Straightforward question here. Congress can pass, by a  vote, a proposed amendment. Alternatively,  of the state legislatures can call for a constitutional convention in order to propose an amendment. That said, the details on that particular avenue are relatively fuzzy, as it has never happened in the history of our country. Thus, every single amendment has been proposed by  of Congress and then sent to the states for ratification.

This is, for all intents and purposes, the counterpart to question number 2. Remember: the ‘passage’ of an amendment is a two-step process: (1) proposal, (2) ratification. Just because an amendment makes it past the proposal stage does NOT mean that it will ever be ratified. (Don’t believe me? Look up the ERA amendment).

In the event that a proposed amendment makes it past the first stage, it is handed off to either state legislatures, or ratifying conventions, to be ratified by ¾ of them. Don’t get mixed up—the proposal doesn’t have to pass a state legislature by a  vote:  of the states (so 38) must get their legislatures OR ratifying conventions to ratify the proposal. Ratifying conventions are relatively rare; the only amendment to have been ratified by ratifying conventions is the 21st, which is, coincidentally, the only amendment to overturn another amendment (18). 

The 4^th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by ensuring that searches are conducted with a warrant that has been duly issued by a judge. This requirement is designed to ensure that there is some oversight over police activity and that police do not perform searches for no reason other than to find something that would get a person in legal trouble. There must be reason to believe that a person has committed a crime in order for that person’s house and possessions to be searched.

Prior to the American Revolution the colonists were sometimes forced to shelter and provide food for British soldiers based on the idea that the soldiers were protecting the colonists. This troubled the colonists who felt that the military was invading their homes and using up all of their resources. The colonists wanted to ensure that they would not have to continue doing this so after independence was won this provision was included in the Constitution.

The 5^th Amendment provides various protections for those who have been accused of a crime, including that “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” This means that people are protected from double jeopardy, the practice of the government prosecuting someone twice for the same offense.

The 10^th Amendment was added to appease those who worried that the federal government would become too powerful and infringe upon the rights of the states. This amendment ensures that the states do have some power, although it as has some influence due to the addition of other amendments and Supreme Court rulings. This Amendment maintains that all powers not given to the federal government “are reserved to the States respectively,” so they should have control over issues not spelled out in the Constitution.

The 18^th Amendment was ratified in 1919 and went into effect in 1920. It was brought about in an attempt to improve American society by eliminating alcohol, which many people believed caused people to sin and commit crimes. After being enacted this amendment actually brought a lot of problems to society, as it gave a lot of power and influence to the gangs who controlled the alcohol trade. This Amendment was later repealed by the 21^st Amendment after 13 years of Prohibition.

The 19^th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and was the result of the women’s suffrage movement, which fought to extend the right to vote to all women. Prior to this Amendment some states, mainly the Western ones, allowed women to have full voting rights while other states only allowed them to vote in some elections and others did not allow them to vote at all. This Amendment created a national standard that women could vote in all elections and is considered one of the greatest achievements of the women’s rights movement.

Prior to this Amendment, which was ratified in 1961, citizens of Washington D.C. had no voice over who would be president, unlike all other citizens. They were not afforded electors because D.C. is not a state and electors are apportioned based off of Congressional representation. D.C. citizens felt that this was unfair, especially because their lives are directly affected by who is in the federal government and there is no chance of having voting representation in Congress until D.C. were to become a state. Washington D.C. was awarded three delegates, the lowest amount possible that a state could have.

This Amendment came about mainly due to the fact that people were upset that those below 21 were being drafted into the military and sent to Vietnam, but could not have any impact on was in government. Many young people, particularly college students, believed that their voices should be officially counted, especially if they were going to have to serve in the military. This Amendment was eventually ratified in 1971 due to mounting pressure from the public.