Omar Bennett
The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and came into effect in 1792. They offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of the government within US states. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections, while others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures. Amendments to the US Constitution are appended to the original document, which was handwritten on five pages of parchment by Jacob Shallus.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| First 10 amendments | Known as the Bill of Rights |
| Amendment proposal | By Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate |
| Amendment ratification | By three-fourths of the States (38 out of 50) |
| Amendment certification | Signed by dignitaries, including the President |
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What You'll Learn
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment
In the absence of the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, Congress has set the size of the House of Representatives by statute. The Apportionment Act of 1792, passed by Congress and signed into law by President George Washington, set the number of representatives at 105, based on the 1790 Census. This act used the Jefferson method, which ignored fractional remainders when calculating each state's total number of representatives. The final apportionment was based on "the ratio of one representative for every 33,000 persons in the respective states".
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The Articles of Confederation
The Articles outlined a Congress with representation not based on population, with each state holding one vote. The Confederation Congress had some decision-making abilities, but lacked enforcement powers, and the implementation of most decisions required legislative approval by all 13 states. This limitation, coupled with the inability to raise funds, regulate commerce, assemble delegates, and set commercial policy, hampered the central government's ability to govern effectively.
In May 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia with the initial mandate to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, the delegates quickly began considering measures to replace them, proposing a bicameral Congress, an elected chief executive, and an appointed judicial branch. The resulting Constitution, drafted in 1787, introduced a new form of government and provided for a stronger central government.
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment, proposed in 1789, aimed to address representation in the House of Representatives by establishing a formula based on population. While this amendment did not gain enough ratifications to become part of the Constitution, it highlights the ongoing efforts to improve the functioning of the government and address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation.
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The Constitutional Convention
The convention was called to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation, which gave little power to the central government and lacked enforcement powers. The Articles made it difficult for the federal government to conduct foreign policy, as it lacked the ability to pass or enforce laws.
The delegates to the convention, including James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, sought to create a new frame of government with a stronger national government, rather than simply revising the Articles of Confederation. They elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, to serve as president of the convention.
The convention debated and ratified the Constitution of the United States, establishing a federal government with more specific powers, including the power to conduct relations with foreign governments. The new government had three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The role of the executive was hotly debated, including the issues of how executive power would be divided, how a president would be elected, the length and number of terms, what offenses should be impeachable, and how judges should be chosen.
Another highly contentious issue was slavery, with delegates debating the inclusion of a fugitive slave clause, the potential abolition of the slave trade, and whether enslaved individuals should be counted for purposes of proportional representation. The "Three-Fifths Compromise" provided that three-fifths (60%) of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation, increasing the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South.
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The Bill of Rights
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and came into effect in 1792. These amendments offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of the government within US states.
The drafting of the Constitution was completed at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia between May 25 and September 17, 1787. The document was intended as a revision of the Articles of Confederation, which had been the first constitution of the United States, adopted in 1777. However, the Constitutional Convention ultimately introduced a new form of government. The Constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation just three days after its signing and was then forwarded to the 13 states for ratification.
The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed, the Archivist of the United States administers the ratification process. An amendment becomes part of the Constitution when it is ratified by three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50 states).
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Ratification by the States
The U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The journey to ratification was long and arduous. The document was sent to the states for ratification on September 17, 1787, three days after its signing. Under Article VII, it was agreed that the document would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire cast the ninth vote in favor of ratification, officially ending government under the Articles of Confederation. The ratification process ignored the amendment provision of the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous approval of all the states.
The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified on December 15, 1791. However, it should be noted that the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, proposed in 1789, has never been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution. As of 2025, ratification by an additional 27 states would be required for this amendment to be adopted.
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Frequently asked questions
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution.
The authority to amend the Constitution comes from Article V of the Constitution. An amendment can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed by Congress, it is sent to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for ratification. An amendment becomes part of the Constitution when it is ratified by three-fourths of the states.
The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, offer protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of the government within US states.
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment was proposed in 1789 to establish a formula for determining the appropriate size of the House of Representatives and the apportionment of representatives among the states following the decennial census. This amendment did not end up becoming part of the Constitution as it fell one state short of the number needed for ratification.
The Apportionment Act of 1792 set the number of persons per representative in the House of Representatives at 33,000, based on the 1790 census.
