,” would exist no longer within the United States. The exception here is on the conviction of a crime. This amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865

14th Amendment: is the assertion that all those born or naturalized within the United States are citizens of the United States. Furthermore, the promise that no state will enforce any law that will damage these privileges in any way. This is also known as the Equal Protection Clause and was ratified on July 9, 1868

15th Amendment: stipulates that any citizen of the United States has the right to vote, regardless of their race and color of their skin. This constitutional amendment also mentions those with a “previous condition of servitude,” which grants the right to former slaves. It was ratified on February 3, 1870

16th Amendment: is a law that allowed Congress to start collecting income tax, with the promise that this would not be based on the state’s population. It was ratified on February 3, 1913

17th Amendment: lays out the terms for electing senators. This gave power to the people of the US to choose their representatives and laid out the terms of office. The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified on April 8, 1913

18th Amendment: is also known as the Prohibition Law. This prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of “intoxicating liquors.” This essentially meant a ban on alcohol and led to the Prohibition Era of bootleg alcohol sales and consumption

19th Amendment: is about the right for any citizen of the United States to vote, regardless of their biological sex. Essentially, this was the moment women joined male citizens and were granted the right to vote in the United States

20th Amendment: the United States Constitution is the decision that all presidential terms, and those of vice presidents, will end at noon on January 20th. In addition to this, it was decided that the date of the start of a term in the Senate would move to January 3^rd

21st Amendment: is the motion to repeal the 18th Amendment, the Prohibition Law, and allow for the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. It was ratified on December 5, 1933, due to the inability to enforce the law. Instead, individual states gained the right to police alcohol-related laws themselves

22nd Amendment: is the notion that no president should be eligible for election into office for more than two terms. Furthermore, anyone promoted to president for two years or more of a term cannot be elected for more than one additional term

23rd Amendment: ensures that Washington, D.C. had electors in the Electoral College, but only as many as the state with the lowest number. This would ensure that voters there had better representation in future elections

24th Amendment: is about the right of any citizen of the United States to vote for candidates in any election for Presidential, Senate, or Congress representatives, even if they have missed a tax payment. This could mean a poll tax payment or any other tax

25th Amendment: says that the vice president will take office and take over the role of president if the president is removed from office, resigns, or dies. This was proposed in 1965 after Lyndon Johnson took over the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy

26th Amendment: is about the voting rights of all American citizens over 18. Before this, the voting age had been 21. There is also mention of being able to do so without fear of having their vote denied because of their age

27th Amendment: submits that any changes to the salary of those in Congress should not take effect until the next election of representatives