What do amendments 11 27 change

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. Back to Constitution Main Page. Top Skip to main content. Ratified February 7, Ratified June 15, Ratified December 6, Section 1. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Ratified July 9, Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. Ratified February 3, The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude-- Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment Ratified April 8, Ratified August 18, Ratified January 23, In , Congress proposed the D. C Voting Rights Amendment which would have treated the District as if it were a state and given it voting representation in both the House and the Senate, but the proposed amendment was not ratified by the required number of states and therefore failed.

NOTE: In the era after the Civil War, southern states used the poll tax to keep African Americans from voting, and by the s, some states were using it to discourage poor whites from voting. By , all of the southern states had adopted the poll tax as a requirement for voting. In some states, it was cumulative which meant that if a citizen wished to vote, that citizen not only had to pay the poll tax for voting in the coming year but also had to pay the poll tax for previous years.

By , six of the eleven southern states had abolished the poll tax. As the civil rights movement developed and flourished in the s and s, a movement to ban the poll tax as a requirement for voting gained support. In , Congress proposed the Twenty-Fourth Amendment banning the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national elections, and it was ratified in by the required number of states but without approval by any of the southern states.

NOTE: The amendment only forbade the use of the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national elections. Consequently, some southern states still tried to use it as a requirement for voting in state elections.

In , the Supreme Court ruled that a poll tax requirement for voting in state elections violated the equal protection of the laws clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

This had occurred prior to the adoption of the 25th Amendment on eight occasions. Several important issues, however, were either unclear or not answered by Article II. The nation should have been aware of the silence or lack of clarity of the original Constitution on these issues. For example, several times in our history there had been a vacancy in the vice presidency. President Woodrow Wilson was a bedridden invalid for the final 18 months of his presidency.

President Dwight Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack and had to leave Washington to recover. The 25th Amendment was proposed by both chambers of Congress in July, , and by February, , three-fourths of the states had ratified it.

Section 1 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment makes it clear that when the President is removed from office, dies, or resigns, the Vice President becomes President. Section 2 provides that if there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President, the President appoints a new Vice President with approval by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. Section 3 addresses those situations where the President knows ahead of time that he is going to be disabled.

When the President communicates in writing to the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House that he is going to be disabled, the Vice President becomes Acting President until the President communicates in writing to the same two officials that he has recovered.

Section 4 addresses those situations where the President is unable to communicate his disability or there is disagreement about his disability. The Vice President becomes Acting President if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet … communicate in writing to the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House their decision that the President is unable to perform his duties.

When the President communicates in writing to the same two officials that he has recovered, the President resumes his office unless the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet … communicate in writing to the same two officials in four days their judgment that the President is still disabled.

When this disagreement occurs, if Congress is not in session, it must assemble in 48 hours to decide the dispute. Congress has 21 days to resolve the dispute. A two-thirds vote of both houses is required for the Vice President to win the dispute and remain Acting President. Anything less, and the President resumes his office.

NOTE: Not very many years after the amendment was added to the Constitution, part of the amendment was used not once but twice. Representative Gerald Ford with easy approval by both houses of Congress to be the new Vice President. In , when President Nixon became the first President in history to be forced to resign the presidency rather than be impeached, Vice President Ford became President Ford and then appointed Nelson Rockefeller to succeed himself as Vice President.

Section 2 gives Congress power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation. Amendment No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Dee J. The United States Constitution Resources for researching the history, drafting, interpretation, and other elements of the U. Introduction Of the remaining Constitutional amendments, only a few have had a significant impact on American life.

Amendments Amendment The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

This amendment established the legal doctrine of "sovereign immunity", which protects government entities or officers acting in their official capacity from being sued over the performance of their duties.

It was adopted in in response to a U. Supreme Court case, Chisholm v. Amendment Section 1. The 13th Amendment is perhaps the most important amendment in American history. Ratified in , it was the first of three "Reconstruction amendments" that were adopted immediately following the Civil War.

While the amendment has rarely been interpreted by the courts, its effect on American society cannot be overstated. Many slaves had already technically been freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation , but the 13th Amendment solidified their legal status as free men and women. The remaining sections deal with post-Civil War governmental administration. The third of the "Reconstruction amendments", the 15th Amendment was adopted in and was intended to guarantee the voting rights of former slaves and other African-American citizens.

However, many states found ways to circumvent the amendment's purpose by instituting poll taxes, literacy tests, race-restricted primary elections, and other discriminatory criteria.

This discrimination was eventually held illegal by the 24th Amendment, several major Supreme Court cases, and the Voting Rights Act of Amendments Amendment The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. The impetus for the 16th Amendment was an U. Supreme Court case, Pollock v. When this amendment was passed by Congress in , it was naturally controversial.

It took several years and significant changes in the country's economic and political situation before it was finally ratified in This amendment has caused some consternation for the judicial system, as it has become the lightning rod for challenges by "tax protestors", citizens who believe that the amendment was not correctly ratified.

These individuals often file lawsuits claiming that the government does not have the power to tax incomes. Amendment The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment.

In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3. The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President.

If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article. Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

Ratified December 5, The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Ratified February 27, No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once.

But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

Ratified March 29, The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:. A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.