Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was enacted in 1789. Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This process is outlined in Article Five of the Constitution. While there have been approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution, only 33 amendments have been proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Six amendments have been adopted by Congress but have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four of those amendments are still pending, while the other two are closed and have failed by their own terms or by the terms of the resolution proposing them.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments to the Constitution of the United States proposed by Congress | 33 |
| Number of Amendments ratified by the requisite number of states | 27 |
| Number of Amendments adopted and ratified simultaneously (known as the Bill of Rights) | 10 |
| Number of Amendments that are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments | 3 (13th, 14th, and 15th) |
| Number of Amendments adopted by Congress and sent to the states that have not been ratified by the required number of states | 6 |
| Number of Amendments that are still pending | 4 |
| Number of Amendments that are closed and have failed by their own terms | 1 |
| Number of Amendments that are closed and have failed by the terms of the resolution proposing them | 1 |
| Number of proposals to amend the Constitution introduced in Congress since 1789 (as of January 3, 2019) | ~11,848 |
| Number of amendments receiving a vote by either the full House or Senate since 1999 | ~20 |
| Last time a proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate for submission to the states | 1978 (District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment) |
| Number of amendments not ratified by three-fourths of the states | 3 |
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What You'll Learn
The process of amending the US Constitution
Congress proposes amendments in the form of a joint resolution, which is forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR then adds legislative history notes to the resolution and publishes it in slip law format, as well as assembling an information package for the states.
Once an amendment has been proposed, it must be ratified. Ratification can occur in two ways: by a three-fourths majority (38 out of 50 states) of state legislatures; or by state ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process and, upon successful ratification, issues a certificate proclaiming that the amendment has become an operative part of the Constitution.
To date, there have been 27 successful amendments to the US Constitution, with approximately 11,848 proposals introduced since 1789. Six amendments have been adopted by Congress and sent to the states but have not been ratified by the required number of 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 six unratified amendments
The process of amending the US Constitution is a two-step process, with amendments needing to be proposed and then ratified before becoming operative. Amendments can be proposed and sent for ratification by the US Congress, 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-quarters of the states.
Since 1789, there have been 33 proposed amendments to the Constitution, 27 of which have been ratified. Six amendments have been adopted by Congress but have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four of those amendments are still pending, one has failed by its own terms, and one has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
The first of these unratified amendments was the Eighteenth Amendment, which was submitted in June 1924. This was the proposed child-labor amendment. The second was an amendment relating to the acceptance by US citizens of titles of nobility from foreign governments. The third was an amendment stipulating that there should be one Representative for every thirty thousand citizens. The fourth was an amendment stating that congressional sessions should start in December, with the terms of the President and members of Congress beginning in March. The fifth was an amendment that explicitly repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which established the prohibition of alcohol. The sixth is the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, proposed in 1978.
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The three-fourths state ratification rule
Article Five of the United States Constitution outlines a two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government. The first step involves proposing an amendment, which can be done in two ways: either by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a national convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Once an amendment has been proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) to become part of the Constitution. This can be achieved through state legislatures or state ratifying conventions, with Congress authorised to choose the method of ratification. This process ensures that a small minority of the country has the ability to prevent an amendment from being added to the Constitution.
To date, only one amendment, the Twenty-first Amendment, has been ratified through the state convention method. This amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol. The remaining amendments have been ratified by state legislatures, demonstrating the preference for this method in the amendment process.
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The child-labor amendment
The Child Labor Amendment (CLA) is a proposed and still-pending amendment to the United States Constitution that would specifically authorise Congress to regulate "the labour of persons under eighteen years of age". The amendment was proposed on June 2, 1924, following Supreme Court rulings in 1918 and 1922 that federal laws regulating and taxing goods produced by employees under the ages of 14 and 16 were unconstitutional.
The CLA sought to grant Congress the "power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labour of persons under eighteen years of age". This was in response to the Industrial Revolution and the end of chattel slavery, which had brought about a new wave of child labour in America. During the Progressive Era, muckraking journalists and photographers drew public attention to the exploitation of children, with photographer Lewis Hine documenting the working conditions of children in factories, fields, and mines for the National Child Labor Committee.
The amendment was offered by Ohio Republican Congressman Israel Moore Foster on April 26, 1924, during the 68th Congress, in the form of House Joint Resolution No. 184. The resolution was adopted by the United States House of Representatives on the same day, with a vote of 297 yeas, 69 nays, 2 absent, and 64 not voting. By 1937, when the most recent state passed the amendment, only 28 states had ratified it, falling short of the required three-fourths threshold.
The amendment is still pending, and ratification by 10 more states (38 states in total) is required to add the amendment to the Constitution. Interest in the amendment waned following the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which implemented federal regulation of child labour with the Supreme Court's approval in 1941. However, the issue of child labour has not been completely abolished, and the widespread employment of migrant children across the United States is on the rise.
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The 18th Amendment
Public opinion began to turn against Prohibition by the late 1920s, and the Great Depression further accelerated its decline. Opponents argued that the ban on alcohol contributed to unemployment and deprived the government of much-needed revenue. The nonpartisan Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA) also contributed to growing public disillusionment. Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign platform included a plan to repeal the 18th Amendment, and his victory led to the end of Prohibition.
On December 5, 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and permitting the sale of beer. The Twenty-first Amendment is the only amendment in American history to explicitly repeal an earlier one. The Supreme Court held that the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment immediately rendered the 18th Amendment inoperative, and neither Congress nor the courts could revive it.
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Frequently asked questions
Six amendments have been adopted by Congress and sent to the states but have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four are still pending, one failed by its own terms, and one failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
Approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789.
Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified.
The first 10 amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights.
Article Five of the US Constitution outlines a two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government. Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative.
