The Twentieth Amendment

"Section 1. The terms of the President and 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.
Section 2. 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.
Section 3. 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 elect 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.
Section 4. 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.
Section 5. 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."


The Twentieth Amendment established the beginning and ending dates for the terms of federal elected officials. It also creates a procedure if something were to happen to the President elect. We learned in class that the only reason the President didn't take office in January was so they would have time to move their family and all of their belongings to D.C. As travel time became less of a problem this Amendment was set up to make the inauguration date more convenient.

This is a video of President George W. Bush at his inauguration on January 20th 2005 (date set by the 20th Amendment). I like that a new Presidency starts in January; it adds to the excitement over a new year.

The Nineteenth Amendment

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


The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. This was an important Amendment, because even though the 14th Amendment gave all men the right to vote, women were left out. I don't see women as second class citizens, and its weird to me that men used to get away with doing just that.

To me this poster makes the best argument for women's suffrage. Every citizen of the United States deserves to vote and deserves to have their voice heard. How could you say that the President is chosen by the people when 50% of the population can't vote

This is a video by School House Rock where they sing about Women's Suffrage. It talks about how unfair it was for everyone, but women to vote and I agree. I saw this video in history class like 10 years ago, and I'm glad that there are people out there that make videos like this to help children understand important issues.

The Eighteenth Amendment

"Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress."


The Eighteenth Amendment started what is called "Prohibition" by making alcohol consumption, purchases, or sales illegal. This is the only Amendment I believe failed, and knowing the people I do now who love their alcohol; I have no idea how it got passed in the first place. The 18th Amendment started its own era of crime, and took alcohol profits out of the hands of law-abiding citizens and gave it to mobsters like Al Capone. However, it wasn't long till Congress saw the error in their ways and passed the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th.

This is a picture of a store which will go out of business as soon as prohibition takes affect, so they are trying to sell off all their alcohol before it is illegal. To me the loss of jobs and closing of family owned stores is the saddest part about prohibition. Took money away from good American families and gave it to criminals.

This is a picture of Al Capone one of the most famous mobsters from the prohibition era. When the 18th Amendment took affect people still wanted to drink alcohol. Since it was illegal to buy it from a store they had to buy it from mobsters like Al Capone. With the help of Prohibition, Capone and many mobsters like him grew rich and powerful. The amount of crime in cities skyrocketed through the roof during Prohibition. However, that life style never seems to pay in the end and most of the famous gangsters from the Prohibition era are either dead or locked up.

This is picture is just funny to me, because I know a lot of girls who would be doing the same thing if Prohibition happened today.

The Seventeenth 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. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."


The Seventeenth Amendment changed the way Senators are chosen, and also set up a procedure for selecting a new Senator if something was to happen to the one in office. Before this Amendment Senators were chosen by their State legislators. After this Amendment Senators were chosen by a popular vote of the citizens in their own State. I agree with Congress that the popular vote is the best way to select a Senator, but I also understand that the founders were trying to split all the powers in government up. Representatives were already being chosen by a popular vote in the State so they gave the power to the State legislature so that no one group has all the power.

This is a Senator of Missouri named Roy Blunt that I helped vote in with the popular vote. I believe that every high ranking government official should be chosen by the people in a Democratic government. The only issue I see with this system is "incumbency", which makes it very hard for someone who is not already in the Senate to be elected. 

The Sixteenth 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 Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress the power to collect taxes on any income. Without this tax we most likely wouldn't have a lot of the public services we have today. I hate it every 2 weeks when I look at my check and some of it is taken away before I even get it, but I understand why we need an income tax in America. I do believe however, that Congress should fix the tax laws that allow big companies and the super rich to pay less of a percentage of their earnings than I do.

This is a funny little cartoon that has Uncles Sam's hand turning a citizen of the United States upside down and taking his money. The IRS on his sleeve represents the government tax collecting agency. This is just a clever way of saying that the Government takes all of our money. Like I said I don't like that I have to pay taxes, but I wouldn't want to live in this country if our government couldn't collect taxes to create the infrastructure we need.

This is a poster that brings out the lighter side of the IRS. People sometimes forget that the IRS employs real people who are just trying to do their jobs. I doubt anybody who works their enjoys taking tax money out of the hands of families, but they have to do their job. Without them collecting taxes we wouldn't have public schools or public libraries. 

The Fifteenth Amendment

"Section 1. 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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."


This Fifteenth Amendment made it illegal to deny an American Citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or having been a slave in the past. This Amendment was the next step for African Americans in a long journey to equality after the Emancipation Proclamation (third reconstruction amendment).  The sad part is that because they were worried that this Amendment wouldn't get ratified they took out the wording in the Amendment that also made it illegal to discriminate against someone who would like to hold office. Eventually that became a law without an amendment.

This is a picture of an African American voting for the first time. This probably was the greatest moment in some of their otherwise tough lives. I will never understand why people back then were trying to keep people from voting when now the issue is the complete opposite. We need more people to go out and vote not matter what race, gender, or social class.

The Fourteenth Amendment

"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

The Fourteenth Amendment set up the rules that we have today for citizenship and granted everyone some of the same rights we have at the Federal level on the State level. Without the 14th Amendment, American Citizens at the State level would not have the right to due process and the courts could treat people differently based on the color of their skin. Section three also made it impossible to hold a high ranking position in government if you had fought against the government at any point.

This picture shows someone protesting un-equal treatment by the government. Even with the 14th Amendment in place their is still prejudice out there and as long as their is prejudice people will be unhappy. Without the 14th Amendment however equality at the, State level at least, would be much worse.