How many amendments does the US Constitution have? A guide to the founding document.
In his final speech as president, Barack Obama, speaking to a crowd in Chicago, said: "Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift; but it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We the people give it power."
His sentiment, that the founding documents of this country hold only as much weight as we allow for, forms the basis of constitutional democracies all around the world. The construction of a government is dependent on its citizens buying in, believing that the laws have legitimacy, and working to rewrite or abolish those that do not — a fight that continues in America.
How many amendments are there?
The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times.
The first 10 amendments are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights, and the remaining 17 deal with everything from who can vote, to whether or not senators can give themselves a raise.
Here is a brief breakdown of what each of the 27 amendments covers:
Bill of Rights:
First amendment: Grants the right to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Second amendment: Grants the right to bear arms.
Third amendment: Prevents soldiers from being quartered in a citizen's home without consent.
Fourth amendment: Protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure
Fifth amendment: Protects citizens from double jeopardy, testifying against oneself, grants the right to due process
Sixth amendment: Grants the right to a speedy and public trial, a jury of impartial peers, legal counsel, and to be informed of the crimes they are accused of.
Seventh amendment: Grants the right to a jury trial for civil matters.
Eighth amendment: Protects citizens from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Ninth amendment: Clarifies that the enumeration of rights in the constitution does not deny the rights retained by the people.
Tenth amendment: Establishes that rights not delegated to the federal government by the constitution are reserved by the states or the people
Remaining amendments
Eleventh amendment: Affirms that the judicial code of the US does not extend to suits brought by foreign powers
Twelfth amendment: Establishes the procedure for election of the President and Vice President
Thirteenth amendment: Abolishes slavery, and involuntary servitude except in the case of punishment for a crime
Fourteenth amendment: Establishes the rights of citizens, including equal protection under the law regardless of race and sex, bars individuals from public office who have engaged in insurrection, defines certain parameters of national debt
Fifteenth amendment: Established that the right to vote cannot be denied based on race, and grants Congress the power to enforce this
Sixteenth amendment: Establishes the right of Congress to impose income taxes
Seventeenth amendment: Establishes the composition of the senate and the election procedure for senators
Eighteenth amendment: Prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol
Nineteenth amendment: Gave women the right to vote
Twentieth amendment: Establishes presidential succession, date of inauguration
Twenty-first amendment: Repeals the prohibition of alcohol
Twenty-second amendment: Establishes a two-term limit for Presidents
Twenty-third amendment: Establishes a presidential vote for D.C.
Twenty-fourth amendment: Abolished poll taxes.
Twenty-fifth amendment: Establishes procedure for the vice president to assume the presidency
Twenty-sixth amendment: Establishes the right to vote at age 18
Twenty-seventh amendment: Establishes rules for change in compensation of congressional members
Back to the start: Here's when the US Constitution was written
Who is the chief justice of the United States now?
Right now, the Chief Justice of the United States is John G. Roberts.
Justice Roberts has served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court since 2005, when he was nominated by then-President George W. Bush.
How long do Supreme Court justices serve for?
Supreme Court justices are appointed to serve a lifetime term, though it is not required that they serve until their end of life.
In the history of the court, justices have served for an average of 16 years, according to the court's official site, and a new court is added to the bench roughly every two years.
How many U.S. Senators are there?
There are 100 senators. As outlined in Section 3 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution, two senators are sent to the congress from each state.
The 100 figure is therefore not specifically designated — should there ever be more states added to the union, that number would increase, with two new senators added for each new state.
Which state has the most signers to the Constitution?
Pennsylvania.
There were 34 delegates to the Continental and Confederation Congress who signed the United States Constitution, eight of whom hailed from Pennsylvania.
Delegates from these remaining states also signed the founding document:
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New York
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Who has the power to declare war?
The Constitution of the United States grants Congress, and only Congress the power to declare war.
However, the President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the United States armed forces and can use military force without congressional approval prior.
Many of the military conflicts of recent memory have not been initiated by a formal declaration of war.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many amendments are there? All the changes to the Constitution.
