Certainly the Bill of Rights, that is, the first ten amendments, are major. The Constitution was ratified by several states only on condition that there would be a Bill of Rights.

As for the others, you could probably make a case for each and every one being major.

My own choice: the amendments granting citizenship rights to blacks following the Civil War (13,14, 15); giving Congress the power to tax income (16) the amendment giving women the right to vote(19); granting 18 year olds the right to vote (26).

Freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly

2nd

Right to bear arms

3rd

Quartering soldiers in private homes

4th

Searches and seizures; warrants

5th

Due process; Self-incrimination

6th

Rights of the accused

7th

Right to trial by jury in civil cases

8th

Excessive bail & fines; cruel & unusual punishment

9th

Unenumerated rights (not listed rights) retained by the people

10th

Powers reserved to the states or to the people

11th

Immunity of states to foreign suits

12th

Revision of presidential election procedures

13th

Abolition of slavery

14th

Citizenship, state due process, state equal protection

15th

Racial suffrage

16th

Federal income tax

17th

Direct election to the United States Senate

18th

Prohibition of alcohol (Repealed by 21st amendment)

19th

Women’s suffrage

20th

Term Commencement for congress (January 3) and president (January 20)

21st

Repeal of Eighteenth Amendment; state and local prohibition permitted

22nd

Limits the president to two terms

23rd

Representation of Washington, D.C. in Electoral College

24th

Prohibition of poll taxes

25th

Presidential disabilities

26th

Voting age lowered to 18 (see suffrage)

27th

Variance of congressional compensation[1]

You may pick however many you like. Do you VOTE?

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Constituus

or here….

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html

1. Addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congressional establishment of a religion over another religion through Law and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.

2. Declares “a well regulated militia” as “necessary to the security of a free State”, and as explanation for prohibiting infringement of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”

3. Prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law regarding this amendment is a lower court decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey. [1]

4. Guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a “probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

5. forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as “Taking the Fifth” or “Pleading the Fifth”). This is regarded as the “rights of the accused” amendment. It also prohibits government from taking private property without “just compensation,” the basis of eminent domain in the United States.

6. Guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury (of peers), guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self-incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.

7. Assures trial by jury in civil cases involving anything valued at more than 20 United States dollars at the time, which is currently equal to $300 when accounting for inflation.

8. Forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

9. Declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained elsewhere by the people.

10. Provides that powers that the Constitution does not delegate to the United States and does not prohibit the states from exercising, are “reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

11. (1795) Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law.

12. (1804) Changes the method of presidential elections so that members of the electoral college cast separate ballots for president and vice president.

13. (1865) Abolishes slavery and grants Congress power to enforce abolition. (Full text)

14. (1868) Defines United States citizenship; prohibits states from abridging citizens’ privileges or immunities and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-fifths compromise; prohibits repudiation of the federal debt caused by the Civil War. (Full text)

15. (1870) Prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen’s race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting.

16. (1913) Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes on income.

17. (1913) Establishes direct election of senators.

18. (1919) Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment.

19. (1920) Gives women the right to vote.

20. (1933) Changes details of Congressional and presidential terms and of presidential succession.

21. (1933) Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages.

22. (1951) Limits president to two terms.

23. (1961) Grants presidential electors to the District of Columbia.

24. (1964) Prohibits the federal government and the states from requiring the payment of a tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials.

25. (1967) Changes details of presidential succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice president.

26. (1971) Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote simply because of their age.

27. (1992) Limits congressional pay raises. (Full text)