Changing the Constitution: "Recent" Amendments Quiz

Answer: 21st Amendment

Christian groups in the United States led calls for criminalizing the sale of alcohol since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1919, Congress passed and the states ratified the 18th Amendment, making it a federal offense to import, transport, or sell alcoholic drinks. The Prohibition lasted from 1920 to 1933, a period when organized crime and related criminal activity rose (famously, Al Capone and the mafia realized how profitable black markets of alcohol were). Since enforcement was very difficult, public opposition to the 18th Amendment grew, and eventually was repealed by the Blaine Act and subsequent ratification of the 21st Amendment.

Importantly, the amendment also contained language banning imports of alcohol into states with laws prohibiting it.

Answer: 22nd Amendment

The Constitution mandated that each presidential term be limited to 4 years; however, no number of fixed terms was specified in the document. Early debates between the Framers focused on the role and powers that should be vested in the President. Alexander Hamilton believed that the President's authority should be broadly construed because of the language of Article II. James Madison, on the other hand, believed that presidential power should be more limited, fearing that the person in the position would have too much power. Hamilton's view is typically regarded by Constitutional scholars as the winning perspective.

Concerns about a president's term limits arose in the middle of the 20th century when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt served for a record of four consecutive terms. Congressional Republicans introduced the constitutional amendment two years after President Roosevelt's death. Years after this happened, Minnesota ratified the amendment in February of 1951, officially making it part of the Constitution. Today, presidents may only be elected to office twice, meaning that they may not serve for more than 8 years.

Answer: 27th Amendment

The 27th Amendment was ratified in May of 1992, making it one of the most recent amendments in U.S. history. Interestingly, it was first proposed on September 25, 1789, the same date when the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments of the Constitution) was proposed. However, the amendment would not be discussed again until 1982, when a student at the University of Texas at Austin wrote a paper explaining that the amendment could still be ratified, because it had no time limits attached to it (as many modern amendments did). In 1992, Missouri, Alabama, and Michigan ratified the amendment and it officially became part of the Constitution.

This ratification meant that all of James Madison's original proposed amendments to the Constitution were ratified except the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, which addresses the size of congressional districts.

Answer: 16th Amendment

The Constitution already granted Congress broad powers to levy taxes through Article I Section 8. However, that same article also requires that direct taxes are apportioned between the states based on their respective population. The distinction between direct and indirect taxes has always been a matter of debate.

In a controversial decision in 1895, the Supreme Court held in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. that income taxes levied by Congress were direct taxes and therefore unconstitutional.

In response to this decision, Congress passed a resolution in 1909 and sent the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. Delaware became the last state to ratify it in 1913, powerfully expanding the taxing power of the federal government and creating a new big source of income.

Answer: 25th Amendment

The 25th Amendment first names the Vice President as the person in charge of assuming the duties of the President if he or she is removed, dies, or resigns in Section 1. Section 3 describes how the President can transfer temporary power to the Vice President if incapacitated. This section was used, for example, when President George W. Bush underwent a medical procedure and Vice President Cheney temporarily held power.

Finally, Section 4 outlines the process where the Vice President and the majority of the cabinet inform Congress that the President is unfit to discharge his powers. During the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, the executive branch was rumored to be discussing the invocation of this section to potentially remove President Trump. However, any such attempts were not publicly shared and President Trump served through the end of his term on January 20.

The Amendment was ratified in 1967.

Answer: 20th Amendment

The problem identified by those who proposed the 20th Amendment was that Congresspeople who had lost their elections were allowed to remain in power until a new president was inaugurated, a time period known as "lame duck". This concern did not arise when the United States was founded because the Framers envisioned a non-partisan system of government. Newly-elected presidents having to wait four months before having the duly-elected Congress in power was seen as an issue. Congress introduced the proposed amendment in March 1932 and it was officially ratified in 1933.

The 20th Amendment also outlines another important matter: the presidential line of succession. The amendment empowers the vice-president-elect to take office in case the president-elect dies before officially being sworn in.

Answer: 17th Amendment

Article I Section 3 of the Constitution provided that two senators per state were to be elected by each state legislature to serve for a period of six years. When talking about the Constitution, it is always important to remember the time and context in which it was written. The Founding Fathers had to make several compromises and strike a complicated balance between federalist and anti-federalist views. Back then, the Founders were concerned with the dangers of centralized government, because of their experience with the British monarchy. Having states elect their senators gave states certain additional power over their representatives.

The House passed a resolution in 1911 to propose this amendment that would allow for the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote. Most states ratified the amendment and by 1913, it became part of the Constitution. Even after this happened, states like Louisiana, Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, and Rhode Island also ratified the amendment.

Answer: 26th Amendment

Historically, the voting age in the United States was 21. Georgia became the first state to lower it to 18 in 1943 for their local elections. The draft and the wars that the U.S. was involved in in the 20th century, including World War II and the Vietnam War, inspired early proposals for this amendment. 18-year-olds could be drafted to serve in the military and represent their country but did not have the right to vote. By the time the 26th Amendment was proposed in 1968, several states had already made this change in their respective elections. The proposal received overwhelming support in both chambers of Congress, and the amendment became effective in 1971 after North Carolina ratified it.

The amendment was ratified within 100 days of its proposal, faster than any other prior amendments.

In recent history, some have suggested lowering the voting age to 16. Such a proposal was rejected in 2019 by the House.

Answer: 19th Amendment

The achievement of women's suffrage was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's rights. Leaders like Susan B. Antony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had been fighting for this right since the Civil War, but since they were still unsuccessful in guaranteeing the right of women to vote in the U.S., their campaign continued. The National Woman Suffrage Association, founded in 1869, played a big role in lobbying Congress to change the Constitution in 1878. That attempt, however, failed in the Senate. Throughout the beginning of the 20th century, some states started granting voting rights to women. President Wilson supported the movement in 1918 citing women's contributions in World War I, but the efforts failed again.

Finally, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 after both Congressional houses agreed to let the proposal go to the states.

Answer: 23rd Amendment

Residents of the nation's capital, the District of Columbia, often say they are subject to "taxation without representation". This is because they have no representatives in the Senate and their delegate in the House of Representatives cannot vote on resolutions or bills presented in the House. The 23rd Amendment did not do anything to address those matters, but instead, it granted D.C. the same number of electoral votes as the least populous states, giving the district a voice in American presidential elections.

Movements to make D.C. a state and afford it all rights other states have (including full representation in Congress) have been active since the late 19th century. A constitutional amendment that would repeal the 23rd and give full representation to D.C. in elections was proposed in 1978 but the amendment failed to be ratified within seven years.