Twentieth Amendment

Ratified January 23, 1933

The twentieth amendment states...
      Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
      Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
      Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and  the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
      Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
      Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
      Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.


What it means to me...
      This amendment reduced the four-month-long lag period between the November elections and the March 4th starting date of the new congressional and presidential terms. It moved the commencement of the new congressional session from March 4 to January 3. If a Presidential election were thrown into the House of Representatives, then the decision would be made by the newly elected House. Now, the nation would only have to go two months instead of four months without a chief executive. This amendment modified Section 1 of the 12th amend. and Article 1 of the Constitution.


The following image relates to the 20th amendment...

This amendment is often referred to as the "lame-duck" amendment. This cartoon of the Lame duck refers to the lack of quality work during the the lag time when the nation is waiting for their new president to take office. Bills are often shuffled through the system and signed without serious debate. This amendment shortened this lag time and helped improve the system.

The following is an illustration about the 20th amendment...

This cartoon shows, once again, the lame-duck aspect of this amendment. The caption states, "Lame-Duck Migration Descends on Washington to Carry Forward the Nation's Business.

Nineteenth Amendment

Ratified August 18, 1920

The nineteenth amendment states...
      The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
      Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


What it means to me...
      This amendment gave women the right to vote. It guaranteed that anyone could vote at this point in time, no matter color of skin, gender, or any other factors. Congress now had the authority to enforce this amendment through legislation.

The following is a picture about women's suffrage...

Women were finally given the right to vote thanks to this amendment.

The following is another photo for women's voting rights...

Women gathered together to rally for getting votes for women to count.

Eighteenth Amendment

Ratified January 16, 1919


The eighteenth amendment states...
      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.


What it means to me...
      This amendment instituted the Prohibition. It also gave both Congress and the States the authority to enforce the amendment through legislation.

The following is a cartoon about this amendment...

This is a classic Simpsons cartoon for Homer vs. the 18th amendment.

The following is a newspaper article...

This newspaper article is about when the United States was voted as dry, meaning there would be stricter laws put on the selling, transportation, and consuming of alcoholic beverages in many  if not all states.

Seventeenth Amendment

Ratified April 8, 1913

The seventeenth amendment states...
       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.


What it means to me...
      This amendment basically states that the Senate is composed of people elected by the people, and states the guidelines Senators must face.

The following is a video...

This is a video made by the National States Rights Coalition to show some of the reasons why we are in dire need of taking action now to repeal this amendment.

The following is a political cartoon...

     This political cartoon shows how people feel this amendment is nothing but a big problem and how so many people want to repeal it.

Sixteenth Amendment

The sixteenth amendment states...
      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.


What it means to me...
      This amendment reversed an 1895 Supreme Court decision by declaring a federal income tax law unconstitutional.

The following is a political cartoon...

This cartoon shows Uncle Sam heading towards the easier path of general sales tax, but Congress is more for income tax. This is the debate to introduce sales tax in the US and end the income tax in 1933.

The following is a video about taxes...

This Schoolhouse Rock video is about celebrating taxes and teaching kids exactly what taxes are and how they work.

Fifteenth Amendment

Ratified February 3, 1870


The fifteenth amendment states...
      Section 1. The right of 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.
      Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


What it means to me...
      This amendment prohibited the restriction of voting rights "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Basically, African Americans could now have the right to vote.

The following video relates to the 15th amendment...

This video illustrates the 15th amendment after reconstruction. It shows the steps that African Americans had to take in order to be able to vote, and how they now everyone has the right to vote no matter the color of their skin. However, everyone was not equal since women still could not vote.

The following cartoon relates the the 15th amendment...

The cartoon shows how black suffrage has finally ended and that the colored line separating blacks from whites is no longer a boundary. 

Fourteenth Amendment

Ratified July 9, 1868


The fourteenth amendment states...
      Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priveledges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
      Section 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting th ewhole number of persons in each State, escluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
      Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
      Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
      Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.


What it means to me...
      This amendment defined national citizenship, forbidding the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons.

The following video relates to the fourteenth amendment...

Since its ratification in 1886, this amendment has been closely related to Civil Rights. This video, a section of the video series "Cases in Controversy" uses actual Supreme Court decisions and interviews with legal educators and professionals, and historical reenactments to examine the cases that helped shape the fourteenth amendment.

The following is a political cartoon relating to the 14th amendment...

This cartoon depicts that by banning gay marriage, we are violating Section 1 of the fourteenth amendment, which states that, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priveledges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Thirteenth Amendment

Ratified December 6, 1865


The thriteenth amendment states...
      Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted ,shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
      Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropiate legislation.

What it means to me...
      Basically, this amendment officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and any involuntary servitude, except for use in criminal punishment. This amendment gave African Americans their freedom.

The following is a video about animal rights and slavery...

The group known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is suing Sea World for keeping the orca whales captive. They are stating that the 13th amendment to the US Constitution offers protection for the orcas in Sea World. They argue that the 13th amendment is very vague and that it is not limited to humans. Although the 13th amendment states that slavery of humans is wrong, that does not mean that animals are not entitled to this right as well. As a big proponent of animal rights in society, I agree that these animals deserve this right just as much as we do.

The following is a cartoon illustrating the 13th amendment and slavery...

This cartoon shows how the 13th amendment helped the issue of slavery in our society. When the 13th amendment was ratified, slavery was abolished once and for all. Jim Crow laws were soon created to help put segregation into play.

Twelfth Amendment

Ratified June 15, 1804


The twelfth amendment states...
      The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;
      The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
      The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose  shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
      The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.


What it means to me...
      This amendment states that separate ballots are to be used for President and Vice President, that the candidate with the greatest number of votes for each office will be elected if that number constitutes a majority of the total Electors. It also states that if there is no majority for the President then the House of Representatives shall vote by state from among the two highest candidates, and if there is no majority for the Vice President then the Senate shall vote by state from among the two highest candidates. Also, the Vice President candidate shall need to meet the same requirements as for President. This is good to have so that there is a strict code to go by when electing our country's Presidential leaders.


The following is a video about the 12th amendment...

This video was made by two students to honor the 12th amendment and show why it was originally created, to ease the tension between the President and Vice President in the future..


The following is a cartoon that makes fun of the 12th amendment...

This cartoon makes fun of the 12th amendment's section regarding the electoral process. It mandates that electors must vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates seperatley, and that the winner must have the most number of majority votes to be elected. 

Eleventh Amendment

Ratified February 7, 1795


The eleventh amendment states...
     The Judicial power of the United States shall not be constructed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of an Foreign State.


What it means to me...
      This amendment prevents lawsuits against States by citizens of other States as well as foreign citizens. Also, it immunizes states from suit for money damages without their consent.

The following is an image that sums up the eleventh amendment...

This amendment protected state sovereignty and provided for what is known as the doctrine of sovereign immunity. (http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ptd/module08/lesson01/0801.htm)

The following is a video that relates the issue of sovereign immunity and the eleventh immunity...

In this video, Geraldo presents the horrifying story of a boy named Haseeb who is a resident of Willowbrook Mental Institution in Texas, a center for the mentally handicapped. His parents admitted him in order to help him improve his condition, but that was far from real. Haseeb was mercilessly beaten by an instutition employee multiple times. Today, even though his assailant has testified and is now serving time, Haseeb has yet to receive the justice he is due-all because of the sovereign immunity policy that the state of Texas maintains. Thus, Haseeb's family have been unable to sue because of this immunity, which is being protected by the eleventh amendment. This issue still needs to be dealt with today.