Amendment Three

"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."

Very few Americans give thought to this amendment, yet its origin lay in the practice of the British military to conscript civilian housing for its soldiers. The Declaration of Independence complains,

• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
• For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

and because the Congress had the power to both declare war and raise an army, the States were concerned that the abuses they had suffered before could be repeated.

While this amendment to our Constitution may seem unnecessary today, it is a reminder of our history and the reasons why the Founding Fathers were willing to risk their lives, fortunes, and honor for the cause of freedom. It is one more restriction on the government, and the more tightly the government is bound, the less likely it will hurt the people.