Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with over 10,000 proposals made to alter it since 1789. Six amendments have been approved by Congress but have not been ratified by the required three-quarters of states. Two of these unratified amendments include the original first amendment, which outlined the number of representatives in the House, and an 1810 amendment restricting citizens from receiving titles of nobility.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments Proposed | 11,848 (as of January 3, 2019) |
| Number of Amendments Proposed Since 1789 | 33 |
| Number of Amendments Ratified | 27 |
| Number of Amendments Not Ratified | 6 |
| Number of Amendments Pending | 4 |
| Number of Amendments Closed | 2 |
| First Amendment Proposed | Article I, outlining the number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives |
| Second Amendment Proposed | Amendment relating to the acceptance of titles of nobility by U.S. citizens |
| Amendment Ratification Requirement | Ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures or state ratifying conventions |
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What You'll Learn
The first unratified amendment outlined the number of representatives in the House
The United States Constitution has seen 27 amendments, with 33 amendments proposed by the US Congress since 1789. The first ten amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are the Reconstruction Amendments.
The first unratified amendment, also known as the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, outlined the number of representatives in the House. Proposed in 1789, the amendment stated:
> After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.
Had this amendment been passed, the number of representatives in the House could have exceeded 6,000, compared to the 435 representatives currently in place. The amendment came close to being ratified, falling just one state short. However, by December 15, 1791, when Virginia ratified amendments 2 through 12, action on the first amendment ceased. Since there was no ratification deadline set, the amendment could theoretically still be ratified, but it would need 27 more states to be adopted.
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The second unratified amendment concerned titles of nobility
The amendment stated that if any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, they shall cease to be a citizen of the United States and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit. This amendment was passed by Congress in 1810 with overwhelming support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, it failed to gain ratification by the required three-fourths of state legislatures and, therefore, did not become part of the Constitution.
One theory for why this amendment was proposed is that it was in response to the 1803 marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Jerome, and Betsy Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland. Betsy gave birth to a boy for whom she wanted aristocratic recognition from France. There was also anxiety about European influence on the United States' nascent republic during this time. The purpose of the amendment was to prevent those holding foreign titles, and thus the allegiance demanded by those titles, from running for government office.
To date, the amendment has technically never been ratified, but it is still pending before the states. Some people, known as "Thirteenthers", have claimed that the Titles of Nobility Amendment became part of the Constitution. This claim is based on the fact that it was mistakenly included as the "Thirteenth Amendment" in some early 19th-century printings of the Constitution and in Virginia's statutory law code between 1819 and 1867. However, no court in the United States has ever upheld this assertion.
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The lengthy process of amending the Constitution
Amending the US Constitution is a challenging and lengthy process. Since 1789, there have been over 10,000 attempts to amend the Constitution, with approximately 11,848 proposals introduced in Congress as of January 3, 2019. This highlights the frequency and volume of proposed amendments, yet only 27 amendments have been successfully ratified and incorporated into the Constitution.
The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article Five of the document. There are two methods to propose amendments. The first method requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, with each chamber having 435 and 100 members, respectively. Achieving a two-thirds majority in both chambers is a significant challenge and sets a high bar for any proposed amendment. The second method involves a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures, but this option has never been utilised.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified to become part of the Constitution. Ratification requires the approval of three-quarters of the states, or 38 out of 50 states. This step ensures that any change to the Constitution reflects the consensus of a significant majority of states. The ratification process can be conducted through the state legislatures or state ratifying conventions, depending on the determination made by Congress.
The lengthy and rigorous process of amending the Constitution serves as a safeguard against hasty or impulsive changes to the foundational document of the nation. It encourages careful consideration and broad consensus-building, ensuring that any amendments reflect the values and interests of a supermajority of Americans. While the process may be time-consuming, it helps maintain stability and continuity in the nation's governing framework.
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Amendments that almost passed
The United States Constitution has seen over ten thousand attempts at amendments, with approximately 11,848 proposals introduced in Congress since 1789. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states).
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously. However, one amendment in the original Bill of Rights was rejected. This amendment outlined how many representatives would be in the U.S. House of Representatives. It read:
> After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which, the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.
Another amendment that almost passed was the Titles of Nobility Amendment, which restricted U.S. citizens from receiving titles of nobility. The Equal Rights Amendment and the Child Labor Amendment also came close to ratification.
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Unusual amendments that were never ratified
The United States Constitution has seen several amendments since it was enacted in 1789. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states). While there have been over 11,000 proposals to amend the Constitution, only 27 amendments have been successfully ratified. Six amendments have been approved by Congress but have not been ratified by the required number of states.
The "United States of Earth"
In 1893, U.S. House Representative Lucas Miller from Wisconsin proposed renaming the United States as "the United States of the Earth." Miller envisioned a nation where divorce was illegal and leadership was provided by a three-person tribunal instead of the President. He believed that the United States could expand globally by admitting new states into the Union until every nation on Earth was a part of it.
Regulating Marriage and Divorce
Starting in the 1880s, a constitutional amendment to regulate marriage and divorce was introduced in Congress annually for about 60 years. President Theodore Roosevelt even lobbied for Congress to gain power over divorces without passing an amendment. A proposed divorce amendment from 1921 read: "Congress shall have the power to establish and enforce by appropriate legislation uniform laws as to marriage and divorce...That every State may by law exclude, as to its citizens duly domiciled therein, any or all causes for absolute divorce in such laws mentioned."
This amendment, proposed in 1810 and again in 1856, sought to restrict U.S. citizens from receiving titles of nobility from foreign governments. It was approved by Congress but failed to be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Determining the Number of Representatives
The original first amendment proposed in 1789 outlined a formula for determining the number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the population of the country. According to this formula, the U.S. House of Representatives would have over 6,000 representatives today, compared to the current number of 435.
These unusual amendments highlight the diverse range of proposals considered during the amendment process and provide an insight into the evolution of the United States Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
Since 1789, there have been over 10,000 proposals to amend the US Constitution, with approximately 11,848 proposals as of January 3, 2019.
Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified, with the first ten being known as the Bill of Rights.
The two unratified amendments were the original first amendment, which outlined the number of representatives in the US House of Representatives, and the 1810 proposed amendment restricting US citizens from receiving titles of nobility from foreign governments.
