Try This Quiz on the Constitutional Amendments

The most recent amendment to be added to the Constitution came in 1992, though it was originally proposed in 1789. The 27th Amendment prohibits Congress from raising their salaries until a new election has occurred.

Though Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the South, at a national level, the practice remained in a semi-legal state. So, in 1865, the United States ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery "within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." However, a line in the amendment seemingly grants an exception as "punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted," which has raised flags in recent years.

The 25th Amendment clarifies the line of presidential succession, which hadn't been codified up to that point. Ratified in February 1967, it also allows for the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet members to decide if a President is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office," and remove them from the position. This clause has yet to be used.

Though by 1962, all citizens of age in the U.S. had been granted the right to vote, five Southern states maintained poll taxes, which disproportionately affected African American voters and suppressed their enfranchisement. In order to combat these Jim Crow laws, Congress ratified the 24th Amendment. The legislation outlawed the poll tax as a voting requirement and moved the U.S. closer to racial equality.

In the years leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women were allowed to vote in some, but not all, states in the Union. When the amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, it stated: "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."

The shortest of all the constitutional amendments, the Eighth reads, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Due to the lack of explanation as to what constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment," this amendment is one of the most open to judicial interpretation.

The Fifth Amendment created a number of rights relevant to legal proceedings, including the popular protection against self-incrimination. In addition to the right to a grand jury, the prohibition of "double jeopardy," and the requirement of due process, the Fifth Amendment states that "nor shall [any person] be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."

transportation of alcoholic beverages illegal. The United States' Temperance Movement celebrated success with the passage of this amendment; however, their victory would be short-lived. Fourteen years later, the 18th Amendment was repealed by the passage of the 21st Amendment, and Americans raised a glass to the end of Prohibition.

After the passage of the Constitution, lawmakers realized there were glaring holes in the law of the land. One such legislator was James Madison, who decided to write the Bill of Rights, a series of 10 constitutional amendments that would legally grant the people of the United States many rights deemed necessary for a free citizenry.

The First Amendment was ratified in 1791, three years after the Constitution was established. It reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."