List of amendments to the United States Constitution

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United States Constitution

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Preamble

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Amendments to the Constitution
Bill of Rights
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XVI · XVII · XVIII · XIX · XX
XXI · XXII · XXIII · XXIV · XXV
XXVI · XXVII

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This is a complete list of all the ratified and unratified amendments to the United States Constitution which have received the approval of the Congress. The procedure for amending the 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.

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are collectively known as the Bill of Rights

# Amendments Proposal date Enactment date Full text
1st Freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
2nd Enumerates the right to keep and bear arms September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
3rd Bans forced quartering of soldiers. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
4th Interdiction of unreasonable searches and seizures; a search warrant is required to search persons or property. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
5th Indictments; due process; self-incrimination; double jeopardy; rules for eminent domain. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
6th Rights to a fair and speedy public trial, to a notice of accusations, to confront the accuser, to subpoenas, and to counsel. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
7th Provides for the right to trial by jury in civil cases. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
8th Bans cruel and unusual punishment, and excessive fines or bail September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
9th Unenumerated rights September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
10th Limits the powers of the federal government to only those specifically granted 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 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 Allows senators to be directly elected. May 13, 1912 April 8, 1913 Full text
18th Prohibition of alcohol (Repealed by Twenty-first Amendment) December 18, 1917 January 16, 1919 Full text
19th Allows for 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 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 18 as the national voting age. 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 7, 1992 Full text

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 has the convention method of ratification been employed.

Six amendments proposed by Congress have failed to be ratified by the appropriate number of states' legislatures. Four of these amendments are still technically pending before state lawmakers—the other two have expired by their own terms.

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, but rendered moot by the 13th Amendment 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 D.C. voting rights

List of amendments to the United States Constitution

See also