This thought-provoking and interesting text provides a complete examination of each of our nation's 27 Constitutional Amendments. From the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, to slavery, to the voting rights of women, this text illustrates how the US Constitution has changed since its ratification in 1789.

Table of Contents

• Introduction and User's Guide
• Foreword
• Volume 1
• Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10): Proposed 1789 / Ratified 1791
• Protects individual rights including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, the right to bear arms, the right to due process and the right to a fair trial by jury; also, the Bill of Rights prohibits unreasonable searches, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Sketch of Proceedings of Congress, 8 June 1789
• Congressional Intelligence, Daily Advertiser, 12 June 1789
• Remarks on the Amendments The Federal Gazette, 23 July 1789
• Letter from a Philadelphian, Gazette of the United-States, 23 January 1790
• The Bill of Rights, New-England Galaxy, 29 December 1820
• Supreme Court Cases
• First Amendment
• Schenck v. United States, 3 March 1919
• Everson v. Board of Education, 10 February 1947
• New York Times Co. v. United States, 30 June 1971
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 13 January 1988
• Second Amendment
• United States v. Miller, 15 May 1939
• District of Columbia v. Heller, 26 June 2008
• McDonald v. Chicago, 28 June 2010
• Fourth Amendment
• Silverman v. United States, 6 March 1961
• Beck v. Ohio, 23 November 1964
• Katz v. United States, 18 December 1967
• Terry v. Ohio, 10 June 1968
• Arizona v. Gant, 21 April 2009
• Fifth Amendment
• Miranda v. Arizona, 13 June 1966
• Ohio v. Reiner, 19 March 2001
• Sixth Amendment
• Powell v. Alabama, 7 November 1932
• Sheppard v. Maxwell, 6 June 1966
• Barker v. Wingo, 22 June 1972
• Eighth Amendment
• Trop v. Dulles, 31 March 1958
• Furman v. Georgia, 29 June 1972
• Gregg v. Georgia, 2 July 1976
• Roper v. Simmons, 1 March 2005
• Ninth Amendment
• Griswold v. Connecticut, 7 June 1965
• Roe v. Wade, 22 January 1973
• Tenth Amendment
• New York v. United States, 19 June 1992
• Printz v. United States, 27 June 1997
• Who's Who
• Tench Coxe
• Thomas Hartley
• James Madison
• Roger Sherman
• William Loughton Smith
• John Vining
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Eleventh Amendment: Proposed 1794 / Ratified 1795
• Grants immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Issues Behind Chisholm v. Georgia, The Gazette of the United States, 3 April 1793
• Chief Justice JAY, The Mirrour, 12 August 1793
• Correspondence from the Governor of Georgia, 1 January 1794
• Supreme Court Cases
• Van Stophorst v. Maryland, 1791
• Chisholm v. Georgia, 18 February 1793
• Cohens v. Virginia, 3 March 1821
• Osborn v. Bank of the United States, 19 March 1824
• Bank of the United States v. Planters’ Bank of Georgia, 20 March 1824
• Edelman v. Jordan, 25 March 1974
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 28 June 1976
• Florida Department of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc., 1 July 1982
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 27 March 1996
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 11 January 2000
• Who's Who
• James Iredell
• Caleb Strong
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twelfth Amendment: Proposed 1803 / Ratified 1804
• Revises presidential election procedures
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• The Goings-on In Congress, The National Intelligencer, 12 December 1803
• Amendment to the Constitution, The Trenton Federalist, 19 December 1803
• Proposed Electoral Amendment, The Scioto Gazette, 26 December 1803
• Massachusetts Ratifying the Twelfth Amendment, The Aurora, 1 February 1804
• Domestic Intelligence, The Philadelphia Evening Post, 24 February 1804
• Amendment to the Constitution, The National Intelligencer, 6 June 1804
• Constitutional Amendment Ratified, The New-Hampshire Gazette, 28 August 1804
• Letter to the Governours, The Gazette of the United States, 9 October 1804
• Supreme Court Cases
• Ray v. Blair, 3 April 1952
• Who's Who
• William Loughton Smith
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Thirteenth Amendment: Proposed & Ratified 1865
• Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Letter to Duff Green from President Lincoln, 28 December 1860
• Letter to President Lincoln from James M. Ashley, 25 December 1864
• Letter to Senator Edwin D. Morgan from Francis Lieber, 1 February 1865
• Freedom Triumphant, The New York Tribune, 21 January 1865
• Peace and Slavery, The New York Times, 4 February 1865
• Letter from Gov. William Cannon, 7 February 1865
• The Amendment, Harper's Weekly, 18 February 1865
• The Anti-Slavery Amendment, Liverpool Mercury, 18 February 1865
• The Constitutional Amendment, The Black Republican, 20 May 1865
• Doom of Slavery, The New York Herald, 18 December 1865
• A Rare Copy of the Thirteenth Amendment, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 February 2009
• Supreme Court Cases
• Bailey v. Alabama, 3 January 1911
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 17 June 1968
• United States v. Kozminski, 29 June 1988
• Who's Who
• James Mitchell Ashley
• John Brooks Henderson
• Charles Sumner
• James Falconer Wilson
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Fourteenth Amendment: Proposed 1866 / Ratified 1868
• Defines citizenship, including Immunities, Due-Process and Equal Protection Clauses
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Passing of the Constitutional Amendment, The Sun, 14 June 1866
• Passage of the Resolution in the House, Boston Daily Advertiser, 14 June 1866
• Proposition for Immediate State Action, New-York Daily Tribune, 15 June 1866
• A Short Story, Daily National Intelligencer, 16 June 1866
• A Southern Perspective, Georgia Telegraph, 25 June 1866
• A Message from President Lincoln, 22 June 1866, Senate Executive Document 57
• A Memoriam Poem, The Freed-Man, 1 October 1866
• Reconstruction and the Election - Letter from an Alabamian,
• The New York Times, 17 November 1867 A Legal Question Involving the Fourteenth Amendment,
• The National Republican, 1 August 1868
• Celebration in Eastern States, The Elevator, 3 June 1870
• Defeat of the Colored Litigants, The Sun, 16 October 1883
• A Lesson from Today's Situation, Supreme Court Case Elk v. Wilkins, 3 November 1884
• Supreme Court Cases
• The Slaughter-House Cases, 14 April 1873
• The Civil Rights Cases, 15 October 1883
• Elk v. Wilkins, 3 November 1884
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 10 May 1886
• Plessy v. Ferguson, 18 May 1896
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 17 May 1954
• Mapp v. Ohio, 19 June 1961
• Gideon v. Wainwright, 18 March 1963
• Afroyim v. Rusk, 29 May 1967
• Loving v. Virginia, 12 June 1967
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 28 June 1978
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peha, 12 June 1995
• Obergefell v. Hodges, 26 June 2015
• Who's Who
• John Armor Bingham
• Jacob Merritt Howard
• Thaddeus Stevens
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Fifteenth Amendment: Proposed 1869 / Ratified 1870
• Prohibits denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous servitude
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• The Fifteenth Amendment, Columbian Weekly Register, 6 February 1869
• The Constitutional Amendment, Daily National Intelligencer, 22 February 1869
• Suffrage Question, The Charleston Tri-Weekly Courier of South Carolina, 27 February 1869.
• The Fifteenth Amendment - The President's Message on it Adoption, Daily National Republican, 31 March 1870
• Frederick Douglass on the Fifteenth Amendment, The New York Times, 11 April 1870
• Appeal to Attorney General to Enforce Fifteenth Amendment, 1903
• Supreme Court Cases
• United States v. Cruikshank, 27 March 1876
• Guinn v. United States, 21 June 1915
• Grovey v. Townsend, 1 April 1935
• Smith v. Allwright, 3 April 1944
• Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 14 November 1960
• South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 7 March 1966
• Rice v. Cayetano, 23 February 2000
• Shelby County v. Holder, 25 June 2013
• Who's Who
• George Sewell Boutwell
• William Pitt Fessenden
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Sixteenth Amendment: Proposed 1909 / Ratified 1913
• Allows federal government to collect income tax
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Income Tax Decision, New-York Tribune, 7 April 1895
• Correct To A Dot, Chicago Tribune, 9 April 1895
• A Direct Income Tax, The Miami Herald, 4 February 1913
• Legal Means To Be Used, The Tacoma Times, 29 April 1916
• Superfluous Amendment? New-York Tribune, 11 August 1921
• Supreme Court Cases
• Hylton v. United States, 8 March 1796
• Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co., 8 April 1895
• Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 24 January 1916
• Sowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co., 3 May 1926
• Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Glenshaw Glass Co., 28 March 1955
• Who's Who
• Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich
• Norris Brown
• Cordell Hull
• Anselm Joseph McLaurin
• Sereno Elisha Payne
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Seventeenth Amendment: Proposed 1912 / Ratified 1913
• Establishes election of U.S. Senators by popular vote
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Direct Election of US Senators, The Atlanta Constitution, 14 May 1912
• The Seventeenth Amendment, New-York Tribune, 15 May 1912
• 17th Amendment Now, New-York Tribune, 31 May 1913
• The People and the Newspapers: As Regards Constitutional Amendment, The Hartford Herald, 11 June 1913
• Criticism of the Amendment, Northwestern University Law Review, 1997
• Supreme Court Cases
• MacDougall v. Green, 21 October 1948
• Trinsey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 6 August 1991
• Who's Who
• William Edgar Borah
• Joseph Little Bristow
• William Lorimer
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Eighteenth Amendment: Proposed 1917 / Ratified 1919
• Establishes prohibition of alcohol
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Cowardice in Congress, The World of New York, 16 February 1913
• Effect of the Reed Amendment in Virginia, The Daily Star, 24 February 1917
• The Prohibition Amendment, The Sun of Baltimore, 3 February 1918
• “Bone-Dry” Act is Upheld By Supreme Court, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8 January 1919
• Dry Nation Assured by 38 States’ Vote, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 January 1919
• Senate Prompt In Over-Riding Wilson's Veto, The Charlotte Observer, 29 October 1919
• Rule Dry Law Invalid, The Washington Post, 13 November 1919
• America To Remain Dry, The San Francisco Chronicle, 21 November 1919
• Prohibition Proves Practical, The Jasper News, 27 May 1920
• Supreme Court Cases
• Crane v. Campbell, 10 December 1917
• National Prohibition Cases, 7 June 1920
• Dillon v. Gloss, 16 May 1921
• James Everard's Breweries v. Day, Prohibition Director of New York, et al. Edward & John Burke, Limited, v. Blair, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, et al., 9 June 1924
• Olmstead v. United States, 4 June 1928
• Who's Who
• William Squire Kenyon
• James Alexander Reed
• John Morris Sheppard
• Andrew John Volstead
• Edwin Yates Webb
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Volume 2
• Nineteenth Amendment: Proposed 1919 / Ratified 1920
• Establishes women's suffrage
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Sixteenth Amendment, Daily State Gazette, 6 April 1870
• The Sixteenth Amendment, The Fort Worth Register, 2 June 1901
• A Suffrage Petition, The Hartford Courant, 3 February 1913
• Women Answer Question: “Why Force Women To Vote?,” New-York Tribune, 9 March 1913
• Women, 500 Strong, Backed By Police, New-York Tribune, 13 January 1915
• Suffrage Meets Defeat in House, New-York Tribune, 13 January 1915
• Wlson Indorses Woman Suffrage, The New York Times, 7 October 1915
• Woman Suffrage Wins In House By One Vote, The Washington Post, 11 January 1918
• Suffrage Loses By But One Vote, The Chicago Tribune, 11 February 1919
• Suffrage Amendment Is Adopted By Senate, The Washington Post, 11 January 1918
• Suffragists Here Flaunt Their Flags, The Philadelphia Evening Ledger, 5 June 1919
• Supreme Court Cases
• Bradwell v. Illinois, 15 April 1873
• Minor v. Happersett, 29 March 1875
• Leserv. Garnett, 27 February 1922
• Breedlove v. Suttles, 6 December 1937
• Reed v. Reed, 22 November 1971
• Frontiero v. Richardson, 14 May 1973
• Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 21 January 1974
• Stanton v. Stanton, 15 April 1975
• Craig v. Boren, 20 December 1976
• Who's Who
• Carrie Chapman Catt
• James Robert Mann
• Frank Wheeler Mondell
• Thetus Willrette Sims
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twentieth Amendment: Proposed 1932 / Ratified 1933
• Establishes term commencement dates for Congress
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• ‘Lame Duck’ Resolution, The Washington Post, 16 February 1932
• Lame Duck Bill is Approved, The Chicago Tribune, 3 March 1932
• Lame Duck Ban Wins, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1932
• Virginia Demarcate Praises “Guard the Constitution”, The Washington Post, 14 March 1932 705 Lame-Duck Amendment Formally Proclaimed, The Sun of Baltimore, 7 February 1933
• Who's Who
• George William Norris
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-first Amendment: Proposed & Ratified 1933
• Repeals Eighteenth Amendment
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Repeal of Eighteenth Amendment, Presidential Proclamation 2065, 5 December 1933
• Wickersham Commission Report, The Hartford Courant of Connecticut, 21 January 1931
• US Prohibition Ends, The Deseret News, 5 December 1933
• Roosevelt Proclaims Repeal of Dry Amendment, The Atlanta Constitution, 6 December 1933 765 Boston Remains Staid As It Sips Liquor, The Boston Globe, 6 December 1933
• Supreme Court Cases
• State Board of Equalization v.Young's Market Co., 9 December 1936
• Mahoney v. Joseph Triner Corp., 23 May 1938
• Indianapolis Brewing Co. v. Liquor Commission, et al., 3 January 1939
• Ziffrin, Inc. v. Reeves, 13 November 1939
• Carter v. Virginia, 31 January 1944
• Hostetter v. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp., 1 June 1964
• Joseph E. Seagram & Son, et. v. Hostetter, 19 April 1966
• Craig v. Boren, 20 December 1976
• California Retail Liquor Dealers Association v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc., 3 March 1980
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias, 29 June 1984
• Granholm v. Heald, 16 May 2005
• Who's Who
• John James Blaine
• Carter Glass
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-second Amendment: Proposed 1947 / Ratified 1951
• Limits president to two terms
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Order Hearing on Bills, The Chicago Tribune, 2 February 1947
• Presidency Limit of 8 Years Asked, The New York Times, 4 February 1947
• Two-Term Amendment, The Washington Post, 13 February 1947
• Presidency Limit Put Before Senate, The New York Times, 6 March 1947
• Votes to Place Two Term Issue Before States, The Chicago Tribune, 13 March 1947
• House Vote O.K.'s Presidency Limit, The Sun, 22 March 1947
• Who's Who
• Earl Cory Michener
• Alexander Wiley
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-third Amendment: Proposed 1960 / Ratified 1961
• Provides for representation of Washington D.C. in the Electoral College
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Suffrage Bill to Get Clear Path, The Washington Post, 9 June 1960
• Suffrage for Capital Approved by House, The New York Times, 16 June 1960
• Suffrage Bill Passed by Senate, The Washington Post, 17 June 1960
• Presidential Vote for District Wins, The Washington Post, 30 March 1961
• White House Opposes D.C. Vote, The Washington Post, 17 March 2007
• Supreme Court Cases
• Hepburn & Dundas v. Ellzey, 1805
• Loughborough v. Blake, 1820
• National Mutual Insurance Co. v.Tidewater Transfer Co., Inc., 20 June 1949
• Who's Who
• Francis Higbee Case
• Kenneth Barnard Keating
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-fourth Amendment: Proposed 1962 / Ratified 1964
• Prohibits revocation of voting rights due to non-payment of poll taxes
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• High Court Rules U.S. Free, The Atlanta Constitution, 7 December 1937
• Poll Tax Goes Seen Planning New Move, Baltimore-Afro-American, 28 August 1962
• Poll Tax On Way Out, St. Petersburg Times, 28 August 1962
• Anti-Poll Tax Amendment For US Elections Passed, The Sun, 28 August 1962
• Poll Tax, Big Spring Daily Herald of Texas, 24 January 1964
• In Arkansas As Everywhere, Northwest Arkansas Times, 25 January 1964
• Supreme Court Cases
• Breedlove v. Suttles, 6 December 1937
• Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, 24 March 1966
• Harman v. Forssenius, 27 April 1965
• Burdick v. Takushi, 8 June 1992
• Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 28 April 2008
• Who's Who
• Emanuel Celler
• Spessard Lindsey Holland
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-fifth Amendment: Proposed 1965 / Ratified 1967
• Defines process of presidential succession
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Disability Measure Sails Past in House But Stalls in Senate, The Washington Post, 1 July 1965
• States to Get Amendment on Presidency, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 1965
• Disability Amendment, The Evening News, 8 July 1965
• State 10th to Ratify Succession, The Independent of Pasadena, 22 October 1965
• Ford Sworn as VP After House Approves The New York Times, 6 December 1973
• Who's Who
• Birch Evans Bayh, Jr
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-sixth Amendment: Proposed & Ratified 1971
• Establishes the right to vote for those 18 years or older
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Amendment in Judiciary Works, The Tuscaloosa News, 8 March 1971
• Ratify This Amendment, The Deseret News, 22 March 1971
• Age 18 Vote Amendment Up to State Legislatures, The Spokesman-Review, 24 March 1971 1088 Amendment Giving Ballot to Youth to Be Certified, The Blade, 4 July 1971
• Supreme Court Cases
• Oregon v. Mitchell, 21 December 1970
• Who's Who
• Jennings Randolph
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Twenty-seventh Amendment: Proposed 1789 / Ratified 1992
• Prohibits Congressional pay raises to take effect before next session of Congress
• Brief Summary
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Debate in Congress
• Historical Background Documents
• As Submitted to the States
• Original Primary Documents
• Across Two Centuries, A Founder Updates the Constitution, The Washington Post, 14 May 1992
• Foley Accepts Pay Amendment, Wisconsin State Journal, 15 May 1992
• What Other Papers Are Saying, Syracuse Herald-Journal, 30 May 1992
• Supreme Court Cases
• Dillon v. Gloss, 16 May 1921
• Coleman v. Miller, 5 June 1939
• Who's Who
• Elbridge Gerry
• Theodore Sedgwick
• Footnotes, Sources, Further Reading
• America At That Time
• Appendix A: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROCESS
• Appendix B: RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
• Appendix C: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE US CONSTITUTION
• Introduction
• Apportionment Amendment
• Anti-Nobility Title Amendment
• Corwin Slavery Amendment
• Child Labor Amendment
• Equal Rights Amendment
• Balanced Budget Amendment
• Appendix D: LIST OF SUPREME COURT CASES BY AMENDMENT
• Credits