Happy Birthday - 250 years of the USA - Part 3

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The Rest of Our Rights

 

The US Constitution establishes our rights as citizens.  Changes to our constitution come via amendments. As mentioned last month, the first congress enacted the first 10 amendments, our Bill of Rights, as one of its first tasks. Subsequent changes to our constitution have proven to be relatively rare and difficult to establish.  This is on purpose.  Look at the ratification dates of the 17 additional amendments and read the summary provided below. Clearly decades have passed during which the US Constitution was not amended. Amendments were proposed and ratified to address problems large enough that our basic rules had to be rewritten or new rules established to deal with changing culture and beliefs.  Can you tell what issues produced which amendments?

 

Amendment 11 (1795): States' sovereign immunity limits some federal lawsuits: The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 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 any Foreign State.

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Amendment 12 (1804): New system for electing President and Vice President: Revised the Electoral College process, requiring electors to cast separate votes for President and Vice President rather than voting for two candidates for President. It goes into who is allowed to vote, qualified electors, and delegates. Also, the requirements for becoming president.

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Amendment 13 (1865): Abolished slavery: The promise that slavery, or “involuntary servitude,” would exist no longer within the United States. The exception here is on the conviction of a crime.

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Amendment 14 (1868): Defines citizenship, due process, equal protection: Asserts that all those born or naturalized within the United States are citizens of the United States. If you are born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, you are a citizen. Furthermore, no state can enforce any law that will damage these privileges in any way. Also known as the Equal Protection Clause, states must provide due process and equal protection of the laws, and cannot take away key rights without following constitutional rules.

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Amendment 15 (1870) : Voting rights cannot be denied based on race: Government cannot deny or abridge the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.   Stipulates that any citizen of the United States has the right to vote, regardless of their race or the color of their skin. This constitutional amendment also mentions those with a “previous condition of servitude,” which grants the right to vote to former slaves.

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Amendment 16 (1913): Federal income tax allowed: Congress can collect a federal income tax without dividing it among the states based on population.

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Amendment 17 (1913): Direct election of U.S. Senators: 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. This amendment gave the people of the US the power to choose their representatives and set the terms of office.

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Amendment 18 (1819): The Prohibition Law: Banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States.

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Amendment 19 (1920): Women’s suffrage: Established that government cannot deny the right to vote because of sex.

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Amendment 20 (1933):  New start dates and transition rules: Established that all presidential terms, and those of vice presidents, will end at noon on January 20th. In addition, it was decided that the start of a term in the Senate would move to January 3rd.

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Amendment 21 (1933): Repeals Amendment 18:  Repeals the 18th Amendment, the Prohibition Law, and allow for the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.

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Amendment 22 (1951): Presidential two-term limit: Proclaimed that no president may serve more than two terms. Furthermore, anyone who has served as president for two or more years of a term cannot be elected to more than one additional term. The amendment was proposed in 1947, following FDR’s term from 1933 to 1945.

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Amendment 23 (1961): Washington, DC gets electoral votes: Establishes that Washington, DC can appoint electors to the Electoral College for President and Vice President, as if it were a state, but no more than the least populous state.

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Amendment 24 (1964): No poll taxes in federal elections: Banned poll taxes in federal elections, ensuring that citizens could not be denied the right to vote because they failed to pay a tax.  The Supreme Court later struck down poll taxes in state elections using the Equal Protection Clause.

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Amendment 25 (1967): Presidential succession and disability rules: Set the rules for what happens if the President dies, resigns, or cannot do the job, and how a new Vice President is chosen if that office becomes vacant.  Provided a legal path for continuity during medical emergencies or crises.

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Amendment 26 (1971): Lowers the voting age to 18:

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Amendment 27 (proposed in 1789, ratified1992): Delays congressional pay raises: No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.  That is, Congress cannot give itself a pay raise that takes effect before the next election thus giving voters a chance to respond to the salary change through voting on their representatives first.

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