The Twenty-seventh Amendment

"No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened."

No law that would pay a political official an income cannot be put into effect until after there has been another election. The purpose of this amendment is to make sure members of Congress don't give themselves a pay raise without first allowing people to vote (indirectly) on it.

This amendment only controls how and when raises for Congressmen are implemented, but it does not control pay increases. Today it has turned into an excuse to interpret Congress's routine salary decreases as unconstitutional.

http://www.lifeofthelaw.org/2013/01/heard-of-the-27th-amendment-congress-just-violated-it-again/

I think this amendment is one of the hardest ones to understand, but this article gave me some information on how Congress can sort of warp laws in their favor. Also, apparently what revived this proposed amendment 200 years in the making was a college student named Gregory Watson who wrote a paper proposing that it could still be ratified (a paper he got a C on). He launched a letter-writing campaign  in 1983 to convince state legislatures to finish the process, and the latest amendment to the US Constitution was born in 1992. 

The Twenty-sixth Amendment

Section 1.

"The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age."

Section 2.

"The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Section 1.

United States citizens age 18 or older cannot be denied the right to vote by the US, any state, or any person on account of their age.

Section 2.

Congress has the right to enforce this amendment under appropriate law.

Without the younger generation's votes, Hillary would have been in extra trouble in 2016's election. Her supporters relied heavily on the young democrats to help break the glass ceiling, but this election had a low turnout for young voters. In 18-29-year-old voters, Trump got 37% of the vote while Hillary earned 55%.This election had the fourth-lowest turnout in young voters for a republican nominee since 1972.

During World War II in 1942, Franklin Roosevelt lowered the minimum age for the military draft to 18, when the minimum voting age was still 21. 18-20-year-old men were legally old enough to go to war but not vote until 1971 when this amendment was passed. Another accomplishment that is taking decades too long is lowering the drinking age to 18. I think a majority of Americans would agree that if someone is old enough to fight for our country and vote for our President, they should legally be able to have a beer. 

The Twenty-fifth Amendment

Section 1.

"In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President."

Section 2.

"Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress."

Section 3.

"Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President."

Section 4.

"Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office."

Section 1.

The Vice President will become President if the current President is not able to serve, dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

Section 2.

If the Vice President is not able to serve, the President may choose a new Vice President who must be voted for and approved by Congress.

Section 3.

The President is allowed to make the Vice President the Acting President with a written declaration, one when the period begins and one when it ends. 

Section 4.

If necessary, the Vice President and members of the cabinet can declare the President unfit to carry out the duties of Presidency. The President may then assert his ability to serve to Congress, and in return the Vice President and Congress are able to submit another declaration against the President. If this is the case, Congress would have to reach a 2/3 majority vote that the President is unfit for office. 

(This section has never been used).

This amendment has only been invoked a few times since its passage in 1967. The most famous usage of the 25th amendment was when Nixon resigned from office. In the aftermath of an Arab oil embargo, gas rationing, and the Watergate scandal, he resigned since impeachment was very likely.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2005/08/history-news-network-staff/what-is-the-25th-amendment-and-when-has-it-been-invoked/

I was curious on what occasions this amendment has been invoked, and this article gave me all the answers. There is definitely a trend of Presidents during a surgery, illness, or emergency, turning over temporary Presidential powers to the Vice President but insisting that they did not want to invoke the 25th amendment. That's not how it works!!!

The Twenty-fourth Amendment

Section 1.

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax."

Section 2.

"The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Section 1.

The right of all citizens of the United States to elect representatives in national, state, local, and primary elections, shall not be denied, and poll taxes are not allowed.

Section 2.

Congress will enforce these provisions under appropriate law if needed.

This 1942 cartoon sums it up well. African Americans (especially in the south) faced serious discrimination and were faced with voting barriers, such as literacy tests, that made it difficult for them to vote for the nominee that would work to end the acts of injustice. Poll taxes were priced just enough to stop poor people from voting. Even though everyone was supposed to be entitled to a vote under the 15th amendment, people found loopholes to tailor to their political advantage and the poor's disadvantage. Until the 24th amendment that is....

http://totallyhistory.com/24th-amendment-to-the-constitution/

This article gave me a good idea of the events leading up to this amendment, and it was not an easy victory to achieve. From the period spanning from 1890 to 1964 when the 24th amendment was finally ratified, the idea was considered, drafted, reconsidered and disregarded over and over again. I learned that Harry S. Truman created the President's Committee on Civil Rights, to work towards equal rights, including investigating the poll tax. (He was my great-great uncle by marriage!!!) The election of JFK sparked reconsideration of abolishing the poll tax, and he decided instead of trying to pass legislation again, adding a Constitutional amendment would be the best course of action. Now everyone can vote for free, the way it should be! Don't take that right for granted!

The Twenty-third Amendment

Section 1.

"The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment."

Section 2.

"The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Section 1.

Washington DC may appoint as many electors in the Electoral College as if it were a state, but no more than the least populous state. The status and position of these electors is equivalent to all other electors, and they will be expected to carry out the same responsibilities under the 12th amendment.

Section 2.

Congress is allowed to enforce this amendment under appropriate laws.

The District of Columbia's lack of voting representation in Congress has been controversial since the capital's founding. Proposed additions to the Constitution would repeal the 23rd amendment in favor of complete voting rights in DC. Making the district into a state is also up for debate.

https://www.dcvote.org/10-myths-about-district-columbia

This website taught me a lot about the District of Columbia, which I admit I didn't know anything about yesterday. For example, Congress agreed to pay for 70% of DC's Medicaid costs, and their prisons and courts. In return, the President appoints DC's local judges and is in charge of DC's prison and court system.

The Twenty-second Amendment

Section 1.

"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term."

Section 2.

"This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress."

Section 1.

No one is eligible to be president more than twice (four terms), and anyone who was not elected but filled in for the President for at least two years is not eligible to be elected more than once. However this amendment does not apply to anyone who is in office when the 22nd amendment is ratified.

Section 2.

This amendment will be ineffective within seven years if 3/4 of states do not approve it.

A lot of people believe that "no man is good three times" in office, and others are strong supporters of repealing the Presidential term limit. I think it completely depends on the person in office. Once in a blue moon, a President comes along that I wish 

we could keep for an extra term or two.(Obama):-)

Not-so-fun fact: 

Franklin Roosevelt was the only US President to have served more than two terms. Elected four times, he was President from 1933 to 1945. He died of a brain hemorrhage on April 12th, 1945, only 83 days into his fourth term. 

The Twenty-first Amendment

Section 1.

"The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed."

Section 2.

"The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited."

Section 3.

"This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress."

Section 1.

We take back the eighteenth amendment!!! (prohibition of alcohol). 

Section 2.

This was what the eighteenth amendment said: selling, making, or bringing liquor into the United States is prohibited.

Section 3.

This amendment will be ineffective unless ratified by our states within seven years.

The Prohibition-era lasted a whole 15 years before the twenty-first amendment was ratified on December 5th, 1933, officially repealing the eighteenth amendment. The prohibition failed to keep people sober and ended up costing the nation millions, so the eighteenth amendment simply lost popular support over the 15-year span. Just in 1933 alone, 43 states passed laws providing for action on the proposed repeal.

 prohibition trivia questions:

-Was it illegal to drink during the prohibition era?

No, the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was forbidden, but not drinking.

-Drug stores continued to sell alcohol as "medicine." True or false?

True! Drug stores were allowed to sell "medicinal whiskey" that was used to treat anything you could think of, kind of like how marijuana is treated now.