Malcolm Rivera
The 27th Amendment, the most recent addition to the US Constitution, was proposed by a college student in a term paper. The student, Gregory Watson, received a C grade for his paper, with his professor calling the idea a dead letter issue. Undeterred, Watson started a self-financed campaign to get the amendment ratified, and within a decade, it was passed as the 27th Amendment. The amendment states that a sitting Congress cannot change its own compensation during its current session, and its passage is a remarkable example of how a single individual can shape constitutional law.
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What You'll Learn
- A college student proposed the 27th Amendment in a term paper
- The professor gave the paper a C grade, deeming it a dead letter issue
- Gregory Watson began a self-funded campaign to get the amendment ratified
- Watson's efforts led to the amendment's ratification in multiple states (e.g. Maine, Colorado)
- The 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992, becoming the most recent amendment
A college student proposed the 27th Amendment in a term paper
The 27th Amendment is the most recent amendment to the US Constitution. It states that "no law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened". In other words, a sitting Congress cannot give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session.
The idea for the 27th Amendment was first proposed by Founding Father James Madison in 1789, along with several other amendments that became the Bill of Rights. However, it was not until 1982 that the amendment was revived by Gregory Watson, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas, Austin. Watson wrote a term paper on Madison's unratified proposal and received a C grade from his professor, who called the idea a "dead letter" issue and said it would never become part of the Constitution.
Undeterred by the low grade, Watson started a self-financed campaign to get the amendment ratified. He wrote letters to state officials, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984. The story appeared in a magazine called State Legislatures, and an official from Wyoming confirmed that his state had also ratified the amendment six years earlier. In 1992, two states raced to be the 38th state to sign off on the amendment, making it a part of the Constitution. Alabama was the first to ratify, quickly followed by New Jersey.
In recognition of his achievement, the University of Texas retroactively awarded Watson an A for his paper in 2017. Watson's story serves as a reminder that one person can have a significant impact on the political process, even in the face of scepticism and adversity.
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The professor gave the paper a C grade, deeming it a dead letter issue
The 27th Amendment is the most recent amendment to the US Constitution. Its existence can be traced back to a college student, Gregory Watson, who proposed the idea in a term paper. Watson's professor gave him a C grade for the paper, deeming it a "dead letter" issue and saying it would never become part of the Constitution.
Watson's paper focused on an unratified proposal originally put forward by Founding Father James Madison in 1789. Madison's proposal stated that "no law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened". In other words, a sitting Congress cannot give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session. While Madison's proposal was one of several amendments that became the Bill of Rights, this particular amendment was not approved at the time.
Watson argued in his paper that the amendment could still be ratified because Congress had never stipulated a time limit for states to consider it. Despite receiving a low grade, Watson was convinced of his argument and started a self-financed campaign to get the amendment ratified. He wrote letters to state officials, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984. In 1992, two states raced to be the 38th state to sign off on the amendment, making it part of the Constitution. Alabama was the first to ratify, but New Jersey quickly followed suit.
In recognition of his achievement, the University of Texas retroactively awarded Watson an A for his paper in 2017. Watson's story demonstrates that one person can have a significant impact on the course of history, even in the face of initial skepticism and adversity.
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Gregory Watson began a self-funded campaign to get the amendment ratified
In 1982, Gregory Watson, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas, Austin, wrote a paper on James Madison's unratified proposal from 1789. Madison's proposal, which later became the 27th Amendment, stated that a sitting Congress can't give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session. Watson's professor gave him a C for the paper, deeming it a "dead letter" issue and claiming that it would never become part of the Constitution.
Undeterred by his professor's skepticism, Watson started a self-funded campaign to get the amendment ratified. He concluded that the amendment could still be ratified because Congress had never set a deadline for states to ratify it. Watson's campaign involved writing letters to state officials, a simple yet effective strategy. His efforts paid off, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984.
The story of Watson's campaign gained traction when it was featured in a magazine called State Legislatures. An official from Wyoming read the article and realized that his state had also ratified the amendment six years earlier. This momentum continued, and in 1992, two states raced to be the 38th state to ratify the amendment, making it part of the Constitution. Alabama was the first to do so on May 7, 1992, but New Jersey quickly followed suit. The Archivist of the United States certified the amendment as ratified under Article V of the Constitution, and it received near-unanimous support from Congress.
Gregory Watson's self-funded campaign is a remarkable example of an individual's ability to impact the highest laws of the land. His persistence and belief in his idea, despite initial skepticism, led to the ratification of the 27th Amendment, ensuring that congressional pay raises or cuts can only take effect for the Congress following a sitting Congress.
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Watson's efforts led to the amendment's ratification in multiple states (e.g. Maine, Colorado)
Undeterred by his professor's skepticism, Gregory Watson started a self-financed campaign to get the 27th Amendment ratified. He wrote letters to state officials, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984. Watson's efforts also led to the discovery that Wyoming had ratified the amendment six years earlier, in 1978.
In 1992, two states raced to be the 38th state to sign off on the amendment, making it part of the Constitution. Alabama was the first, followed closely by New Jersey. The Archivist of the United States certified the amendment as ratified under Article V of the Constitution, and it was published in the Federal Register. Congress then voiced its support of the amendment in a near-unanimous vote.
The 27th Amendment, which states that a sitting Congress can't give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session, is the most recent addition to the Constitution. It was first proposed by Founding Father James Madison in 1789, along with several other amendments that became the Bill of Rights. However, it took 203 years for it to become law, making it the longest ratification process in U.S. history.
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The 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992, becoming the most recent amendment
The 27th Amendment, which is the most recent addition to the US Constitution, was ratified in 1992. It states that "no law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened". In other words, a sitting Congress cannot give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session.
The idea for the amendment was first proposed by Founding Father James Madison in 1789, along with several other amendments that became the Bill of Rights. However, it took 203 years for it to become law. In 1982, Gregory Watson, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas, Austin, wrote a paper on Madison's unratified proposal. Watson received a C grade for his paper, with his professor calling the idea a "dead letter" issue and saying it would never become part of the Constitution.
Undeterred, Watson started a self-financed campaign to get the amendment ratified. He wrote letters to state officials, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984. In 1992, two states raced to be the 38th state to sign off on the 27th Amendment, making it a law. Alabama beat New Jersey to the punch on May 7, 1992, but New Jersey quickly voted for ratification too. The amendment was certified as ratified under Article V of the Constitution and published in the Federal Register, with Congress voicing its support in a near-unanimous vote.
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Frequently asked questions
The 27th Amendment to the US Constitution.
"No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened". In short, a sitting Congress can't give itself a raise or cut its pay during its current session.
Gregory Watson, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas, Austin.
Watson started a self-financed campaign to get the amendment ratified. He wrote letters to state officials, and the amendment was ratified in Maine in 1983 and Colorado in 1984.
