PROGRESSIVE ERA AMENDMENTS

REVIEW: THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY WAS AN ERA OF BUSINESS EXPANSION AND PROGRESSIVE REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES. THE PROGRESSIVES, AS THEY CALLED THEMSELVES, WORKED TO MAKE AMERICAN SOCIETY A BETTER AND SAFER PLACE IN WHICH TO LIVE. SO, THE PROGRESSIVE ERA WAS A PERIOD OF SOCIAL ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES THAT FLOURISHED FROM THE 1890S TO THE 1920S. STUDIES/FAMOUSHISTORICALFIGURES /THEODOREROOSEVELT/

TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY MOVING FORWARD, PROGRESSIVES PASSED SEVERAL AMENDMENTS.

16 TH AMENDMENT A tax is money that is paid to the government and will be added when buying or owning something valuable. The 16th amendment is an important amendment that allows the federal (United States) government to levy (collect) an income tax from all Americans. Income tax allows for the federal government to keep an army, build roads and bridges, enforce laws and carry out other important duties. The federal government realized in 1913 that in order for it to collect taxes effectively, and not have to share that tax money with the states, federal income tax was necessary.

BREAKING THE 16 TH DOWN The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes… (Congress is allowed to collect some of the money earned by people working in the United States) from whatever source derived…(it doesn’t matter where the money is earned, as long as it is “income”) without apportionment among the several States…(there is no need to share the revenue with the states) and without regard to any census or enumeration. (the census, a count of all the people that live in the United States that happens every ten years, can’t be used as a basis for distributing taxes on people) “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

17 TH AMENDMENT Just like the President and our mayors and governors, we elect our senators to represent us in the United States Senate. The Senate is one of two houses (groups) in the US Congress. There are two Senators for every state, for a total of 100. This system is to make sure that every state has an equal amount of representatives in this important law-making body. Did you know that Americans were originally not allowed to vote for Senators? Believe it or not, the legislature of every state used to elect the state’s senators and the people would elect the Congressmen that serve in the House of Representatives. If you think this sounds unfair, many Americans in 1912 thought so too. The 17th amendment provides for regular voters to elect their Senators.

BREAKING THE 17 TH DOWN The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years… (every state will have two Senators, and they will serve six- year terms in Congress.) …and each Senator shall have one vote. (one vote per senator, which now means 100 votes in total for our Senate) The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. (any person that can vote in state elections may vote for the senator of that state) amendment-definition-summary-history.html amendment-definition-summary-history.html Stop at 1:48 Amendment XVII The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

18 TH AMENDMENT The 18th amendment is the only amendment to be repealed from the constitution. This unpopular amendment banned the sale and drinking of alcohol in the United States. This amendment took effect in 1919 and was a huge failure. Not only did regular people find other ways to drink alcohol, criminals made a lot of money selling alcohol to those people. The 21st amendment repeals the 18th amendment in 1933, and today we call the period that the 18th Amendment was law, Prohibition.

BREAKING THE 18 TH DOWN Amendment XVIII Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

BREAKING THE 18 TH DOWN Section 1 After one year from the ratification of this article… (the 18th amendment would go into effect one year after the states ok’ed it) …the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited… (selling, making, or bring liquor into the country or United States territory, will be made illegal) Section 2 The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. (Congress can pass any laws it needs to make sure that this law is enforced and alcohol is not consumed illegally) Section 3 This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. (this amendment needs to be ratified by ¾ of the states within seven years of it will become invalid)

16 th Amendment17 th Amendment18 th Amendment Using details from today’s lesson and your textbook, create a graphic organizer to identify key concepts from each of the amendments listed below.