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Amendment 11
Amendment 11 "The 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." This Amendment was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794. It was then ratified on February 7, 1795. You can find Amendment 11 in Article III, section 2. -
Amendment 12
Amendment 12 "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;" This Amendment was passed on December 9, 1803 and ratified on June 15, 1804. This Amendment is easier said "Choosing the President & Vice President." A portion of the 12th Amendment was actually changed by the 20th Amendment. -
Amendment 13
Amendment 13 The House proposed this on January 31, 1865. This Amendment is better known as "Abolition of Slavery." Before this Amendment, Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was passed at the end of the Civil War. -
Amendment 14
Amendment 14 In easy words, the 14th Amendment is "all people born in the U.S are citizens and are to be given full and equal benefits." By this, no person could be denied equal protection of the law. This was made around the Reconstruction Era. Many lawsuits have came up because of this Amendment. -
Amendment 15
Amendment 15 This Amendment says that the government has no right to deny any person the right to vote based on race/color. It is also one of the Reconstruction Amendments. There are 2 versions: the House and the Senate. It was ratified by 3/4 of the states. -
Amendment 16
Amendment 16 Amendment 16 states that the government is allow to collect taxes on income. Congress passed this in 1909 and ratified it in 1913. After this was ratified, they created a new personal tax ranging from 1 to 7 percent. This decision was a surprise to the public because of what happened during the U.S. Civil War. -
Amendment 17
Amendment 17 "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote." This was established by popular vote. This also aimed to end corruption by state legislatures. The 16th and 17th were passed in the same year. -
Amendment 18
Amendment 18 The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol." This is the only Amendment EVER to be repealed. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. It was also around the beginning of the Prohibition. -
Amendment 19
Amendment 19 This guarantees all women the right to vote. The struggle for this Amendment began in the 19th century. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. New York also adopted the woman suffrage in 1917. -
Amendment 20
Amendment 20 "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January.." This is known as "Presidential, Congressional Terms." Virginia was the first state to ratify this. Missouri was the 36th. -
Amendment 21
Amendment 21 "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." December 5th is now celebrated as 21st Amendment Day. This gave the states the right to determine the alcohol laws for their own states. President Roosevelt signed the Proclamation ending the Prohibition. -
Amendment 22
Amendment 22 "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President..." This limits the president to only 2 four year terms. Before this, presidents usually already served 2 terms. The citizens soon realized that it was bad for the country to have the same president serve more than 8 years. -
Amendment 23
Amendment 23 "The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct." This was proposed on June 16, 1960. This didn't include the representation in Congress. They tried to ratify an Amendment after for this, but it failed to get enough states' votes. -
Amendment 24
Amendment 24 "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." This is better known as Abolition of Poll Taxes. Illinois was the 1st state to ratify this. This was fully ratified in 514 days. -
Amendment 25
Amendment 25 "In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President." There were 2 proposals for this Amendment. Nebraska was the 1st state to ratify this. Nevada was the 38th state. North Dakota, Georgia, and South Carolina still haven't ratified this Amendment. -
Amendment 26
Amendment 26 This lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. It was passed faster than any other Amendment. Connecticut was the 1st state to ratify this. South Dakota still hasn't ratified it. -
Amendment 27
Amendment 27 "No law, varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." This Amendment was submitted in 1789 but wasn't adopted until 1992. Maryland was the 1st state to ratify it in 1789. Illinois was the 41st state to ratify it in 1992.
