Isabella Carter
In 1789, James Madison, a member of the First Congress's House of Representatives, proposed 19 amendments to the United States Constitution, which were consolidated to 12 by the Senate. These 12 amendments were approved by Congress and sent out to the states by President Washington. Ten of these 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791, and became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The two amendments that did not get ratified at that time were the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, which aimed to regulate congressional representation based on population, and the Congressional Pay Amendment, which aimed to prevent Congress from giving itself a pay raise until after the next election. The Congressional Pay Amendment was eventually ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment, while the Congressional Apportionment Amendment remains unratified.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments Proposed in 1789 | 12 |
| Number of Amendments Not Ratified | 2 |
| First Amendment | Congressional Apportionment Amendment |
| First Amendment Proposed By | James Madison |
| First Amendment Subject | Number of Representatives in the House of Representatives |
| First Amendment Status | Not Ratified |
| Second Amendment | Congressional Pay Amendment |
| Second Amendment Proposed By | James Madison |
| Second Amendment Subject | Preventing Congress from changing its pay during the current term |
| Second Amendment Status | Ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment
The amendment lays out a mathematical formula for determining the number of seats in the House of Representatives. It would have initially required one representative for every 30,000 constituents, with that number eventually climbing to one representative for every 40,000 or 50,000 constituents. The aim was to ensure fair representation based on population.
The amendment was proposed by Representative James Madison of Virginia in the House on June 8, 1789. Madison put together a package of constitutional amendments designed to address the concerns of Anti-Federalists, who were suspicious of federal power under the new constitution. After Madison's proposals emerged from committee, Fisher Ames of Massachusetts proposed a differing apportionment amendment in which the minimum apportionment ratio increased from 30,000 to 40,000 per representative following a subsequent census. The change was approved on August 21, 1789. Then, on August 24, the House passed this plus sixteen other articles of amendment. The proposals next went to the Senate, which made 26 substantive alterations. On September 9, 1789, the Senate approved a package of twelve proposed amendments.
By the end of 1791, the amendment was just one state short of adoption. However, no state has ratified the amendment since 1792. As Congress did not set a time limit for its ratification, the Congressional Apportionment Amendment is still pending before the states. As of 2025, it is one of six unratified amendments.
Immigration: Constitutional Amendments Explained
You may want to see also
The Congressional Pay Amendment
The original Constitution, which took effect in 1789, did not prevent federal laws that increased or decreased Members' compensation from becoming operative before the next congressional election. Some delegates to the state conventions that met to consider the Constitution’s ratification viewed this as a flaw in the Constitution’s design. When ratifying the Constitution, several state conventions recommended amendments to the nation’s charter to address concerns that Members of Congress would abuse the power to set their pay.
From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, more than 30 state legislatures ratified the amendment, responding to the American public’s opposition to congressional pay increases. The Congressional Pay Amendment was finally ratified in 1992, 203 years after its original proposal. It is now part of the United States Constitution.
Amending the Constitution: Understanding the Article's Power
You may want to see also
The Equal Rights Amendment
Alice Paul believed that the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, would not be enough to ensure that men and women were treated equally regardless of sex. In 1923, she revised the proposed amendment to read: "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." This version was named the Lucretia Mott Amendment, after a female abolitionist who fought for women's rights.
The ERA garnered increasing support with the rise of the women's movement in the United States during the 1960s. It was reintroduced by Representative Martha Griffiths in 1971 and approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that year and by the U.S. Senate in 1972, thus submitting the ERA to the state legislatures for ratification. A seven-year deadline, set for 1979, was included with the legislation by Congress.
However, the ERA failed to achieve ratification by the required deadline. By 1978, only 35 state legislatures had approved the amendment, falling short of the necessary 38 states. Despite a congressional extension of the deadline to June 30, 1982, the ERA still could not secure the necessary support.
Despite its failure to be ratified, there are ongoing efforts to ratify the amendment, and it continues to have supporters who advocate for its inclusion in the Constitution to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.
The Amendment That Gave Women the Right to Vote
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The first proposed amendment
The first of the two original proposed amendments that did not get ratified was the Congressional Apportionment Amendment. This amendment aimed to set a limit on the size of congressional districts, proposing that there should be one representative for every 30,000 to 50,000 people. It sought to ensure fair representation based on population.
The amendment was intended to keep the number of representatives in the House of Representatives proportional to the population size, reflecting the democratic principle of representation. It was designed to ensure that members of the House would continue to represent small constituencies even as the general population grew, so that representatives would not be too far removed from the concerns of citizens.
The amendment fell just one state short of ratification and remains unratified to this day. Since Congress did not put a ratification deadline on the proposed amendment, it could theoretically still be ratified. However, it would now need an additional 27 states to be adopted.
In summary, the first proposed amendment that did not get ratified was the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, which sought to ensure fair representation in Congress based on population size. While it came close to being ratified, it ultimately fell short and has not become law.
Amending the Delaware Constitution: A Step-by-Step Guide
You may want to see also
The second proposed amendment
The second of the two original amendments that were rejected was the Congressional Pay Amendment, which later became the 27th Amendment in 1992. This amendment focused on delaying pay raises for Congress until the beginning of the next term, or until after elections, ensuring that voters had a say in congressional compensation. It was intended as a measure to promote accountability among elected officials.
The amendment read:
> Congress could vote for a raise but it would only apply from the beginning of the next Congress.
In 1992, 203 years after its original proposal, the second proposed amendment was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Amendment That Gave DC a Voice in Elections
You may want to see also
