The Amendment Process
Thirteenth Amendment (1865): abolished slavery.
Fourteenth Amendment (1868): gave former enslaved people full citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment contains two crucial clauses within it. One clause grants all citizens ‘equal protection’ under the law and the other states that the government cannot remove a citizen’s life or freedoms without ‘due process’. The ‘equal protection’ clause has provided the basis for many important civil rights judgments by the Supreme Court.
Fifteenth Amendment (1870): gave men of all races the right to vote, including formerly enslaved people.
Nineteenth Amendment (1920): gave women the right to vote on the same terms as men.
Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964): gave Americans the right to vote without needing to pay a tax. African Americans tended to be poorer than white people, so this amendment prevented them from being disenfranchised (prevented from voting) in greater numbers.
Proposals that failed
The Equal Rights Amendment
Would have provided equality of rights by the federal or state governments on account of sex. Congress took it up again recently with a number of proposed measures that never came to congressional vote. Failed to reach required number of states in 1982
Click here for ERA Explained
The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment
Would have given District of Columbia full representation in the United States Congress as if it were a state. DC would also be able to participate in the amendment process. Failed in 1985. Passed by House and Senate but failed to get the support of enough state legislatures.
Click here: John Oliver argues for DC to be a state
The Federal Marriage amendment
Introduced into Congress several times between 2002 and 2013. Seeks to define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. Failed to receive the required votes in both the House and Senate in 2006. Issue seen as central in 2004 presidential elections, with George W. Bush strongly for the amendment and John Kerry arguing that individual states should decide. Introduced in 2015, without congressional vote, by Tim Huelskamp, a social conservative in the House.
Saving American Democracy amendment
Proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders in 2011. Aimed to overturn Citizens United v FEC ruling of 2010 in which the court removed regulations on funding of elections. Aims to limit influence of corporate donors in United States elections.
The Flag Protection amendment
Would allow Congress to make it illegal to desecrate the US flag. Hotly disputed issue. Supreme Court in US v Eichman 1990 overturned the Flag Protection Act on the basis of
1st amendment freedom of expression rights. Constitutional amendment proposal was an attempt to overturn this. Successfully passed in the House six times up to 2006, but always failed to be voted on or gain enough votes to pass the Senate.
Right to vote amendment
Introduced to prevent restrictions on voting. Would end felony voting restrictions and help protect voting rights after Shelby County v Holder Supreme Court ruling in 2013 overturned sections of the Voting Rights Act 1965. Representatives Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison reintroduced it in 2013.