The 27 Amendments:
1st Amendment – freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press, and petition.
Ex. An example of this amendment being violated would be if you wrote an article on your online blog about how you don’t like the President and the government made you take it down.
2nd Amendment – right to bear arms
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government said that you weren’t allowed to have a gun and confiscated it from you.
3rd Amendment – restricts the quartering of troops
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the US wasn’t involved in any kind of war but soldiers came into your house to stay and have a “sleepover” and the government forced you to allow them to stay with you.
4th Amendment – no unreasonable searches and seizures
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a police officer conducted a search of a home with no search warrant or any special circumstances that would justify the search to be conducted.
5th Amendment – life, liberty, property. Due process of law, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and government seizure of property
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you had a trial for a crime and were found innocent, but then another trial for the same crime, with no new evidence, was conducted to try to convict you of it again (double jeopardy).
6th Amendment – speedy, public, and jury trial – Criminal Cases
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a trial was set for you and the trial date kept getting pushed back for weeks and then months.
7th Amendment – jury trial in Civil Cases
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you were only given 5 members for a jury in a civil trial rather than the minimum requirement of 6.
8th Amendment – cruel and unusual punishment
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a judge set your punishment for a crime to take pills that would make your nose extremely long for the rest of your life.
9th Amendment – all rights not spelled out are “retained by the people” – your basic or natural rights
Ex. This amendment is used when you make a trip to the grocery store because even though the Constitution doesn’t specifically have written in it that you have the right to go to a grocery store, it’s a given that you do.
10th Amendment – powers not given to the nation or the states, belong to the people.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the federal government decided that they had the power to take away all of someone’s pay check to help pay for the building of a new road, because nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the federal government has this power.
11th Amendment – federal courts can’t force states to be sued without the state’s consent.
Ex. This amendment would be used if the federal court decided to sue Missouri, but Missouri consented that it was alright for the federal court to do so.
12th Amendment – election of VP and president separately in electoral college.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the President was not allowed to choose his running mate and, say, Obama was forced to have John McCain as his vice-president.
13th Amendment – abolished slavery
Ex. This amendment would be used if someone was being held in servitude bondage without their consent and they broke free from it justifying that they didn’t have to be a slave to the person holding them in bondage because of their 13th amendment right.
14th Amendment – citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the US. Also prevents states from taking people’s rights away.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government decided that you weren’t a US citizen because even though you came from Algeria and had been naturalized in the US, they didn’t like the country that you came from.
15th Amendment – everyone has the right to vote regardless of race, ethnicity, etc.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if an Asian (who was a US citizen) went to a voting poll and was turned away because of their ethnicity.
16th Amendment – income tax
Ex. This amendment is used in all working situations when you might have earned $400 but only get $350 because Congress places a tax on your income.
17th Amendment – the people instead of the state elect senators
Ex. This amendment is used by the people when they go to the polls and vote for their state senators.
18th Amendment – prohibition
Ex. This amendment was repealed with the 21st amendment. But at the time, this amendment would have been violated if people who served terms in the government bought and consumed alcohol while they made it illegal for everyone else.
19th Amendment – women suffrage
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a town decided that men were smarter than women and were the only ones who could vote in the next election.
20th Amendment – set election and inauguration times closer to one another
Ex. This amendment was used when Obama ran for the Presidency and after his election closely followed his inauguration. This way, things got done and there wasn’t a really long period in which the last president who’s term was ending or who didn’t get voted back in just stood around not wanting to do much and the new president came into the presidency term.
21st Amendment – repealed prohibition
Ex. An example of this amendment being violated would be if the government decided to ban all alcohol sale and consumption.
22nd Amendment – 2 term limit on presidents
Ex. This amendment would be broken if the government decided that they really liked a president so even when his 2 terms (8 years) were up, they let him run for another term in the presidency.
23rd Amendment – gave district of Columbia the right to vote (3 electors)
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government decided that the district of Colombia only got 2 electors and no longer had the right to vote in US matters.
24th Amendment – prohibits poll taxes
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you went into a voting poll to vote for the next president, senator, etc. and the workers there told you that you had to pay to vote and wouldn’t let you vote otherwise.
25th Amendment – Presidential secession
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the President died and the Speaker of the House took over instead of the Vice President.
26th Amendment – lowered voting age to 18
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government raised the minimum voting age to 30.
27th Amendment – congress could only increase its pay for the next term.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if congressman currently increased their pay and received the pay increase rather than waiting to increase it for the next term served.
Ex. An example of this amendment being violated would be if you wrote an article on your online blog about how you don’t like the President and the government made you take it down.
2nd Amendment – right to bear arms
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government said that you weren’t allowed to have a gun and confiscated it from you.
3rd Amendment – restricts the quartering of troops
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the US wasn’t involved in any kind of war but soldiers came into your house to stay and have a “sleepover” and the government forced you to allow them to stay with you.
4th Amendment – no unreasonable searches and seizures
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a police officer conducted a search of a home with no search warrant or any special circumstances that would justify the search to be conducted.
5th Amendment – life, liberty, property. Due process of law, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and government seizure of property
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you had a trial for a crime and were found innocent, but then another trial for the same crime, with no new evidence, was conducted to try to convict you of it again (double jeopardy).
6th Amendment – speedy, public, and jury trial – Criminal Cases
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a trial was set for you and the trial date kept getting pushed back for weeks and then months.
7th Amendment – jury trial in Civil Cases
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you were only given 5 members for a jury in a civil trial rather than the minimum requirement of 6.
8th Amendment – cruel and unusual punishment
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a judge set your punishment for a crime to take pills that would make your nose extremely long for the rest of your life.
9th Amendment – all rights not spelled out are “retained by the people” – your basic or natural rights
Ex. This amendment is used when you make a trip to the grocery store because even though the Constitution doesn’t specifically have written in it that you have the right to go to a grocery store, it’s a given that you do.
10th Amendment – powers not given to the nation or the states, belong to the people.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the federal government decided that they had the power to take away all of someone’s pay check to help pay for the building of a new road, because nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the federal government has this power.
11th Amendment – federal courts can’t force states to be sued without the state’s consent.
Ex. This amendment would be used if the federal court decided to sue Missouri, but Missouri consented that it was alright for the federal court to do so.
12th Amendment – election of VP and president separately in electoral college.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the President was not allowed to choose his running mate and, say, Obama was forced to have John McCain as his vice-president.
13th Amendment – abolished slavery
Ex. This amendment would be used if someone was being held in servitude bondage without their consent and they broke free from it justifying that they didn’t have to be a slave to the person holding them in bondage because of their 13th amendment right.
14th Amendment – citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the US. Also prevents states from taking people’s rights away.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government decided that you weren’t a US citizen because even though you came from Algeria and had been naturalized in the US, they didn’t like the country that you came from.
15th Amendment – everyone has the right to vote regardless of race, ethnicity, etc.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if an Asian (who was a US citizen) went to a voting poll and was turned away because of their ethnicity.
16th Amendment – income tax
Ex. This amendment is used in all working situations when you might have earned $400 but only get $350 because Congress places a tax on your income.
17th Amendment – the people instead of the state elect senators
Ex. This amendment is used by the people when they go to the polls and vote for their state senators.
18th Amendment – prohibition
Ex. This amendment was repealed with the 21st amendment. But at the time, this amendment would have been violated if people who served terms in the government bought and consumed alcohol while they made it illegal for everyone else.
19th Amendment – women suffrage
Ex. This amendment would be violated if a town decided that men were smarter than women and were the only ones who could vote in the next election.
20th Amendment – set election and inauguration times closer to one another
Ex. This amendment was used when Obama ran for the Presidency and after his election closely followed his inauguration. This way, things got done and there wasn’t a really long period in which the last president who’s term was ending or who didn’t get voted back in just stood around not wanting to do much and the new president came into the presidency term.
21st Amendment – repealed prohibition
Ex. An example of this amendment being violated would be if the government decided to ban all alcohol sale and consumption.
22nd Amendment – 2 term limit on presidents
Ex. This amendment would be broken if the government decided that they really liked a president so even when his 2 terms (8 years) were up, they let him run for another term in the presidency.
23rd Amendment – gave district of Columbia the right to vote (3 electors)
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government decided that the district of Colombia only got 2 electors and no longer had the right to vote in US matters.
24th Amendment – prohibits poll taxes
Ex. This amendment would be violated if you went into a voting poll to vote for the next president, senator, etc. and the workers there told you that you had to pay to vote and wouldn’t let you vote otherwise.
25th Amendment – Presidential secession
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the President died and the Speaker of the House took over instead of the Vice President.
26th Amendment – lowered voting age to 18
Ex. This amendment would be violated if the government raised the minimum voting age to 30.
27th Amendment – congress could only increase its pay for the next term.
Ex. This amendment would be violated if congressman currently increased their pay and received the pay increase rather than waiting to increase it for the next term served.
The Amendment Process: Proposing and Ratifying
Amending something means to make a change to something. There are two methods for proposing an amendment to the Constitution: The first method is getting a 2/3 vote from both houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The second method is to get 2/3 of the states to request a constitutional convention (this way has never been used before). Ratification, on the other hand, is another word for approval. The only method for ratifying an amendment is if 3/4 of states choose to ratify an amendment. However, Congress can set a time limit on amendment ratification (7 years).
Vocabulary:
Writ of Habeas Corpus:
Ex Posto Facto:
Expressed Powers (aka Enumerated Powers):
Implied Powers:
Extradition:
Republic:
Popular Sovereignty:
|
|
Federalism:
|
|
Separation of Powers:
|
|
Checks and Balances:
|
|
Federalism:
Exclusive: Powers of the National government.
Concurrent: powers shared by the state and the National Government.
Reserved: Powers of state governments.
Concurrent: powers shared by the state and the National Government.
Reserved: Powers of state governments.
Checks and Balances:
