What kinds of problems have caused Americans to amend their
Constitution?
Congress and the states have not sought to solve every problem faced
by the United States through changing the Constitution. In general, amendments
to the Constitution are not usually made when simply changing federal law
would be sufficient. The Prohibition Amendment (Amendment 18) could have
simply been passed as a combination of state and federal law, but was put
in the Constitution largely in order to make it difficult to repeal. Nevertheless,
the 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment.
Most of the amendments to the Constitution can be categorized as seeking
to limit the power of government, expand the power of government, change
election procedure or duration of office, or expand the electorate.
Limiting the Power of Government
| Amendment |
Purpose |
| I |
Limit power of Congress to establish religion,
abridge speech, press, assembly, or right to petition |
| II |
Limit power of Congress or Executive to
infringe on right to bear arms |
| III |
Limit power of Executive to arbitrarily
use private homes to house militia |
| IV |
Limit power of Executive to engage in
search and seizure of evidence without court approval of probable cause |
| V |
Limit power of Courts to hold serious
trials without grand jury, to compel testimony against oneself, and to
try a person twice for the same crime. Limit power of Government to take
property without just compensation |
| VI |
Limit power of Courts to hold trials that
are not speedy, do not allow suspects to know charges against them, or
do not allow the accused to confront witnesses against them |
| VII |
Limit power of Courts to hear civil trials
without a jury |
| VIII |
Limit power of Courts to impose excessive
bail or cruel and unusual punishment |
| IX |
Limit power of Government to disparage
non-enumerated rights retained by the people |
| X |
Limit power of National Government to
use powers not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution |
| XI |
Limit power of National Courts to hear
lawsuits against state governments by individuals |
| XIV |
Limit power of National and State
Governments to deny citizenship rights to any person born or naturalized
in the United States, deprive any citizen equal protection of law, or deprive
any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process |
| XVII |
Limit power of Congress to raise
its salary |
