Eleanor Finch
The last amendment to the US Constitution, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, was ratified in 1992. 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. In other words, Congress cannot change their salaries until a new two-year term for Representatives starts. The Twenty-Seventh Amendment is unique in that it is both the most recent and one of the oldest amendments to the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Twenty-Seventh Amendment |
| Date Proposed | June 8, 1789 |
| Date Passed by Congress | September 25, 1789 |
| Date Ratified | May 7, 1992 |
| Proposer | James Madison |
| Topic | Salaries of Congresspeople |
| Text | "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." |
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What You'll Learn
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment is the last amendment to the US Constitution
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, 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 amendment aims to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.
The amendment was first proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia on June 8, 1789, along with several other proposed amendments. It was one of 12 amendments proposed by the first Congress on September 25, 1789. Ten of these amendments were ratified and became the Bill of Rights, but the Twenty-Seventh Amendment was not initially ratified by enough states.
For almost 80 years, the amendment lay dormant, with only six states voting for ratification. In 1873, Ohio ratified the amendment to express its dissatisfaction with Congress's attempts to increase members' salaries. Wyoming followed suit in 1978. In 1982, a student at the University of Texas in Austin, Gregory Watson, wrote a paper advocating for the amendment's ratification to curtail political corruption, and a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification was launched. The amendment was ratified by enough states and became part of the US Constitution on May 5, 1992.
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It was ratified in 1992
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, commonly known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed. It was one of 12 amendments proposed by the first Congress in 1789, 10 of which became the Bill of Rights.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may take effect only after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred. 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 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 claiming that the amendment was still viable. Watson launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification, and it eventually became part of the United States Constitution on May 5, 1992.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment is the most recently adopted amendment to the Constitution. It is also notable for being one of the first amendments proposed, as well as for its long journey to ratification, which took over 200 years.
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It concerns Congressional pay
The Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII) to the United States Constitution, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, concerns Congressional pay. It states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may take effect only after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred. The amendment was proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia in 1789 and was one of the first proposed amendments to the Constitution. Madison intended for it to be added to the end of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States".
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments (Articles I-XII). However, it was not ratified by enough states to come into force with the other amendments, which became the Bill of Rights in 1791. The proposed 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 was still viable and should be ratified. Watson launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification, and the amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment is designed to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by requiring an election before a congressperson's salary increase takes effect. This allows the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase. As of 1992, when the amendment was ratified, it was unclear whether it had produced any change in congressional behaviour.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment is the most recently adopted amendment to the United States Constitution. In total, there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, ratified in 1791. Thirty-three amendments have been proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation in 1789.
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It was first proposed in 1789
The 27th Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was first proposed on June 8, 1789, by Representative James Madison of Virginia. Madison introduced the amendment, along with several others, in the House of Representatives. The amendment sought to address concerns about potential political misconduct regarding congressional pay. Madison and other critics argued that allowing Congress to set its own pay rate carried the risk of impropriety and potential financial gain for members.
The amendment was referred to a committee consisting of one representative from each state. After deliberations, the full House debated the issue and, on August 24, 1789, passed it along with 16 other articles of amendment. The proposals then moved to the Senate, which made substantial alterations, approving a package of 12 articles of amendment on September 9, 1789.
A House-Senate conference committee was convened on September 21, 1789, to resolve differences between the House and Senate proposals. The committee finalized 12 proposed amendments, including the Congressional Compensation Act, which was listed second. On September 25, 1789, the 1st Congress submitted the 12 amendments to the states for ratification.
While 10 of the amendments were ratified in 1791 to become the Bill of Rights, the Congressional Compensation Act was not initially ratified by enough states to come into force. It remained in political limbo for nearly two centuries, resurfacing during public outcries about lawmakers' salaries. It was eventually ratified on May 5, 1992, becoming the most recently adopted amendment to the Constitution.
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It was ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment, or Amendment XXVII, is the last amendment to be added to the United States Constitution. It states that no law can change Congress members' salaries until a new two-year term for Representatives starts. It was first proposed in 1789, along with eleven other amendments, ten of which were ratified and became the Bill of Rights in 1791.
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment, however, lay dormant for nearly two centuries. This was because, at the time, there was no time limit on ratification, and the amendment only garnered six states' ratification by 1791. Over the next 186 years, only two more states ratified it. As more states joined the union, the likelihood of the amendment being ratified diminished since three-quarters of state legislatures needed to ratify it.
In 1982, Gregory Watson, a sophomore at the University of Texas, wrote a paper arguing that the amendment was still "live" and could be ratified. Despite receiving a grade of C for his argument, Watson was convinced of his position and decided to take the issue to the country. Watson's movement gained traction and media attention nationwide, and by 1992, three-quarters of the states had ratified the amendment, as required by Article V of the Constitution.
Thus, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment was finally ratified by the necessary three-quarters of state legislatures, with the Archivist of the United States certifying the amendment on May 7, 1992, when Michigan became the final state to ratify it.
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Frequently asked questions
The last amendment to the US Constitution is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was ratified in 1992.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment 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." In other words, it prevents Congress from changing their salaries during their term.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was first proposed in 1789, along with 11 other amendments (10 of which became the Bill of Rights). However, it only received approval from six states at that time. Because there was no time limit on ratification, the amendment lay dormant for nearly two centuries. In 1982, a student named Gregory Watson wrote a paper arguing that the amendment could still be ratified, and his work sparked a movement that eventually led to the amendment's ratification in 1992.
