Now that we have finished the original Constitution, it’s time to take a look at the amendments. Today, we’ll consider the 3rd Amendment

This post is part of a series that will make more sense if it is read in order. If you haven’t read the earlier posts in this series, please click here to start with the first one. One reason I’ve broken this series into fairly small parts is that we have a tendency to rush through reading the Constitution and miss a lot of it. I hope the readers of this series will ponder the points in each session. I also hope you will comment on each post as we go along.

Throughout this series on the Constitution, my comments will be in black normal font, and the text of the document will be in this color and italicized.

ARTICLE III.

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.

At that time in history, it had been a common practice for armies to demand shelter and food from noncombatants in whatever area they were invading. Colonists had suffered this at the hands of the British, and stopping this practice was very much on the minds of the founding fathers.

During the War Between the States, the invading Union soldiers ignored this Constitutional provision and not only demanded food and shelter from the civilians in the South but also in many cases stole their property and abused the women. Unfortunately nothing was done to stop or punish this practice.

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Benjamin Franklin, exiting Constitutional Convention:

“We’ve given you a republic, if you can keep it.”

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