The Eighth Amendment to the United States' Constitution protects Americans from cruel and unusual punishment (including torture) or excessive fines. The Second Amendment protects the right to carry guns; the Third Amendment protects Americans from the forced quartering of soldiers; the First Amendment protects the right to freely assemble; the Sixth Amendment protects the right to a speedy trial, and the Seventh Amendment protects the right to trial by jury. 

The First Amendment to the United States’ Constitution guarantees certain inalienable rights that cannot be infringed upon by the government. They are the freedom of speech, religion, the press, petition, and peaceful assembly. The First Amendment is the first of ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.

The women’s suffrage movement picked up steam during World War One, when many women stepped into the jobs and roles in society vacated by men off fighting in the war. The movement culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of gender. The Amendment was ratified in 1920.

The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the sale, use, and consumption of alcohol. It represented the culmination of a decades-long temperance movement. The amendment was passed in 1919; however, the prohibition of alcohol led to a rise in organized crime and was repealed fourteen years later, in 1933, by the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment.

The correct answer is that the 17th Amendment provides for the direct election of Senators. Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment, Senators were elected indirectly. In other words, you (and your co-citizens) did not elect Senators. In fact, Senators were elected by state legislatures (which, of course, were elected by the voting public in each respective state). The 17th Amendment was, in large part, a response to the Progressive movement, which accused the indirect election system of being plagued by graft (political corruption, essentially).

This cartoon reflects that view (note the large gentlemen looming over the senators in the back). The large folks in the back are the purported "bosses" of individual states (e.g. Boss Tweed) who supposedly could thus buy state legislatures (or at least heavily influence them) and promote the election of the senator they wanted.

The correct answer is “prohibition . . . alcohol." Hopefully this question was relatively easy. The 18th Amendment, similar to the 17th, was adopted in large part in response to the Progressive movement (although, technically, it was the “Temperance” movement which gave birth to it). Women were a large driving force behind Prohibition, and it is no coincidence that women gained the right to vote soon after.

The 19th Amendment is the correct answer. The "Declaration of Rights and Sentiments" was the women's rights analog to the Declaration of Independence. It was read at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first formal agitation of equal rights among the sexes, which eventually leads to the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Although some—many, actually—states granted women the right to vote prior to the 19th Amendment, it took an amendment to force the noncompliant states to allow women to vote. Do you know why that is?

Remember: controlling the franchise (that is, who gets to vote) belongs to the states alone! That’s why it took an amendment to change the laws in the states which did not allow women to vote.

The correct answer is “Some women could . . .” Interestingly, many states west of the Mississippi allowed women to vote, with the Wyoming Territory (later the state) leading the charge. Do you know why this is? The answer is somewhat nuanced (and there are several theories as to why), but one plausible reason is that women were critical in settling the West, so the men “rewarded” them by extending the franchise. In other words, and likely a little more accurately, western women, unlike their eastern counterparts, were not simply homemakers and child-raisers. They actively participated in almost every aspect of life.

The 22nd Amendment limited the number of terms to which a President could be elected to 2. That said, it’s still possible for a President to be President for slightly less than 10 years. We’ll use names to make it easier. Billary Clownton and McDonald Grump are elected President and Vice President respectively. Clownton suffers an embarrassing political debacle halfway through her term, and is impeached and removed from office. Grump becomes President, and serves the remainder of Clownton’s term (a little less than two years). Grump goes on to be elected for two terms (8 years). Grump has been in office for (almost) 10 years, but only elected to 8. Pretty cool stuff!

The 25th Amendment formally sets Presidential succession, and in doing so, makes the VP the official President in the event of a death, resignation, or impeachment. Although that sounds a little goofy, it’s important mainly for somewhat attenuated legal reasons, the majority of which are beyond the scope of your course. Put simply, the 25th Amendment removed any confusion about whether the VP (in the event she needed to step up to the Presidency) was simply the “acting” President, or was actually the president.