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11th Amendment
The 11th amendment passes, forbidding being considered federal cases, This means that citizens can only sue a state if they are in it, and supreme court will not hear cases involving a state being sued. This wasn't necessarily caused by a particular event; it was done to make the schedule of the supreme court less hectic. -
Election of 1776
With the election system at the time, whoever got second place in the election became the vice resident. However, in this case, it was a pretty significant problem, as the 1st and 2nd place candidates belonged to different parties. Thus John Adams, a federalist, became president while Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, became the vice president. -
12th Amendment
The 12th amendment sets up a variety of things for the presidential election system. Mainly, it says that president and vice president will be chosen through separate ballots, but it also says that both candidates can be listed together during voting, that a president chooses who will run with him for vice president, and so on. -
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Temperance Movement
The temperance movement is a long lasted series of efforts by various middle class citizens to eliminate alcohol in the US. It was mainly caused due to religious, health, and societal worries. -
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Suffrage Movement
A massive series of protests by thousands of women in the US demanding more rights, mainly the right to vote. -
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The Civil War
The Civil War occurs in the United States, caused by the rebellion of the confederate southern states. Many people die, and some slaves even participate in the war. (Ended in 1865, before the passing of the 13th amendment.) -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment is ratified after the events of the civil war, outlawing slavery in the United States. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment establishes does several things. Mainly, it guaranteed that everyone born in the US is a citizen, but it also revoked the 3/5th clause, and established a few other things as well. This was mainly done to guarantee citizenship to former slaves. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment is passed, reinforcing. voting rights to former slaves, and all races. However, Jim Crow Laws and literacy tests were still used to prevent former slaves from voting. -
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Polling Taxes Prevent African American's From Voting
Poll taxes are set in place, making it more difficult for the black population to vote, as most were very poor after being freed from slavery. -
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Senator Vacancies and Other Issues
Many legislatures refuse to cast votes, leaving vacancies in the senate, and it was also clear that many senators easily got themselves elected through bribes. (This is not a completely accurate time period, it's just an estimation.) -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment is added into the constitution in 1913. This amendment essentially gives the federal government the right to enforce income taxes. It wasn't exactly passed due to a particular event, it was due to higher demand for more government involvement in people's lives. -
17th Amendment
The 17th amendment grants the power to elect senators to the people, while senators previously were elected by state legislatures. -
18th Amendment
Due to the temperance movement, the sale, production, and distribution of alcohol is completely outlawed. However, this amendment would eventually be revoked. -
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Prohibition Era
The prohibition takes place, caused by the passing of the 13th amendment. With alcohol being outlawed, gangs and bootleggers come to the scene, leading to a very large increase in crime rates. The government also comes to find out that they get less income now that alcohol is outlawed. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment forbids the state and federal government from denying the right to vote based on gender, giving woman the right to vote as a result. This was caused by the suffrage movement. -
20th Amendment
The 20th amendment passes. The presidential inauguration is moved from March to January, and it is decided that if a president dies before they are inaugurated, the vice president will then take over. This was done to prevent the time in witch a president who has been voted out of office stays in power, as they often wouldn't do much during this time. -
21st Amendment
Mainly due to the rising crime rates caused by prohibition, the 18th amendment gets repealed. -
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FDR Serves as The President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes the first ever president to serve more than two terms, ultimately serving 3 full terms, and a partial 4th term. -
22nd Amdendment
The amount of total terms the president can serve is limited to 2. This was passed to of of concerns for abuse of power after FDR served 4 terms. -
23rd Amendment
The 23rd amendment is ratified in 1960, giving citizens of Washington D.C the right to vote for president. -
JFK Assassinated
President JFK is assassinated, and concerns for the safety if the new president Lyndon Johnson was also at risk. -
US Enters The Vietnam War
From 1965 to 1973, the US participates in the Vietnam war. Many 18 year old begin to demand the right vote, as they were being drafted but could not vote to choose the people responsible for sending them into combat. -
25th Amendment
The 25th amendment gets ratified, setting up a line of successors if the president and the former vice president who replaced them dies. This was mainly put in place due the assassination of JFK, and the concerns that followed. -
26th Amendment
The ratification of the 26th amendment comes around, lowering the voting age to 18, caused by the events and aftermath of the Vietnam War. -
27th Amendment
The 27th amendment forbids the congress from getting salary changes in the middle of a term.
