Constitutional Amendments 11-27

11th amendment Ratified 1795 Citizens cannot sue the state, but can sue state representatives Commonly used by prisoners (today)

12th amendment Ratified 1804 Establishes the ELECTORAL COLLEGE Before this amendment it used to be that the top vote-getter was president and 2nd place was VP

13th Amendment One of the Three “Civil War” Amendments Ratified 1865 Abolished Slavery

Protecting All Americans The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, freeing thousands of African Americans. After the Civil War, many Southern states passed “Jim Crow Laws” that limited the rights of African Americans.

14th amendment One of the Three “Civil War” Amendments Ratified 1868 Equal Protection under the Law African Americans and Native Americans given U.S. citizenship All citizens must be treated equally Established Due Process to the States

15th amendment One of the Three “Civil War” Amendments Ratified 1870 African American Suffrage You cannot be denied the right to vote based on RACE No mention of women…

Protecting All Americans The Fifteenth Amendment says that no state may take away a person’s voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous enslavement. It was intended to guarantee suffrage–the right to vote–to African Americans. It applied only to men.

16th Amendment Progressive Era Ratified 1913 Congress has the power to collect and lay taxes on your income

17th amendment Progressive Era Ratified 1913 Direct Election of Senators Before this amendment, state legislatures (Nebraska’s unicameral) would decide who the state Senators were Would this be a conflict of interest?

18th Amendment Progressive Era Ratified 1919 Prohibition of Alcohol No making, selling, or transporting of liquor Effects: Bootlegging, the MOB, the Rise of Al Capone

Prohibition

19th Amendment Progressive Era Ratified 1920 Women’s Suffrage…FINALLY Amendments giving women the right to vote had been proposed for more than 40 years

Protecting All Americans The Constitution did not grant or deny women the right to vote. As a result, states made their own decisions. The Nineteenth Amendment solved this problem by establishing women’s right to vote in all elections.

20th Amendment Ratified 1933 “Lame Duck” Amendment Presidential Inauguration is Jan. 20th “Lame Duck” Amendment a LAME DUCK is a government official who continues to serve in office though not reelected to another term Before this, officials remained in office for 4 months Now Lame Ducks remain in office for a little over 2 months

21st Amendment Ratified 1933 Repeal of the 18th (Prohibition) Americans (and the government) did not like the effects of the 18th amendment, so it was repealed

22nd Amendment Ratified 1951 “22 - 2 terms” Limits the President’s Terms to TWO What’s the longest time a President HAS served? What’s the longest time a President COULD serve NOW?

The Constitution says… “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President for more than 2 years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt has the honor of being the longest serving U Franklin Delano Roosevelt has the honor of being the longest serving U.S. president. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office on March 04, 1933 and served for four terms, becoming the only president to serve more than two terms. In all Franklin D. Roosevelt served 12 years 1 month and 8 days as the president of the United States.

23rd Amendment Ratified 1961 “23 - DC” Residents in the District of Columbia (DC) can vote (in national elections only) “No taxation without representation”

Protecting All Americans Because Washington, D.C., is a district, not a state, its citizens could not vote in national elections. The Twenty-third Amendment established their right vote.

24th Amendment Ratified 1964 “24-No More” No more Poll Tax (to vote) During the Civil Rights Movement “24-No More” No more Poll Tax (to vote) Poll taxes were used to keep poor whites and blacks from voting in national and state elections

Protecting All Americans Several Southern states required people to pay poll taxes to vote. Because many African Americans and poor whites could not afford to pay, they could not vote. The Twenty-fourth Amendment outlawed poll taxes.

25th amendment Ratified 1967 “25 and he dies” Presidential Succession and Disability If the President dies, the VP takes over If both the President and VP cannot serve, the Speaker of the House (Paul Ryan) serves

Presidential Succession

26th amendment Ratified 1971 Suffrage for 18-year-olds Came as a direct response to the Vietnam War Suffrage for 18-year-olds

27th amendment Proposed 1789, Ratified 1992 Congressional Pay Raises One of the original Bill of Rights (#2) Congressional Pay Raises Congress members cannot give themselves a pay raise Congress members must wait until that raise is confirmed by Congress. The pay raise will not go into effect until the next Congressional session