Readings
Constitutional amendments
All 27 amendments, with their text, history, court cases, and examples of how they apply.
The Bill of Rights
1791
The first ten amendments, ratified together to limit what the government can do to individuals.
- Amendment 1Speech, religion, and protestProtects religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition, and limits what the government can do about each.3 min read
- Amendment 2The right to bear armsProtects the right to keep and bear arms, within limits the Supreme Court has been defining since 2008.3 min read
- Amendment 3Housing soldiersBars the government from forcing homeowners to house soldiers, the least litigated provision in the Bill of Rights.3 min read
- Amendment 4Searches and warrantsProtects you from unreasonable searches and seizures and sets the standard for when police need a warrant.3 min read
- Amendment 5Silence, due process, and propertyCovers grand juries, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process, and compensation for property taken by the government.3 min read
- Amendment 6Criminal trials and the right to a lawyerGuarantees people accused of crimes a fair trial: a speedy and public one, a jury, notice of the charges, witnesses, and a lawyer.3 min read
- Amendment 7Juries in civil casesPreserves the right to a jury trial in federal civil lawsuits and limits judges from overriding what juries decide.3 min read
- Amendment 8Bail, fines, and punishmentLimits bail, fines, and punishments, and bars cruel and unusual punishment, with special rules for people who were under 18 when they committed a crime.3 min read
- Amendment 9Rights beyond the written listStates that listing certain rights in the Constitution does not mean people have no others.3 min read
- Amendment 10Federal and state powersReserves to the states and the people every power the Constitution does not give to the federal government.3 min read
Early changes and Reconstruction
1795–1870
Fixes to how the government works, followed by the amendments that ended slavery and extended citizenship and voting rights.
- Amendment 11Lawsuits against statesLimits when a person can sue a state in federal court, and was passed to undo a Supreme Court decision.3 min read
- Amendment 12Electing the President and Vice PresidentCreated separate electoral votes for President and Vice President and set the rules if no one wins a majority.3 min read
- Amendment 13Slavery and involuntary servitudeAbolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.3 min read
- Amendment 14Citizenship and equal protectionDefines citizenship and requires every state to provide due process and equal protection of the law.3 min read
- Amendment 15Race and voting rightsBars governments from denying the vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.3 min read
The modern amendments
1913–1992
Taxes, Senate elections, voting rights, presidential terms and succession, and the rules for changing congressional pay.
- Amendment 16Federal income taxLets Congress tax income without dividing the tax among the states by population.3 min read
- Amendment 17Electing U.S. SenatorsChanged how U.S. Senators are chosen, from selection by state legislatures to election by voters.3 min read
- Amendment 18ProhibitionProhibited the making, selling, and transporting of alcoholic drinks until it was repealed fourteen years later.3 min read
- Amendment 19Sex and voting rightsProhibits denying the vote because of sex, ending a seventy-year campaign for women’s suffrage.3 min read
- Amendment 20When elected officials take officeMoved the start of presidential and congressional terms earlier, shortening the “lame duck” period after an election.3 min read
- Amendment 21Repealing ProhibitionRepealed Prohibition and gave states broad authority over alcohol within their borders.3 min read
- Amendment 22Presidential term limitsLimits a President to two elected terms, with a rule for Vice Presidents who take over mid-term.3 min read
- Amendment 23Presidential voting in Washington, D.C.Gave residents of the District of Columbia electoral votes in presidential elections.3 min read
- Amendment 24Poll taxesBans poll taxes and other taxes as a condition of voting in federal elections.3 min read
- Amendment 25Presidential succession and inabilitySets the rules for presidential succession, filling a Vice President vacancy, and a President who cannot do the job.3 min read
- Amendment 26Voting at 18Set the voting age at 18 for every election in the United States.3 min read
- Amendment 27Changes to congressional payDelays any change in congressional pay until after the next House election, ratified 202 years after it was proposed.3 min read
Each reading links to the Constitution Annotated. Case lookup links help you find the cited opinion. To report an error, contact the Institute.