Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution facts for kids

The Twenty-seventh Amendment (also called Amendment XXVII) is a part of the United States Constitution. It is about how much money members of the United States Congress get paid.

Congress has two main groups: the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Senators serve for six years. Representatives serve for two years. This amendment says that Congress cannot change its own pay until a new group of Representatives has been elected. This means voters get a chance to react to any pay changes.

As of 2020, the Twenty-seventh Amendment is the newest part added to the Constitution. It took a very long time for it to become law. The 1st United States Congress first suggested it to the states on September 25, 1789. But it was not until May 7, 1992, that enough states approved it. This means it took over 202 years to become an official amendment! This is the longest time any amendment has ever taken.

What the Amendment Says

When Congress first suggested this amendment in 1789, this is what it said:

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

This means that any law changing how much Senators and Representatives are paid cannot start until after the next election for Representatives.

27th Amendment

How the Amendment Started

On September 25, 1789, the first United States Congress suggested 12 amendments to the states. These were the very first changes ever suggested for the Constitution. James Madison wrote them. One of these ideas was about how much Congress members should be paid. Madison wanted to stop Congress from giving themselves pay raises whenever they wanted. He thought it was important that people could vote them out if they did.

In 1791, the states approved ten of these 12 suggested amendments. These ten became known as the Bill of Rights. But the states did not approve the other two. One of the ones not approved was the amendment about Congress's pay.

How the Amendment Became Law

Congress Suggests the Amendment

James Madison first brought up this idea in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789. On August 24, 1789, the House approved this idea and 16 others. These ideas then went to the Senate. The Senate made 26 changes to the House's ideas. After some changes, the Senate approved 12 suggested amendments on September 9, 1789.

     States that approved the Amendment between 1789–1792      States that approved the Amendment in 1873      States that approved the Amendment between 1978–1991      States that approved the Amendment in May 1992      States that approved the Amendment after it became law, 1992–95      States that approved the Amendment twice (NC: 1789/1989; KY: 1792/1996)      States that never approved the Amendment

Next, a special group of House and Senate members met. They needed to find a way to agree on the amendments. After three days, they had 12 suggested amendments. They took these ideas back to the full House and Senate. On September 24, 1789, the House agreed to the 12 suggested amendments. The next day, the Senate agreed too. The amendment about Congressional pay was one of these 12.

States Approve the Amendment

Congress sent the 12 suggested amendments to the states on September 25, 1789. For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, three-fourths of the state legislatures must approve it. At that time, there were only 11 states. This meant that nine states needed to approve the amendments.

By December 15, 1791, ten of the twelve suggested amendments were approved. These became the Bill of Rights. However, only six states had approved the Congressional pay amendment by then.

For the next 186 years, only two more states approved the amendment. Meanwhile, many more states joined the United States. This meant that more and more states would need to approve the amendment for it to become law. This is because three-fourths of all states had to agree.

Here is the order in which the states approved the Amendment:

See also

In Spanish: Vigesimoséptima Enmienda a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos para niños