Amendment XVI

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

The sixteenth amendment allows for the federal government to impose and collect taxes on its citizens. Known as income tax, this takes money out of everyone's wages and does not count as a tax imposed by the state.

The sixteenth amendment granted Congress the right to impose income tax on the citizens of the United States. This image shows Uncle Sam, an iconic figure used to represent the United States, pointing at the reader and saying "I want your money." This was used to represent how the people felt about the federal government at the time of this amendment's ratification.

This image actually had a companion image, not pictured here, that illustrated this monstrous hippo as a young baby before it grew large and boisterous  The idea behind these images was to frighten those who were indifferent of the income tax into its opposition, as people believed that Congress would demand more and more through this new tax.