Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution has been amended several times since its creation, with 27 amendments having been successfully ratified and added to the Constitution. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution and requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) to become part of the Constitution. While there have been many proposals to amend the Constitution over the years, the last successful amendment, the 27th Amendment, was ratified in 1992. This amendment addressed congressional compensation and was the first to be ratified by the states since the 21st Amendment in 1933, which repealed the 18th Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of times the Constitution has been amended | 27 times |
| Date of the first 10 amendments | December 15, 1791 |
| Date the Constitution was drafted | 1787 |
| Number of proposals to amend the Constitution introduced in Congress since 1789 (as of January 3, 2019) | 11,848 |
| Average number of proposals introduced by members of the House and Senate during each two-year term of Congress | 200 |
| Number of proposed amendments that have received a vote by either the full House or Senate since 1999 | 20 |
| Number of amendments proposed by constitutional convention | 0 |
| Number of amendments sent to the states for ratification | 33 |
| Number of amendments ratified by the requisite number of states | 27 |
| Number of amendments that have not been ratified by the required number of states | 6 |
| Status of the six unratified amendments | Four are still pending, one is closed and has failed by its own terms, and one is closed and has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it |
| Number of states required to ratify an amendment | 38 |
| Method of ratification | Ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, or state ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states |
| Number of amendments ratified through state ratifying conventions | 1 (the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933) |
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What You'll Learn
The process of amending the US Constitution
The United States Constitution was written \"to endure for ages to come\", as Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the early 1800s. To ensure its longevity, the framers made amending the document a difficult task. The Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, including the first 10 amendments, adopted in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.
The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed by either Congress or a constitutional convention. Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval, as the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process. Instead, the original document is forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format.
The OFR also assembles an information package for the States, which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification. The Archivist of the United States, who heads NARA, submits the proposed amendment to the States for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or call for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified.
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 out of 50). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to Congress and the Nation that the amendment process has been completed. In recent history, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, including sometimes the President.
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The number of amendments to the Constitution
The Constitution of the United States has 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. The process of amending the Constitution is detailed in Article V of the Constitution and involves two steps: proposing and ratifying amendments.
Congress proposes amendments in the form of a joint resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The President does not have a constitutional role in this process. Once an amendment is proposed, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist has delegated many of the duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register, who follows established procedures and customs.
The ratification process involves submitting the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states since 1959). The ratification process can be completed through the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by a process determined by Congress. In recent history, the certification of a successfully ratified amendment has become a ceremonial function attended by dignitaries, including the President.
Since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789, Congress has proposed 33 amendments, six of which have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four of these unratified amendments are still pending, while the other two have failed by their own terms or the terms of the proposing resolution. Approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789, with members of the House and Senate proposing around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.
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The most recent amendments to the Constitution
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, beginning with the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first 10 amendments ratified on December 15, 1791. The most recent amendment is the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789.
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress can only take effect after the next election of the House of Representatives. The idea behind this amendment is to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment was one of the first amendments proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia on June 8, 1789. Madison intended for it to be added to the end of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that senators and representatives shall receive compensation for their services, as determined by law. After passing through a committee and the full House, the proposal was approved by the Senate with 16 other articles of amendment on August 24, 1789.
On September 25, 1789, the amendment was submitted to the states for ratification along with 11 other proposed amendments (Articles I–XII). While the last ten Articles were ratified in 1791 to become the Bill of Rights, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment was not ratified by enough states to come into force at that time. The amendment was largely forgotten until 1982 when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he claimed that the amendment had actually been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.
Watson launched a nationwide campaign to gain recognition for the amendment, and it eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992.
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The most impactful amendments to the Constitution
The United States Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times since its ratification in 1788. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were passed in 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791. These initial amendments form the foundation of American civil liberties.
One of the most significant amendments is the First Amendment, which protects freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. This amendment ensures that citizens have the right to freely practise their religion, express their views, assemble peacefully, and petition the government without interference from the state.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18, empowering young Americans to participate in the democratic process and have their voices heard.
The Nineteenth Amendment, which states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex," guaranteed women's suffrage and ensured that women had an equal voice in elections.
Another impactful amendment is the Thirteenth Amendment, part of the Reconstruction Amendments (along with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments). This amendment abolished slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It marked a pivotal moment in American history and laid the foundation for the civil rights movement.
The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol. This amendment demonstrated the ability of the Constitution to adapt to societal changes and the will of the people.
These amendments represent some of the most significant changes to the US Constitution, shaping the country's legal landscape and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of its citizens.
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The future of amending the Constitution
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was first drafted in 1787, including the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which were ratified in 1791. The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult, requiring a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the states.
The last time an amendment proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate was in 1978, for the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment. Since 1999, only about 20 proposed amendments have received a vote by either the full House or Senate. This is partly due to the increasing partisanship in US politics, making it harder to achieve the required level of bipartisan support.
Some have argued that the Constitution is too difficult to amend, with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia commenting that "fewer than 2 percent of the population could prevent enactment of a constitutional amendment". However, others believe that recent efforts to amend the Constitution go too far and are a reaction to dissatisfaction with the government.
Looking to the future, it seems unlikely that the Constitution will be amended any time soon, given the current political climate and the lack of consensus on any one issue. Additionally, the process of proposing and ratifying amendments is lengthy and complex, involving multiple steps and the involvement of various government officials. While there have been calls for a new Constitutional Convention, this has never happened before and is not a likely prospect in the near future.
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Frequently asked questions
There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, the first 10 of which were ratified in 1791 and are known as the Bill of Rights.
The authority to amend the Constitution comes from Article V of the Constitution. An amendment can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. An amendment becomes part of the Constitution when it is ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 of 50 states).
Approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789. Members of the House and Senate propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress. However, only about 20 proposed amendments have received a vote by either the full House or Senate since 1999.
Yes, in recent years there has been discussion of potential amendments regarding congressional term limits, a balanced budget, outlawing flag burning, and crime victims' rights.
