Section 1. "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." Section 2. "The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." Section 3. "This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress." This amendment is directly related to the eighteenth amendment that was the one that established Prohibition (no consume, production or transportation of alcohol). The twenty-first amendment repeals the 18th.
I thought this image was very funny because we can see people celebrating the end of Prohibition. The image is from December 5th, 1933.
Here we can see a picture of Homer celebrating the end of the Prohibition period in Springfield.
Section 1. "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin." Section 2. "The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day." Section 3. "If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified." Section 4. "The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them." Section 5. "Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article." Section 6. "This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution (text) by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission." The twentieth amendment is the one that sets when the federal government offices start and end. It also says who succeeds the President in case he dies.
The video gives an explanation about this amendment, talking about what every section means and exposing pros and cons about it.
I put the image because the nickname of the 20th amendment is lame duck. In politics the term lame duck is used when an elected official already has a voted successor and he has limited time left in office.
"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." "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This was a big change in American politics and the Constitution because it was the first time women could vote in the elections. This meant that now everybody was allowed to vote in the United States.
In the first image we can see a group of women protesting agains President Wilson and not allowing them to vote. In the second one we can see women voting in New York in 1920 in one of the first elections they were able to vote.
Section 1. "After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
This amendment is interesting because it is the only one that has been repealed from the US Constitution. It talks about banning the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol. This amendment was established in 1919 and it was a big failure because it made people find other ways to drink and sell it undercover.
This video is from the Simpsons. It is one of my favorite scenes, where Homer makes his own alcohol when Prohibition gets approved in Springfield.
Here we can see the Orange Country (California) Sheriff dumping alcohol after the establishment of the 18th amendment.
"When the United States Constitution was originally drafted, the Senate was designed to be a counterbalance to the influence of popular opinion. While the House was to be elected directly by the people and the representatives would serve two-year terms, the Senate was to be chosen, two in each state, by the state legislature for six-year terms. The idea was for the Senate to be "above the fray" and capable of more detached consideration of issues. In practice, selection of senators became influenced by business interests and political machines. The Progressive Movement opposed this system and proposed to replace it with direct election by the people. Congress passed an amendment to this effect in 1912 and in 1913 it was ratified as the Seventeenth Amendment. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution." The Senate is one of the two houses of the US Congress. This amendment tells us how Senators are elected. People elect two senators from each state, and the senator will serve for six years in the Congress. Each senator has one vote.
I liked this two videos very much because they explains what the seventeenth amendment is saying in a very simple and clear way.
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The sixteenth amendment allows the federal government to collect an income tax from all Americans.
This is a comedy illustration where we can see a banker shaking a man to take his money and collect his taxes. A lot of people say that "the government steals money from us by collecting taxes".
This video explains how the taxing system works, relating it to beer. I thought it was a funny and interesting way to explain it.
Section 1. "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." Section 2. "The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This is definitely an important amendment since it gives people the right to vote. When this amendment was created in 1869, women weren't allowed to vote and they had to wait another 50 years. Voting is a right that we sometimes take for granted, but we have to remember that there are many countries in which you can't vote to decide who is in power.
This illustration is very interesting because we can see the first African American to vote in the United States.
In this other illustration we can see a black man going to vote, while a group of white man around him look with unhappiness and disappointment.
