APUSH Amendments

1st Amendment

Freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition, & religion. And, government cannot establish any official religion, i.e., separation of church and state.

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms. "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged."

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers. (in peoples homes in peacetime, nor arbitrary quartering of soldiers in peoples homes even in wartime)

4th Amendment

No unreasonable searches and seizures. (of people, their homes, or their property without warrant or probable cause)

5th Amendment

No deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. No self-incrimination. No double-jeopardy for the same crime.

6th Amendment

Right to a fair and speedy trial by an impartial jury in criminal trials.

7th Amendment

Right to trial by jury in civil cases with controversies exceeding $20 in value.

8th Amendment

No cruel and unusual punishments for crimes. No excessive bails shall be levied.

9th Amendment

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other [rights] retained by the people."

10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to United States [government] by the Constitution, nor prohibited by [the Constitution] to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

11th Amendment

The federal courts have no authority in law suits by citizens against a state. (1798)

12th Amendment

Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates shall be voted for separately. If no Presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote, then the House of Representatives will choose the President from the highest vote-getters. The Senate will do the same for the Vice President if no Vice Presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes. (1804)

13th Amendment

Abolishes slavery (or involuntary servitude), except as punishment for crimes for which the person in question shall have been duly convicted. (1865)

14th Amendment

1. Defines U.S. citizenship: all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens. 2. Applies the Bill of Rights to the States by holding State governments accountable for protecting rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens in the Constitution "No State shall [abridge] the [rights] of citizens of the United States." Specifically applies the 5th Amendment to the States: "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." 3. Equal protection of the laws must be granted by the States to all people. 4. Abolishes 3/5ths compromise: representation now to be based on whole persons and reduced accordingly if male persons over 21 are not allowed to vote, except for certain specified reasons. (1868)

15th Amendment

"The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." (1870)

16th Amendment

Federal income tax legalized: Congress has the power to lay and collect income taxes. (1913)

17th Amendment

Direct election of Senators. The people will directly elect U.S. Senators, instead of the previous process of State governments choosing their State’s Senators. (1913)

18th Amendment

Prohibition: alcoholic beverages forbidden within the United States. (1919)

19th Amendment

Women right to vote protected: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex." (1920)

20th Amendment

Shortened "lame duck" period following election day in November: inaugurations for President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives will now be in January instead of March. (1933)

21st Amendment

Alcoholic beverages are once again legal in the United States. 18th Amendment is repealed. (1933)

22nd Amendment

Presidents are limited to a maximum of two elected terms, and only one if they succeeded an elected President and served for more than two years of that elected President’s term. (This Amendment was a reaction to FDR’s four elected terms, which broke the age-old tradition set by George Washington. George Washington set a two-term precedent, but it was only a tradition until this Amendment mad it the law of the land.) (1951)

23rd Amendment

Washington, D.C. shall have electors in the Electoral College for Presidential elections, but no more than the least populous states in the U.S. (This Amendment does not give the District of Columbia any Senators or Representatives.) (1961)

24th Amendment

Poll taxes prohibited. The right to vote cannot be denied based on the paying or non-paying of a poll tax. (1964)

25th Amendment

If the President dies, resigns, or is removed through impeachment, the Vice President becomes President. (This was vague before this Amendment, with the President’s "powers & duties" going to the Vice President, but not necessarily the title of "President".) Vice President also takes over if President is "incapacitated" and unable to execute the duties of the office. (1967)

26th Amendment

Voting age set at 18 years old. (Reaction to youth movement and Vietnam War; lowered voting age from 21 years old to 18 years old.) (1971)

27th Amendment

Congressional pay raises (voted in by Congress during their current term) will not take effect until after the following election. (Since Congress votes for its own salaries, this removes the incentive for them to vote themselves a huge raise. The raise doesn’t take effect until after the next election, so if they try to crassly enrich themselves, they will likely be voted out and won’t be around to get the raise when it takes effect.) (1992)