The 27th Amendment: What a Long, Strange Trip it Was!

Most Americans know that the "Bill of Rights" consists of the first 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Some may even know that there have subsequently been 17 additional Amendments approved by Congress and ratified by the States. Unfortunately, very few people actually know the connection between this last Amendment (the 27th) and the original Bill of Rights. However, I find it to be a fascinating story, both of from the perspective of political history but also from the perspective of how the American system of government was created and operates.

When the U.S. Constitution was originally adopted in 1789, there was significant concern that the newly created central (Federal) government would become too powerful if left completely unchecked. Therefore, twelve amendments were proposed specifically to create limitations and safeguards to protect individual citizens. Yes, that's right: 12. Ultimately, only the last 10 were ratified by the States during that early part of our country's history and became what we know today as the "Bill of Rights." The first two proposed Amendments were not ratified ... at least not then.

The first proposed Amendment pertained to the apportionment of the House of Representatives after each decennial census. Even though it was never ratified by the States, it is still technically pending ratification.

The second proposed Amendment pertained to the delay in effecting pay raises for Congress, providing that changes in salaries could only take effect after the next general election. Even though it was not ratified along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, it ultimately DID get ratified as what we now know as the 27th Amendment. As you can imagine, it was a very long (202 years!) strange trip.

Initially, the Amendment was ratified by only 6 States, which left it short of the 11 needed to be included in the Bill of Rights. Except for fluke ratifications by Ohio in 1873 and Wyoming in 1978, the proposed Amendment lay in a state of pending ratification until it was discovered by a Texas legislative aide named Gregory Watson. He made this the subject of an academic paper at the University of Texas at Austin (his professor gave him a "C"!), and then he later began a letter-writing campaign to get the Amendment ratified. When Alabama became the 38th State to vote for ratification on May 5, 1992, the Constitution gained its 27th Amendment. Subsequently, seven other States ratified the Amendment.

Yes, this could be seen as further evidence of how convoluted and bureaucratic the U.S. system of government can be. However, it also shows how flexible it can be and how much influence a single "common citizen" can have in shaping our democratic system.