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The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with more than 11,000 proposals introduced in Congress since 1789. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789. The process of amending the Constitution involves two steps: proposing and ratifying amendments. Amendments can be proposed by Congress, with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Congress has also enacted statutes governing the amendment process, including the ability to set ratification deadlines, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1939.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first proposal by Congress | 25 September 1789 |
| Number of first proposals | 12 |
| Date first approved by states | 15 December 1791 |
| Number of first approvals | 10 |
| Date of latest approval by states | 5 December 1933 |
| Number of amendments proposed by Congress | 33 |
| Number of amendments ratified | 27 |
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What You'll Learn
The Bill of Rights
The First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution on September 25, 1789. Ten of these 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. These ratified amendments (Articles 3–12) constitute the first ten amendments or the US Bill of Rights.
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
- Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.
- The right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.
- A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
- No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner.
Amending the Constitution: Founding Fathers' Vision
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The First Congress
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution, 10 of which were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. These first 10 amendments form what is known as the Bill of Rights. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights includes amendments such as the right to free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right to peaceably assemble. It also includes the right to keep and bear arms, and the right to security against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Third Amendment: Understanding the Constitution's Amendment
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Ratification of amendments
The process of amending the US Constitution is detailed in Article Five of the document. Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This can be initiated by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives of Congress, or by a national convention called by Congress in response to applications from two-thirds of state legislatures.
To be ratified, an amendment must be approved by three-quarters of state legislatures, or by state ratifying conventions in three-quarters of states. Congress has also occasionally stipulated a deadline for ratification, typically seven years from the submission of the amendment to the states.
The First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution on September 25, 1789. Ten of these were ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791, and became known as the Bill of Rights. The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposing these amendments is on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives Museum.
The 11th amendment, which was also proposed in 1789, was ratified 203 years later in 1992 as the 27th Amendment. This amendment requires that no congressional pay raise goes into effect until after the next election. The 12th amendment, which would have capped the number of citizens in each congressional district at 50,000, was never ratified.
Since the Constitution was enacted in 1789, there have been over 11,000 proposals to amend it, with 27 ratified amendments. The last amendment to be ratified through a state ratifying convention was the 21st Amendment in 1933, which repealed the prohibition of alcohol established by the 18th Amendment.
The 13th Amendment: Freedom from Slavery in the US
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1789 Joint Resolution of Congress
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution in the form of the 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress. This resolution, also known as the Bill of Rights, was submitted to the legislatures of 11 states for their consideration on September 28, 1789. The states began the process of ratifying the 12 proposed amendments, which guaranteed individual rights and freedoms.
The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress was signed by Speaker of the House Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg and President of the Senate John Adams. It is the Federal government's official copy and is on permanent display in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The original Bill of Rights, with 12 amendments, is also on display in the National Archives Museum.
The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposed the first set of 10 amendments to the Constitution. These amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights spells out the rights of the people of the United States in relation to their government.
Of the 12 proposed amendments, only the last 10 were ratified by three-fourths of the 11 states. These 10 amendments became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights. The first two amendments were not ratified. The first amendment, which proposed a ratio to determine the number of people to be represented by each member of the House of Representatives, was not ratified until 1992, 203 years after it was proposed, and became the 27th Amendment.
Amending the Constitution: A Deliberate Process
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The Twenty-Seventh Amendment
The Amendment was initially ratified by only six states, with the First Congress not attaching a time limit for its ratification by the states. The Amendment was largely forgotten until 1982, when a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin named Gregory Watson wrote a paper claiming that the Amendment had no time limit and was still pending before the states. This sparked a renewed interest in the Amendment.
Finally, on May 18, 1992, the Archivist of the United States, Don W. Wilson, certified that the amendment's ratification had been completed. On May 20, 1992, Congress declared the ratification to be legal and the Twenty-Seventh Amendment officially became part of the Constitution. Despite this, four states have not ratified the Amendment: Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The Amendments: Constitutional Convention's Proposed Changes
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Frequently asked questions
September 25, 1789.
12.
10.
December 15, 1791.
The Bill of Rights.
