Third Amendment

A Guide to the Third Amendment

The Third Amendment, or Amendment III of the United States Constitution is the section of the Bill of Rights that prohibits soldiers from temporarily residing in private homes during peace time without getting the permission and consent of the owner. It is only legal to do this when it is wartime it must still follow the law. The third amendment was introduced into the United States Constitution as a part of the Bill of Rights on September 5, 1789 and was ratified or voted for by three fourths of the states on December 15, 1791.

The Text of the Third Amendment

The text of the Third Amendment which is found in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights is the following:

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law.

History of the Third Amendment

During the American Revolutionary War, American colonists were often asked to allow soldiers to temporarily live in their homes. Even before the Revolutionary war, the British government had passed two separate acts called the Quartering Acts. One of these acts were a part of the Intolerable Acts, which were thought to greatly violate the colonists' privacy.

Because British soldiers did not have bases across the colonies, the soldiers needed somewhere to stay at night. After the Quartering Acts were passed, a soldier could demand to say in barns, uninhabited houses, or in places like stables, bars, and inns. British soldiers could also take the property of the American colonists during the Revolutionary War. The American colonists were very angry about this, which is why the Third Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights.

The Third Amendment was introduced by James Madison. The Third Amendment said that no soldier could demand a place to stay during wartime, although a soldier of the United States government could ask someone for a place to stay. During war time, a soldier might be able to occupy a property for a short period of time. However, during peacetime, the lawful property owners' rights were much more important than the military's rights. Because of this property owners had the legal right to refuse to quarter a solider if they wanted to.

Americans did still quarter soldiers, even until the Civil War. Since then, the Third Amendment has been only been applied on very few occasions.

Although we do not quarter soldiers as much anymore, the Third Amendment is still very important because it looks at the idea of a person's right to privacy. The Third Amendment works to protect the privacy of every American by giving everyone the right to stop soldiers from accessing their private property during peacetime.