The 3rd Amendment

Lyrics

On quartering soldiers, “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 the law”

Ok so the Third Amendment might seems less relevant

Now than it did when the threat was more prevalent

The fact that its set next to the second is evidence

Of the malevolent precedent set by British regiments

Their settlement in the colonial residences

Was impediment to peace, increased our prejudices

Lots of tension built up in the edifices

Embezzling property sparked rebelliousness

Back then we were full of distrust

From the trespassing encroaching British government

just because you don’t know, don’t mean its not important

This is one amendment we can leave as its reported…

Analysis

Now that we’ve finished with the important Amendments, we are diving into the lesser known, yet equally important, stretch of Rights.

You may have already noticed that the historical context includes an over-arching theme of lingering memories of the British imposing their authority upon us. The 3rd is a direct response to a pre-Revolution, British policy of quartering soldiers in the houses of Bostonians, specifically.

In the early 1770s, Boston had become a hotbed of activity for pro-colonial “patriots”. I remember this well since I was Massachusetts’s representative in London and I had to act as a bridge to the widening divide. (Note: it’s better to remember that, when we talk about Boston, they did not often act like those glorious freedom fighters we imagine, but rather like PATRIOT fans whom we’ve grown to detest)

In response to the aggressive push-back, the British sent several regiments into the town to suppress the rebellious activity. But this only increased the tension since Bostonians were now required to allow troops to live in their homes. If you refused, well, the troops imposed on you anyway.

Visitors, in general, are like fish: they both stink after three days. It’s even worse when those visitors are not visitors but are rather living with you for months and who view you as the enemy. You can’t even have solace and peace within your own home! While not all Bostonians felt this threat, since many were Loyal to the British, enough rightfully felt the stress, pressure, and discomfort of having to house those who would do you harm.

Fast forward now, and this has not been an issue in our country. The most relevant connection is when the National Guard was sent, en masse, into Washington, D.C. after the failed insurrection on January 6th. Because of the 3rd Amendment, they had to find their own housing arrangements and so many slept in parking lots and the lobbies of various office buildings.

It’s interesting how much energy is spent on debating the relevance and limitations of the first two Amendments and how little energy is, comparatively, spent on the 3rd Amendment. By “little energy” I mean “zero energy”. 

This is just another example of the silliness of our country - we scream and fight for our liberties listed in the Bill of Rights as if they were scripture, but the vast majority of us could not identify any past the 1st, 2nd, and maybe the 5th. People are funny that way. 

But, honestly, I am not complaining about this. The truth is that if we do not feel any pressure, we do not think about it. I’m glad that this amendment has become so established that we don’t even think about it.