Sunday, September 21, 2014
The 27th Amendment*
The footnote (*) about the 27th Amendment is fascinating. I had *no* idea of how this unfolded over the course of more than 200 years. If you haven't read the footnote, I encourage you to go back and do so. In a nutshell, this amendment (the content of which is almost beside the point) was proposed in 1789 but not approved by the federal legislature. However, as the footnote tells us "it contained no deadline for ratification and over the years other state legislatures voted to add it to the Constitution." Here's the crazy part: "In 1992 the Archivist of the United States certified that with the Michigan legislature's ratification the article had been approved by 3/4 of the states and thus automatically became part of the Constitution. But congressional leaders and constitutional specialists questioned whether an amendment that took 202 years to win ratification was valid, and the issue had not been resolved by the time this book went to press." EV is copyrighted in 2009 and again in 2013, so I am guessing that this question is still not resolved. But, I will do a little research and see if I can find out for sure. Check the "comments" section for updates.
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OK...now I'm really confused. Here is what the U.S. Government says about the 27th amendment. I've pasted it below, but you can also follow this link to see it yourself.
ReplyDeletehttp://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35665
I cannot find any information here or elsewhere stating that this matter is "not resolved" as claimed in our textbook:
Historical Highlights
The 27th Amendment
September 25, 1789
The 27th Amendment Image courtesy of Library of Congress James Madison of Virginia served as a Delegate, Representative, and Fourth President of the United States.
On this date, the First Congress (1789–1791) submitted the original 12 amendments to the Constitution, crafted by Representative James Madison of Virginia, to the states for ratification. Two years later, the states approved 10 of the amendments and, thus, created the Bill of Rights. The states, however, did not approve the other two amendments, one of which pertained to congressional pay. Two hundred years later, the proposed congressional pay amendment resurfaced with wide public support and the law worked its way through the remaining state legislatures. The measure stipulated that, “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.” Its provision fulfilled Madison’s belief that Congress should not be permitted to vote itself pay raises arbitrarily without constituents being able to register their approval or disapproval. With no time limit on ratification, the 27th Amendment was ratified in May 7, 1992, when Michigan approved it.
Related Highlight Subjects
Bill of Rights
Constitution
Legislation
Madison, James