Jonah Patel
The US Constitution has been amended several times since it was first signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. Amendments to the Constitution are changes to the original text that, when properly ratified, become an operative part of the Constitution. Since 1789, there have been approximately 11,000 proposals to amend the Constitution, but only 27 amendments have been successfully ratified and are now part of the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total number of amendments proposed | 11,000+ |
| Number of amendments proposed by Congress | 33 |
| Number of amendments ratified | 27 |
| First 10 amendments known as | Bill of Rights |
| Date the first 10 amendments were ratified | December 15, 1791 |
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What You'll Learn
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution
The US Constitution has 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
Since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend it have been introduced in Congress. Members of the House and Senate propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress. Most of these proposals die in congressional committees, and none proposed in recent decades have been successful. The last proposal to gain the required two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978.
The process of amending the Constitution is governed by statutes enacted by Congress. When a constitutional amendment is sent to the states for ratification, the Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the process. Once an amendment is properly ratified, the archivist issues a certificate confirming that it has become an operative part of the Constitution. Since the early 20th century, Congress has occasionally stipulated a ratification deadline, usually seven years from the date of submission to the states.
Of the 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution, 33 have been proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Twenty-seven of these have been ratified by the requisite number of states and are now part of the Constitution. Six amendments have not been ratified by enough states. Four of these are still pending, while the other two have failed by their own terms or by the terms of the resolution proposing them.
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The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights
The Constitution of the United States is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights".
The Bill of Rights was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution. It was written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists and to outline specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, and assemble. The Bill of Rights also includes explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.
The concepts codified in these amendments build upon those in earlier documents, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and the Magna Carta (1215). The Bill of Rights had little judicial impact for the first 150 years of its existence. This was due to several factors, including the time it took for a "culture of tolerance" to develop that would support the Bill's provisions with judicial and popular will, and the fact that the Bill initially only applied to the federal government.
In the 20th century, most of the Bill's provisions were applied to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, a process known as incorporation. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to those accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury, and the right to be informed of criminal charges. The Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
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Amendments must be ratified by a certain number of states
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1788. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. An amendment can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Alternatively, it can be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by a certain number of states before it becomes part of the Constitution.
The specific number of states required for ratification is three-fourths (38 out of 50 states). This requirement has been consistent throughout the history of the US Constitution, with all 27 amendments being ratified by at least three-fourths of the states.
The process of ratification typically involves the following steps:
- The proposed amendment is submitted to the states for their consideration.
- Governors formally submit the amendment to their state legislatures or call for a convention, depending on Congress's specifications.
- A state ratifies the proposed amendment and sends an original or certified copy of the state action to the Archivist of the United States.
- The Director of the Federal Register examines the ratification documents for legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature.
- If the documents are in order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them.
- Once the required number of authenticated ratification documents is reached, the Archivist certifies that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution.
- The certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process is complete.
It is worth noting that Congress has customarily included a provision requiring ratification within seven years from the time of submission to the states. Additionally, in rare instances, states have rejected amendments or rescinded prior ratifications.
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The Reconstruction Amendments: 13th, 14th, and 15th
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first 10 amendments being ratified on December 15, 1791, and known as the Bill of Rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified between 1865 and 1870 following the US Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the entirety of the United States and granted Congress the right to enforce this with appropriate legislation should states defy the ordinance. While the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy, the 13th Amendment extended this to the entire country.
The 14th Amendment ensured that the Bill of Rights applied to all citizens of the United States, regardless of race, and guaranteed birthright citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law at the federal and state levels. It also eliminated the three-fifths rule and punished any state that did not permit male citizens over the age of 21 to vote.
The 15th Amendment secured voting rights for Black men, making it illegal to deny them the right to vote based on race or previous servitude. This amendment addressed the issue of Black men being unable to vote in all states, and it prohibited discrimination in voting based on race or previous servitude.
The Reconstruction Amendments were essential for reuniting the country after the Civil War and provided the legal basis for enforcing civil rights for African Americans, including the passage of federal legislation such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 and the Enforcement Acts of 1870-1871. These amendments remain in use today and are frequently cited as the foundation for racial justice and equity in the United States.
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Congress has proposed over 11,000 amendments since 1789
The US Constitution has 27 amendments, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, which were ratified on December 15, 1791.
The other 11 amendments that were ratified were proposed at various times after the Bill of Rights and include significant changes such as the abolition of slavery and limitations on the presidency. For example, the Thirteenth Amendment, passed by Congress in 1865 and ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude within the United States. The Twenty-second Amendment, passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified in 1951, limits the president to two terms and prevents anyone who has served more than two years of a term from being elected more than once.
The process of proposing and ratifying amendments has evolved since the early days of the US Constitution. While the first amendments were open-ended, modern amendments have set time limits for ratification. Despite the large number of proposals, the relatively small number of ratified amendments demonstrates the difficulty of amending the US Constitution and the enduring nature of its fundamental principles.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution has 27 amendments, the first 10 of which are known as the Bill of Rights.
As of January 3, 2019, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the US Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789.
33 amendments have been proposed by the US Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
Six amendments have not been ratified by the required number of states.
The process of amending the US Constitution involves proposing amendments, which are then sent to the states for ratification. Once an amendment is properly ratified, the Archivist of the United States issues a certificate proclaiming it as an operative part of the Constitution.
