Isabella Carter
The last amendment to the US Constitution was the 27th Amendment, which was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed in 1789. This amendment was one of the original 12 amendments proposed by the First Congress of the United States, which became known as the Bill of Rights. The 27th Amendment states that any change to the base salary of a member of Congress will only take effect following the next election for representatives.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments Proposed | 33 |
| Number of Amendments Ratified | 27 |
| Number of Amendments Pending Ratification | 4 |
| First 10 Amendments | The Bill of Rights |
| Date of the First Proposal | September 25, 1789 |
| Date of Ratification of the First 10 Amendments | December 15, 1791 |
| Latest Amendment Proposed | 27th Amendment |
| Date of Proposal of the Latest Amendment | 1992 |
| Date of Ratification of the Latest Amendment | 1992 |
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What You'll Learn
The 27th Amendment was the last to be passed
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the 27th Amendment being the last to be passed. The 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed in 1789.
The process of amending the Constitution involves two steps: proposing and ratifying. An amendment can be proposed by either a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures. However, to date, only the former method has been used.
The 27th Amendment states that any law affecting the compensation of US Congress members cannot take effect until after the next election of representatives. In other words, it prevents members of Congress from passing laws to immediately increase their own salaries.
The 27th Amendment was not the 27th amendment proposed, as there have been 33 proposals in total. It was originally proposed as part of the Bill of Rights, which included 12 amendments, 10 of which were ratified in 1791. The 27th Amendment was eventually ratified by the requisite number of states and became part of the Constitution in 1992.
The long delay in ratifying the 27th Amendment can be attributed to various factors, including shifting political priorities and a lack of urgency among lawmakers to address the issue of congressional compensation.
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The first 10 Amendments are known as the Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, beginning with the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first 10 Amendments. On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution, which was written in the summer of 1787. However, only 10 of these amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because the Constitution lacked limits on government power. Federalists advocated for a strong national government, while Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favoured a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution. For example, the Founders saw the ability to speak and worship freely as a natural right protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment also prohibits the government from making laws establishing a religion or abridging freedom of speech.
The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges. The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
The Ninth Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out. The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution.
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Amendments must be proposed and ratified
The process of amending the Constitution of the United States is detailed in Article Five of the document. It is a two-step process that requires amendments to be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This process was designed to strike a balance between the dangers of constant change and inflexibility.
An amendment may be proposed in two ways. The first and most common method is for it to be proposed by the US Congress, requiring a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The second method is through a national convention called by Congress upon application from two-thirds of state legislatures (34 states since 1959). However, this method has never been used.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified, or approved, by three-fourths of the states (38 states since 1959) to become part of the Constitution. This can be done through the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or state ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in 1933, is the only amendment to be ratified through state ratifying conventions.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789, and ratified on December 15, 1791. Since then, there have been 27 amendments in total, with the most recent being the Twenty-seventh Amendment, ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was proposed. Six additional amendments have been proposed but not ratified by the required number of states.
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Congress proposed 12 Amendments in 1789
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The original Bill of Rights, comprising 12 amendments, was intended to prevent the "misconstruction or abuse" of power by the government. James Madison, who authored the Bill of Rights, initially proposed 20 amendments with a separate preamble. However, the House of Representatives revised Madison's proposal and approved a version with 17 amendments. The Senate further modified the proposal, and the final version presented by Congress included 12 amendments.
The 12 amendments proposed by Congress were:
- The original First Amendment stated a formula for determining the size of the House of Representatives based on the population of the United States in 1789.
- The original Second Amendment pertained to determining when Congress could change its pay. This amendment was eventually ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment.
- Article the third (or Article 1): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- Article the fourth (or Article 2): A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
- Article the fifth (or Article 3): No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
- Article the sixth (or Article 4): The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
- Article the seventh (or Article 5):
- Article the eighth (or Article 6):
- Article the ninth (or Article 7):
- Article the tenth (or Article 8):
- Article the eleventh (or Article 9):
- Article the twelfth (or Article 10):
Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. The original first and second amendments did not receive enough state approvals to be included in the Constitution.
The most recent amendment to the Constitution is the 27th Amendment, which was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was proposed as the original second amendment.
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The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th
The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified on January 16, 1919, established a nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. This amendment was the result of decades of lobbying by temperance organisations, which aimed to reduce alcohol consumption and prevent the negative social impacts of drunkenness and alcoholism, such as disorder and violence.
However, the Eighteenth Amendment ultimately proved to be ineffective and counterproductive. While it initially appeared to have positive effects, with a decline in alcohol-related crimes in the early 1920s, these gains were short-lived. As time went on, illegal alcohol production increased to meet the continuing demand for alcohol, and prices for illicit beverages decreased. The illegal alcohol industry also became increasingly intertwined with organised crime groups, such as the Chicago Outfit led by Al Capone. These criminal organisations were able to use their illicit alcohol supplies to bribe businesses, political leaders, and law enforcement, severely hindering the enforcement of the amendment.
As a result of the negative consequences and declining public support for prohibition, the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. This decision was unprecedented, as it was the first time a constitutional amendment had been repealed. The Twenty-first Amendment is unique not only because of its purpose to repeal a previous amendment but also due to the way it was ratified—not by state legislatures but by state ratifying conventions.
The Twenty-first Amendment officially repealed the nationwide prohibition on alcohol and allowed states to decide whether to lift the bans, with Mississippi being the last state to fully do so in 1966. The amendment's ratification marked a shift in the country's approach to alcohol regulation and acknowledged the failures of the previous nationwide prohibition.
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Frequently asked questions
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution.
The last amendment passed was the 27th Amendment in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed.
The 27th Amendment was one of the 12 amendments originally proposed by the First Congress of the United States in 1789. 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."
The first ten amendments were passed simultaneously and are known as the Bill of Rights. They were ratified on December 15, 1791.
Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. They can be proposed by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
