The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was ratified in 1788, and this is the full list of those 27 amendments to the US Constitution in the order they took effect. Article V requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress to propose an amendment and ratification by three-fourths of the states before it becomes part of the Constitution.1Congress.gov. ArtV.1 Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution The first ten were ratified together in 1791 as the Bill of Rights; the most recent, the Twenty-Seventh, was ratified in 1992 after sitting unfinished for more than two centuries.
The Bill of Rights: Amendments 1 Through 10 (1791)
The first ten amendments were ratified together in 1791 and were a condition many states demanded before agreeing to the Constitution itself. As originally adopted they restricted only the federal government; their reach into state law came much later, through the Fourteenth Amendment.
First Amendment
Prevents Congress from establishing an official religion, interfering with religious practice, restricting speech or the press, or blocking the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government.2Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – First Amendment Its protections cover public debate, religious exercise, and criticism of officials.
Second Amendment
Protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms, framed alongside a reference to a well-regulated militia. The Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) that the amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms for lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home.3Legal Information Institute. Second Amendment In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) the Court extended that protection against state and local governments.4Justia Law. McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
Third Amendment
Bars the government from housing soldiers in private homes during peacetime without the owner’s consent, and during wartime only as prescribed by law.5Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Third Amendment It rarely appears in litigation today.
Fourth Amendment
Protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Any warrant must be supported by probable cause and a sworn statement, and must specifically describe the place to be searched and the items or people to be seized.6Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fourth Amendment The Supreme Court applied this to modern devices in Riley v. California (2014), ruling that police generally need a warrant to search a cell phone seized during an arrest,7Justia Law. Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014) and in Carpenter v. United States (2018), which treated access to historical cell phone location data as a search requiring a warrant.
Fifth Amendment
Bundles several protections. Serious federal criminal charges require a grand jury indictment. A person acquitted of a crime cannot be tried again for the same offense. No one can be forced to testify against themselves in a criminal case, the source of the phrase “pleading the Fifth.”8Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fifth Amendment The amendment also guarantees due process before the government takes life, liberty, or property, and requires fair compensation when private property is taken for public use.9Constitution Annotated. Amdt5.2.2 Grand Jury Clause Doctrine and Practice
Sixth Amendment
Guarantees anyone facing criminal prosecution the right to a speedy, public trial before an impartial jury in the district where the crime occurred. Defendants must be told what they are charged with, allowed to confront witnesses against them, given the ability to compel favorable witnesses to appear, and given the right to a lawyer.10Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Sixth Amendment Courts later interpreted the right to counsel to require the government to provide an attorney for defendants who cannot afford one.
Seventh Amendment
Preserves the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases where the amount in controversy exceeds twenty dollars, and prevents courts from overturning facts a jury has already decided except through established common-law procedures.11Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Seventh Amendment The twenty-dollar threshold has never been adjusted.
Eighth Amendment
Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.12Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Eighth Amendment The Supreme Court has applied its proportionality principle in cases including Atkins v. Virginia (2002)13Justia Law. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) and Roper v. Simmons (2005).14Justia Law. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
Ninth Amendment
States that the rights specifically listed in the Constitution are not the only ones the people hold.15Constitution Annotated. Amdt9.1 Overview of Ninth Amendment, Unenumerated Rights The framers included it so that writing down certain rights would not imply the government could freely restrict everything else. Courts have relied on it, along with other amendments, to recognize rights like personal privacy that appear nowhere in the constitutional text.
Tenth Amendment
Reserves all powers not granted to the federal government to the states or to the people themselves.16Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Tenth Amendment It reinforces that the national government holds only the authority the Constitution gives it, with everything else remaining at the state or local level.
Amendments 11 Through 15
More than sixty years separate the Bill of Rights from the next wave. The Eleventh answered a judicial dispute, the Twelfth fixed the presidential election process, and the Thirteenth through Fifteenth restructured American citizenship after the Civil War.
Eleventh Amendment (1795)
Strips federal courts of the power to hear lawsuits filed against a state by citizens of another state or by foreign nationals.17Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Eleventh Amendment It was a direct response to Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which had allowed a South Carolina citizen to sue Georgia in federal court.18Constitution Annotated. Amdt11.1 Overview of Eleventh Amendment, Suits Against States
Twelfth Amendment (1804)
Requires electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president.19Constitution Annotated. Amdt12.1 Overview of Twelfth Amendment, Election of President Under the original design, each elector cast two votes for president and the runner-up became vice president. That system produced the chaotic election of 1800, when Thomas Jefferson and his intended running mate Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College and the decision fell to the House.
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, with a narrow exception for forced labor as criminal punishment.20Constitution Annotated. U.S. Constitution – Thirteenth Amendment Unlike most other amendments, it applies to private conduct, not just government action.
Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
Section 1 establishes that anyone born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen of both the nation and the state where they live. It bars states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law and requires every state to provide equal protection of the laws to all people within its borders.21Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fourteenth Amendment The Supreme Court held in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) that the birthright citizenship clause covers virtually everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions for children of foreign diplomats and children of enemy forces in hostile occupation.22Constitution Annotated. Citizenship Clause Doctrine The equal protection and due process clauses have become the main tools courts use to strike down discriminatory laws and to apply most of the Bill of Rights against state governments.
Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying anyone the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.23Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fifteenth Amendment It was the final Reconstruction amendment. Many states circumvented it for decades through literacy tests, poll taxes, and other barriers that later amendments and federal legislation would address.
Amendments 16 Through 21
The early twentieth century brought a burst of constitutional change driven by the Progressive movement and a failed experiment with alcohol prohibition. These six amendments reshaped federal taxing power, democratized the Senate, extended voting rights to women, and proved that the amendment process works in both directions.
Sixteenth Amendment (1913)
Gave Congress the power to tax income from any source without dividing the tax among states based on population.24Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Sixteenth Amendment It was a direct response to Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. (1895), which had struck down an earlier income tax. Individual income taxes now account for the largest share of federal receipts.
Seventeenth Amendment (1913)
Moved the selection of U.S. senators from state legislatures to direct election by the voters of each state.25Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Seventeenth Amendment The old system had often produced deadlocks, empty seats, and allegations of corruption.
Eighteenth Amendment (1919)
Banned the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages for drinking purposes, launching Prohibition.26Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Eighteenth Amendment It was the first proposed amendment to include a seven-year ratification deadline and remains the only amendment to be entirely repealed by a later one.
Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
Prohibits denying the right to vote on the basis of sex.27Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Nineteenth Amendment Its language mirrors the Fifteenth Amendment’s structure and applies equally to federal and state elections.
Twentieth Amendment (1933)
Moved the start of presidential terms from March 4 to January 20 and the start of congressional terms to January 3.28Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Twentieth Amendment It also provided that if a president-elect dies before taking office, the vice president-elect takes over.
Twenty-First Amendment (1933)
Repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, ending nationwide Prohibition on December 5, 1933.29Constitution Annotated. Twenty-First Amendment – Repeal of Prohibition It returned alcohol regulation to the states, which is why liquor laws still vary from one state to the next. It is the only amendment ratified by state conventions rather than state legislatures.30Legal Information Institute. Ratification Deadline, State Ratifying Conventions, and the Twenty-First Amendment
Amendments 22 Through 27
The final six amendments span from 1951 to 1992, addressing presidential term limits, voting rights, presidential succession, and congressional pay.
Twenty-Second Amendment (1951)
Limits any person to two elected terms as president. Someone who finishes another president’s term can still be elected twice on their own, as long as they served two years or less of the inherited term, making ten years the maximum anyone could hold the office.31Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Twenty-Second Amendment Congress proposed it in 1947, after Franklin Roosevelt won four consecutive elections between 1932 and 1944.
Twenty-Third Amendment (1961)
Gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections by granting the district a number of electoral votes equal to what it would receive as a state, but never more than the least populous state.32Constitution Annotated. Twenty-Third Amendment – District of Columbia Electors In practice, that means three electoral votes.
Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964)
Banned poll taxes in federal elections.33Congress.gov. Twenty-Fourth Amendment – Abolition of Poll Tax The Supreme Court extended the ban to state elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), using the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment (1967)
Created a framework for handling presidential vacancies and disabilities. Section 1 confirms that the vice president becomes president, not merely acting president, when the president dies, resigns, or is removed. Section 2 allows a president to nominate a new vice president, subject to confirmation by a majority of both houses of Congress. That provision was used twice in the 1970s, first to install Gerald Ford as vice president and again when Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller after ascending to the presidency.34Constitution Annotated. Overview of Twenty-Fifth Amendment, Presidential Vacancy and Disability
Section 3 lets a president voluntarily transfer power to the vice president by notifying congressional leaders in writing, a provision that has been used during medical procedures requiring anesthesia. Section 4 covers the involuntary scenario: the vice president and a majority of the cabinet can declare the president unable to serve, at which point the vice president immediately takes over as acting president. If the president disputes the finding, Congress has twenty-one days to decide, and a two-thirds vote of both chambers is required to keep the president from resuming power.34Constitution Annotated. Overview of Twenty-Fifth Amendment, Presidential Vacancy and Disability
Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971)
Lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen for all elections, federal and state.35Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Twenty-Sixth Amendment It was ratified faster than any other amendment in American history, taking just over three months from proposal to final state approval.
Twenty-Seventh Amendment (1992)
Prevents any change to congressional pay from taking effect until after the next election of House members.36Constitution Annotated. Amdt27.1 Overview of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, Congressional Compensation It was originally proposed by James Madison in 1789 as part of the original Bill of Rights, failed to gain enough state support at the time, and sat dormant for nearly two centuries before a grassroots campaign pushed it over the ratification threshold in 1992.
How the Bill of Rights Reached the States
When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, it restricted only the federal government. A state could limit speech or conduct searches without warrants, and the first ten amendments offered no remedy. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, changed the picture by prohibiting states from depriving anyone of liberty without due process of law.21Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fourteenth Amendment
Starting in the 1920s, the Supreme Court began using that due process clause to apply Bill of Rights protections to state governments one at a time, a process known as selective incorporation. The Court asks whether a particular right is fundamental to ordered liberty; if so, states must respect it just as the federal government must. Nearly all of the Bill of Rights has now been incorporated. The main exceptions are the Third Amendment’s quartering restriction, the Fifth Amendment’s grand jury requirement, the Seventh Amendment’s civil jury trial guarantee, and parts of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.37Legal Information Institute. Incorporation Doctrine The Second Amendment was incorporated as recently as 2010 in McDonald v. City of Chicago.4Justia Law. McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)