Constitution of the United States: The Amendments

The Constitution has undergone gradual alteration with the growth of the country. Some of the 26 amendments were brought on by Supreme Court decisions. However, the first 10 amendments, which constitute the Bill of Rights, were added within two years of the signing of the federal Constitution in order to ensure sufficient guarantees of individual liberties. The Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government. But since the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), many of the guarantees contained in the Bill of Rights have been extended to the states through the “due process” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Other Amendments
• The Bill of Rights
• The Amendments
• 5: Amending the Constitution
• 4: The States
• 3: The Judiciary
• 2: The Executive Branch
• 1: Congress
• The Articles
• The Preamble
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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