the third amendment

The Third Amendment usually goes unnoticed or overlooked but it is extremely important; not so much for its initial meaning but as it relates to privacy and the need of a republic to have a standing army.  

"No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

In simple terms, as an American citizen, the third amendment protects you, the home owner, from boarding or billeting soldiers in your home without your consent.

This amendment had special meaning for the founding fathers (1) there was much debate on  whether or not the new nation should even have a standing military.  Many founders preferred to only have a militia. In the list of grievances Thomas Jefferson listed in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson accused King George III of keeping  "among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the Consent of our Legislatures, "and quartering large bodies of armed troops among us." (2) They did not want a repeat of the Quartering Act of 1774.  Which required citizen to do just that, quarter British troops in their home.  Before the Revolutionary War, the British monarchy sent troops to protect the American colonies but colonist had to feed and house the soldiers.  Obviously the homeowners were not happy with this arrangement and did not want it to happen under the new republic.  

The Third Amendment only becomes a topic of conversation during times of war or civil unrest; whenever National Guard troops are deployed inside US borders.  Billeting of troops has never happened but the Third Amendment has been argued before the US Supreme Court: Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company v. Sawyer and Griswold v. Connecticut