The Bill of Rights and Other Important Constitutional

AmendmentsThe Expansion of Individual

Liberties and Democracy Over Time In American History

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

O This amendment to the Constitution forbid states to charge a poll tax – which discriminate against poorer voters. (Virginia was one of the states which still allowed the practice.)

The Thirteenth AmendmentO This amendment

was passed at the end of the Civil War and abolished slavery. Every ex-Confederate State had to ratify this amendment to rejoin the Union.

The Nineteenth AmendmentO This amendment to

the Constitution gave women the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony had spent most of her life advocating for this right; sadly, she never lived to see the day when women could vote in national elections.

The Twenty-Sixth Amendment

O This amendment to the Constitution allowed young people, eighteen years or older, to participate in elections. It was passed during the Vietnam War Era. Many Americans felt that if eighteen year olds were being sent to fight and die for their nation in Vietnam, they should at least have the opportunity to vote for the government which drafted them!

The Fifteenth Amendment

O This amendment to the Constitution granted African-American men – not women – the right to vote in elections. This law was insisted upon by the so-called “Radical Republicans” during the Reconstruction of the American South. Sadly, the amendments gains were often undermined by “black codes” and unfair laws enacted by the Southern States.

The Second Amendment

O This amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms – in the form of well-regulated militia. The degree to which gun control is allowed, however, is a topic of much debate. Most scholars agree that the right to bear arms is very limited.

The Gun Control Debate

The Fourth AmendmentO This

amendment to the Constitution forbids any unreasonable searches of or seizure of property by the government or police officers.

The Tenth AmendmentO This amendment

to the Constitution states that any power which are not mentioned in the Constitution are reserved to the State governments or to the People.

The Eighth AmendmentO Cruel and unusual

punishment was forbidden by this amendment to the Constitution, which also forbids unfair treatment – like long term imprisonment before the trial begins.

The Sixth AmendmentO The right to a

speedy, public, and fair trial is guaranteed by this amendment to the Constitution.

The First AmendmentO Freedom of

religion, speech, and the press, and the right to assemble and to petition the government are all guaranteed by this amendment to the Constitution.

The Third AmendmentO The government

is not allowed to quarter soldiers in your home – except during times of war – thanks to this amendment to the Constitution.

The Fifth AmendmentO You have the right to

due process of law thanks to this amendment to the Constitution. You do not have to testify against yourself in a court of law; moreover, you cannot be tried more than once for the same offense. Once you have been deemed “not guilty,” you cannot be tried again.

The Seventh Amendment

O This amendment to the Constitution allows that individuals have the right to a jury trial for any matter involving twenty dollars or more.

The Ninth AmendmentO This amendment

simply states that Americans rights are not limited to the ones that are listed in the Bill of Rights or the Constitution. We have even more rights!