Amendment 20: Presidential, Congressional Terms

"1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors 
shall then begin.

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

6. 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."

The twentieth amendment set new start dates for the terms of the Congress and the President, and clarifies how the deaths of Presidents before swearing-in would be handled.

The start and end dates of each presidential term are specified in the amendments.  This video is  a commemorative souvenir of the presidential inauguration.  This prestigious event always occurs on January 20th, as indicated by the twentieth amendment.

As shown in the calendar, Congress is always in session on the third of January, unless they decide otherwise.  The Constitution requires Congress meet at least once each year and forbids either house from meeting outside the Capitol.

Amendment 19: Women's Suffrage

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

The nineteenth amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.  This eliminated gender as being a restriction in voting.

This illustration shows two women, advocating their rights to vote.  Many women held signs like the one above, showing others what they wanted.

Women's Right to Vote Timeline

The above link is a timeline of how women earned the right to vote.  It begins with the first women's right convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 and goes to the nineteenth amendment in 1920.

Amendment 18: Liquor Abolished

"1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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

This legislation abolishes the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol to, from, and in the United States.  The eighteenth amendment was repealed fourteen years after it was instated.

The above is a commercial played during the 1920's encouraging individuals why alcohol should be banned.  The video, and prohibition itself, have strong influences from the church.

This humorous picture of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean shows him confused why there is no more alcohol.  When the eighteenth amendment was passed, many were confused why alcohol was banned but it was done to try and protect the people.  By prohibiting alcohol, individuals thought they would be able to control reckless behavior and crime.

Amendment 17: Senators Elected by Popular Vote

"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

The seventeenth amendment changed the choosing of Senators to the people of states rather than state legislatures.  This granted individuals more power.

History of Senatorial Votes

This document explains in a detailed manner why electing senators by popular vote is to the people's advantage and how the seventeenth amendment was brought about. This is written in favor of the amendment being passed.

This video provides insight to why the seventeenth amendment is to the people's disadvantage.  By reverting to old methods, the repeal would reduce the power of the federal government by empowering state legislatures to elect senators.

Amendment 16: Status of Income Tax Clarified

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

This amendment granted the United States the right to collect income tax without accounting for the population of the states.

Income Tax Guide

Provided by the Government Printing Office, the above link is a guide to the history of the sixteenth amendment, the purpose, and defines all details of income tax.  It is a very good reference guide if one has questions about this amendment.

This cartoon illustrates how costly income tax can be.  It encourages individuals to budget their money carefully to be able to pay this tax.

Amendment 15: Race No Bar to Vote

"1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

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

 The fifteenth amendment guaranteed all citizens the right to vote, regardless of their color.  This allowed black men to vote.  Voting privileges were still denied to women of any color at this point.

Actively fighting for their right to vote, these black men earned the right to vote through the fifteenth amendment.

Although black men earned the right to vote, women were still prohibited from doing so.  This sign was one many women activists carried around, stressing the importance to earn voting rights for themselves.

Amendment 14: Citizenship Rights

"1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

This criterion ensured all citizens were privileged to rights on a federal and state level.  In regards to the census, the amendment stated slaves would no longer be counted as three-fifths.  It also included several guidelines designed to the guarantee the loyalty of legislators who participated on the Confederate side of the Civil War.

The video describes what it means to be a citizen and what rights are granted to citizens of the United States.

Without United States citizenship, an individual cannot hold office or vote.  The above is a sample of a citizenship certificate.