16C2

Sixteenth Amendment


Essential Question: How do the issues which prompted the creation of the amendments compare with the issues they are applied to today?
The issues which prompted the creation of the 16th amendment compared to the issues they are applied to today are very different. The purpose for taxing income today go way beyond paying the bills for military budget and leads to a lot of frustration among the today's citizens. The presidential debates get into this topic among the candidates and the public becomes frustrated.
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1. What are the impacts of the 16th amendment?
There are many different impacts caused by the 16th amendment. One major impact was that America would no longer have to rely on tariffs to raise enough revenue to support its expenses. This was very important since the United States entered World War I just a few years later and it was very expensive. Americans needed funds to support the efforts of the soldiers and the military.The 16th amendment helped America through the war financially and there would have been a major problem without it.

2. When was the 16th amendment proposed?
The 16 amendment was proposed in 1909 by congress, It was the first form of income tax in the United States.
This meant that the united states could tax you based on the money you make.
3. Who declared the 16th amendment to be constitutional?
The 16th amendment was passed by Congress on July 2, 1909 and became official on Feb 25, 1913 after the results of the ratification were certified by the Secretary of State.
4. Was there taxed income before the 16th amendment?
There was no income tax before the 16 amendment. This meant the 16 amendment created the first income tax. This meant that us citizens were taxed based on the money that they made.

5. Why was the 16th amendment passed? The financial requirements of the Civil War prompted the first American income tax and led to the 16th amendment. This new income gave the government the money to pay for the war expenses and helped.

6. Did the 16th amendment help the United States economically?
It helped the federal government balance its budget but it has created hardship and frustration among the citizens. Americans often feel powerless over the money they earn and that the government controls where it goes.

7. When was the 16th amendment ratified?
The 16th amendment was ratified on February 3, 1913. It was ratified by the 42 states - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Other states did not believe in voting for the amendment but the number of votes for the amendment was much greater than the ones against it.

8. What is the purpose of the 16th amendment?
The purpose of the 16th amendment was to authorized individual taxation on americans. This meant each citizen got a different amount of money to pay in taxes. So if one person made more money they would have to pay more money to the government, and if they did not

9. What was the power gained by each branch after the 16th amendment was passed?
As a result of the 16th amendment the government had more money to pay for wars, projects and other expenses such as the civil war and the great depression.

10. How did Congress use the power they gained? The congress used the power they gained by collecting money from the us citizens and with the money they could pay for wars and other expences.

5 Interesting Facts about the 16th amendment are:
  • the ratification of the amendment overruled a U.S Supreme Court decision to have a 2 percent federal flat tax on incomes over 4,000 dollars unconstitutional
  • the decision for income tax was unpopular and took the public by surprise
  • the 16th amendment addressed the issue in Pollock concerning apportionment
  • The 16th amendment helped pay for the civil war.
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