List of amendments to the United States Constitution

The List of amendments to the United States Constitution comprises twenty-seven constitutional amendments that have been ratified since the Constitution's original signing. These amendments cover a wide range of topics, from the rights of individual citizens to the processes of the federal government.

Overview

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. Since its adoption, it has been amended twenty-seven times. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously in 1791, ensuring protections of individual liberties and justice. Subsequent amendments have addressed issues ranging from civil rights to presidential terms.

Amendments

Bill of Rights

1. First Amendment (1791): Guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.
2. Second Amendment (1791): Protects the right to keep and bear arms.
3. Third Amendment (1791): Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent during peacetime.
4. Fourth Amendment (1791): Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause.
5. Fifth Amendment (1791): Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.
6. Sixth Amendment (1791): Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel.
7. Seventh Amendment (1791): Provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law.
8. Eighth Amendment (1791): Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.
9. Ninth Amendment (1791): Asserts the existence of unenumerated rights retained by the people.
10. Tenth Amendment (1791): Limits the powers of the federal government to those delegated to it by the Constitution.

Subsequent Amendments

1. Eleventh Amendment (1795): Provides immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders.
2. Twelfth Amendment (1804): Revises presidential election procedures.
3. Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
4. Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues.
5. Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
6. Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Allows the federal government to collect income tax.
7. Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote.
8. Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibits the manufacturing or sale of alcohol within the United States (repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933).
9. Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex.
10. Twentieth Amendment (1933): Changes the dates of congressional and presidential terms.
11. Twenty-first Amendment (1933): Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment and prohibits violations of state laws regarding alcohol.
12. Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limits the president to two terms.
13. Twenty-third Amendment (1961): Provides for presidential voting rights for residents of the District of Columbia.
14. Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of a poll tax.
15. Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967): Addresses succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities.
16. Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age.
17. Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992): Delays laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives.

See also

• History of the United States Constitution
• Constitutional Convention
• Ratification of the United States Constitution