Thirty-three amendments to the Constitution of the United States (also referred to formally as articles of amendment) have been proposed by the United States Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789. Twenty-seven of those, having been ratified by the requisite number of states, are now part of the Constitution.
The first ten amendments were adopted and sent to the states by Congress as a group, and later were also ratified together (and thus simultaneously); these are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments deal with slavery, equal protection and certain constitutional rights; collectively, these are known as the Reconstruction Amendments.
Six proposed amendments have been adopted by Congress and sent to the states, but have not been ratified by the required number of states and so do not form part of the Constitution. Four of these unratified amendments are still pending; one is closed having failed by its own terms; and one is closed and has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
All 33 (27 ratified plus 6 unratified) amendments are listed and detailed in the tables below.
Proposal and ratification process Article Five of the United States Constitution details the two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government. Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This process was designed to strike a balance between the excesses of constant change and inflexibility.
An amendment may be proposed and sent to the states for ratification by either:
The U.S. Congress, whenever a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives deem it necessary; or A national convention, called by Congress for this purpose, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (34 since 1959). This option has never been used.
To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 since 1959) by either (as determined by Congress):
The legislatures of three-fourths of the states; or State ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The only amendment to be ratified through this method thus far is the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933. That amendment is also the only one that explicitly repeals an earlier one, the Eighteenth Amendment (ratified in 1919), establishing the prohibition of alcohol.
Congress has also enacted statutes governing the constitutional amendment process. When a constitutional amendment is sent to the states for ratification, the Archivist of the United States is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of . Then, upon being properly ratified, the archivist issues a certificate proclaiming that an amendment has become an operative part of the Constitution.
Since the early 20th century, Congress has, on several occasions, stipulated that an amendment must be ratified by the required number of states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states in order to become part of the Constitution. Congress's authority to set a ratification deadline was affirmed in 1939 by the Supreme Court of the United States in Coleman v. Miller (). In the absence of a deadline, an amendment can be pending indefinitely, as are the four early amendments which are still technically 'pending'. Such measures could theoretically be returned to and eventually ratified long after (hundreds of years after) being proposed to the states.
Approximately 11,985 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789 (). Collectively, members of the House and Senate typically propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress. Proposals have covered numerous topics, but none made in recent decades have been supported sufficiently in Congress to be put to the states and so none have become part of the Constitution. Historically, most died in the congressional committees to which they were assigned. Since 1999, only about 20 proposed amendments have received a vote by either the full House or full Senate. The last time a proposal gained the requisite two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978; it then failed at the ratification stage, as only 16 states had ratified it by the time the seven-year limit expired in 1985.
Ratified amendments Synopsis of each ratified amendment Subject Ratification Proposed Completed Time span Protects freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government. Protects the right to keep and bear arms. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Restricts the quartering of soldiers in private homes. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets requirements for search warrants based on probable cause. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Sets rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Protects the right to a speedy public trial by jury, to notification of criminal accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Provides for the right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 States that rights not enumerated in the Constitution are retained by the people. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 States that the federal government possesses only those powers delegated, or enumerated, to it through the Constitution, and that all other powers are reserved to the states, or to the people. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 Immunizes states from suits brought by out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders; lays the foundation for state sovereign immunity. March 4, 1794 February 7, 1795 Establishes that the vice president is elected together with the president rather than as the runner-up in the presidential election. December 9, 1803 June 15, 1804 Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. January 31, 1865 December 6, 1865 Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post–Civil War issues. June 13, 1866 July 9, 1868 Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. February 26, 1869 February 3, 1870 Permits Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the various states or basing it on the United States Census. July 12, 1909 February 3, 1913 Establishes the direct election of United States senators by popular vote. May 13, 1912 April 8, 1913 Prohibits the manufacturing or sale of alcohol within the United States.(Repealed on December 5, 1933, by the 21st Amendment.) December 18, 1917 January 16, 1919 Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex. June 4, 1919 August 18, 1920 Changes the dates on which the terms of the president and vice president, and of members of Congress, begin and end, to January 20 and January 3 respectively. States that if the president-elect dies before taking office, the vice president–elect is to be inaugurated as president. March 2, 1932 January 23, 1933 Repeals the 18th Amendment and makes it a federal offense to transport or import intoxicating liquors into U.S. states and territories where prohibited by law. February 20, 1933 December 5, 1933 Limits the number of times a person can be elected president. March 21, 1947 February 27, 1951 Grants the District of Columbia electors in the Electoral College. June 16, 1960 March 29, 1961 Prohibits the revocation of voting rights based upon failure to pay taxes. September 14, 1962 January 23, 1964 Addresses succession to the presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the vice president and responding to presidential disabilities. July 6, 1965 February 10, 1967 Lowers the voting age to 18 years. March 23, 1971 July 1, 1971 Delays laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives. September 25, 1789 May 7, 1992
Summary of ratification data for each ratified amendment State(in order of statehood) Amendment 1–10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Delaware Pennsylvania New Jersey Georgia Connecticut Massachusetts Maryland South Carolina New Hampshire Virginia New York North Carolina Rhode Island Vermont Kentucky Tennessee Ohio Louisiana Indiana Mississippi Illinois Alabama Maine Missouri Arkansas Michigan Florida Texas Iowa Wisconsin California Minnesota Oregon Kansas West Virginia Nevada Nebraska Colorado North Dakota South Dakota Montana Washington Idaho Wyoming Utah Oklahoma New Mexico Arizona Alaska Hawaii State(in order of statehood) 1–10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 AmendmentSource:
Unratified amendments Synopsis of each unratified amendment Title Subject Status Congressional Apportionment Amendment Would strictly regulate the number of seats in the United States House of Representatives. Pending since September 25, 1789. Latest ratification took place on June 27, 1792. Titles of Nobility Amendment Would strip citizenship from any United States citizen who accepts a title of nobility, or who accepts any present, pension, office or emolument from a foreign power without the consent of Congress. Pending since May 1, 1810. Latest ratification took place on December 9, 1812.Corwin Amendment Would make the states' "domestic institutions" (i.e. slavery) impervious to the constitutional amendment procedures established in Article V and immune to abolition or interference from Congress. Pending since March 2, 1861. Latest ratification took place on June 2, 1863.Child Labor Amendment Would empower the federal government to limit, regulate and prohibit child labor. Pending since June 2, 1924. Latest ratification took place on February 25, 1937. Equal Rights Amendment Would have ensured the equality of rights by the federal or state governments based on sex. Proposed March 22, 1972. Initial ratification period ended March 22, 1979; purported extension period ended June 30, 1982; amendment failed. District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment Would have treated the District of Columbia as if it were a state regarding representation in Congress, representation in the Electoral College, and participation in the process by which the Constitution is amended. Would also have repealed the 23rd Amendment. Proposed August 22, 1978. Ratification period ended August 22, 1985; amendment failed.
Summary of ratification data for each unratified amendment