The Nineteenth Amendment

The Nineteenth Amendment

Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920.  It was first introduced in Congress in 1878.  By 1912, nine states in the West – Wyoming being the first in 1890 – had already legislated for women to...
The Nineteenth Amendment

27th Amendment Ratified May 7, 1992

The 27th Amendment requires that no change in compensation for a Representative or a Senator “shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.” The intent of the amendment was to prohibit sitting members of Congress from...
The Nineteenth Amendment

Eighteenth Amendment

On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified, after years of campaigning by prohibition proponents.  The amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale or distribution of “intoxicating liquors” within the United States.  The Volstead Act was...
Bill of Rights Ratified

Bill of Rights Ratified

On this day in 1791, the first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution were ratified.  The Bill of Rights, as these Amendments came to be known, guaranteed personal liberties with the federal government.  The First Amendment alone included the right to...
16th Amendment (1913)

16th Amendment (1913)

Under Art. I § 9 of the Constitution, direct taxation of individuals was prohibited except in proportion to the census.  On February 3, 1916, the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified to impose an income tax, without regard to the population of any state.  The Constitution...