This article is about proposals to amend the United States Constitution introduced in but not approved by the U.S. Congress. For the ratified and unratified amendments to the U.S. Constitution which have received the approval of Congress, see List of amendments to the United States Constitution. Show Hundreds of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution are introduced during each session of the United States Congress. From 1789 through January 3, 2019, approximately 11,770 measures have been proposed to amend the United States Constitution.[1] Collectively, members of the House and Senate typically propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.[2] Most, however, never get out of the Congressional committees in which they were proposed. Only a fraction of those actually receive enough support to win Congressional approval to go through the constitutional ratification process. Some proposed amendments are introduced over and over again in different sessions of Congress. It is also common for a number of identical resolutions to be offered on issues that have widespread public and congressional support. Since 1789, Congress has sent 33 constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. Of these, 27 have been ratified. The framers of the Constitution, recognizing the difference between regular legislation and constitutional matters, intended that it be difficult to change the Constitution; but not so difficult as to render it an inflexible instrument of government, as the amendment mechanism in the Articles of Confederation, which required a unanimous vote of thirteen states for ratification, had proven to be. Therefore, a less stringent process for amending the Constitution was established in Article V. Amending process[edit]Amending the United States Constitution is a two-step process. Proposals to amend it must be properly adopted and ratified before becoming operative. A proposed amendment may be adopted and sent to the states for ratification by either:
The latter procedure has never been used. To become part of the Constitution, an adopted amendment must be ratified by either:
The decision of which ratification method will be used for any given amendment is Congress' alone to make, as is the decision to set a ratification deadline.[3] Only for the 21st amendment was the latter procedure invoked and followed. Upon being properly ratified, an amendment becomes an operative addition to the Constitution.[4] 19th century[edit]Constitutional amendment proposals considered in but not approved by Congress during the 19th century included:
20th century[edit]Constitutional amendment proposals considered in but not approved by Congress during the 20th century included the following:
21st century[edit]Constitutional amendment proposals considered in but not approved by Congress thus far in the 21st century have included:
See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]Wikisource has original text related to this article:
What is the 28th amendment Project?The 28th Amendment Project was a yearlong public undertaking by the Brooklyn Public Library that united hundreds of voices during 32 town halls, representing people across diverse backgrounds, to deliberate and exchange ideas on how to strengthen our country and its founding document.
Does the Constitution have 28 amendments?All 27 ratified and 6 unratified amendments are listed and detailed in the tables below. Article Five of the United States Constitution details the two-step process for amending the nation's frame of government.
Did the Equal Rights Amendment become the 28th amendment?With this resolution, the House of Representatives reaffirms what we already know to be true: the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” said Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney. “We've ratified the ERA; now it's time to enshrine it in our Constitution.
When was the 27th amendment adopted?With no time limit on ratification, the Twenty-seventh Amendment was ratified in May 7, 1992, when Michigan approved it.
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