November 18, 2009

The Twenty Seventh Amendment.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.


Short and sweet! This amendment states that any pay raises for legislatures will not take effect until after an election. This is great so that they cannot keep voting for themselves to get pay raises, etc.





I LOVE Alec Baldwin! This is him reading the 27th amendment.





Just another video from that random guy broadcasting from his room talking about the twenty seventh amendment!

The Twenty Sixth Amendment.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


The twenty sixth amendment is one of my favorites! It ensures that any United States citizen 18 years and over could legally vote. I think this is an incredible addition to the constitution. I think now the younger voters are beginning to turn out more and more and that is amazing!




The importance in voting!!!





This is a video aimed at the younger viewers! 18+!!


The Twenty Fifth Amendment.

Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.


The twenty fifth amendment basically shows the presidential line of succession. It shows what would happen and who would take charge if something should happen to the president while he was still in office. The succession goes: vice president, speaker of the house, president of senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, secretary of the defense, and then the attorney general. It goes on to list more and more people however I think the chances of all six of these people dying at once and having to move further down the line of succession is HIGHLY unlikely.



Just a silly video about a robot eating the president and what would happen if the president did in fact get eaten by a robot. Hah!




Alec Baldwin reading the twenty fifth amendment! Posted for no other reason other than the fact that I love Alec Baldwin!

The Twenty Fourth Amendment.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


The twenty fourth amendment eliminates the poll taxes. I think this is a VERY important amendment because many people could not afford to pay a poll tax but that does not mean that they should not have the right to vote. This also goes into play with the civil rights movement because poll taxes were often used as a way to discriminate against African Americans and not allow them to vote-- by requiring such a high poll tax that only well to do white people could vote.




This is a video from MSNBC talking about a "new" poll tax. There are many of these videos coming around comparing various things to the old poll taxes...kind of interesting.





This is just a random video I found of a high school history project. It was pretty much the only one I could find on this amendment!

The Twenty Third Amendment.

Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelth article of amendment.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


This amendment basically states that the District of Columbia has three electoral votes for president. There's really not a whole lot I have to say about this amendment-- it's pretty cut and dry. I could get into the whole electoral college system and how I think that is quite outdated and needs to be revised but let's face it...nobody wants to read me ramble on about that!




This is a cut and dry explanation of the twenty third amendment by an attorney.




This is the same random guy I have been posting quite a few videos of. Apparently he is going through every single amendment on youtube and explaining and stating his opinion on it. Surprise, it's NOT for a class!

The Twenty Second Amendment.

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.


The twenty second amendment essentially limits the president to two terms or 10 years. If something happens to the president, the vice president will take over the job as president and continue on the previous president's term-- a new one will not be started for him. This is a great amendment because it ensures that a president cannot continue on for fifty years and that there is always a chance for a fresh perspective to come into the white house.


Basically, I just thought this video was hilarious because the video maker obviously does not know much about the twenty second amendment and actually thinks that statement from Barack Obama means he is thinking of abolishing the twenty second amendment, HAH!



This is just a simple straight to the point explanation of the twenty second amendment by an attorney.

The Twenty First Amendment.

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. Effect of Repeal



The twenty first amendment basically repeals the eighteenth amendment. It makes it so that the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol would no longer be illegal. I think that when they created the eighteenth amendment they expected everyone to simply obey the law and not drink alcohol however it sort of backfired on them. Because everyone was making and consuming liquor illegally, crime began to rise and the government began to realise that it would be more beneficial to make alcohol legal once again.




This is an interview with a wine sales rep on his opinion on the twenty first amendment. It is an interesting point of view-- you can bet he is happy this amendment was passed!




This is a video of an average guy explaining the twenty-first amendment. It seems that everyone knows about this amendment-- at least a lot of college guys! ;)