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."
An Analysis of the 3rd Amendment
From our point of view, this seems to be one of the strangest Amendments
in the Bill of Rights, and yet the Founding Fathers decided not only
to suggest it, but to adopt it.
Basically, the 3rd Amendment means that no member of -any- military
force (including our own!) was ever to be put up (allowed to stay)
in private homes during peacetime without the owner's permission; and
no member of any military force was ever to be put up in private homes
during times when war was officially declared without Congress first
stipulating the term(s) under which such arrangements were to be made.
Why were the Founding Fathers worried about this? During the Revolutionary
War, the American troops suffered while encamped in the fields, while
the British troops stayed nice and warm by forcing private citizens
to house British troops. Any home owner that did not do this was tried
for treason, and usually shot or hung as a traitor and their property
taken.
A Modern 3rd Amendment
During Peacetime, no member of any military force shall ever be put
up in any private home without the owner's permission. During times
when War is officially declared, no member of any military force shall
ever be put up in any private home without Congress first stating in
writing the terms for such arrangements.
