Eleanor Finch
The process of amending the US Constitution is a lengthy one, and no amendments have been made in recent decades. The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was also the final amendment of the 27 amendments to be ratified. The Twenty-seventh Amendment stipulates that no law varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives can take effect until after an election of Representatives has been held.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Twenty-Seventh Amendment |
| Date Passed by Congress | N/A |
| Date Ratified | N/A |
| Description | 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 27th Amendment is the most recent
The 27th Amendment was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified on February 7, 1795. It modified Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, which deals with the judicial power of the United States. The amendment specifies that the judicial power of the US does not extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state or foreign state.
To date, there have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution, starting with the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first 10 amendments ratified on December 15, 1791. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article Five, which requires amendments to be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This ensures a balance between the need for change and the stability of the nation's plan of government.
The 27th Amendment underscores the importance of maintaining stability and fairness in the compensation of Senators and Representatives, ensuring that any changes in their compensation do not take effect until after an election has occurred. This amendment reinforces the principle of checks and balances within the US political system.
The lengthy gap between the passage and ratification of the 27th Amendment highlights the significance of the amendment process in shaping the nation's governing principles. It also underscores the careful consideration and consensus-building required to modify the Constitution, reflecting the founding fathers' vision of a flexible yet enduring framework for the nation's governance.
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It concerns compensation for senators and representatives
The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the 27th Amendment, which concerns compensation for senators and representatives. This amendment stipulates that any changes in the compensation for the services of senators and representatives cannot take effect until after an election of representatives has taken place. In other words, it prevents sitting members of Congress from immediately granting themselves a pay raise.
The 27th Amendment was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified on February 7, 1795. However, due to the lack of a ratification deadline at the time, it took over 200 years for the necessary three-quarters of states to ratify it. This amendment finally became part of the Constitution on May 7, 1992, when the Archivist of the United States certified that enough states had ratified it.
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article Five of the Constitution. An amendment can be proposed by 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 the states. Once proposed, an amendment must be ratified by three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50) to become part of the Constitution.
The 27th Amendment is one of 27 amendments that have been ratified and added to the Constitution since its implementation on March 4, 1789. These amendments address a range of topics, including judicial power, the election of the President, and citizens' rights. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously on December 15, 1791.
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It was passed in 1992
The process of amending the US Constitution is detailed in Article Five of the United States Constitution. An amendment may be proposed by the US Congress, or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures. In both cases, for an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures (38 since 1959).
The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was passed in 1992. This amendment stipulates that no law varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until after an election of Representatives has taken place. The Twenty-seventh Amendment was the second-longest pending amendment in US history, taking 202 years and 7 months to be ratified. It was originally proposed in 1789, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, but was not ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution until 1992.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment highlights the importance of striking a balance between the need for change and maintaining stability in the nation's plan of government. The lengthy ratification process of this amendment demonstrates the complexity and challenges inherent in amending the US Constitution.
It is worth noting that while the Twenty-seventh Amendment was the most recently ratified amendment, it was not the most recently proposed. Since 1789, 33 amendments have been proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Of these, 27 have been successfully ratified and are now part of the Constitution. Six amendments have not been ratified by the required number of states, with four still pending, one closed and failed by its own terms, and one closed and failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
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It took 203 years to be ratified
The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the 27th Amendment, which was ratified in 1992, 203 years after it was proposed in 1789.
The 27th Amendment concerns Congressional compensation and states that no law varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives has intervened. In other words, it requires an election before a congressperson's salary increase takes effect. The aim of this amendment is to reduce corruption in the legislative branch.
The 27th Amendment was one of 12 amendments proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789. The other 11 proposals became the Bill of Rights, which was ratified on December 15, 1791, and constitutes the first 10 amendments of the Constitution. However, the 27th Amendment was not ratified by enough states to come into force at that time.
In 1982, Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper arguing that the amendment could still be ratified. He then launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification. By the time the amendment was ratified in 1992, it had been approved by six states: Virginia in 1791, Kentucky in 1792, Ohio in 1873, Wyoming in 1978, and two others.
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article Five of the Constitution. Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. They can be proposed by 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 the states. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states, either through their legislatures or conventions, as determined by Congress.
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There have been 33 proposed amendments
As of 2025, there have been 33 amendments to the United States Constitution, and 27 of them have been ratified and adopted. The most recent amendment is the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, which was ratified on May 7, 1992. This amendment deals with congressional salary and limits any changes in salary for members of Congress from taking effect until the start of the next session of Congress. Interestingly, this amendment was originally proposed in 1789 alongside other amendments that would form the United States Bill of Rights, but it was not ratified by enough states to become law until over two centuries later.
The process of amending the Constitution begins with a proposal by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once proposed, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or by special ratifying conventions in three-quarters of the states, depending on the method specified by Congress in the proposal. Most amendments have been ratified by state legislatures.
Of the 33 proposed amendments to the Constitution, six have not been ratified by the required number of states and are not part of the Constitution. These include:
- The Congressional Apportionment Amendment, proposed in 1789, would have set the size of the House of Representatives at one representative for every 50,000 people.
- The Titles of Nobility Amendment, proposed in 1810, sought to strip citizenship from any citizen who accepted a title of nobility from a foreign country.
- The Equal Rights Amendment, introduced in several similar forms beginning in 1923, sought to guarantee equal legal rights for all citizens regardless of gender. Despite being one of the most widely supported amendments in history, it fell short of ratification by the required number of states.
- The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, proposed in 1978, would have granted the District of Columbia full representation in Congress as if it were a state.
- The Flag Desecration Amendment, introduced in various forms since 1995, seeks to give Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the US flag and protect it as a symbol of the nation.
- The Congressional Term Limits Amendment, proposed in 1995, aimed to limit the number of terms that members of Congress could serve.
These proposals reflect the ongoing evolution of American society and values, and they demonstrate the flexibility and adaptability of the US Constitution as a living document.
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Frequently asked questions
The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was passed by Congress on March 21, 1947, and ratified on February 27, 1951.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment states that no law varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives has taken place.
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution, with the first 10 being ratified on December 15, 1791, and known collectively as the Bill of Rights.
