Ellie B and Lina B

The 3rd amendment: Quartering of Troops
The third amendment established that troops may not be quartered in citizen’s homes without their consent. This means that the homeowner has the choice whether to allow or refuse the troop(s) being housed on their property. The law was proposed on September 25th, 1789 and ratified on December 15th, 1791. However, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Connecticut were the last 3 states to ratify many years later, in 1939.
Before this amendment was in place, British government would force people to quarter soldiers in their homes if they didn’t have a place to put them. Redcoats were often moved around Great Britain’s American colonies. At times, there wouldn’t be any barracks, so the army would require local people to house them. This amendment was also a key issue leading up to the American Revolutionary War because people wanted privacy in their homes. They didn’t want soldiers barging in on their home listening to all of their conversations. British government officials were known to quarter soldiers in possibly “dangerous” places. By doing this, they could keep “troublemakers” in line.
Currently, quartering cannot be forced, unless a law is made that allows it during wartime. The third amendment has luckily not caused much trouble or controversy. So, it has been kept as an amendment to give people their privacy in case it is needed. This is an example of how it is applicable to today’s society. Although soldiers from the wars are no longer stationed in homes currently, this amendment explains how we have the liberty to keep government out of our homes. This can also prevent government abuse of power since they can’t invade personal areas without consent or a warrant.
Unfortunately, there are countries, such as India, with no rights to protect its citizen’s privacy. This country is weak at protecting civil liberties in cyberspace. Occasionally, Indian government has used national security as an excuse to invade property and has very poor privacy guidelines. Citizens here may experience people being placed in their homes or government officials walking in without asking.
In conclusion, the 3rd amendment remains in place to remind American citizens of their right to privacy. This prevents us from going through the same privacy-related issues as India and therefore, we are lucky to have it in existence.