The US Constitution has 27 amendments that protect the rights of Americans. Do you know them all?

Ann SchmidtOct 3, 2020, 01:17 IST

There are 27 amendments.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

The US Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified in 1788.
In 1791, the Bill of Rights was also ratified with 10 amendments.
Since then, 17 more amendments have been added.
The amendments deal with a variety of rights ranging from freedom of speech to the right to vote.

The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 by 55 delegates at a Constitutional Convention. Its purpose was to revise the weaker Articles of Confederation that had held the 13 states together after they gained independence from Britain.

Before it could be put into place, it had to be ratified by conventions from each of the 13 states, where the delegates argued both for and against the binding document. One of the main arguments against the ratification of the US Constitution was the lack of specified individual rights and liberties, so James Madison drafted a set of amendments to add to the US Constitution if it was ratified.

By June 1789, Madison submitted 12 amendments, though only 10 were passed and ratified in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.

Since then, 17 more amendments have been passed and ratified by the process laid out in Article 5 of the US Constitution, where an amendment is proposed by either a two-thirds vote in Congress or a national convention of two-thirds of the states.

Those proposals are then ratified by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or by state conventions in three-fourths of the states to become amendments added to the US Constitution.

Here are the 27 amendments to the US Constitution — ranging from personal rights to procedural laws — including their history and the lasting impact they've left on the United States:

The First Amendment famously protects freedom of speech.

It establishes five basic freedoms. Getty/Fox

The Second Amendment deals with the right to bear arms.

It gives states the right to keep a militia. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Third Amendment prohibits forcing citizens to provide lodging for soldiers.

It's the least litigated amendment in the Bill of Rights. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Fourth Amendment deals with search and seizure.

This amendment has impacted Supreme Court cases. Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty

The Fifth Amendment is the source of the common phrase, "I plead the Fifth."

Now, police officers must give criminal suspects a set of warnings before they can be questioned. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Sixth Amendment includes the right to a speedy trial.

This amendment includes right to a speedy, public trial by jury. Getty

The Seventh Amendment deals with jury trials for civil cases involving property worth more than $20.

It promises the right to a jury trial for certain cases. Hulton Archive/Getty

The Eighth Amendment prevents the government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment on criminal defendants.

The amendment deals with cruel and unusual punishment. Douglas Grundy/Three Lions/Getty

The Ninth Amendment establishes that people have additional rights, even if they are not included in the US Constitution.

James Wilson assisted with the creation of this amendment. Getty/Hulton Archives

The 10th Amendment helps keep the federal government limited.

This amendment helps to limit the federal government. Getty/Topical Press Agency

The 11th Amendment is the only amendment related to the judicial branch of the government.

The 11th Amendment prevents federal courts from hearing lawsuits against states. sirtravelalot/Shutterstock

The 12th Amendment changed the presidential election process.

It was a response to a tied vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in the 1800 election. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The 13th Amendment freed all slaves and indentured servants throughout the United States.

Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was more limited. Alexander Gardner / Stringer / Getty Images

The 14th Amendment defines what it means to be a citizen of the United States and also protects civil rights.

The three lawyers who fought for the abolition of segregation in public schools during Brown v. Board of Education (1954). AP Photo, File

The 15th Amendment deals with the right to vote in the US.

It deals with the right to vote. George Frey /Getty

The 16th Amendment deals with taxes.

It gives Congress the power to collect income tax. iStock

The 17th Amendment lays out how US senators are elected.

Senator Robert Kennedy speaking at an election rally. Getty/Harry Benson

The 18th Amendment made the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal.

This amendment was later repealed. General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

The grave of women's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony covered with "I Voted" stickers. REUTERS/Adam Fenster

The 20th Amendment determined the beginning and end date of presidential terms and Congressional sessions.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to be inaugurated in January, as set out by the 20th Amendment. Hulton Archive/Getty

The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.

This amendment repealed Prohibition. AP Images

The 22nd Amendment limits presidential terms to two.

Barack Obama held two terms as President of the United States. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The 23rd Amendment allows Washington, DC, citizens the right to choose electors in presidential elections.

This amendment focused on Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty

The 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes, which had previously been required to vote in elections.

It abolished poll taxes. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The 25th Amendment sets the order of succession for the president and lays out what to do in the case of presidential incapacity.

It was passed partially due to John F. Kennedy's assassination. JFK Library

The 26th Amendment allowed 18-year-old US citizens to vote. Before the 26th Amendment was ratified, Americans voted at age 21.

During the Vietnam War, men were being drafted at age 18, yet they didn't have the right to vote. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The 27th Amendment made it so pay raises or decreases for members of Congress can only take effect after the next election.

It was ratified almost 203 years after it was proposed by James Madison. ZU_09 / Getty Images

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