Amendment Summary: 27 Updates to the U.S. Constitution (2024)

The Constitution of the United States provides two methods for making amendments. Only one has ever been used. The United States Congress can pass a bill setting out a proposed amendment by a vote of two thirds in each body. Or a constitutional convention can be convened by a vote of two thirds of the state legislatures, which will propose one or more amendments. This has never happened and its unclear exactly how such a constitutional convention would operate.In either case, the amendments to the U.S. Constitution only become effective after being ratified by 3/4 of the states. Some amendments are quickly ratified. The 27th Amendment, on the other hand, was proposed in 1792 and did not achieve final ratification until 1992. Unlike all proposed amendments since Prohibition, this amendment had no deadline.Some prominent amendments never are ratified. The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in 1972 and was ratified by 34 of the necessary 38 states. However, advocates could not get the last four states necessary and the Congressionally-imposed deadline for ratification passed.The first 10 amendments were soon passed and are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. Another cluster of amendments was passed following the Civil War and sought to enshrine the rights of the newly freed slaves. The United States Constitution now has 25 functioning amendments. There have been 27 ratified in total, but one of these, the 18th, was Prohibition and another, the 21st, was the repeal of Prohibition.

Amendment

Ratified

Description

1st

1791

Rights to Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition

2nd

1791

Right to Bear Arms

3rd

1791

Quartering of Soldiers

4th

1791

Search and Seizure

5th

1791

Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process

6th

1791

Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions: Rights to Jury Trial, to Confront Opposing Witnesses and to Counsel

7th

1791

Jury Trial

8th

1791

Protections against Excessive Bail, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

9th

1791

Non-Enumerated Rights

10th

1791

Rights Reserved to States

11th

1795

Suits Against a State

12th

1804

Election of President and Vice-President

13th

1865

Abolition of Slavery and Involuntary Servitude

14th

1868

Protects rights against state infringements, defines citizenship, prohibits states from interfering with privileges and immunities, requires due process and equal protection, punishes states for denying vote, and disqualifies Confederate officials and debts

15th

1870

Voting Rights

16th

1913

Federal Income Tax

17th

1913

Popular Election of Senators

18th

1919

Prohibition

19th

1920

Women's Right to Vote

20th

1933

Commencement of Presidential Term and Succession

21st

1933

Repeal of 18th Amendment (Prohibition)

22nd

1951

Two-Term Limitation on President

23rd

1961

District of Columbia Presidential Vote

24th

1964

Abolition of Poll Tax Requirement in Federal Elections

25th

1967

Presidential Vacancy, Disability and Inability

26th

1971

Right to Vote at Age 18

27th

1992

Congressional Compensation

Amendment Summary: 27 Updates to the U.S. Constitution (2024)

FAQs

Amendment Summary: 27 Updates to the U.S. Constitution? ›

The Meaning

Amendment XXVII prevents members of Congress from granting themselves pay raises during the current session. Rather, any raises that are adopted must take effect during the next session of Congress.

What is the 27th Amendment simple summary? ›

The Meaning

Amendment XXVII prevents members of Congress from granting themselves pay raises during the current session. Rather, any raises that are adopted must take effect during the next session of Congress.

What change did the 27th Amendment make to the Constitution? ›

Amendment Twenty-seven to the Constitution was ratified on May 7, 1992. It forbids any changes to the salary of Congress members from taking effect until the next election concludes.

Which of the 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution do you think is the most important? ›

The First Amendment is widely considered to be the most important part of the Bill of Rights. It protects the fundamental rights of conscience—the freedom to believe and express different ideas—in a variety of ways.

What are the 27 amendments for dummies? ›

The 27 Amendments Simplified
  • The freedom of religion, speech, and to peacefully assemble together.
  • The right to own a gun.
  • The right to not house a solider.
  • The right to not be searched or have something taken away within reason.
  • The right to life, liberty, property, and no double jeopardy or self-incrimination.

Why is the 27th Amendment so important? ›

It started as an amendment originally proposed in 1789 and did not officially become part of the Constitution until 1992. With its ratification, the 27th Amendment prohibited any voted on pay increases from going into effect until the following congressional session began.

What is an interesting fact about the 27th Amendment? ›

27th Amendment Facts
  • The amendment is the most recent amendment to the constitution. ...
  • The amendment deals with congressional salaries. ...
  • The amendment was originally proposed in 1789 as part of the Bill of Rights. ...
  • The amendment was rediscovered in 1982 by a college student.
Apr 23, 2023

When was the 27th Amendment simplified? ›

27th Amendment (1992):

Denies any laws that vary the salaries of Congress members until the beginning of the next terms of office for Representatives.

Has the Constitution been amended 27 times? ›

The founders also specified a process by which the Constitution may be amended, and since its ratification, the Constitution has been amended 27 times. In order to prevent arbitrary changes, the process for making amendments is quite onerous.

Why was the 27th Amendment passed quizlet? ›

Why was the 27th amendment passed requiring that raises in pay for Congress be delayed until after the next election? This amendment means that members of Congress cannot immediately benefit from a pay raise in the term in which it is voted on. It was passed as a protest against Congressional pay raises.

What are the 27 amendment Rights? ›

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

What is the 27 amendments called? ›

The Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789) to the United States Constitution prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred.

Have only 27 amendments been added to the Constitution? ›

The Constitution has been amended 27 times, most recently in 1992, although there have been over 11,000 amendments proposed since 1789.

How many of the 27 amendments have been proposed by the constitutional Convention? ›

None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution.

Is the Bill of Rights the first 27 amendments to the Constitution? ›

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.

Which amendment took the shortest time to ratify? ›

The United States Congress approved the amendment on March 23, 1971, and sent it to the states to be ratified. Within three months and eight days, the states had ratified the amendment, and it became part of the Constitution. This was the quickest amendment to be ratified in United States history.

Are there 27 or 33 amendments? ›

There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, ratified December 15, 1791.

What is the summary of the Constitution? ›

The Constitution defines the fundamental law of the U.S. federal government, setting forth the three principal branches of the federal government and outlining their jurisdictions. It has become the landmark legal document of the Western world, and is the oldest written national constitution currently in effect.

What is the latest Amendment of the Constitution? ›

The Latest Amendment in Indian Constitution is the Constitution 105th Amendment Act 2021. It was introduced by Dr. Virendra Kumar (Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment) on 9th August 2021. The bill amends the constitution to allow states and union territories.

Has any of the 27 amendments been repealed? ›

The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919. The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933—it is the only amendment to be repealed.

When the 27th Amendment ratified how many states ratified this? ›

By May 5, 1992, the requisite 38 states had ratified the amendment (North Carolina had re-ratified it in 1989), and it was certified by the archivist of the United States as the Twenty-seventh Amendment on May 18, 1992, more than 202 years after its original proposal.

What was the purpose of the amendments? ›

Amendments allow laws and policies to be refined over time rather than replaced outright. Local, state, and federal laws can be changed through the ratification of amendments. Legislative bodies in the U.S. operate on the premise that laws and policies may be refined over time.

Who made the 27 amendment? ›

Congress passed the Twenty-Seventh Amendment by a two-thirds vote of both Houses, in 1789, along with eleven other proposed constitutional amendments (the last ten of which were ratified by the states in 1791, becoming the Bill of Rights).

How many amendments have failed? ›

During the course of our history, in addition to the twenty-seven Amendments which have been ratified by the required three-fourths of the states, six other amendments have been submitted to the states but have not been ratified by them.

What are the amendments in simple terms? ›

An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution. The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, only a short time after the Constitution was first ratified.

What are the amendments in order simplified? ›

Ratified December 15, 1791.
  • Amendment I. Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly. ...
  • Amendment II. Right to bear arms. ...
  • Amendment III. Quartering of soldiers. ...
  • Amendment IV. Search and arrest. ...
  • Amendment V. Rights in criminal cases. ...
  • Amendment VI. Right to a fair trial. ...
  • Amendment VII. Rights in civil cases. ...
  • Amendment VIII. Bail, fines, punishment.

What is the 26th Amendment in simple terms? ›

1 Overview of Twenty-Sixth Amendment, Reduction of Voting Age. Twenty-Sixth Amendment. Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

What is the 21st Amendment in simple terms? ›

The Twenty-first Amendment grants the States vir- tually complete control over whether to permit importation or sale of liquor and how to structure the liquor distribution system.

When was the 27th Amendment passed? ›

AMENDMENT XXVII. Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992.

When were the 27 amendments written? ›

Congress passed the Twenty-Seventh Amendment by a two-thirds vote of both Houses, in 1789, along with eleven other proposed constitutional amendments (the last ten of which were ratified by the states in 1791, becoming the Bill of Rights).

What are the 3 main amendments? ›

These are a few of the key ideas in each amendment:
  • First Amendment: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.
  • Second Amendment: the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
  • Third Amendment: restricts housing soldiers in private homes.

What is the 25th Amendment in simple terms? ›

Twenty-Fifth Amendment. Section 1: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Why the 26th Amendment is important? ›

Ratified in July 1971, the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution lowered the voting age of U.S. citizens from 21 to 18 years old.

What does the 22nd Amendment say? ›

Text. Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

What is the 11th amendment? ›

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.

What is the 11th amendment in simple terms? ›

The Eleventh Amendment's text prohibits the federal courts from hearing certain lawsuits against states. The Amendment has also been interpreted to mean that state courts do not have to hear certain suits against the state, if those suits are based on federal law.

What amendment is 19? ›

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote.

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