The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified just months after the end of the American Civil War, abolished enslavement and involuntary servitude—except as a punishment for a crime—in the entire United States. As passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865, the full text of the 13th Amendment reads:

The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution deals with several aspects of U.S. citizenship and the rights of citizens. Ratified on July 9, 1868, during the post-Civil War era, the 14th, along with the 13th and 15th Amendments, are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments. Although the 14th Amendment was intended to protect the rights of formerly enslaved people, it has continued to play a major role in constitutional politics to this day.

The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, extended the right to vote to Black American men seven years after the emancipation proclamation deemed the enslaved population free. Giving Black men voting rights was yet another way for the federal government to recognize them as full American citizens.

The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to collect a federal income tax from all individuals and businesses without sharing or “apportioning” it among the states or basing the collection on the U.S. Census.

The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution bars the federal government, as well as all state and local governments, from using age as a justification for denying the right to vote to any citizen of the United States who is at least 18 years of age. In addition, the Amendment grants Congress the power to “enforce” that prohibition through “appropriate legislation.”

The original governing document of the United States was the Articles of Confederation, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 during the Revolutionary War before the United States was officially a country. This structure combined a weak national government with strong state governments. The national government could not tax, could not enforce the laws it passed, and could not regulate commerce. These and other weaknesses, along with an increase in national feeling, led to the Constitutional Convention, which met from May to September 1787.

A challenging, fun card game that helps students learn about their rights under the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The game offers three levels of play: Easy, Normal, Difficult.

Students learn about the Fourth Amendment’s requirements for arrests and searches. Then in a paired writing activity, they take the role of television writers and create scenarios illustrating legal arrests and searches. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met the arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each representative and the compensation of congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures and constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.

In this lesson, students will examine a copy of twelve possible amendments to the United States Constitution as originally sent to the states for their ratification in September of 1789. Students will debate and vote on which of these amendments they would ratify and compare their resulting “Bill of Rights” to the ten amendments ratified by ten states that have since been known by this name.

This resource from the National Constitution Center includes an introduction, big questions, recorded class sessions, briefing documents, slide decks, and worksheets about the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitutuion.

Rap song on the Bill of Rights, hosted by Smart Songs, an educational music group, creating songs about history, social studies, geography, and science---providing kids and teachers with content that makes learning fun. ABC News Los Angeles and The Boston Globe have described the group as the current version of Schoolhouse Rock.

Many lessons on U.S. history, world history, and government from BRIA, Teach Democracy's quarterly curricular magazine. We have published this tremendous resource since 1967, and we continually add to the archive. Latest issues are part of a new series, reflecting our recent name change from Constitutional Rights Foundation to Teach Democracy. Access to these resources require a free educator login.

That possibility of things going a different way is called contingency. In this lesson, students learn about the contingencies involved in our major founding documents, especially the Bill of Rights! This article and activity are a product of Teach Democracy's partnership with the New York Public Library's Center for Educators & Schools. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

The Constitutional Convention was called in May of 1787 to make revisions to the Articles of Confederation. George Washington was immediately named the convention's president. The articles had been shown since their adoption to be very weak.

Constitutional law is a body of law based on a ratified constitution or similar formative charter dealing with the fundamental principles by which a government exercises its authority. These principles typically define the roles and powers of the various branches of the government and the basic rights of the people.

This webpage explains the basics of the U.S. Constitution at a lower elementary level. It includes the following sections: Basics, History, Bill of Rights, Making Changes, How It All Works. The page does have advertisements as well, so it is best used as a teacher resource.

This webpage explains the basics of the U.S. Constitution at an upper elementary and middle school level. It includes the following sections: Basics, History, Amendments, Slavery, Women, Bill of Rights, How it all Works. The page does have advertisements as well, so it is best used as a teacher resource.

This webpage explains the basics of the U.S. Constitution at an upper elementary and middle school level. It includes the following sections: Basics, History, Amendments, Slavery, Women, Bill of Rights, How it all Works. The page does have advertisements as well, so it is best used as a teacher resource.

Often described as a living document, the Constitution is constantly being interpreted and reinterpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals courts, and Congress in order to address the ever-changing needs and demands of the people. While many argue that "We the People of the United States" refers only to legal citizens, the Supreme Court and lawmakers have consistently disagreed, and for longer than you may think.