The Last Amendment: Understanding The 27Th Addition To The Constitution

The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, being ratified together on December 15, 1791. The last amendment to the Constitution was the 27th Amendment, which was passed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and ratified on January 23, 1964. This amendment gave the District of Columbia the power to appoint electors of the President and Vice President and affirmed the District's right to participate in Presidential elections. While there have been approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution since 1789, the 27th Amendment was the last to successfully become part of the Constitution.

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The Twenty-seventh Amendment is the most recent addition to the US Constitution

The Twenty-seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, is the most recent addition to the US Constitution. 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. In other words, it ensures that members of Congress cannot change their compensation during their current term.

This amendment was first proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia on June 8, 1789, along with several other amendments. Madison intended for it to be added to Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which addresses the compensation of Senators and Representatives. After much debate and alteration, the amendment was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments.

Despite being one of the first proposed amendments, it was not ratified by enough states to come into force with the Bill of Rights in 1791. In fact, it lay dormant for almost 200 years until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper arguing for its ratification. Watson then sponsored a nationwide effort with his own money to gain support for the amendment.

On May 18, 1992, the Archivist of the United States, Don W. Wilson, certified that the amendment had been ratified by 38 states, with Alabama being the final state to approve it. This certification sparked some controversy, as Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia argued that Wilson deviated from "historic tradition" by not waiting for congressional approval of the ratification's validity. Nonetheless, the Twenty-seventh Amendment officially became the most recent addition to the US Constitution.

It's also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789

The Twenty-seventh Amendment, commonly known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, is the most recently adopted amendment to the United States Constitution. It was one of the first proposed amendments, submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments (Articles I–XII).

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. This is to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.

The idea for this amendment was first introduced by Representative James Madison of Virginia in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789. Madison proposed that it 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 amendment was initially ratified by seven states through 1792, including Kentucky, but it was not ratified by another state for eighty years. The Ohio General Assembly ratified it in 1873 in protest of an unpopular Congressional pay raise. The Wyoming Legislature also ratified the article in 1978. However, the proposed 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 claiming that the amendment had actually been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.

It was proposed in 1789 but ratified in 1992

The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or Amendment XXVII, is the most recent addition to the United States Constitution. It was proposed in 1789 but ratified in 1992.

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. It was one of the first amendments proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789. Madison intended for it to be added to the end of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that senators and representatives shall receive compensation for their services, as determined by law.

After its proposal, the amendment was referred to a committee consisting of one representative from each state. It then passed the full House, underwent alterations in the Senate, and was approved as part of a package of 12 articles of amendment on September 9, 1789. However, the Twenty-seventh Amendment, along with the proposed Congressional Apportionment Amendment, did not receive enough state ratifications to come into force at that time.

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 arguing that the amendment could still be ratified. Watson subsequently sponsored a nationwide effort with his own money to gain support for the amendment's ratification. By the time Watson began his campaign, six states had already ratified the amendment, with the last previous action taken by Ohio in 1873 as a protest against the Salary Grab Act.

On May 18, 1992, the Archivist of the United States, Don W. Wilson, certified that the amendment had been ratified by the required number of states, marking its official addition to the Constitution. This certification was published in the Federal Register, and the amendment became valid as part of the Constitution. The Twenty-seventh Amendment stands as a unique example of the long and winding path that constitutional amendments can sometimes take to ratification.

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It states that Congress members' salaries can't be changed between elections

The last thing added to the US Constitution was the Twenty-seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789. This 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 has occurred. In other words, Congress members' salaries cannot be changed between elections.

The Twenty-seventh Amendment was first proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia on June 8, 1789, along with several other amendments. 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". After much debate and alteration, the amendment was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments.

However, the Twenty-seventh Amendment 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 claiming that the amendment could still be ratified. Watson then began a nationwide campaign to get the amendment ratified, and by 1992, enough states had ratified it for it to become part of the Constitution.

The Twenty-seventh Amendment is unique in that it took over 200 years to be ratified, making it the most recently adopted amendment but also one of the first proposed. It is also notable for being one of the few amendments that limits the power of Congress, in this case, by preventing them from changing their own salaries at will. This amendment ensures that Congress members' salaries remain stable between elections, providing a check and balance on congressional power.

It was ratified by 38 states, including Michigan and Alabama

The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or Amendment XXVII, is the most recent addition to the US Constitution. Also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, it was ratified by the required three-fourths of state legislatures, including 38 states, specifically Michigan and Alabama.

The Twenty-seventh Amendment was first proposed in 1789, alongside 11 other amendments, by Representative James Madison of Virginia. 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, this amendment ensures that any changes to the salaries of members of Congress can only take effect after the next election of the House of Representatives. This amendment was intended to be added to the end of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which addresses the compensation of Senators and Representatives.

The long journey towards the ratification of the Twenty-seventh Amendment is notable. While it was initially proposed in 1789, it lay dormant for many years. In the early 1980s, Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old student, wrote a paper arguing that the amendment could still be ratified. Watson then sponsored a nationwide campaign for its ratification. On May 18, 1992, the Archivist of the United States, Don W. Wilson, certified that the amendment had been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.

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