Amendment III

"No solider shall, in times of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in 

times of war,  but in a manner to be prescribed by law." - Amendment III of the U.S. Constitution

This amendment establishes the illegality of soldiers using their position to force citizens into hosting 

them. Citizens can welcome them in, but the soldiers may never claim they have the right. And this means 

any time. With or without a state of emergency or war, military members can't demand a meal and bed. 

During the American Revolution, British soldiers would often stop at the homes of colonial Americans 

and take  crops from the fields and gardens or livestock to slaughter. Perhaps they were hungry, thought 

they were doing the Americans a favor by trying to stamp out the rebels, and decided they owed them 

some food. Or maybe they thought it was the American's fault this was all going on and they deserved 

some punishment. Regardless, it was wrong and those who wrote the Constitution did not want that to 

happen in the United States. They set up this right so that hospitality rules, not force. The law can 

establish housing for the military, but individuals cannot.