There have been 33 amendments to the Constitution that were adopted by Congress – but only 27 were ratified. What happened to the other six?
Part III of “The Future of the Constitution” series.
In celebration of Constitution Day on September 17, 2014, we are dedicating the week to a new series, “The Future of the Constitution“. Designed to examine the Constitution and its Amendments, “The Future of the Constitution“ will examine the amendment process, analyze existing, failed, and prospective amendment, take a look at the constitutional quandary found in campaign finance reform in the post-Citizens United era, and end with a review of retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven’s newest book, “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution”.
In Part I of the series, we discussed how the Constitution can be amended and gave a brief overview of the Constitution’s history and contents.
In Part II, which is broken up into three sections, we outlined the Bill of Rights, the Eleventh through the Twentieth Amendments, and we will examine the 21st through the 27th Amendment shortly.
in Part III, we will see that not all amendments end their arduous journey successfully.
Once an amendment crosses the high Congressional threshold, they seem destined for ratification. Historical odds are on their side; 27 of the 33 Congressionally approved amendments were eventually ratified. Often, amendments are propelled by national movements, backlash from unpopular actions or Supreme Court cases, or some other impetus that becomes a cause célèbre in the public’s eye.
For six prospective amendments though, that final push towards ratification faltered. From the ignominious collapse of the Corwin Amendment to the damning, drawn-out defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, these are the six amendments that could have changed the Constitution as we know it.
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