Third Amendment

The Third Amendment protects private homeowners from having the military take over their
home to house soldiers. It was added to the Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights on
December 15, 1791.
From the Constitution
Here is the text of the Third Amendment from the Constitution:
"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".
Why was the Third Amendment added to the Constitution?
When you first read this amendment you may wonder why the Founding Fathers chose to add it
to the Constitution. Was this really that big of a problem? Actually, before and during the
Revolutionary war, it was a huge problem. The British passed laws called Quartering Acts that
allowed their soldiers to take over the homes of the American colonists.
Quartering Acts
The first Quartering Act was passed by the British parliament in 1769. It said that the American
colonies must pay for the British soldiers that were protecting the colonies. It also said that if
British soldiers needed a place to stay they could freely stay in the barns, stables, inns, and
alehouses of the colonists.
The second Quartering Act was passed in 1774. It was much worse. It allowed for British troops
to stay wherever they wanted, including the colonists' homes. This was considered a major
violation of privacy and angered the colonists. It was part of what the colonists called the
Intolerable Acts of the British government that pushed the colonies toward war.
Revolutionary War
The practice continued during the Revolutionary War when British soldiers could take over the
home of a colonist and demand housing and food. After the war, the colonists wanted to make
sure that the new government could not do this again by adding the Third Amendment to the
Constitution.
Right to Privacy
The Third Amendment has not been needed very often in modern times. There have been few
wars on American soil and the government provides housing for our soldiers. The amendment
has been used to demonstrate a citizen's right to privacy by saying that it implies that the
government cannot enter private property without the consent of the owner.