First Congress submitted the first 12 amendments, Sept. 25, 1789

On this date in 1789, the First Congress submitted to the states for ratification the original 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. They had been approved by two-thirds of the lawmakers in both houses. They were largely crafted by Rep. James Madison of Virginia, who went on to serve as the nation’s fourth president.

The states approved 10 of the 12 amendments, which have become enshrined in the Constitution as the Bill of Rights. They went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, having been ratified by three-fourths of the states as provided for in the Constitution.


Two of the amendments, however, were rejected.

One of them reflected Madison’s view that Congress should not be allowed to give itself pay raises without constituents being able to register their disapproval. Since no time limit was set on its ratification,

Madison’s proposal finally was enacted on May 7, 1992, as the 27th Amendment — when Michigan ratified it.

The congressional pay amendment, however, has not prevented lawmakers from voting to give themselves annual cost-of-living adjustments. In Schaffer v. Clinton (2001), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled the 27th amendment does not affect COLAs. The Supreme Court has yet to rule.

The other failed amendment, known as “Article the First,” sets out a detailed formula for the number of House members, based on each decennial census. Scholars have calculated that had the amendment, which is still pending, been adopted, today’s House would have either 800 or 5,000 representatives, depending on whether the courts came to interpret the amendment’s somewhat arcane provisions as calling for a rolling or static minimum.

Source: Office of History and Preservation, Clerk of the U.S. House