Author: Chris A

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment,  proposed by Congress on September 14, 1962, and ratified by the states on January 23, 1964,  ended the poll tax applied by states for elections of federal officials.

The Twenty-Third Amendment was proposed by Congress on June 16, 1960, and ratified by the states on March 29, 1961. The Amendment conferred citizen-residents of our national capital and the seat of our government, the District of Columbia (DC), the right to choose electors and thereby vote in U.S. presidential elections.

The Twenty-Second Amendment was proposed by Congress on March 21, 1947, and ratified on February 27, 1951.  Comprised of two sections, it sets a two-term (four years each) limit for an elected President, and those restrictions apply to an individual who becomes president, but not through the election process, and serves for more than two years.

The Twenty-First Amendment was proposed by Congress on February 20, 1933 and ratified by the states on December 5, 1933.  Comprised of three sections, it repealed the Eighteenth Amendment ending the federal government’s ban on the importation, manufacture, sale, and/or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States.

Known as the “Lame Duck” Amendment, the Twentieth Amendment changed the start dates of federal terms of office following federal elections for the offices of President, Vice President, and members of Congress.

In America, it is not uncommon to hear sentiments that begin or end with “when women got the right to vote.”  In fact, women didn’t get the right to vote in 1920, they fought for it.

The Eighteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified by the states on January 16, 1919, banned alcohol, for all intents and purposes, within the borders of American jurisdictions.

America’s legislative branch is a bicameral system meaning our United States Congress is divided into two separate chambers:  1) the U.S. Senate; and 2) the U.S. House of Representatives.  The U.S. Senate is made up of two senators from each state, no matter the size of the state or the population. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is made up of “no more than 435” (as provided by law), and the states elect members in a manner proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.

Constitutional authority to tax the American people arises out of Article I, Section 8, which granted Congress the power to “lay and collect Taxes. . .to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.”