Amendment | Definition & Facts (2024)

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What is a fact about amendment? ›

A total of 27 amendments have been made to the Constitution. For an amendment to be made, two-thirds of the members of each house of Congress must approve it, and three-fourths of the states must ratify it.

An amendment is a change or addition to the terms of a contract or document. An amendment is often an addition or correction that leaves the original document substantially intact. Other times an amendment can strike the original text entirely and substitute it with new language.

The first ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights, which includes many of the freedoms we associate so closely with the United States - such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. These constitutional rights protect the lives of individuals from interference by the government.

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.

The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world.

The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world." Of the spelling errors in the Constitution, “Pensylvania” above the signers' names is probably the most glaring. Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution.

The First Amendment is widely considered to be the most important part of the Bill of Rights. It protects the fundamental rights of conscience—the freedom to believe and express different ideas—in a variety of ways.

An amendment is an addition to the Constitution of the United States. The Amendments provide additional clarification regarding citizens' rights and government administrative procedures.

The United States Constitution

Beginning with the words “We the People,” the U.S. Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments.

First Amendment: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly. Second Amendment: the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Third Amendment: restricts housing soldiers in private homes. Fourth Amendment: protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

What is the full First Amendment? ›

Amendment I

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.

by Gordon S. Wood. The Third Amendment seems to have no direct constitutional relevance at present; indeed, not only is it the least litigated amendment in the Bill of Rights, but the Supreme Court has never decided a case on the basis of it.

The first two amendments to our Constitution are by far the most important. Here is why. The First Amendment guarantees our freedom of speech, our freedom to worship as we chose, and also guarantees our right to peaceably assemble.

The First amendment, especially the right to free speech. Plenty of free countries have nothing like the second amendment, but do well because of their love of the equivalent of the first. Freedom of speech, assembly, and the press are indispensable to a truly free society.

The First Amendment prohibits the federal and state government from infringing on those protected rights. Those prohibitions and protections do not extend to a privately owned company such as Facebook or Target. For example, one cannot walk into a Target and curse, claiming freedom under the First Amendment.

James Madison (1751–1836), the chief author of the Bill of Rights and thus of the First Amendment, was the foremost champion of religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in the Founding Era.

These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements.