Amendments 11-27

7th Grade Civics

11th Amendment

1795 - protects states from

lawsuits filed by citizens of

other states or countries

Limited the authority of the

Supreme Court to overhear

such cases

12th Amendment

Changed the election procedure for

president and vice president

1804 - Requires separate ballots for the

office of president and vice president

Resulted from the Election of 1800 where

there was a tie for president between

Jefferson and Burr, forcing the House to

choose.

Civil War and Reconstruction

Election of Lincoln caused South Carolina to

secede from the Union.

Other slaveholding states seceded, 11 in all,

forming the Confederate States of America.

Civil War between 1861 - 1865

Emancipation Proclamation: freed slaves in

Confederate states

The period after the Civil War is known as

Reconstruction - both in an infrastructure and

sociological sense.

Civil Rights and the States

Americans have certain rights simply by

being American citizens

Civil rights: rights guaranteed to all U.S.

Citizens

Individual states held the responsibility of

protecting civil rights until Reconstruction.

13th Amendment

1865 - outlawed slavery

in all states and lands

governed by the United

States, except as

punishment for a crime

Passed Northern states

easily

8 of the 11 Confederate

states ratified the

amendment by the end

of 1865

Reconstruction Continues

Northerners viewed the ratification of the 13th

Amendment as a major victory

Radical Republicans wanted to maintain their

power in Congress, believed that former slaves

were the solution

Southerners retaliated by passing Black Codes

Confederate states placed under military rule

and withheld their representation in Congress

until they met certain criteria, including

ratification of the 14th Amendment

14th Amendment

1868 - had two clauses

1. Granted full citizenship to African

Americans

2. Declared that no state can take away

a citizen’s “life, liberty, or property,

without due process of law.”

15th Amendment

Closed the last loophole in the establishment of civil

rights for freedmen

1870 - No one can be denied suffrage because of

race, color, or prior social status. Granted African

American males the right to vote.

Ratification of this amendment was not required for

readmittance into the Union, however states had

include a near copy of the amendment in their state

constitutions.

16th Amendment

1913 - allows Congress to tax

citizens’ incomes

Before this amendment,

revenue was collected through

tariffs and property taxes

17th Amendment

1913 - Establishes the direct election of

U.S. Senators

Brought government closer to the people.

18th Amendment

By 1855, 13 of the 31 states had temperance laws

(prohibition)

The “Women’s War” and Anti-Saloon League

endorsed candidates that supported prohibition,

whom swept the elections for Congress in 1915.

1919 - Banned the making, selling, and shipping

of alcoholic beverages

19th Amendment

Famous women’s civil rights leaders: Susan B.

Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Some states allowed women’s suffrage, but not all

states

“Women’s War” and women’s involvement in WWI

encouraged ratification of this amendment.

1920 - Extends the right to vote to women

20th Amendment

Time between election and swearing in known as

the “Lame Duck” period.

Originally suited for a time with limited and slow

transportation.

1933 - Changed the date for starting a new

congressional term (January 4th) and inaugurating

a new president (January 20th)

Inauguration day used to be March 4th

21st Amendment

The Great Depression changed public

perception of Prohibition

Some viewed the 18th amendment as a

violation of their personal liberties

1933 - repealed the 18th Amendment

22nd Amendment

Washington established a precedent of serving

only two terms.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected in 1932,

and re-elected in 1936.

Then, WWII happened - FDR elected again in

1940 and 1944.

FDR died 100 days after the start of his 4th term

in office, Truman took office.

1951 - established a two-term limit for

presidents

23rd Amendment

D.C. established as nation’s capital

in 1800 with a population of only

5,000.

By 1900, over 250,000 lived in the

area with no local government and

no vote in federal elections.

1961 - Gave citizens of

Washington, D.C. the right to

vote in presidential elections

24th Amendment

Although the 15th Amendment granted African

Americans the right to vote, state legislatures

passed laws restricting suffrage after

Reconstruction.

Poll taxes - tax a person must pay to vote

Some states’ poll taxes accumulated over

time, even if a person made no attempt to vote

1964 - Banned poll taxes as a requirement to

vote in national elections

MLK and the Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr., the SCLC, and CORE

organized a movement in Selma, AL using the tactics

of peaceful protest and nonviolent resistance.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 - banned literacy tests,

provided for federal oversight of voter registration in

areas where less than 50% of the non-white

population registered to vote, and authorized the

Attorney General to investigate the use of poll taxes

in state and local elections.

In 1966, the Supreme Court outlawed poll taxes in

state elections.

Literacy Tests

25th Amendment

Eisenhower-Nixon agreement set

precedent of what would occur when a

president becomes unable to serve.

President John F. Kennedy assassinated in

1963.

1967 - replacing the President or Vice

President in the case of death, illness, or

resignation

26th Amendment

U.S. was in the midst of

the Vietnam War

Demand for soldiers led

to a draft, and draftees

were any males 18 or over

1971 - voting rights for all

citizens eighteen or

older (changed from 21 or

older)

27th Amendment

Took nearly 200 years to

ratify

Wyoming first to ratify in

protest of Congressional

pay raises (1978).

1992 - Congressional

compensation increases

may not take place until

after term