Constitutional Amendments

Since its ratification in 1788, the United States Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times. New Jersey was the first state to ratify the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. In all, our state has ratified 26 of the 27 proposed amendments that have passed the required three-fourths of the states. New Jersey never ratified the 11th Amendment, giving states immunity from personal lawsuits in federal court.

In five instances, New Jersey ratified amendments after they were approved by the requisite number of states. These include the 13th (Abolition of Slavery), 15th (Right to Vote), 16th (Federal Income Tax), 18th (Prohibition of Alcohol), and 27th (Regulation of Congressional Salaries). New Jersey has the distinction of being the last state to ratify Prohibition in 1922, while being one of the first to ratify its repeal in 1933.