| United States of America |
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| Original text of the Constitution |
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| Preamble Articles of the Constitution |
| Amendments to the Constitution |
| Bill of Rights I · II · III · IV · V VI · VII · VIII · IX · X Subsequent Amendments |
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This is the complete list of the ratified and unratified amendments to the United States Constitution which received the approval of the United States Congress. Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified since the original signing of the Constitution, the first ten of which are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. The procedure for amending the United States Constitution is governed by Article V of the original text. There have been many other proposals for amendments to the United States Constitution introduced in Congress, but not submitted to the states.
Before an amendment can take effect, it must be proposed to the states by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by two-thirds of the states, and ratified by three-fourths of the states or by three-fourths of conventions thereof, the method of ratification being determined by Congress at the time of proposal. To date, no convention for proposing amendments has been called by the states, and only once - in 1933 for the ratification of the twenty-first amendment - has the convention method of ratification been employed.
Contents |
| # | Amendments | Proposal date | Enactment date | Full text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Protects the freedom of religion, speech, and the press, as well as the right to assemble and petition the government | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 2nd | Protects the right to bear arms | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 3rd | Prohibits the forced quartering of soldiers out of war time | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 4th | Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 5th | Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 6th | Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 7th | Provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 8th | Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 9th | Asserts the existence of unenumerated rights retained by the people | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 10th | Limits the powers of the federal government to those delegated to it by the Constitution | September 25, 1789 | December 15, 1791 | Full text |
| 11th | Immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders. Lays the foundation for sovereign immunity | March 4, 1794 | February 7, 1795 | Full text |
| 12th | Revises presidential election procedures | December 9, 1803 | June 15, 1804 | Full text |
| 13th | Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime | January 31, 1865 | December 6, 1865 | Full text |
| 14th | Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues | June 13, 1866 | July 9, 1868 | Full text |
| 15th | Prohibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude | February 26, 1869 | February 3, 1870 | Full text |
| 16th | Allows the federal government to collect income tax | July 12, 1909 | February 3, 1913 | Full text |
| 17th | Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote | May 13, 1912 | April 8, 1913 | Full text |
| 18th | Establishes Prohibition of alcohol (Repealed by Twenty-first Amendment) | December 18, 1917 | January 16, 1919 | Full text |
| 19th | Establishes women's suffrage | June 4, 1919 | August 18, 1920 | Full text |
| 20th | Fixes the dates of term commencements for Congress (January 3) and the President (January 20); known as the "lame duck amendment" | March 2, 1932 | January 23, 1933 | Full text |
| 21st | Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment | February 20, 1933 | December 5, 1933 | Full text |
| 22nd | Limits the president to two terms, or a maximum of 10 years (i.e., if a Vice President serves not more than one half of a President's term, he or she can be elected to a further two terms) | March 24, 1947 | February 27, 1951 | Full text |
| 23rd | Provides for representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College | June 16, 1960 | March 29, 1961 | Full text |
| 24th | Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes | September 14, 1962 | January 23, 1964 | Full text |
| 25th | Codifies the Tyler Precedent; defines the process of presidential succession | July 6, 1965 | February 10, 1967 | Full text |
| 26th | Establishes the official voting age to be 18 years old. | March 23, 1971 | July 1, 1971 | Full text |
| 27th | Prevents laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until the beginning of the next session of Congress | September 25, 1789 | May 5 or 7, 1992[1] | Full text |
Six amendments have been passed by Congress and proposed but then did not get ratified by the appropriate number of states' legislatures. Four of these amendments are still technically pending before state lawmakers, one has expired by its own terms, and one has expired by the terms of the resolution proposing it (though that expiration is disputed).
| Amendment | Date Proposed | Status | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional Apportionment Amendment | September 25, 1789 | Still pending before state lawmakers | Apportionment of U.S. Representatives |
| Titles of Nobility Amendment | May 1, 1810 | Still pending before state lawmakers | Prohibition of titles of nobility |
| Corwin Amendment | March 2, 1861 | Still pending before state lawmakers | Preservation of slavery |
| Child Labor Amendment | June 2, 1924 | Still pending before state lawmakers | Congressional power to regulate child labor |
| Equal Rights Amendment | March 22, 1972 | Expired 1979 or 1982 (some scholars disagree -- see main article), though possibly still able to be ratified as deadline has previously been extended and deadline was not placed in the Amendment's text. | Prohibition of inequality of men and women |
| District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment | August 22, 1978 | Expired 1985; cannot be revived as the deadline was in the amendment's text. | D.C. voting rights |