The Constitutional Amendments

(The 11th-18th Amendments)

What is the significant of these

Amendment?
What controversies has it inspired?
 What is the significant of these
Amendments?
n Three (3) Parts:
n Part 1: Electoral College
n Part 2: The Civil War Amendments
n Part 3: Income Tax / Prohibition

n Each one of these amendment has

influenced our society as a whole
& caused enduring controversies
 What is the 11th Amendment?
n 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

n What does that mean?

n States cannot be sued by citizens from another state
or by foreign citizens
 How did the 11th Amendment
originate?
n The amendment was
created due to a Supreme
Court case
n Chisholm v. Georgia
(1793)

n The amendment was an

attempt to resolve a
dispute between the
Federal government &
the states
How did the 11th Amendment
originate?
n In 1792, businessman Alexander
Chisholm sues the state of Georgia
n Claimed the state owed him money
from the Revolution

n Georgia claimed they could not be

sued because they had not granted
consent to the suit
n Claimed sovereign immunity

n Court agreed with Chisholm & set off a

national debate
 How did the 11th Amendment
resolve the issue?
n Congress passed the
11th Amendment as a
way to resolve the
debate
n States are protected
from unfair lawsuits
from abroad
n States can be sued
by their own citizens
 What is the 12th Amendment?
n Too Long to Print herelook it up online
(not that I really think you will)

n Themes:
n Creates the Electoral College
n Who counts & certifies the election?
n How are no majorities resolved?
 How did the 12th Amendment
originate?
n In the Presidential
Election of 1800, top
two candidates tied
n Thomas Jefferson
n Aaron Burr

n Called for the need of

separate elections
(tickets)
Alexander Hamilton to the rescue!!
Burrs RevengeHamiltons Death
How is the Presidential election
counted and certified?
n Congress overseas the
counting of
Presidential / Vice-
Presidential votes
n Mainly the President
of the Senate

n Congress votes to
certify (close) the
election
How are no majorities resolved
in the Electoral College?
n Under the 12th
Amendment, the House of
Representatives picks the
President / Vice-President
if their are no majorities
n All electoral votes (and the
White House) are awarded
to the winner
 What is the 13th Amendment?
n Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any
place subject to their jurisdiction

n Meaning:
n Abolishment of Slavery
Where did the 13th Amendment
originate?
n The 13th Amendment was
written as a result of the
American Civil War
(1861-65)
n President Lincolns
Emancipation
Proclamation

n Ended the divisive issue of

slavery in the US
The Three-Fifths Compromise
End of the Slave Trade (1807)
The American Civil War (1861-65)
The Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
 What is the 14th Amendment?
n 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
 What is the 14th Amendment?
n What does all that mean?
n Any person born within the US is an automatic US
citizen
n No state can pass laws that restrict the rights of new
citizens
n No state can deprive a new citizen of their rights
without due process (trial by jury)
n No state can deprive a new citizen of legal protection
(right to a lawyer, right to a trial, etc.)
 How did the 14th Amendment
originate?
n Following the Civil
War / adoption of the
13th Amendment,
Southern state
adopted black
codes
n Deprived former
slaves of their rights
n Returned them to
social slavery
Reconstruction (1865-77)
Southern Black
Codes (1860s)
The Klu Klux Klan (1860s -70s)
Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868)
What controversies has the 14th
Amendment caused today?
n The 14th Amendment has
sparked numerous
controversies
n Immigration
n Naturalization
n Legal birth

n The Federal courts continue

to redefine the meaning
behind this amendment
Does the 14th Amendment need amending?
 What is the 15th Amendment?
n 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

n Meaning?
n The right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen
(based on race)
 Where did the 15th Amendment
originate?
n Following the Civil War,
former slaves were
restricted from voting
n grandfather clause
n Birth clauses
n Servant clauses

n This Amendment was

designed to remove all of
these restricts
African-Americans Voting (1870s)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Jim Crow Laws (1877-1965)
 What is the 16th Amendment?
n 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

n Meaning?
n Congress has the power to collect income taxes
Where did the 16th Amendment
originate?
n During the Civil War,
Congress passed an income
tax to raise money for the
war effort
n Very unpopular

n Following the war, the

Supreme Court and other
courts struck down income
taxes as unnecessary
 Where did the 16th Amendment
originate?
n In the early 20th Century, a
social movement developed
towards more equal taxation
n Industrial Revolution
n Robber barons

n Congress therefore passed a

Constitutional amendment
to avoid legal challenges
 What is the 17th Amendment?
n The Senate of the United States shall be
composed of two Senators from each State,
elected by the people thereof, for six
years

n Meaning:
n US Senator are elected by popular, direct vote
 Where did the 17th Amendment
originate?
n Prior to this amendment,
US Senators were selected
by state legislatures
n Why?

n Often the target of

political favoritism
rather then experience
n Congress hoped to make a
elections more democratic
 What is the 18th Amendment?
n 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

n Meaning?
n Prohibition
 Why was the Temperance
movement popular?
n Grew in popularity during the
Industrial Revolution
n Workers health
n Domestic violence
n Child abuse
n Escapism

n Believe that the outlaw of alcohol

would make the US more moral /
solve societal problems
Where did the 18th Amendment
originate?
n The prohibition movement
has existed in the US since
the early 1800s
n temperance movement

n Major personalities:
n Dr. Benjamin Rush
n Susan B. Anthony
n Carrie Nation
Carrie Nation (1846-1911)
 Where did the 18th Amendment
originate?
n Congress passed the 18th
Amendment as part of a
progressive movement
n Also know as the Volstead
Act

n Did not outlaw alcohol, but

made it really difficult to get
n Black markets / bootlegging
n Rise in crime (rum runners)
Prohibition (1920s)
Rise in Crime (1920s-1930s)
The Beer Baron