The Amendments
Twenty-seven changes to the Constitution — how they were won, what they say, and where they still protect people.
How the Constitution is amended
Article V sets two paths to propose a change and two paths to ratify it:
To propose
2/3 of both the House and Senate, or a national convention called by 2/3 of the states.
To ratify
3/4 of state legislatures, or 3/4 of state conventions.
The President does not sign amendments. A simple majority in Congress is not enough.
Madison drafted the Bill of Rights after Anti-Federalists demanded written limits on federal power.
The first ten amendments were added in 1791 because many Americans would not trust a new federal government without written limits. Madison wrote them. Mason, Henry, Jefferson, and the ratifying conventions made them unavoidable.
Bill of Rights · Amendments I–X
Official text
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.
In plain English
The federal government cannot set up an official church, stop you from practicing your faith, silence your speech or writing, or stop you from gathering to ask the government to fix something.
Why it was added
Many states would not ratify the Constitution without written guarantees that the new federal government could not touch basic freedoms. Anti-Federalists demanded these limits before they would agree to the new union.
Who pushed it
Where you still see it
- • A newspaper publishing criticism of an elected official.
- • People gathering in a public square to protest a law.
Related in the app
Ratified December 15, 1791.
Later Amendments · XI–XXVII
Official text from the National Archives. A republic — if you can keep it.
