Hippocampus American Government: Amendments After the Bill of Rights

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The 17 Constitutional Amendments ratified after the Bill of Rights were brought about by unique circumstances and deal with a variety of issues. The Eleventh Amendment prohibits citizens from one state, or any foreign state, from suing another state in federal court. The Twelfth Amendment made changes in Electoral College procedures. It resulted from the failure of the Electoral College to select a winner in the 1800 presidential election. Thomas Jefferson became the nation's third president after a long, heated battle in the House of Representatives.

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are known as the "Civil War," "Reconstruction," or "Civil Rights" amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1865, abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment gave former slaves the rights of citizenship, due process, and equal protection. Using the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has incorporated the Bill of Rights to the states. The equal protection clause became the center of the fight to end institutional and de facto segregation in the 1950s and 1960s starting with Brown v. BOE of Topeka. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited states from denying voting rights to former male slaves.

The Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Amendments are called the "Progressive Era" amendments. These amendments were part of the Populism and later Progressivism that swept the nation in the 1880s through 1917. Ratified in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress the power to tax income, and the Seventeenth Amendment established popular election of the Senate. The Eighteenth Amendment, which was later repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment, instituted the prohibition of alcohol. The Nineteenth Amendment extended voting rights to women.

The remaining constitutional amendments concerned election or representation issues. The Twentieth Amendment changed the starting dates of presidential and congressional terms. The Twenty-Second Amendment invoked a two-term limit on the presidency. It was proposed in 1947, soon after Republicans gained control of Congress for the first time in 16 years. The Twenty-Third Amendment gave the District of Columbia a vote in the presidential election. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which was ratified in 1964, prohibited the use of poll taxes to qualify voters. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment established rules for presidential succession, vice presidential vacancy, and presidential disability. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which was ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The Twenty-Seventh Amendment is the final amendment, and it forbids Congress members from raising their own pay. A pay increase must take effect following the next election and installation of new Congressmen. It was first proposed in 1789, as part of the original Bill of Rights, and ratified more than 200 years later in 1992.