What purposes do the amendments to the Constitution serve?
• The First Amendment places limits on Congress. • The Second through Fourth Amendments place limits on the Executive Branch. • The Fifth through Eighth Amendments place limits on the Judiciary Branch. • The Tenth Amendment reserves any powers not granted to the national government to the states and the people. • The remaining amendments alter how we treat citizens, voting rights, and the way certain elected offices are chosen. • A constitution is a framework, and almost never deals with social issues. In fact, the only amendment which attempted to legislate a social issue, the Eighteenth, was later repealed.
