Constitution Major

Project

By Sulabh and Gianni

11th Amendment:
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against
one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens
or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Why does the 11th amendment matter?
The 11 amendment prohibits the federal courts from hearing certain
lawsuits against states. This amendment also been interpreted to
mean that states courts do not have to hear certain suits against the
states, if those are based on federal law.

How is the United States still using this

Amendment?
States today are still are being regularly sued in federal courts. For a number of
reasons. This is how this amendment is being used today.
12th Amendment:

This amendment changed the rules so that the president and vice
president would be selected through separate elections within the
electoral college, and it altered the method that congress used to fill the
offices in the event that no candidate won a majority.
Why is the 12th amendment important?
The 12th amendment provided for separate Electoral College votes for
the President and Vice President, Correcting weaknesses in the earlier
electoral system which were responsible for the controversial
Presidential election of 1800.

Is this Amendment still used today?

Each presidential election since has been conducted under the terms of
the the twelves amendment. The Twelfth Amendment stipulates that
each elector must cast distinct votes for president and vice president,
instead of two votes for the president.
13 Amendment:

The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that

“neither slavery nor involuntaraly servitude, execept as punishment
for crime wherof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction
Why is the 13 amendment important?
The 13th Amendment forever abolished slavery as an institution in all
U.S. states and territories. In addition to banning slavery, the amendment
outlawed the practice of involuntary servitude and peonage. Involuntary
servitude or peonage occurs when a person is coerced to work in order to
pay off debts.

Is the 13th Amendment still used today?

Yes it's still used today in prisons due to the article stating, that people
have been incarcerated for punishment. This would allow the prisons to
almost use them almost slaves.
14 Amendment:

The 14th amendment states that no state shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the immunities or privileges of citizens in the United States of
America. This amendment was established because politicians wanted as
many people to vote for them as possible. This amendment made a lot of
African Americans happy because they were one step closer to being
accepted by society then they were.
 Why does the 14th Amendment matter?

This amendment matters because it gives people the right to become a citizen
regardless of their race as long as they were born in the United States. This
amendment still applies to the US government today because anyone born in the
US is immediately a US citizen.

Is the 14th amendment still used today?

Yes this amendment is still used because anyone born into the US is immediately
a citizen regardless of their race or gender.
15 Amendment:

This amendment was passed in 1869 and gave African Americans the right to
vote and have a say in elections going on in the country. This amendment was
established to protect african american lives after the civil war. Many african
americans were happy that this amendment was passed because it gave them
the right to vote at least.
Why does the 15th Amendment matter?

The 15th amendment matters because it grants african americans the right to vote and
participate in important elections that are going on in the country.

Is the 15th amendment still used today?

Yes it is still used today because many African Americans vote every year.
16 Amendment:

The 16th amendment states that the government has the power to levy an income tax on all
income earners in the US. This amendment was created because of the financial requirements
for the Civil War. The government found it at the time that was helpful and continued on taxing
income earners.
Why is the 16th amendment important?

The 16th amendment is important because it gives Congress the right to tax citizens.

Is this amendment still used today?

Yes this amendment is still used today because citizens get taxed every year based the amount
of income that they are making.
Sources:

First halves of the google slides are with the amendments in the constitution.

● https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xi/interpretations/133#:~:text=The%2
0Eleventh%20Amendment's%20text%20prohibits,are%20based%20on%20federal%20law.
● https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xii/interpretations/171
● https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/13th-amendment-united-states-constitution/#:~:text=Lincoln
%20and%20other%20leaders%20realized,of%20involuntary%20servitude%20and%20peonage.
● https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fourteenth-amendment#:~:text=The%2014th%20Amendment%20
to%20the,era%20to%20abolish%20slavery%20and
● School of Law, Tulane University. (2021, February 16). History of law: The fourteenth amendment. Tulane. Retrieved October 6, 2022,
from
https://online.law.tulane.edu/articles/history-of-law-the-fourteenth-amendment#:~:text=When%20originally%20passed%2C%20the%2
014th,perjury%20during%20the%20naturalization%20process.
● https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/16th-amendment#:~:text=Passed%20by%20Congress%20on%20July,impose%20a%
20Federal%20income%20tax.
●