1. Constitutional Amendments
11-27

2. 11th amendment
Ratified 1795
Citizens cannot sue the state, but can sue state representatives
Commonly used by prisoners (today)

3. 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

5. 13th Amendment One of the Three “Civil War” Amendments Ratified 1865
Abolished Slavery

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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…

9. 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.

10. 16th Amendment Progressive Era Ratified 1913
Congress has the power to collect and lay taxes on your income

11. 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?

12. 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

13. Prohibition

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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?

19. 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.”

20. 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.

21. 23rd Amendment Ratified 1961 “23 - DC”
Residents in the District of Columbia (DC) can vote (in national elections only)
“No taxation without representation”

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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

26. Presidential Succession

27. 26th amendment Ratified 1971 Suffrage for 18-year-olds
Came as a direct response to the Vietnam War
Suffrage for 18-year-olds

28. 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