Economics

>>I finished this earlier than I expected. The following is a list

>>of the 27 Ammendments to the Constitution by historical cluster

>>(what was going on at the time that caused the Ammendments to be

>>introduced) and a brief description of each Ammendment (these will

>>differ from one text to another but generally uniform in

>>description).

>>

>>Year, followed by historical back ground, and then the Amendment

>>and description:

>>

>>1791, the years following the Revolutionary War, the Bill of Rights

>>are introduced as promised, the 1st through 8th Amendment, The Bill

>>of Rights comprises 1 through 8, 9 & 10 relate to people's and

>>states' rights. Also, the states' immunities (1798) and finally a

>>Presidential/Vice Presidential election fiasco (1804) creates an

>>uproar which calls for the last Amendment in this period. In 1804,

>>we had a sitting Vice President, Aaron Burr, who was charged with

>>murder in the dueling related death of Alexander Hamilton. It was

>>becoming obvious that the way Presidents and their VP's are elected

>>had to change.

>>

>>1st- freedom of speech and religion

>>2nd- right to bear arms

>>3rd- no quartering of soldiers

>>4th- freedom from search and seizure

>>5th- freedom from self-incrimination

>>6th- right to a speedy trial

>>7th- trial by common law jury preserved

>>8th- freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishment

>>9th- undeclared rights reserved to the people

>>10th- undeclared rights reserved to the states

>>11th- states' immunities

>>12th- President & VP elected by majority electoral vote

>>

>>(No longer is the Vice President the runner-up in the Presidential

>>electionÐ'--the President and V.P. now run together on an individual

>>electoral ticket and the runner-up in the Presidential election

>>becomes nothing [like Gore in the last election], instead of the

>>Vice President of the U.S.Ð'--If we didn't have the 12th Amendment,

>>Gore would be Vice President today.)

>>

>>Now it's 1865 and a few decades have passed; the Civil War is over,

>>President Abraham Lincoln has just been assassinated and President

>>Andrew Johnson takes over the White House. Congress is ready to

>>make the military victory over the South a legal reality and bring

>>the southern states under stricter Federal control. Three

>>Amendments are passed in the next 5 years (between 1865 & 1870).

>>

>>13th- the abolition of slavery

>>14th- the due process and equal protection, incorporation of the

>>bill of rights begins (only the beginning; MUCH more is involved

>>than this for the subject of Incorporation)

>>15th- the right to vote may not be abridged (may not be hindered

>>through active discrimination) based on race

>>

>>Several decades pass, now it's the twentieth century and World War

>>I has ended; the federal government decides it needs to become

>>larger and more centrally powerful (monetarily powerful) to deal

>>with the expenses and the labors of taking care of America's

>>growing masses of unprotected poor. (In 1913, the first two

>>Amendments are ratified and the next one in 1919, Ð'... the last in

>>1920.)

>>

>>16th- Federal Income taxation begins

>>17th- Popular Election of U.S. Senators (no longer elected by State

>>Legislators)

>>18th- Prohibition (of Alcohol)

>>19th- Women's Suffrage (right to vote)

>>

>>Now it's 1933, a few years before our entry into World War II in

>>Europe, President Hoover is on his way out of office and Franklin

>>Roosevelt is about to be elected. Congress decides a couple of

>>things need to change to make government work more efficiently and

>>to stop the rise of Mafia power in the United States. Everyone can

>>see that