Appendix A · The Constitutional Record
The Constitutional Record
Every amendment to the United States Constitution — the twenty-seven that history wrote, and the sixteen the Convention of 2026 added in a single season. ★ marks the new.
The Existing RecordOriginal Amendments to the United States Constitution
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition
Protects fundamental civil liberties from government interference.
Right to Bear Arms
Protects the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.
Quartering of Soldiers
Prohibits the forced quartering of soldiers in private homes.
Search and Seizure
Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; requires warrants.
Rights of the Accused; Due Process; Just Compensation
Establishes grand jury requirement, prohibits double jeopardy and self-incrimination, requires due process and just compensation.
Right to Speedy Trial
Guarantees the right to a speedy, public trial by impartial jury with counsel.
Right to Jury Trial in Civil Cases
Preserves the right to jury trial in federal civil cases.
Excessive Bail and Cruel Punishment
Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Rights Retained by the People
Clarifies that enumerated rights do not deny other rights retained by the people.
Powers Reserved to States and People
Reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
Judicial Limits
Limits federal court jurisdiction over suits against states by citizens of other states or foreign nations.
Presidential Election Procedure
Revises the procedure for electing the President and Vice President.
Abolition of Slavery
Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime.
Equal Protection and Citizenship Rights
Defines citizenship; establishes equal protection and due process requirements applicable to the states.
Right to Vote Regardless of Race
Prohibits denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Federal Income Tax
Grants Congress the power to levy a federal income tax.
Direct Election of Senators
Establishes direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote.
Prohibition of Alcohol
Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors.
Right to Vote for Women
Prohibits denial of the right to vote based on sex.
Presidential and Congressional Terms
Changes the dates on which presidential and congressional terms begin.
Repeal of Prohibition
Repeals Amendment 18; allows states to regulate or prohibit alcohol.
Presidential Term Limits
Limits the President to two elected terms in office.
Presidential Vote for Washington D.C.
Grants Washington, D.C. electoral votes for presidential elections.
Poll Tax Abolished
Prohibits conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax.
Presidential Succession and Disability
Establishes procedures for presidential succession and addresses presidential disability.
Voting Age Lowered to 18
Extends the right to vote to citizens eighteen years of age and older.
Congressional Compensation
Prevents laws varying congressional compensation from taking effect until after the next election.
The Convention of 2026Amendments Ratified by the Constitutional Convention of 2026
Denotes new amendments. All ratified July 4, 2026, unless otherwise noted.
The National Geometric Apportionment Model
Ratifies the National Geometric Apportionment Grid as the new electoral map of the United States, replacing partisan-drawn Congressional district boundaries with a mathematically derived, non-partisan geometric apportionment system.
Semiquincentennial Constitutional Conventions
Requires a Constitutional Convention upon each national semiquincentennial (every 250 years), ensuring future generations the opportunity to review and update the nation's foundational document.
Right to Access Clean Drinking Water
Every citizen of the United States has the right to access clean drinking water, subject to the existing framework of federal and state water law, which Congress shall have the authority to update in pursuit of this right.
Right to Healthcare
Establishes healthcare as a fundamental right of every American citizen, with universal coverage, no deductibles or co-pays, implemented through a dual-track system preserving private elective care alongside the universal public system.
Right to Education (K–12)
Guarantees every citizen the right to a free public K–12 education, ensuring that access to basic education cannot be denied or diminished by state or local circumstance.
Right to Meaningful Access to Digital Infrastructure
Every citizen of the United States has the right to meaningful access to digital infrastructure, to be achieved through federal investment over a period not to exceed ten years.
Right to Safe Shelter
Establishes the right of every citizen to safe shelter — protection from the elements and physical harm — prohibiting any condition of law, policy, or economics that leaves a person without such protection.
Right to a Living Wage
Establishes that no employer operating within the United States may compensate an adult worker at a rate insufficient to sustain a basic standard of living, as defined by enabling legislation.
Digital Rights and Privacy
Establishes constitutional protection of every citizen's right to privacy in digital communications and data, against both government surveillance (requiring a judicial warrant) and corporate collection (requiring explicit, informed, revocable consent).
Universal Background Checks, Registration and Licensure
While the government does not have the right to prohibit civilian firearms ownership, it may require registration and licensure, and may intervene when a mandatory background check reveals criminality, domestic violence, or mental incapacity.
National Referendum
Grants citizens the right to propose and vote on binding national referenda on matters of federal law and constitutional amendment, under terms and thresholds established by Congress.
Supreme Court Replenishment
Expands the Supreme Court to fifteen Justices appointed for non-renewable twenty-year terms, with three seats opening every four years — ensuring no single administration appoints a majority of the Court.
Term Limits
No member of the House of Representatives may serve more than twelve cumulative years. No member of the Senate may serve more than twelve cumulative years. No President may serve more than one six-year term. Supreme Court Justices serve twenty-year terms with no eligibility for reappointment.
A Woman's Right to Choose
The decision to move forward with a pregnancy is a deeply personal decision not within the purview of government. A woman's right to self-determination in this matter may not be encumbered by law or government action.
Immigration: Path to Citizenship [Failed]
Original amnesty proposal failed (108–138). Substitute Path to Citizenship measure also failed (120–126). Note: A national referendum under Amendment 37 subsequently passed a Path to Citizenship in 2031 (61–39).
Corporate Personhood Repeal and Election Finance Reform
Corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other artificial entities are not persons under the Constitution and possess no constitutional right to political speech or political spending. Money spent in connection with elections is economic conduct, not speech, and may be regulated by Congress and the States. All campaign contributions and expenditures must be fully and publicly disclosed, including the ultimate source of all funds. Congress may establish a system of public financing of federal elections. States may adopt stricter limitations.
The Ten Lifetimes Initiative
Establishes the National Sovereign Trust; authorizes a one-time transfer of private assets above the $800 million threshold as non-voting equity to the Trust; eliminates qualifying household medical and student debt; restructures the national debt into a thirty-year fixed instrument; and funds a universal healthcare framework. All effective July 4, 2026.
This page is companion material to The Soil and the Seed, a work of political fiction by Timothy Eytcheson. The Constitutional Convention of 2026 and the amendments described here are invented for the novel and do not reflect existing law, pending legislation, or any actual proposal. The story is fiction. The question is not.