Twenty Seventh Amendment

The Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is by far the longest any Constitutional Amendment has taken to be ratified by the states. Its initial proposal began in 1789 and it took over two hundred years to complete the ratification process, finally ending in 1992.

The 27th Amendment deals with the salary of the members of Congress. It prohibits any law from increasing or decreasing the salary from taking effect and being implemented until the next term of office for the House of Representatives. The 27th Amendment is the most recent Constitutional Amendment to have been ratified, which occurred on May 5th, 1992. Its proposal was submitted on September 25th, 1789.

The 27th Amendment was created with the purpose of limiting the power of the members of Congress to pass laws that would effect pay increases in their salaries, which would create for an obvious conflict of interests. The restriction would be necessary in order for Congress to keep in mind the needs of the people of the United States, rather than their own.

The 27th Amendment would call for any salary increases that are to be imposed are to occur after an election. This would prevent from members of Congress to immediately effect a salary increase when elected into office. In other words, Representatives must survive the election process before a raise in salary can take effect.

The provisions held within the 27th Amendment were originally discussed in the North Carolina Convention held in 1788, which was held for the purpose of discussing the Constitution itself. The 27th Amendment was originally drafted and proposed by James Madison, but it was not ratified by the necessary number of states. Only six states would approve ratification: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware, Vermont, and Virginia. A total of ten was required for ratification. It was during this time that the first ten Constitutional Amendments were ratified, which would eventually become the United States Bill of Rights.