The US Constitution has 27 amendments that protect the rights of Americans. Do you know them all?

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Ann SchmidtOct 3, 2020, 01:17 IST
The US Constitution has 27 amendments that protect the rights of Americans. Do you know them all?

There are 27 amendments.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

  • The US Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified in 1788.
  • In 1791, the Bill of Rights was also ratified with 10 amendments.
  • Since then, 17 more amendments have been added.
  • The amendments deal with a variety of rights ranging from freedom of speech to the right to vote.

The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 by 55 delegates at a Constitutional Convention. Its purpose was to revise the weaker Articles of Confederation that had held the 13 states together after they gained independence from Britain.

Before it could be put into place, it had to be ratified by conventions from each of the 13 states, where the delegates argued both for and against the binding document. One of the main arguments against the ratification of the US Constitution was the lack of specified individual rights and liberties, so James Madison drafted a set of amendments to add to the US Constitution if it was ratified.

By June 1789, Madison submitted 12 amendments, though only 10 were passed and ratified in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.

Since then, 17 more amendments have been passed and ratified by the process laid out in Article 5 of the US Constitution, where an amendment is proposed by either a two-thirds vote in Congress or a national convention of two-thirds of the states.

Those proposals are then ratified by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or by state conventions in three-fourths of the states to become amendments added to the US Constitution.

Here are the 27 amendments to the US Constitution — ranging from personal rights to procedural laws — including their history and the lasting impact they've left on the United States:

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The First Amendment famously protects freedom of speech.

The First Amendment famously protects freedom of speech.
It establishes five basic freedoms. Getty/Fox

The First Amendment lays out five basic freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition the government.

These rights were important to establish because they ensured that individuals could think, speak, and act without fear of being punished for disagreeing with the government.

In addition to being arguably one of the most important amendments, the First Amendment is still very much at the center of America's political discourse today — from questioning whether or not Twitter bots have First Amendment rights to whether or not the White House banning a CNN reporter violates the Constitution.

The Second Amendment deals with the right to bear arms.

The Second Amendment deals with the right to bear arms.
It gives states the right to keep a militia. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Second Amendment supports the right to own firearms, though it's been hotly debated whether the Constitution's framers only had in mind the militia's use of guns or if any citizen had a constitutional right to a firearm (this confusion is largely due to the four commas in the amendment that are grammatically confusing).

It has since become one of the most politicized amendments. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that US citizens have a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense. Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority decision, did lay out a number of provisions:

"Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."

The decision was largely seen as a major win for those who believe the amendment refers to individuals' rights to bear arms.

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The Third Amendment prohibits forcing citizens to provide lodging for soldiers.

The Third Amendment prohibits forcing citizens to provide lodging for soldiers.
It's the least litigated amendment in the Bill of Rights. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Third Amendment prohibits the government from forcing citizens to give lodging to soldiers in their homes without permission. Before the Revolutionary War, Americans were required to give food and lodging to British soldiers as part of the 1765 Quartering Act.

According to the National Constitution Center, the Third Amendment is the least litigated in the Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court has never decided a case based on it.

The Fourth Amendment deals with search and seizure.

The Fourth Amendment deals with search and seizure.
This amendment has impacted Supreme Court cases. Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty

The Fourth Amendment prevents the government or police from searching or seizing the homes, belongings, or bodies of citizens without probable cause or a warrant.

One of the most significant impacts of the Fourth Amendment was in the case of Weeks v United States (1914) when the Supreme Court decided that evidence taken in violation of the Fourth Amendment could not be used in court, which is called the exclusionary rule.

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The Fifth Amendment is the source of the common phrase, "I plead the Fifth."

The Fifth Amendment is the source of the common phrase, "I plead the Fifth."
Now, police officers must give criminal suspects a set of warnings before they can be questioned. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Fifth Amendment gives people accused of crimes a variety of rights and protections, including: the right to a grand jury indictment for felony offenses in federal court, the restriction on double jeopardy (being put on trial for the same crime after being found not guilty), protection against forced self-incrimination, the guarantee of due process of law and the prevention of the government taking private property for public use without proper compensation.

The most significant Supreme Court decision relating to the Fifth Amendment outside of criminal trials, according to the National Constitution Center, was Miranda v Arizona (1966), where the Supreme Court decided that police must give criminal suspects a set of warnings before they can be questioned. This is called their Miranda rights. These rights are in direct relation to the self-incrimination clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The Sixth Amendment includes the right to a speedy trial.

The Sixth Amendment includes the right to a speedy trial.
This amendment includes right to a speedy, public trial by jury. Getty

The Sixth Amendment guarantees people accused of a crime receive fair and accurate criminal proceedings, including: the right to a speedy, public trial by jury from the area where the crime was committed, the right to confront and question witnesses against the accused, the right to subpoena witnesses and have them testify at trial, and the right to a lawyer.

Although criminal institutions in America have changed since 1791 and something like a "speedy trial" could actually mean years in today's court system, the Sixth Amendment sets a standard for justice and criminal proceedings, particularly in specifying the rights of those accused of crimes.

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The Seventh Amendment deals with jury trials for civil cases involving property worth more than $20.

The Seventh Amendment deals with jury trials for civil cases involving property worth more than $20.
It promises the right to a jury trial for certain cases. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Seventh Amendment promises the right to a jury trial for civil cases that involve property worth more than $20. Even though criminal cases that go to trial always have juries, civil cases rarely do.

According to the National Constitution Center, jury trials for civil cases were an important way to protect against biased or corrupt judges. However, juries only decide less than 1% of civil cases filed in court today.

The Eighth Amendment prevents the government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment on criminal defendants.

The Eighth Amendment prevents the government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment on criminal defendants.
The amendment deals with cruel and unusual punishment. Douglas Grundy/Three Lions/Getty

The Eighth Amendment prevents the federal government from imposing excessive bail and inflicting cruel or unusual punishment on criminal defendants.

Some, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that the death penalty is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

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The Ninth Amendment establishes that people have additional rights, even if they are not included in the US Constitution.

The Ninth Amendment establishes that people have additional rights, even if they are not included in the US Constitution.
James Wilson assisted with the creation of this amendment. Getty/Hulton Archives

The Ninth Amendment essentially just clarifies that even though the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights names certain rights, that doesn’t mean that people don’t have other rights not specifically included in the US Constitution.

One of the supporters of the US Constitution, James Wilson, worried that by naming or enumerating specific rights, any powers not mentioned would be assumed to belong to the federal government, so the Ninth Amendment makes it clear that is not the case.

The 10th Amendment helps keep the federal government limited.

The 10th Amendment helps keep the federal government limited.
This amendment helps to limit the federal government. Getty/Topical Press Agency

The 10th Amendment leaves any powers not specifically assigned to the federal government to each state or to the people. This amendment protects against the possibility of the national government assuming powers that have not already been assigned to it and is greatly important to keep the federal government limited as the US Constitution framers intended.

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The 11th Amendment is the only amendment related to the judicial branch of the government.

The 11th Amendment is the only amendment related to the judicial branch of the government.
The 11th Amendment prevents federal courts from hearing lawsuits against states. sirtravelalot/Shutterstock

The 11th Amendment prevents federal courts from hearing lawsuits against states, which changes part of Article III, Section 2 of the US Constitution. It was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified on February 7, 1795.

The proposal for this amendment was introduced one day after the Supreme Court ruled that an individual could sue a state in federal court in the case of Chisholm v Georgia (1793). Today, these lawsuits are tried in state courts. This is also the only amendment related to the judicial branch of the government.

The 12th Amendment changed the presidential election process.

The 12th Amendment changed the presidential election process.
It was a response to a tied vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in the 1800 election. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

This is a long one:

The 12th Amendment — which was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified on June 15, 1804 — changed the presidential election process as laid out in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution and fixed several problems that came up because of the development of political parties and how that affected the electoral college.

The 12th Amendment was passed in response to a tie vote in the 1800 election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. However, the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, changed the dates of presidential terms and Congressional sessions.

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The 13th Amendment freed all slaves and indentured servants throughout the United States.

The 13th Amendment freed all slaves and indentured servants throughout the United States.
Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was more limited. Alexander Gardner / Stringer / Getty Images

The 13th Amendment — passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865 — abolished slavery and superseded a part of Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution, which set out that fugitive slaves be returned to their owners.

President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863, only freed slaves from the Confederate states that had seceded. The 13th Amendment was able to free all slaves and indentured servants throughout the country.

It did not, however, grant black Americans the right to vote.

The 14th Amendment defines what it means to be a citizen of the United States and also protects civil rights.

The 14th Amendment defines what it means to be a citizen of the United States and also protects civil rights.
The three lawyers who fought for the abolition of segregation in public schools during Brown v. Board of Education (1954). AP Photo, File

Realizing the 13th Amendment didn't go far enough, the 14th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868:

The 14th Amendment has five sections that include: defining citizenship rights, apportionment of representatives, denying public office to those who have participated in insurrection, invalidating Confederate debt, and giving Congress the power to enforce the amendment.

Section 1 is one of the most important parts of this amendment because it grants former slaves citizenship in the United States and guarantees former slaves equal protection and due process.

In one of the most notable cases related to this amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment. It was also used in landmark cases like Roe v. Wade (1973), about abortion, and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), about same-sex marriage.

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The 15th Amendment deals with the right to vote in the US.

The 15th Amendment deals with the right to vote in the US.
It deals with the right to vote. George Frey /Getty

The 15th Amendment — which was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870 — guarantees the right to vote and guarantees that right cannot be denied based on race.

Despite this amendment, discriminatory practices continued in voting booths, including literacy tests and poll taxes, to prevent black Americans from voting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voter suppression remains an issue to this day.

The 16th Amendment deals with taxes.

The 16th Amendment deals with taxes.
It gives Congress the power to collect income tax. iStock

The 16th Amendment was passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified on February 3, 1913. It gives Congress the power to collect income tax, which changes a part of Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution. This amendment reversed the Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company (1895) Supreme Court decision that made a national income tax almost impossible.

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The 17th Amendment lays out how US senators are elected.

The 17th Amendment lays out how US senators are elected.
Senator Robert Kennedy speaking at an election rally. Getty/Harry Benson

The 17th Amendment — which was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912, and ratified on April 8, 1913 — made it so that US senators would be voted into office by direct elections instead of by state legislatures, as set out in Article I, Section 3 of the US Constitution. This is one of the only substantial changes made to the structure of Congress since it was laid out in the original US Constitution.

The 18th Amendment made the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal.

The 18th Amendment made the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal.
This amendment was later repealed. General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

The 18th Amendment enacted the prohibition of manufacturing and selling alcohol, beginning one year after the ratification of the amendment.

It was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition was in effect for 13 years before it was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

Prohibition, history notes, largely backfired.

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The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
The grave of women's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony covered with "I Voted" stickers. REUTERS/Adam Fenster

The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Before the 19th Amendment existed — it was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920 — Susan B. Anthony argued that the 14th Amendment privileges and immunities clause gave women the right to vote since they had been citizens all along.

In Minor v Happersett (1875), the Supreme Court decided that being citizens alone did not give women the right to vote, so the women's suffrage movement worked to get a US Constitutional Amendment passed to give women the right to vote.

Today, women make a major difference in elections and are running for office themselves. There is still a ways to go for equal representation: Women make up 24% of Congress, 27% of state legislators, 18% of governors, and 22% of mayors, according to Ignite.

The 20th Amendment determined the beginning and end date of presidential terms and Congressional sessions.

The 20th Amendment determined the beginning and end date of presidential terms and Congressional sessions.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to be inaugurated in January, as set out by the 20th Amendment. Hulton Archive/Getty

The 20th Amendment was passed by Congress on March 2, 1932, and ratified on January 23, 1933:

The 20th Amendment set the beginning and end of presidential terms and Congressional sessions. It also lays out the order of presidential succession, but that order was later altered by the 25th Amendment.

In 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to be inaugurated in January, as set out by the 20th Amendment, instead of in March, or in April, as George Washington had been.

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The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.

The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.
This amendment repealed Prohibition. AP Images

The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition. It was passed by Congress on February 20, 1933, and ratified on December 5, 1933.

This is the only amendment that repeals a previous amendment and it is the only amendment that was ratified by the state ratifying conventions as opposed to the legislatures of the states.

Read More: 14 things you didn't know about the history of beer

The 22nd Amendment limits presidential terms to two.

The 22nd Amendment limits presidential terms to two.
Barack Obama held two terms as President of the United States. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The 22nd Amendment — which was passed by Congress on March 21, 1947, and ratified on February 27, 1951 — limits presidential terms to two. This is mostly because George Washington decided to retire after just two terms, which set the precedent for the next 150 years of presidents in the United States. The 22nd Amendment was passed out of fear of a tyrannical president.

Prior to the passage of this amendment, Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected to four terms as president, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945.

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The 23rd Amendment allows Washington, DC, citizens the right to choose electors in presidential elections.

The 23rd Amendment allows Washington, DC, citizens the right to choose electors in presidential elections.
This amendment focused on Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty

The 23rd Amendment was passed by Congress June 16, 1960, and ratified on March 29, 1961. It allowed the citizens of Washington, DC, to choose electors for presidential elections because, as citizens of a federal district and not a state, DC residents are not citizens of a state.

Before this amendment was ratified, DC residents were denied the right to vote for federal public officials. Today, DC residents are still unrepresented in Congress, but they have a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives.

The 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes, which had previously been required to vote in elections.

The 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes, which had previously been required to vote in elections.
It abolished poll taxes. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The 24th Amendment was passed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and ratified on January 23, 1964. It abolished poll taxes, which had previously been required to vote in elections. When the US Constitution was first ratified, most states allowed only property owners to vote, but as time went on, many states moved to poll taxes.

At first, that expanded the right to vote because more citizens could pay the poll tax than prove they were property owners. However, poll taxes were brought back as a way to prevent black Americans from voting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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The 25th Amendment sets the order of succession for the president and lays out what to do in the case of presidential incapacity.

The 25th Amendment sets the order of succession for the president and lays out what to do in the case of presidential incapacity.
It was passed partially due to John F. Kennedy's assassination. JFK Library

The 25th Amendment — which was passed by Congress on July 6, 1965, and ratified on February 10, 1967 — sets the order of succession for the president and lays out what to do in the case of presidential incapacity.

This amendment has only been used three times since it was ratified, to relieve presidents from their duties because of physical health. It was initially passed out of fear of presidential succession after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

The first use of the 25th Amendment was in 1974 when Gerald R. Ford became president after Richard Nixon's resignation. The second use was in 1985 when Ronald Reagan temporarily handed his presidential powers to Vice President George H. W. Bush during a surgery.

George W. Bush invoked the 25th Amendment twice during his presidency to give Vice President Dick Cheney presidential powers while he had routine colonoscopies in 2002 and in 2007.

The 26th Amendment allowed 18-year-old US citizens to vote. Before the 26th Amendment was ratified, Americans voted at age 21.

The 26th Amendment allowed 18-year-old US citizens to vote. Before the 26th Amendment was ratified, Americans voted at age 21.
During the Vietnam War, men were being drafted at age 18, yet they didn't have the right to vote. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The 26th Amendment allowed 18-year-old US citizens to vote and modified Amendment 14, Section 2 of the US Constitution. This is the last amendment that deals with voting rights protections. Before the 26th Amendment was ratified, Americans voted at age 21.

However, during the Vietnam War, men were being drafted from the age of 18 and yet they didn't have the right to vote, so Congress passed the Voting Rights Act that lowered the voting age for all elections at the federal, state and local level to 18. It was passed by Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971.

The Supreme Court held in Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) that Congress couldn't require state and local governments to lower the voting age, so the 26th Amendment was ratified in order to do that.

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The 27th Amendment made it so pay raises or decreases for members of Congress can only take effect after the next election.

The 27th Amendment made it so pay raises or decreases for members of Congress can only take effect after the next election.
It was ratified almost 203 years after it was proposed by James Madison. ZU_09 / Getty Images

The 27th Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was the second amendment that James Madison proposed when he brought forward his draft of 12 amendments to the US Constitution. It says that pay raises or decreases for members of Congress can only take effect after the next election.

When it was originally proposed in 1789, only six states voted for it to be ratified including Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. For 80 years, the proposal was untouched, but Ohio ratified it in 1873 and Wyoming ratified it in 1978.

In 1982, a movement to ratify the amendment was started by an undergraduate student to prevent corruption in Congress. By the '90s, the necessary 38 states had ratified the amendment, almost 203 years after it was proposed. It was ratified on May 7, 1992.

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