Amendments to the Constitution

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    Chisholm V Georgia

    This decision allowed citizens of states to sue state governments in court because sovereign immunity was not found to apply.
  • 11th Amendment

    11th Amendment
    This amendment established the legal doctrine of "sovereign immunity", which protects government entities when acting in their official capacity from being sued over the performance of their duties.
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    Trouble in the White House

    When the voting for president started, the second place candidate became VP, but this led to problems and so they changed it so that every elector casts 2 votes, one for pres and one for vice pres.
  • 12 Amendment

    This amendment made it so each elector would cast two votes, one for president and one for vice president.
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    Suffrage Movement

    Since the Civil war, women have been fighting for the right to vote. Suffragettes were really taking off in the early 20th century and gained enough support for the 19th amendment to pass, giving women the right to vote.
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    Emancipation Proclamation

    Lincoln realized his Emancipation Proclamation would need to become a law, so the courts passed the 13th amendment
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    Still butthurt

    The southern states were very salty after the Civil war and tried to make it harder for African Americans to live peacefully and without fear of prejudice.
  • 13 Amendment

    13 Amendment
    The 13th amendment made slavery illegal in the United States and its territory's
  • 14th Amendment

    14th Amendment
    This amendment gave African Americans the same citizenship as white people. It also guarantees citizenship to all who are born on U.S. soil or are naturalized
  • 15th Amendment

    No state can deny the right to vote to anyone based on race, color, or status as a former slave. This still allowed people to discriminate in other ways though.
  • 16th Amendment

    The Worst One. This Amendment allowed the government to tax the populations income.
  • 17th Amendment

    This Amendment was added to stop corruption in the Senate. Senators would be directly voted by the people instead of the House voting them in. Sometimes bribery would occur.
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    World War I

    The US needed a more powerful military in order to fight in the war. They passed the 16th Amendment which was a massive new influx of money to the government to fund the military. This is when the US military started growing exponentially.
  • 18th Amendment

    This was the start of the Prohibition Era. This amendment made it illegal to produce, sell and transport alcohol. You could still drink it though.
  • 19th Amendment

    19th Amendment
    This was the amendment that gave women 21 and older the right to vote.
  • 20th Amendment

    20th Amendment
    This changed the inauguration day from March to January and did away with "lame duck" sessions.
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    FDR the King

    During WWII FDR was voted into office in 1932 but once WWII broke out the people wanted him to be president because he was doing a good job. After WWII, he was voted out and the government realized how this could develop a problem with a sort of monarchy.
  • 21st Amendment

    For the first time in forever, the government realized it was wrong. This amendment repealed the 18th amendment which banned alcohol.
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    Civil Rights Movement

    During the 1950s to the 60s, black people in the US were not slaves anymore, but were still discriminated against. Segregation was rampant in the southern states and the people had enough of it. This led to the Civil Rights movement and eventually the Voting Rights Act and the passing of the 24th amendment.
  • 22nd Amendment

    22nd Amendment
    This set term limits for the president. Two terms with a max of 10 years. This was made out of fear of a dictatorship. A lot of Authoritarianism was happening in Europe and this led to the 22nd amendment, making a dictatorship impossible.
  • 23rd Amendment

    This granted the people of Washington DC to vote. They are now counted as their own state but are not their own state. They are governed by Congress and local elected officials.
  • The JFK Assassination

    The JFK Assassination
    on November 22 1963, the president of the United States, John F Kennedy, was assassinated. This sparked the worry of a major attack of people holding office. Congress then proposed the 25th amendment which clarified what will happen if the president is incapacitated.
  • 24th Amendment

    24th Amendment
    This made poll taxes and other form of voter suppression illegal along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 getting rid of literacy tests
  • The Vietnam War

    The Vietnam War
    During the US involvement of the Vietnam war, people were angered by the fact that they could be sent to fight and possibly die while at the same time not being allowed to vote for the people that would send them off. This sparked massive protests across the US and eventually led to the voting age being lowered to 18 years old.
  • 25th Amendment

    25th Amendment
    This amendment clarifies the line of succession if the president can no longer serve. It clarifies that the Vice President will take over if the president is incapacitated for an amount of time until he or she is ready to go back to the job.
  • 26th Amendment

    This amendment lowered the voting age to 18 in all 50 states.
  • 27th Amendment

    This made it so Congress cannot raise their wages while in office. Congress can vote to raise their wages, but it wont take effect until the next Congress is voted in.