1st Amendment

- Articulates freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

- Called the five basic liberties although none are guaranteed in absolute terms. (see Supreme Court cases)

2nd Amendment

- Right to bear arms

- Applied to states maintaining militias for their own protection, but this is balanced by state and federal laws regulating the possession of guns by private citizens.

3rd Amendment

- Quartering of soldiers

- Of virtually no importance today, refers to the British practice forced upon colonists under the Quartering Act of the Intolerable Acts.

4th Amendment

- Search and Seizure

-The police must, in most cases, have a search warrant obtained by demonstrating probable cause to a judge.

- If seized illegally, the evidence cannot be used against you in court. (exclusionary rule)

5th Amendment- Criminal Proceedings and Due Process

- A person cannot stand trial for a serious federal crime unless first having been indicted (charged with that crime) by a grand jury.

- One cannot be tried twice for the same crime (double jeopardy)

-Protection against self incrimination in court (“I plead the 5th!”)

- Government may take private property for a legitimate public purpose (eminent domain) but must pay a fair price.

6th Amendment

- Right to trial by jury

- Outlines your rights in criminal trials

- Greater discussion in subsequent chapters

7th Amendment- Civil Trial Definitions and Procedures

- Only applies to civil trials (ones involving disputes between private parties or government - not criminal matters) in federal court

8th Amendment

- Freedom from Cruel and Unusual Punishment

- The punishment must fit the crime (reasonable)

- No excessive bail or fines

9th Amendment

- Other Rights Reserved to the People

- Unenumerated rights - just because the right does not expressly appear in the Constitution, does not mean you don’t have it.

10th Amendment

- Powers Reserved to the States

- All the powers that the Constitution does not grant to the national government, and at the same time does not forbid to the states, belong to the states.

- The “Federalism Amendment”

11th Amendment- Suits Against the States

- a state may not be sued in federal court by a resident of another state, foreign country or even one of its own residents. (sovereign immunity)

12th Amendment

- Election of President and Vice President

- describes the workings of the Electoral College, and how those electors vote

13th Amendment- Abolition of Slavery

- ratified in 1865, prohibits slavery and other forms of forced labor, except punitive forms and compulsory armed forces membership (the Draft)

14th Amendment- Citizenship Rights

- defines citizenship

- no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law. ( laws to do so must be fair and apply to everyone the same way)

- contains the “Equal Protection Clause” used to extend federal protection down to citizens at the state level.

15th Amendment

- Right to Vote by Race

- the right to vote cannot be denied based on race

16th Amendment

- Creation of Income Tax

-Gives Congress the power to levy an income tax on citizens

17th Amendment

- Popular Election of U.S. Senators

- Senators are now elected by the voters in each state and not chosen by state legislatures (original Constitutional method)

18th Amendment

- National Prohibition

- ratified in 1919, (progressive era) repealed entirely by the 21st Amendment in 1933, outlawed the making, selling, transporting, importing or exporting of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. Many families promptly got rich “running demon rum” ie the Kennedys

- Led to the development of huge organized criminal elements ie Al Capone in Chicago.

19th Amendment

- Voting Rights for Women

- ratified in 1920, No person can be denied the right to vote based upon sex.

- Suffrage - the right to vote

- Suffragettes - radical ladies of their time

20th Amendment

- Lame Duck Amendment

- shortened the period of time a member of Congress who was defeated for reelection remained in office. (from December following an election to Jan. 3)

- Moved the swearing in of Pres. And V.P. back to Jan. 20 instead of March 4.

21st Amendment

- Repeal of prohibition

- ratified 1933, gave states the power to control what they were denied under the 18th Amendment

22nd Amendment

- Two Term Limit for President (1951)

- No President may serve more than two elected terms

- Ten years possible. 2 for Pres. Dying (but counts as a term if before halfway point) and two more elected 4-yr. Terms.

23rd Amendment- Voting Rights for D.C.

- It will have the same number of electors as the least populous state. (Alaska - 3)

24th Amendment

- Abolition of Poll Tax

- 1964, abolished the requirement of paying a tax to vote in any federal election.

- Extended to the state level by the 14th Amendment (equal protection clause)

25th Amendment- Presidential Disability and Succession

- defined when the President was disabled and steps in succession

- 1. Vice President

2. Speaker of the House

3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate

4. Sec. Of State

5. Sec. Of Treasury

26th Amendment

- 18-Year Old Voting Rights

- the minimum age for voting for any election cannot be higher than 18, meaning states can set a lower age than 18.

27th Amendment

- Bars Congress from granting itself a pay raise in the middle of a term.

- They can pass a law raising their pay, but it can’t take effect until after an election is held.