Constitution quill pen

U.S. Amendments Timeline

  • Period: to

    American Revolutionary War

  • U.S. Constitution was adopted

    U.S. Constitution was adopted
    7 original articles:
    Preamble
    Articles 1 to 3 - Seperation of powers (Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary)
    Article 4 - Federlism (State)
    Article 5 - Amending the Consitution
    Article 6 - Federalism (National)
    Article 7 - Ratification
  • Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution

    Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution
    The Bill of Rights contains the first 10 Amendments:
    1st - Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition
    2nd - Right to bear arms.
    3rd - Citizens do not have to house soldiers.
    4th - No unreasonable search or arrest.
    5th - No double jeopardy or witness against ourselves
    6th - Rights of accused
    7th - Trial by jury
    8th - No excessive bail or cruel punishment
    9th - People get rights not listed in Constitution
    10th - Rights not given to the Fed are given to states and people
  • The 11th Amendment was ratified

    The 11th Amendment was ratified
    The 11th Amendment: Makes states immune from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders; lays the foundation for sovereign immunity. Joint Resolution Proposing the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
    3/4/1794
    General Records of the United States Government
    National Archives Identifier: 1407972
  • The 12th Amendment was ratified

    The 12th Amendment was ratified
    The 12th Amendment: Revises presidential election procedures. John Adams. Copy of painting by or after John Singleton Copley, circa 1783.
    ca. 1783
    Records of Commissions of the Legislative Branch
    National Archives Identifier: 532847
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    War of 1812

  • Period: to

    American Civil War

  • The 13th Amendment was ratified

    The 13th Amendment was ratified
    The 13th Amendment: Abolishes slavery, and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. Scars of Slavery -- Peter - Baton Rouge, LA
    4/2/1863
    Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs
    National Archives Identifier: 533232
  • The 14th Amendment was ratified

    The 14th Amendment was ratified
    The 14th Amendment: Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues.
  • The 15th Amendment was ratified

    The 15th Amendment was ratified
    The 15th Amendment: Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
  • Period: to

    Progressive Era

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    African-American Civil Rights Movement

    Plessy v. Ferguson (1986)
    Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
    The Civil Rights Act of 1964
    The Civil Rights Act of 1968 a.k.a. Fair Housing Act
  • The 16th Amendment was ratified

    The 16th Amendment was ratified
    The 16th Amendment: Permits Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census.
  • The 17th Amendment was ratified

    The 17th Amendment was ratified
    The 17th Amendment: Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. Joint Resolution Proposing the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    5/13/1912
    General Records of the United States Government
    National Archives Identifier: 1408966
    This item consists of the resolution proposing the Seventeenth Amendment, which was ratified April 8, 1913, and grants voters the right to cast direct votes for their U.S. Senator.
  • Period: to

    WWI

  • The 18th Amendment was ratified

    The 18th Amendment was ratified
    The 18th Amendment: Prohibited the manufacturing or sale of alcohol within the United States.
    (Repealed December 5, 1933) Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a clandestine underground brewery during the prohibition era
    Records of the U.S. Information Agency
    National Archives Identifier: 541928
  • The 19th Amendment was ratified

    The 19th Amendment was ratified
    The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. ca. 1917 - 1918
    Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs
    National Archives Identifier: 533769
    Suffragette banner. One of the banners, the women who picketed the White House and Capitol, carried.
  • The 20th Amendment was ratified

    The 20th Amendment was ratified
    The 20th Amendment: Changes the date on which the terms of the President and Vice President (January 20) and Senators and Representatives (January 3) end and begin. The Post-Season Parade
    3/5/1915
    Records of the U.S. Senate
    National Archives Identifier: 1693335
    Cartoon highlights the biennial departure of “lame duck” members of Congress—those who are departing Capitol Hill after losing their bid for reelection. Departing members continued to serve for months after the election.
  • The 21th Amendment was ratified

    The 21th Amendment was ratified
    The 21st Amendment: Repeals the 18th Amendment and prohibits the transportation or importation into the United States of alcohol for delivery or use in violation of applicable laws.
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    WWI

  • Period: to

    Cold War

  • The 22th Amendment was ratified

    The 22nd Amendment: Limits the number of times that a person can be elected president: a person cannot be elected president more than twice, and a person who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected cannot be elected more than once.
  • The 23th Amendment was ratified

    The 23th Amendment was ratified
    The 23rd Amendment: Grants the Washington DC electors (the number of electors being equal to the least populous state) in the Electoral College. Joint Resolution Proposing the Twenty-Third Amendment to the United States Constitution
    1/6/1960
    General Records of the United States Government
    National Archives Identifier: 1411868
    This item consists of the resolution proposing the Twenty-Third Amendment.
  • The 24th Amendment was ratified

    The 24th Amendment was ratified
    The 24th Amendment: Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of a poll tax.
  • The 25th Amendment was ratified

    The 25th Amendment was ratified
    The 25th Amendment: Addresses succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. Joint Resolution Proposing the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    7/6/1965
    General Records of the United States Government
    National Archives Identifier: 1415077
    This item consists of the resolution proposing the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.
  • The 26th Amendment was ratified

    The 26th Amendment was ratified
    The 26th Amendment: Prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age. Richard M. Nixon’s Notes for 26th Amendment Ceremony
    7/5/1971
    White House Staff Member and Office Files (Nixon Administration)
    National Archives Identifier: 1634228
    Additional Details from our Exhibits and Publications:
  • The 27th Amendment was ratified

    The 27th Amendment was ratified
    The 27th Amendment: Delays laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives. Certification of the 27th Amendment
    5/18/1992
    General Records of the United States Government
    National Archives Identifier: 1512313
    Additional Details from our Exhibits and Publications:
    Certification of 27th Amendment
    This document is verification from the Archivist of the United States that the 27th Amendment was ratified.appropriate number of states. This