Third Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects citizens from having their homes forcibly occupied by soldiers. The amendment grew out of an old complaint against the British government, which had forced people to quarter troops—that is, take soldiers into their homes. The amendment was the 3rd of 10 amendments made to the Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights , which guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms to every citizen.
The Third Amendment states, “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 a manner to be prescribed by law.”
The Bill of Rights.
The U.S. Constitution went into effect on June 21, 1788. Some states had refused to approve the Constitution unless a bill of rights was added. Supporters of the Constitution, known as Federalists , promised to support constitutional amendments that protected individual liberties against possible unjust rule by the national government. Congress proposed the first 10 amendments—the Bill of Rights—in 1789. The states ratified (approved) them in 1791.
Third Amendment protections.
The Third Amendment prevents the government from forcibly occupying their homes for military purposes in peacetime. The courts have done little to interpret the Third Amendment because people have rarely sued to enforce it. In fact, in written court opinions, it is among the least cited sections of the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court of the United States has cited the Third Amendment as evidence that the framers intended to limit presidential power even in wartime. The court has also noted that the amendment supports the right of people to privacy in their own homes. One of the reasons that the Third Amendment is rarely cited in court cases is that the federal government simply has not attempted to house soldiers during times of peace in peoples’ homes without their permission.
History.
During the colonial period, British troops sometimes had been housed in private homes. In the years leading up to the American Revolution (1775-1783), the British Parliament enacted legislation that required the American colonists to pay the costs of the British soldiers who were serving in the colonies. Parliament also authorized British troops to be housed in inns, taverns, and stables, as well as uninhabited houses, barns, and other buildings. These actions angered the colonists, who called the measure authorizing the quartering of troops “intolerable.” The Declaration of Independence lists the quartering of troops as one of the main grievances against the British rulers. At the Virginia convention for ratifying the Constitution, the outspoken American statesman Patrick Henry called the quartering of troops “one of our first complaints.” Preventing the quartering of troops in private homes was clearly a priority of the framers of the Bill of Rights, and it remains a fundamental principle of the U.S. government.
