List of Amendments to the Constitution in the United States

Introduction

Article 5 of the Constitution provides for the amendment of the Constitution by various means (see The Amendments Page for details). However an amendment is proposed, it does not become part of the Constitution unless it is ratified by three-quarters of the states (either the legislatures thereof, or in amendment conventions).

Historical Introduction

Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence marked the first major technical communication shot in a war that resulted in the birth of the United States of
America as a nation, fifty-five men met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the
Articles of Confederation. During those eleven years, the United States of America had
been more of a collection of sovereign states than a unified country. From the beginning
of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and other
delegates intended to create a new government instead of revising the existing one. The
convention delegates knew they had to make changes or their newfound country would
fail. These delegates had learned from their mistakes and were meeting to correct them.

The Philadelphia Convention of 1787, more commonly known at the
Constitutional Convention, had a rough beginning. Poor road and travel conditions
delayed the start of proceedings from May 1, 1787 until May 25, 1787. The state of
Rhode Island refused to send delegates, and many of the people in the state legislatures
were suspicious of the intentions of the delegates in forming a new government during
the convention.

Before the convention, the governing document (the Articles of Confederation)
failed to provide enough authority for a single federal body to speak internationally on
behalf of the states. The states were much more independent, but they were also more
vulnerable to attacks from outsiders, or even from neighboring states. No law existed to
encourage or provide for a national defense. Individual states could choose whether or
not to send their militias to defend another state. Furthermore, trade between the states
was becoming problematic. Additionally, the Articles of Confederation allowed the states
to establish state religions, but these religions within state governments caused problems
between the different states. To correct these deficiencies, the Constitutional Convention
invited delegates from all the states to participate in the process of collaboration to
improve their government.

With only twenty-seven amendments in over 237 years (as of 2014), has served the
needs of an entire country

List of Amendments to the Constitution

Note: There are twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution and are part of the Constitution. Six other amendments to the U.S: Constitution have been adopted by the U.S. Congress and sent to the states for ratification, but have not been ratified by the required number of states.

In the legal history of the United States, rescinded ratifications prior to full ratification have happened (see Reconstruction Amendments 13 to 15), but they have not made a difference in the long term.

Bill of Rights

Amendments 1-10 (the first ten amendments) make up the Bill of Rights. These were proposed on September 25, 1789. The amendments 1-10 were adopted and ratified simultaneously.

• AMENDMENT 1: Freedom of Religion, Speech or Expression, Press, Assembly, and Petition
• AMENDMENT 2: Right to Bear Arms
• AMENDMENT 3: Quartering of Soldiers
• AMENDMENT 4: Search and Seizure
• AMENDMENT 5: Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process, Takings – Rights of Persons
• AMENDMENT 6: Right to Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses, Counsel – Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions
• AMENDMENT 7: Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits – Civil Trials
• AMENDMENT 8: Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment – Further Guarantees in Criminal Cases
• AMENDMENT 9: Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by People – Unenumerated Rights
• AMENDMENT 10: Rights Reserved to States or People- Reserved Powers

Other Constitutional Amendments

Proposed amendments to the Constitution

This list of Measures Proposed to Amend the Constitution is provided by U.S. Senate.

Approximately 11,539 measures have been proposed to amend the Constitution from 1789 through January 2, 2013.

The number of proposed amendments to the Constitution is an approximation for several reasons:

• Inadequate indexing in the early years of the Congress, and separate counting of amendments in the nature of a substitute, may obscure the total.
• It is also common for a number of identical resolutions to be offered on issues which have widespread public and congressional support.
• Finally, congressional rules limiting the number of cosponsors permitted for each proposed amendment may be a factor in the number of resolutions introduced.

Further Reading

• Bacon, Charles W., and Franklyn S. Morse. The American Plan of Government the Constitution of the United States as Interpreted by Accepted Authorities. 2nd ed. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1918.
• Bernstein, Richard B. The Constitution of the United States of America; with the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble, 2002.
• Bruns, Roger, and Washington, DC. National Archives and Records Service (GSA). A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the United States Constitution. 1978.
• Corwin, Edward Samuel. The Constitution and What It Means Today. 11th ed. Princeton,NJ: Princeton UP, 1954.
• Goldstein, Leslie Friedman. “Our Undemocratic Constitution–How Bad Really Is It?.” Good Society 18.1 (2009): 41-45. Humanities Abstracts (H.W. Wilson).
• Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist. a Commentary on the Constitution of the United States. Ed. Henry C. Lodge. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907.
• King, Rufus. Notes on Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proc. of Constitutional Convention of 1787, Congressional Hall, Philadelphia. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2010.
• McHenry, Dr. James. Notes on Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proc. of Constitutional Convention of 1787, Congressional Hall, Philadelphia. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2010.
• Madison, James. Notes on Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proc. of Constitutional Convention of 1787, Congressional Hall, Philadelphia. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2010.
• Pierce, Major William. Notes on Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proc. of Constitutional Convention of 1787, Congressional Hall, Philadelphia. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2010.
• Pocock, J. G. A. “States, Republics, and Empires: The American Founding in Early Modern Perspective.” Social Science Quarterly 68.4 (1987): 703-23.
• Yates, Robert. Notes on Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proc. of Constitutional Convention of 1787, Congressional Hall, Philadelphia. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2010.