We The People: Canary in the Coal Mine

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NPR

Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.7 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Third Amendment.

Maybe you've heard it as part of a punchline. It's the one about quartering troops — two words you probably haven't heard side by side since about the late 1700s.

At first glance, it might not seem super relevant to modern life. But in fact, the U.S. government has gotten away with violating the Third Amendment several times since its ratification — and every time it's gone largely unnoticed.

In a time of escalating political violence, police forces armed with military equipment, and more frequent and devastating natural disasters, why the Third Amendment deserves a closer look. This episode originally ran in 2024.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:15.4	If you've heard of the Third Amendment, it might have been as part of a punchline.
0:19.4	I take the third all the time.
0:22.5	Every day.
0:23.1	And then if somebody tries to call me on it, they go, well, what is the third?
0:26.5	That's when I take the fifth.
0:28.3	It's the one about quartering troops, two words that have probably been rarely said side by
0:34.2	side since about the late 1700s.
0:37.1	But here's what it actually says.
0:39.0	Amendment number three.
0:41.2	No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner,
0:47.2	nor in time of war.
0:48.8	But in a manner to be prescribed by law.
0:52.4	So in more modern terms,
0:59.0	the army can't live in your house.
1:00.8	Right.
1:07.2	So at first glance, this amendment maybe doesn't come across as the most relevant to Americans today. I've seen other examples and memes.
1:09.0	If you're dating someone and they're in the military,
1:12.0	like it's an excuse to like force them to go home or something like that, you know, say,
1:16.0	Third Amendment. People have thought of lots of possibilities. And don't you thank God every day
	...

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