1.2 Constitution - Part 3 - Other Amendments

Main ideas and lessons

• Timeline / overview: After the Constitution was ratified (1789), the remaining amendments were added over time up to 1992. Overall, the Constitution has been formally changed fewer than 17 times since it was written.
• Organizing principle: The instructor groups the amendments (excluding the Bill of Rights discussion) into:
  • Laws limiting state power / expanding civil rights (especially voting)
  • Procedure changes to how the federal government operates
  • New federal powers over areas previously governed mainly by states

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Amendments covered (key points)

11th Amendment — lawsuits against states

• Deals with: Whether individuals can sue states.
• Core idea: Lawsuits against states are restricted and involve states’ consent (summarized as “states have to agree”).
• Class emphasis: Mentioned as not a major focus for the course.

12th Amendment — revised presidential election procedure (Electoral College)

• Deals with: Updating the early electoral system created in the original Constitution.
• Original system described:
  • President = candidate with most electoral votes
  • Vice President = candidate with second most
• Why it changed: Political parties developed, requiring the Electoral College to reflect presidential and vice presidential tickets running together.

13th–15th Amendments — added right after the Civil War

13th Amendment — abolition of slavery

• Core idea: Abolishes slavery.
• Impact: Gives the national government a new power to make/mandate policies affecting slavery in states.

14th Amendment — citizenship, equal protection, and due process

• Described as: “Probably the most important amendment.”
• Citizenship clause (as stated):
  • Defines citizenship and prevents states from denying it.
  • Natural-born citizens are U.S. citizens at birth (either born in the U.S. or born to U.S. citizen parents).
  • States cannot take away that citizenship.
• Equal Protection Clause:
  • States must treat all citizens equally under the law.
• Due Process Clause:
  • Protects against unfair government action; the instructor notes they will cover it in court case discussions later.

15th Amendment — voting rights limitations on discrimination

• Common phrasing corrected: Not just “African-American men can vote.”
• As stated: The government cannot deny the right to vote based on race or nationality.
• Impact: Another restriction on states’ power to discriminate.

16th–21st Amendments — “Progressive Era” and post-Progressive changes (plus 21st)

16th Amendment — income tax

• Core idea: Gives the federal government power to tax income.

17th Amendment — direct election of senators

• Before: State governments chose senators; voters had no direct control.
• Change: Voters directly elect senators.

18th Amendment — Prohibition

• Core idea: Prohibits making, selling, distributing, or consuming alcohol.
• Impact: National government gains power to limit alcohol everywhere.
• Historical outcome noted: Described as a “bad idea” that was later repealed.

19th Amendment — voting rights regardless of sex/gender

• Correct framing: Not simply “women’s right to vote,” but:
  • Cannot deny the right to vote based on a person’s sex or gender.
• Impact: Limits state discrimination.

20th Amendment — ends the “lame duck” period (procedure/timing change)

• Core idea: Moves start dates so transitions happen closer to elections.
• Instructor’s context explanation:
  • In earlier times travel made it hard to arrive quickly; Congress took office at the end of March.
  • Now it’s changed to January.
• “Lame duck” definition (as explained):
  • Someone voted out but whose term hasn’t ended yet.

21st Amendment — repeals Prohibition

• Core idea: Repeals the 18th Amendment’s alcohol prohibition.
• Lesson emphasized: The Constitution can be flexible—bad policy can be corrected later via amendment.

22nd–27th Amendments — executive limits, voting updates, and Congress administration

22nd Amendment — two-term limit for president

• Core idea: Limits presidents to two terms.
• Motivation given: Prevent repeating Franklin Delano Roosevelt serving four terms.

23rd Amendment — voting rights for Washington, DC

• Core issue described: DC residents were in a “weird limbo” because DC is a federal district, not a state, so they lacked voting rights in the past.
• What it does:
  • Grants DC voting rights in presidential elections via three electoral votes.
  • The instructor notes this is “to count” similarly to the smallest states (and mentions it could be larger than that).

24th Amendment — ends the poll tax

• Core idea: Bans poll taxes (used to pay to vote).
• Instructor’s explanation of political impact:
  • Poll taxes were used by political parties/political machines to control who could vote.
  • Example given: Memphis political machine (E.H. Crump) reportedly paying poll taxes for hundreds of voters and distributing receipts to supporters (including Black voters who supported him).

25th Amendment — succession and inability of the president

• What it clarifies:
  • The vice president officially becomes president if the president can no longer serve.
  • Creates a process for temporary or permanent transfer of presidential power.
• Motivation/context given:
  • Before this amendment, vice presidents followed John Tyler’s example after a dead president.
  • Modern scenarios mentioned: president dead, president in a coma, president with a heart attack.

26th Amendment — voting age limit lowered to 18

• Core idea: States cannot set voting age higher than 18.
• Additional note: States can set it lower than 18 (some allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries).

27th Amendment — congressional pay raises (delayed effect)

• Core idea: Congress can give itself pay raises, but they do not take effect until after the next election.
• Story given (weird origin):
  • Proposed in 1789 (originally intended as part of a “Bill of Rights” effort) but not ratified then.
  • Finally ratified in 1992 after a grad student in the late 1980s worked to get it approved across states as a project.

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Instructor’s recap framework (how to remember)

• Voting-focused amendments (as grouped by the instructor):
  • 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 26th
• Procedure changes (affecting constitutional article mechanisms):
  • 12th (Electoral College), 17th (Senate elections), 20th (dates/timing), 22nd & 25th (presidential procedures), 27th (pay timing)
• New federal powers / federal policy authority (as listed):
  • 13th (ban slavery in states)
  • 14th (define citizenship)
  • 16th (tax income)
  • 18th (ban alcohol)
  • 24th (ban poll tax / discriminatory voting practice)

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Speakers / sources featured

• No specific external sources are cited.
• Speakers: The video instructor/lecturer (an unnamed narrator teaching about constitutional amendments).