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The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 by 55 delegates at a Constitutional Convention. Its purpose was to revise the weaker Articles of Confederation that had held the 13 states together after they gained independence from Britain.
Before it could be put into place, it had to be ratified by conventions from each of the 13 states, where the delegates argued both for and against the binding document. One of the main arguments against the ratification of the US Constitution was the lack of specified individual rights and liberties, so James Madison drafted a set of amendments to add to the US Constitution if it was ratified.
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By June 1789, Madison submitted 12 amendments, though only 10 were passed and ratified in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.
Since then, 17 more amendments have been passed and ratified by the process laid out in Article 5 of the US Constitution, where an amendment is proposed by either a two-thirds vote in Congress or a national convention of two-thirds of the states.
AdvertisementThose proposals are then ratified by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or by state conventions in three-fourths of the states to become amendments added to the US Constitution.
Here are the 27 amendments to the US Constitution — ranging from personal rights to procedural laws — including their history and the lasting impact they've left on the United States:
AdvertisementCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The First Amendment lays out five basic freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition the government.
These rights were important to establish because they ensured that individuals could think, speak, and act without fear of being punished for disagreeing with the government.
In addition to being arguably one of the most important amendments, the First Amendment is still very much at the center of America's political discourse today — from questioning whether or not Twitter bots have First Amendment rights to whether or not the White House banning a CNN reporter violates the Constitution.
AdvertisementA well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The Second Amendment supports the right to own firearms, though it's been hotly debated whether the Constitution's framers only had in mind the militia's use of guns or if any citizen had a constitutional right to a firearm (this confusion is largely due to the four commas in the amendment that are grammatically confusing).
It has since become one of the most politicized amendments. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that US citizens have a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense. Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority decision, did lay out a number of provisions:
"Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."
The decision was largely seen as a major win for those who believe the amendment refers to individuals' rights to bear arms.
AdvertisementNo Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The Third Amendment prohibits the government from forcing citizens to give lodging to soldiers in their homes without permission. Before the Revolutionary War, Americans were required to give food and lodging to British soldiers as part of the 1765 Quartering Act .
According to the National Constitution Center , the Third Amendment is the least litigated in the Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court has never decided a case based on it.
AdvertisementThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment prevents the government or police from searching or seizing the homes, belongings, or bodies of citizens without probable cause or a warrant.
One of the most significant impacts of the Fourth Amendment was in the case of Weeks v United States (1914) when the Supreme Court decided that evidence taken in violation of the Fourth Amendment could not be used in court, which is called the exclusionary rule.
AdvertisementNo person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The Fifth Amendment gives people accused of crimes a variety of rights and protections, including: the right to a grand jury indictment for felony offenses in federal court, the restriction on double jeopardy (being put on trial for the same crime after being found not guilty), protection against forced self-incrimination, the guarantee of due process of law and the prevention of the government taking private property for public use without proper compensation.
The most significant Supreme Court decision relating to the Fifth Amendment outside of criminal trials, according to the National Constitution Center , was Miranda v Arizona (1966), where the Supreme Court decided that police must give criminal suspects a set of warnings before they can be questioned. This is called their Miranda rights. These rights are in direct relation to the self-incrimination clause of the Fifth Amendment.
AdvertisementIn all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees people accused of a crime receive fair and accurate criminal proceedings, including: the right to a speedy, public trial by jury from the area where the crime was committed, the right to confront and question witnesses against the accused, the right to subpoena witnesses and have them testify at trial, and the right to a lawyer.
Although criminal institutions in America have changed since 1791 and something like a "speedy trial" could actually mean years in today's court system, the Sixth Amendment sets a standard for justice and criminal proceedings, particularly in specifying the rights of those accused of crimes.
AdvertisementIn Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
The Seventh Amendment promises the right to a jury trial for civil cases that involve property worth more than $20. Even though criminal cases that go to trial always have juries, civil cases rarely do.
According to the National Constitution Center , jury trials for civil cases were an important way to protect against biased or corrupt judges. However, juries only decide less than 1% of civil cases filed in court today.
AdvertisementExcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The Eighth Amendment prevents the federal government from imposing excessive bail and inflicting cruel or unusual punishment on criminal defendants.
Some, including the American Civil Liberties Union , argue that the death penalty is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
AdvertisementThe enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The Ninth Amendment essentially just clarifies that even though the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights names certain rights, that doesn’t mean that people don’t have other rights not specifically included in the US Constitution.
One of the supporters of the US Constitution, James Wilson , worried that by naming or enumerating specific rights, any powers not mentioned would be assumed to belong to the federal government, so the Ninth Amendment makes it clear that is not the case.
AdvertisementThe powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The 10th Amendment leaves any powers not specifically assigned to the federal government to each state or to the people. This amendment protects against the possibility of the national government assuming powers that have not already been assigned to it and is greatly important to keep the federal government limited as the US Constitution framers intended.
AdvertisementThe Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
The 11th Amendment prevents federal courts from hearing lawsuits against states, which changes part of Article III, Section 2 of the US Constitution. It was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified on February 7, 1795.
The proposal for this amendment was introduced one day after the Supreme Court ruled that an individual could sue a state in federal court in the case of Chisholm v Georgia (1793). Today, these lawsuits are tried in state courts. This is also the only amendment related to the judicial branch of the government.
AdvertisementThis is a long one:
The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
The 12th Amendment — which was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified on June 15, 1804 — changed the presidential election process as laid out in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution and fixed several problems that came up because of the development of political parties and how that affected the electoral college.
The 12th Amendment was passed in response to a tie vote in the 1800 election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr . However, the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, changed the dates of presidential terms and Congressional sessions.
AdvertisementSECTION 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
SECTION 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The 13th Amendment — passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865 — abolished slavery and superseded a part of Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution, which set out that fugitive slaves be returned to their owners.
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863, only freed slaves from the Confederate states that had seceded. The 13th Amendment was able to free all slaves and indentured servants throughout the country.
It did not, however, grant black Americans the right to vote.
AdvertisementRealizing the 13th Amendment didn't go far enough, the 14th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868:
SECTION 1
All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
SECTION 2
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
SECTION 3
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
SECTION 4
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
SECTION 5
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
The 14th Amendment has five sections that include: defining citizenship rights, apportionment of representatives, denying public office to those who have participated in insurrection, invalidating Confederate debt, and giving Congress the power to enforce the amendment.
Section 1 is one of the most important parts of this amendment because it grants former slaves citizenship in the United States and guarantees former slaves equal protection and due process.
In one of the most notable cases related to this amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment. It was also used in landmark cases like Roe v. Wade (1973), about abortion, and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), about same-sex marriage.
