Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

by Harvey
(Iowa)

Bill of Rights

Why were 2 of the original 12 amendments NOT ratified and included in the Bill of Rights? What was the reason? And yet later those 2 amendments were adopted, is that correct? Why did the Congress change its mind?

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Bill of Rights

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Oct 14, 2010
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Not Enough Votes to Amend
by: The Minuteman

Thats a very perceptive observation Harvey. The reason "Article the First" didn't have enough votes was that by the time the Amendments were being considered a few new states had already been admitted to the union, Vermont and Kentucky. Remember there must be agreement by 3/4 of the states in order to amend the Constitution. After Vermont was admitted as the 14th state there were 10 affirmative votes for "Article the First." But 3/4 of 14 states is 11, so it was one vote shy of being passed. After Kentucky was admitted as the 15th state, Kentucky also voted in the affirmative for "Article the First." This made 11 affirmative votes, but as there were now 15 states, 12 votes were required to make up the 3/4 necessary. Hence the amendment still failed to pass by one vote. After Kentucky's admission the amendment was largely forgotten and no other states have since voted in the affirmative for this amendment. Interestingly, Delaware took a vote on the amendment when all the amendments were being considered and rejected it. Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts never took any action at all on the amendment. This inaction on the part of several states showed that not a large enough proportion of the people were all that concerned about it.

Oct 14, 2010
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Article the First
by: Harvey

Thanks for the great information. Wouldn't 11 votes be more than enough for the 3/4 vote necessary to approve "Article of the First"? What am I missing? Love your site! Thanks.

Oct 14, 2010
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Article the First and the 27th Amendment
by: The Minuteman

Thanks for your question Harvey. You are right that Congress originally submitted twelve amendments to the states for ratification. Remember that the Constitution requires an affirmative vote from 3/4 of the states in order for an amendment to be added. Of the first twelve amendments, the original states ratified the last ten which became the Bill of Rights, but rejected the first two.

The first proposed amendment is typically called "Article the First" and dealt with the apportionment of representatives from each state to the House of Representatives. Eleven states voted for "Article the First," but this was short of the required 3/4. After this the amendment lost steam and was pretty much forgotten, although it is technically still a valid proposal before the states according to the Supreme Court's Coleman v. Miller case of 1939. The amendment probably never took hold because, as the nation grew, its apportionment ratios would have required a huge number of representatives in the House, thousands of them! Obviously the proposal was unworkable.

The second proposed amendment had to do with Congress' ability to give itself a pay raise. It is often called the "Congressional Compensation Amendment of 1789," the "Congressional Pay Amendment," or the "Madison Amendment." This amendment finally became law on May 5, 1992 as the 27th Amendment to the US Constitution.

This amendment forbids representatives to Congress from giving themselves a pay raise. Any pay raise they enact can only take effect with the next Congress. The amendment, when it was originally proposed, only received 7 affirmative votes from the original states. Ohio ratified it in 1873. Not until the 1980s did a new movement begin to pass the amendment. This amendment was also legally valid as originally proposed back in 1789 according to the Coleman v. Miller case. Finally, Alabama became the 38th state to ratify the proposal on May 5, 1992 and the 27th Amendment was born - 202 years after it was originally proposed!

You can read more about the History of the Bill of Rights here.

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