Jonah Patel
The last constitutional amendment to be incorporated into the United States Constitution was the Twenty-seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789. It was the most recently adopted amendment, becoming part of the Constitution on May 5, 1992, but it was one of the first proposed, having been submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789. The Twenty-seventh Amendment 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.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the Amendment | Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII) or Congressional Compensation Act of 1789 |
| Purpose | To reduce corruption in the legislative branch by requiring an election before a congressperson's salary increase takes effect |
| Date Proposed | September 25, 1789 |
| Date Adopted | May 5, 1992 |
| Number of States Ratified | 38 |
| Previous Amendment Repealed | Eighteenth Amendment (ratified in 1919) |
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment
The amendment includes the Due Process Clause, which states that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." This clause has been crucial in incorporating the Bill of Rights, making its provisions applicable to the states and all forms of government within those states. The Fourteenth Amendment also includes the Privileges or Immunities Clause, which explicitly applies to the states, ensuring that states cannot abridge the privileges or immunities of US citizens.
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The Due Process Clause
The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause applies to the federal government, guaranteeing that individuals will not be deprived of their fundamental rights without due process. This clause was first interpreted by the Supreme Court in 1855, and it has since provided important protections for citizens and non-citizens alike. Notably, the Supreme Court applied this clause to corporations in 1893 in the case of Noble v. Union River Logging Co.
The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, expanded the concept of due process to the states. This amendment includes the Due Process Clause, which prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment has been instrumental in incorporating the Bill of Rights against the states, ensuring that individual rights and liberties are protected at both the federal and state levels.
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The Bill of Rights
The amendments were initially only applied to the federal government and not the states. This was reaffirmed in the 1833 Supreme Court decision Barron v. Baltimore, which stated that the Bill of Rights did not place limitations on the authority of state and local governments. However, this changed after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment on July 9, 1868, following the Civil War. This amendment declared that no state could "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law".
The Fourteenth Amendment provided the basis for arguing that the rights in the first ten amendments now applied to the states. This process, known as incorporation, has been applied both procedurally and substantively to the guarantees of the states. The Supreme Court has played a significant role in interpreting and incorporating the Bill of Rights, with cases such as Gitlow v. New York in 1925, which began the process of applying First Amendment rights to the states.
The Fourteenth Amendment has vastly expanded civil rights protections and is the most frequently cited amendment in litigation. The Supreme Court has gradually issued decisions incorporating specific rights from the Bill of Rights, making them binding upon the states. This selective incorporation allows the Supreme Court to incorporate certain parts of amendments rather than entire amendments at once. The process of incorporation has been a complex and ongoing development in United States constitutional law, ensuring that the rights and liberties of citizens are protected at both the federal and state levels.
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The Supreme Court
However, after the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, and it included the Due Process Clause, which states that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." This amendment provided the basis for arguing that the Bill of Rights now applied to the states as well. The term "incorporation" describes the process by which the Supreme Court determined that specific provisions of the Bill of Rights are fundamental to due process and are thus "incorporated" into the Fourteenth Amendment.
The incorporation of the First Amendment rights occurred in three stages from 1925 to the 1940s. Notable Supreme Court cases during this period include Gitlow v. New York (1925) for freedom of speech, Near v. Minnesota (1931) for freedom of the press, and DeJonge v. Oregon (1937) for the right of assembly and petition. Despite these advancements, there was significant disagreement among the justices in the 1920s and 1930s over the interpretation of the First Amendment.
The Fourteenth Amendment has been central to the incorporation doctrine, with the Supreme Court interpreting it to "incorporate" most portions of the Bill of Rights, making them enforceable against state governments. This interpretation began in the 1920s and continued through the 1940s and 1960s, with the Court gradually issuing decisions incorporating specific rights from the Bill of Rights to be binding upon the states. The Sixth Amendment jury trial right, for example, has been incorporated against the states, ensuring that only a jury can convict a defendant of a serious crime.
While the Fourteenth Amendment has been pivotal in the incorporation process, there is contention regarding the incorporation of substantive rights. The Supreme Court justices' opinions range from complete to no incorporation, with some supporting the selective incorporation of rights essential to due process. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments, for instance, have not been incorporated and are unlikely ever to be. The Supreme Court has rarely relied on these amendments in its decisions.
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The First Amendment
Initially, the First Amendment applied only to the federal government and federal court cases, and many of its provisions were interpreted more narrowly than they are today. However, through a process known as incorporation, the Supreme Court began applying the First Amendment to state governments as well, starting with the Gitlow v. New York case in 1925. This expansion of the First Amendment rights took place in three stages from 1925 to 1940.
The incorporation doctrine is based on the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." This provided the basis for arguing that the rights in the first ten amendments, including the First Amendment, applied not just to the federal government but also to state governments.
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Frequently asked questions
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was the last constitutional amendment to be incorporated into the US constitution.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may only take effect after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was adopted on May 5, 1992. It was one of the first amendments to be proposed in 1789, but it was not ratified by enough states to come into force until 1992.
