Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the most recent amendment, the Twenty-seventh Amendment, taking effect on May 5, 1992. This amendment, which was one of the first proposed, addresses congressional salaries, stating 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. The Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol, was the only amendment to be ratified by state ratifying conventions and took effect in 1933.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII), also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789 |
| Date Proposed | June 8, 1789 |
| Date Adopted | May 5, 1992 |
| Content | 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 |
| Number of Amendments Proposed | More than 11,000 |
| Number of Amendments Ratified | 27 |
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What You'll Learn
The Twenty-seventh Amendment (Congressional Compensation Act of 1789)
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, is the most recently adopted amendment to the United States Constitution. It 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.
The amendment was first proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia on June 8, 1789, and submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments. Madison's proposal was in response to concerns raised by several state conventions during the ratification process of the Constitution about the absence of an intervening electoral check on Congress's power to set its own pay.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was not ratified by enough states to come into force with the other nine amendments, which became the Bill of Rights in 1791. It was largely forgotten until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper arguing that the states could still ratify the amendment. Watson subsequently urged state legislatures to adopt it, and from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, more than 30 states ratified the amendment.
On May 7, 1992, the National Archivist proclaimed the Twenty-seventh Amendment to have been ratified, more than 200 years after it was first proposed. This unusual circumstance has raised important questions about the process for amending the Constitution as outlined in Article V.
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The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments being collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights became law on December 15, 1791, with Virginia's legislature being the final state to ratify the amendments. The amendments were written by James Madison as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The First Amendment prohibits Congress from making laws that establish a religion or restrict the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, and the right to petition the government. The Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and the Third Amendment states that no soldier shall be quartered in a house in peacetime without the owner's consent.
The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes and requires a warrant for search and arrest. The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to due process, protection against double jeopardy, and protection against self-incrimination. It also states that property cannot be taken away without just compensation. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to confront witnesses and have their own witnesses.
The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases, while the Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment. The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not deny other rights not explicitly mentioned, and the Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the states or the people.
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The Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th)
The Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) were passed following the US Civil War to integrate newly freed slaves into American society. They are also referred to as the post-Civil War amendments. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were written and ratified by the Republican Party in the 1860s, with the Democrats in opposition.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. While the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy, the 13th Amendment outlawed it throughout the entire country. It also granted Congress the right to enforce this with appropriate legislation should states defy the ordinance.
The 14th Amendment ensured that the Bill of Rights applied to all citizens of the United States of America, regardless of race. It also gave all people born in the US the automatic right to citizenship.
The 15th Amendment gave Black men the right to vote. It stated that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Despite the good intentions of the authors of these amendments, it took over a century for them to be fully implemented. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s finally led to the federal government choosing to fully enforce the Reconstruction Amendments. The Democrat Party spearheaded the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 to embed the emphases of these amendments in the modern world.
To this day, the Reconstruction Amendments remain the subject of controversy and inspiration. While some seek loopholes to disenfranchise people of color, others see them as bulwarks providing the basic groundwork for racial justice and equity in the United States.
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Prohibition of alcohol (18th Amendment)
The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, was ratified on January 16, 1919. The amendment came about after approximately a century of reform movements aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and preventing alcoholism, drunkenness, and associated disorder and violence.
The push for prohibition was driven in large part by the Anti-Saloon League, which was backed by many women and Protestants. By the mid-1830s, over 200,000 people belonged to the American Temperance Society, and many of the most prominent proponents of temperance were women, who were seen as the more virtuous sex and were often responsible for children's moral education. Women also tended to be more affected by the negative consequences of family members' alcoholism due to their lack of rights and protections at the time.
The Eighteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified just over a year later. It stood as law for the next 13 years. However, while it succeeded in reducing alcoholism and drunkenness, it also had unintended consequences. A black market for alcohol quickly sprang up, especially within the mob, and alcohol remained easily accessible to citizens who were willing to visit a speakeasy or make it themselves.
Organized crime members profited handsomely from the illegal liquor trade, bribing police forces to turn a blind eye to their activities. This breakdown in the rule of law alarmed citizens, regardless of their views on prohibition. The Great Depression also created an economic need for tax revenue and jobs, which influenced desires for a legal alcohol industry.
The Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, was ratified on December 5, 1933. This was an unprecedented decision, motivated by the crime and ineffectiveness associated with prohibition. The Twenty-First Amendment is also notable for being the only amendment ratified by state ratifying conventions rather than state legislatures.
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Process for amending the Constitution
The United States Constitution has 27 amendments, with the first 10, known as the Bill of Rights, being ratified simultaneously in 1791. Since then, there have been 33 proposals for amendments to the Constitution, with 27 of them being ratified by the required number of states.
The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution, which describes a two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government. This process involves proposing and ratifying amendments before they become operative. This two-step process was designed to prevent the Constitution from being too mutable or inflexible.
Amendments can be proposed in two ways:
- By the US Congress, when a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives deem it necessary.
- Through a national convention, called by Congress, on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures (34 since 1959). However, this option has never been used.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 since 1959) to become part of the Constitution. Ratification can occur in two ways:
- Through the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
- Via state ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. This method has only been used once, in 1933, for the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol.
When an amendment is sent to the states for ratification, the Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the process. Once ratified, the archivist issues a certificate, proclaiming that the amendment has become an operative part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process is complete.
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Frequently asked questions
The last time the US Constitution was amended was in 1992, with the addition of the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may take effect only after the next election.
More than 11,000 amendments to the US Constitution have been proposed, but only 27 have been ratified.
The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
The process for amending the Constitution is a two-step process, with amendments needing to be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. Amendments can be proposed by Congress or a national convention and must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
