The Amendments Mr. Zimmer Civics

Changing the Constitution The Constitution needed to be able to endure the influence of politics and temporary changes in public opinion The Constitution can be changed in two ways Formally by an Amendment Informally by government acts or by custom

The Amendment Process Article 5 outlines the process for making amendments They must be approved by ¾ of the states The Constitution has been around for over 200 years but has only been changed 27 times.

Proposing an Amendment Can be achieved in two ways Congress can propose an amendment by a 2/3 vote in both houses The Legislatures of 2/3 of the states (34) can ask Congress to call a national convention to propose an amendment Citizens can also propose amendments to their Congressman, such as the 27 th Amendment was.

Approval of Amendments Amendments can be sent to the state legislatures for approval, which has been done for 26 of the Amendments Can be sent to state conventions for considerations After ratification by ¾ of the states (38) it becomes part of the Constitution. If the people do not like the effects of an Amendment, another one can be passed to repeal or cancel it. Such as was done with the 21 st and 18 th Amendment

Adding the Bill of Rights People wanted their rights spelled out in the Constitution The states wanted a bill or list of citizen’s rights to be added to the Constitution Alexander Hamilton disagreed with the idea The new nation did not need laws to stop the government from doing things that the Constitution gave it no power to do Many states already had their own bills of rights. People feared that without the list states would oppose the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was then proposed by James Madison It became a model used around the world

The Bill of Rights 1 st Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition 2 nd Amendment: The right to bear arms 3 rd Amendment: Prohibits the quartering of soldiers without permission 4 th Amendment: Protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures 5 th Amendment: Protects a person from self- incrimination, Due Process under the law (innocent until proven guilty), the Double Jeopardy clause, and right to Private Property

The Bill of Rights 6 th Amendment: Right to trial by Jury, and right to an attorney 7 th Amendment: Trial by jury in cases involving property and money 8 th Amendment: Limits the amounts on bail that a judge can issue and forbids cruel and unusual punishment 9 th Amendment: Americans enjoy rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution 10 th Amendment: Gives states power to act independently of the federal government to protect citizens’ rights

Amendments 11 th Amendment: Protects the states from lawsuits filed by citizens of other states or countries. 12 th Amendment: Changed the election procedure for President and Vice President requiring separate ballots. 2 nd place used to be Vice President in elections.

Amendments 13 th Amendment: Banned Slavery The Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln 14 th Amendment: Defined Citizenship and Citizens’ Rights Granted full citizenship to African Americans Although slavery was banned African Americans still did not have citizen’s rights Declared that no state could take away a citizen’s “life, liberty, or property”

Amendments 15 th Amendment: The right to vote shall not be denied based on race or color Did not really reach its goal until the 1960’s since states in the South still passed laws to prevent voting 17 th Amendment: Requires that senators be elected by the people instead of state legislators Strengthened the principle of direct representation 19 th Amendment: The right to vote shall not be denied based on sex. Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote. Complete voting privileges for women was not achieved until the 1920’s

Amendments 16 th Amendment: The right for Congress to collect a tax on incomes 20 th Amendment: Sets the date for inaugurating a new President and starting a Congressional Term 22 nd Amendment: Limits a President to only two terms in office 23 rd Amendment: Gives citizens of Washington DC the right to vote in Presidential Elections 24 th Amendment: Bans the use of Poll Taxes

Amendments 25 th Amendment: Establishes the procedures for Presidential Succession 26 th Amendment: Gives 18-year-olds the right to vote in federal and state elections Came about because if they were old enough to fight and die for our country in Vietnam, they are old enough to vote 27 th Amendment: Limits the ability of Congress to increase its pay

Amendments 18 th Amendment: Banned the manufacturing, selling, or transportation of alcohol Became known as the Prohibition Acts Responsible fore creating the ideas of a “Black Market” and “The Mob” 21 st Amendment: Repealed the 18 th Amendment allowing the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of alcohol