Eleanor Finch
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was the last amendment to the US Constitution. It was proposed in 1789, but only ratified in 1992, making it one of the longest periods between proposal and ratification for a US constitutional amendment. The amendment's purpose was to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by requiring an election before a congressperson's salary increase takes effect.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII) |
| Other Names | Congressional Compensation Act of 1789 |
| Purpose | To reduce corruption in the legislative branch |
| Content | No law varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives has occurred |
| Passed by Congress | 1789 |
| Ratified | 1992 |
| Proposer | Representative James Madison of Virginia |
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What You'll Learn
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment was ratified in 1992
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was ratified in 1992. It is the most recently adopted amendment to the Constitution but was one of the first proposed. The amendment was proposed and passed by Congress in 1789, along with eleven other proposed amendments. The last ten of these were ratified in 1791 and 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 aim of the 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 proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia, who introduced twelve amendments to the Constitution in 1789. Madison's original intent was that the amendment 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". Madison was concerned that Congress would pay itself too much, and the public shared this concern.
The amendment was largely forgotten until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he claimed that the amendment should be ratified. Watson then launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification. The amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992.
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It was first proposed in 1789
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, commonly known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was first proposed in 1789 as one of the twelve amendments put forward by Representative James Madison of Virginia. Madison's proposal was referred to a committee consisting of one representative from each state. On August 24, 1789, the committee and the full House debated the issue and passed it, along with 16 other articles of amendment. The proposals then moved to the Senate, which made 26 substantive alterations.
On September 9, 1789, the Senate approved a package of 12 articles of amendment, which were submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789. The Twenty-seventh Amendment was listed second among these proposals. The first ten articles were ratified in 1791 and became the Bill of Rights. However, the Twenty-seventh Amendment and the Congressional Apportionment Amendment were not ratified by enough states to come into force at that time.
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. This amendment aims to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase. It was finally ratified in 1992, more than two hundred years after it was first proposed.
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It regulates Congressional pay
The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, regulates Congressional pay. It 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 amendment was proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia and passed by Congress in 1789, along with eleven other amendments. However, it was not ratified by enough states to come into force at that time.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment has one of the most unusual histories of any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was one of the first amendments proposed but was largely forgotten until 1982. In that year, Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he discussed the amendment. Watson later launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification.
The amendment was initially ratified by seven states through 1792, including Kentucky, but it was not ratified by another state for eighty years. In 1873, the Ohio General Assembly ratified the amendment in protest of an unpopular Congressional pay raise. A century later, in 1978, the Wyoming Legislature also ratified the article.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment finally became part of the United States Constitution on May 5, 1992. The idea behind this amendment is 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. While it is unclear if the amendment produced any change in Congressional behaviour, it highlights an important aspect of the U.S. constitutional process and the enduring relevance of the principles it enshrines.
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It was largely forgotten until 1982
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was one of the first amendments proposed to the United States Constitution. It was passed by Congress in 1789, along with eleven other proposed amendments. The last ten of these were ratified in 1791 and became the Bill of Rights. However, the Twenty-seventh Amendment was not ratified by enough states to come into force at that time. In fact, it was largely forgotten until 1982.
In 1982, Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he discussed the proposed amendment. Watson's paper became the foundation for a movement to ratify the amendment and curtail political corruption. At the time, Watson was aware of ratification by only six states and believed that Virginia's approval in 1791 was the last action taken by a state. However, he later discovered that Ohio had approved the amendment in 1873 as a protest against the Salary Grab Act, and Wyoming had done the same in 1978 to protest a congressional pay raise.
Watson launched a nationwide campaign to complete the ratification of the amendment. He spent $6,000 of his own money on this effort. The amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992. The Twenty-seventh Amendment addresses congressional pay and 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. This amendment aimed to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment has one of the most unusual histories of any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Its ratification process also raises questions about the role of the judiciary in passing on the validity of constitutional amendments. In the Coleman v. Miller case, the court ruled that the validity of state ratifications of a constitutional amendment is a political matter, not a judicial one. This ruling affirmed that Congress has the power to determine the validity of amendments without judicial review.
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It was ratified by Wyoming in 1978
The last amendment to the United States Constitution, the 27th Amendment, was a unique addition to the Bill of Rights, as it took over 200 years to be ratified. The amendment was initially proposed by James Madison in 1789, alongside the other amendments that would form the Bill of Rights, but it did not gain enough traction for ratification at that time. It was not until the 1970s that there was a renewed interest in this dormant amendment. Wyoming played a crucial role in its eventual ratification.
The 27th Amendment addresses the compensation of members of Congress, stating: "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 simpler terms, it ensures that any changes to the salary of members of Congress cannot take effect until after the next election for the House of Representatives. This amendment was designed to prevent members of Congress from immediately giving themselves a pay raise without electoral accountability.
The long journey to ratification began in 1978 when a university student, Gregory Watson, wrote a paper arguing for the validity of the unratified amendment. He sparked a new wave of interest, and his efforts led to Wyoming becoming the first state to ratify the amendment during this period. On February 22, 1978, Wyoming's House and Senate unanimously approved the amendment, setting a precedent for other states to follow.
Wyoming's ratification was significant because it opened a new window of opportunity for the amendment. Under the rules set out in Article V of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-quarters of the states to become valid. With Wyoming's action, the process started anew, and it inspired a nationwide movement to get the required number of states to ratify.
The momentum built, and over the next few years, more states followed Wyoming's lead. By May 1992, the necessary 38 states had ratified the amendment, and it officially became part of the Constitution. This long and unusual journey highlighted the enduring relevance of the amendment process and the ability of citizens, like Gregory Watson, to influence and shape the nation's governing document.
The 27th Amendment stands as a testament to the enduring nature of the Constitution and the ability of a long-forgotten proposal to find new life and relevance in a different era. Wyoming's role in this process was pivotal, as it started the chain reaction that led to the amendment's eventual ratification. This episode in American constitutional history serves as a reminder that the principles and ideals enshrined in the Constitution continue to resonate and can be reactivated to meet the needs of a changing society.
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Frequently asked questions
The last amendment to the US Constitution was the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789.
The 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 Twenty-Seventh Amendment was ratified in 1992.
The purpose of the amendment is to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.
