Engage: The Constitution’s Second Founding
The Constitution was signed in 1787. But in many ways, the Constitution we live under today was created in the 1860s.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments—the Reconstruction Amendments—fundamentally transformed America’s constitutional order. They ended slavery, redefined citizenship, required equal protection, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Together, they constituted a second founding, correcting the original Constitution’s greatest failure.
Beyond these three, seventeen more amendments have shaped American government and society. Some expanded democracy. Some limited government. One prohibited alcohol; another repealed that prohibition. Each tells a story about America’s ongoing struggle to form “a more perfect union.”
Explore: The Reconstruction Amendments (13-15)
Thirteenth Amendment (1865): “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
- Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude
- Passed after Civil War while Southern states couldn’t object
- Note the exception: prisoners can still be forced to work
- Required for Southern states’ readmission to Union
Fourteenth Amendment (1868): The longest and most litigated amendment, containing multiple clauses:
Citizenship Clause: “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.”
- Overruled Dred Scott v. Sandford (which said African Americans couldn’t be citizens)
- Established birthright citizenship
Privileges or Immunities Clause: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”
- Largely gutted by Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)
- Could have protected civil rights; courts chose not to use it that way
Due Process Clause: “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”
- Applied Bill of Rights to states (“incorporation”)
- Source of “substantive due process” protecting unenumerated rights
- Most important clause in modern constitutional law
Equal Protection Clause: “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”
- Prohibits state discrimination
- Used to end segregation (Brown v. Board)
- Extends to sex, national origin, other classifications
Fifteenth Amendment (1870): “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.”
- Prohibited racial discrimination in voting
- States evaded through literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, violence
- Not effectively enforced until Voting Rights Act of 1965
Explain: Progressive Era Reforms (16-19)
Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Authorized federal income tax
- Overruled Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. (1895)
- Fundamentally changed federal power—government no longer dependent on tariffs and excise taxes
- Enabled modern welfare state and massive federal government
Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Direct election of senators
- Previously chosen by state legislatures
- Responded to corruption, deadlocks, and democratic pressure
- Reduced states’ role in federal government
- Made Senate more responsive to popular opinion (for better or worse)
Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibited alcohol
- Only amendment later fully repealed
- Led to organized crime, speakeasies, and widespread disrespect for law
- Lesson: can’t legislate morality through Constitution
Nineteenth Amendment (1920): 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”
- Culmination of decades of activism
- Doubled the electorate overnight
- Some states allowed women to vote earlier; others resisted after
Elaborate: Modern Amendments (20-27)
Twentieth Amendment (1933): “Lame Duck Amendment”
- Moved presidential inauguration from March to January
- Shortened time outgoing officials serve after losing election
- Responded to long gap during Great Depression
Twenty-First Amendment (1933): Repealed Prohibition
- Only amendment to repeal another amendment
- Only amendment ratified by state conventions (not legislatures)
- Demonstrated that constitutional mistakes can be corrected
Twenty-Second Amendment (1951): Presidential term limits
- Limited presidents to two terms (or 10 years total)
- Response to FDR’s four terms
- Prevents accumulation of excessive executive power
- But removes experienced leaders and makes presidents “lame ducks”
Twenty-Third Amendment (1961): DC electoral votes
- Gave Washington, DC electoral votes for president (currently 3)
- DC still lacks full congressional representation
- Attempt to give DC statehood has repeatedly failed
Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964): Banned poll taxes
- States charged fees to vote, preventing poor people (especially Black citizens) from voting
- Part of broader civil rights movement
Twenty-Fifth Amendment (1967): Presidential succession and disability
- Clarified what happens if president becomes incapacitated
- Created procedures for temporary transfer of power
- Established process for filling vice-presidential vacancies
- Invoked when Reagan was shot, when Bush had colonoscopy, when Trump had COVID
Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971): Voting age lowered to 18
- “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote”
- Response to Vietnam War draft
- Fastest ratification: 100 days
Twenty-Seventh Amendment (1992): Congressional pay raises
- Pay raises can’t take effect until after next election
- Originally proposed by James Madison in 1789!
- Ratified 202 years later after student’s paper arguing it was still viable
- Shows amendment process never truly “expires”
Evaluate: Themes and Patterns
Looking at all 27 amendments, several patterns emerge:
Expanding Democracy:
- 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th: Expanded who can vote
- 17th: Made Senate elected by people
- 23rd: Gave DC electoral votes
Limiting Government:
- 1st-10th: Bill of Rights
- 13th, 14th: Limited state power over individuals
- 16th: Enabled more government (income tax)
Fixing Structural Problems:
- 11th: Sovereign immunity for states
- 12th: Electoral College procedures
- 20th: Lame duck period
- 22nd: Presidential term limits
- 25th: Presidential succession
Correcting Mistakes:
- 21st: Repealed 18th (Prohibition)
Protecting Civil Rights:
- 13th, 14th, 15th: Reconstruction Amendments
- 19th, 24th, 26th: Voting rights
The Lesson:
The Constitution can change. It has changed. But change requires overwhelming consensus across decades. The amendment process filters out temporary passions while allowing genuine, lasting reforms.
No amendments have passed since 1992. Does this mean the Constitution is complete? Or that we’re stuck with an 18th-century framework unable to address 21st-century problems? That debate continues.
Key Vocabulary
- Reconstruction Amendments: 13th, 14th, 15th—passed after Civil War
- Incorporation: Application of Bill of Rights to states via 14th Amendment
- Equal Protection: Guarantee that government won’t discriminate (14th Amendment)
- Due Process: Government must follow fair procedures (5th and 14th Amendments)
- Suffrage: Right to vote
Think About It
If you could add one amendment to the Constitution today, what would it be? Why do you think it would receive the necessary 2/3 and 3/4 support? What opposition would it face?
Additional Resources
Primary Source: Read all 27 Amendments:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27
Notice how different they are in purpose, length, and scope. The 14th Amendment alone has generated more litigation than most of the original Constitution.
For the Reconstruction Amendments’ history and meaning, read the National Archives educational materials:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents
For the 14th Amendment’s transformative effect, read Brown v. Board of Education (1954):
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education
This decision used the Equal Protection Clause to end legal segregation, demonstrating how amendments can fundamentally reshape American society—sometimes decades or centuries after ratification.
This concludes Week 4 and our study of the Constitution itself. Next week, we’ll begin exploring the three branches in detail, starting with Congress—how it actually functions, how laws are made, and how representatives balance competing pressures.