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Bill of Rights

Preamble

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and

restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the 

Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and 

purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of 

the original Constitution.[55]
Amendments Further information: List of amendments to the United States Constitution:

List of amendments to the United States Constitution

This is the complete list of the ratified and unratified amendments to the United States Constitution which received the approval of the United States Congress. Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified

since the original signing of the Constitution, the first ten of which are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. The procedure for amending the United States Constitution is governed by Article V of the

original text. There have been many other proposals for amendments to the United States Constitution introduced in Congress, but not submitted to the states.
Before an amendment can take effect, it must be proposed to the states by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by two-thirds of the states, and ratified by three-fourths

of the states or by three-fourths of conventions thereof, the method of ratification being determined by Congress at the time of proposal. To date, no convention for proposing amendments has been called

by the states, and only once - in 1933 for the ratification of the twenty-first amendment - has the convention method of ratification been employed.

Ratified amendments
# Amendments Proposal date Enactment date Full text

1st Protects the freedom of religion, speech, and the press, as well as the right to assemble peacefully and petition the government
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
2nd Protects the right to bear arms
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
3rd Prohibits the forced quartering of soldiers out of war time
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
4th Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
5th Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
6th Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
7th Provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
8th
Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment
September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Full text
9th Asserts the existence of unenumerated rights retained by the people September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791
 
10th Limits the powers of the federal government to those delegated to it by the Constitution September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 
11th Immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders. Lays the foundation for sovereign immunity
March 4, 1794 February 7, 1795 
12th Revises presidential election procedures
December 9, 1803 June 15, 1804 
13th Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime January 31, 1865 December 6, 1865 F
14th Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues
June 13, 1866 July 9, 1868 
15th Prohibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude February 26, 1869 February 3, 1870 
16th Allows the federal government to collect income tax
July 12, 1909 February 3, 1913 
17th Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote May 13, 1912 April 8, 1913 
18th Establishes Prohibition of alcohol (Repealed by Twenty-first Amendment)
December 18, 1917 January 16, 1919 
19th Establishes women's suffrage
June 4, 1919 August 18, 1920 
20th Fixes the dates of term commencements for Congress (January 3) and the President (January 20); known as the "lame duck amendment"
March 2, 1932 January 23, 1933 
21st Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment
February 20, 1933 December 5, 1933 
22nd Limits the president to two terms, or a maximum of 10 years (i.e., if a Vice President serves not more than one half of a President's term, he or she can be elected to a further two terms) 

March 24, 1947 February 27, 1951 
23rd Provides for representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College
June 16, 1960 March 29, 1961 
24th Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes
September 14, 1962 January 23, 1964 
25th Codifies the Tyler Precedent; defines the process of presidential succession July 6, 1965 February 10, 1967 
26th Establishes the official voting age to be 18 years old. March 23, 1971 July 1, 1971 
27th Prevents laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until the beginning of the next session of Congress September 25, 1789 May 5 or 7, 1992[1]
Proposed amendments
Only ten of the twelve amendments that constituted the original Bill of Rights were ratified by the states in the late 18th century; one more was ratified two centuries later.
Main article: List of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution
Six amendments have been passed by Congress and proposed but then did not get ratified by the appropriate number of states' legislatures. Four of these amendments are still technically pending before

state lawmakers, one has expired by its own terms, and one has expired by the terms of the resolution proposing it (though that expiration is disputed).

Amendment Date Proposed Status Subject
Congressional Apportionment Amendment
September 25, 1789 Still pending before state lawmakers Apportionment of U.S. RepresentativesTitles of Nobility Amendment
May 1, 1810 Still pending before state lawmakers Prohibition of titles of nobilityCorwin Amendment
March 2, 1861 Still pending before state lawmakers Preservation of slaveryChild Labor Amendment
June 2, 1924 Still pending before state lawmakers Congressional power to regulate child laborEqual Rights Amendment
March 22, 1972 Expired 1979 or 1982 (some scholars disagree -- see main article), though possibly still able to be ratified as deadline has previously been extended and deadline was not placed in the

Amendment's text. Prohibition of inequality of men and women
District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment
August 22, 1978 Expired 1985; cannot be revived as the deadline was in the amendment's text. D.C. voting rights