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Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution (30–0). [38] [39] December 11 • Ratifying convention begins in New Jersey. [40] December 12 • Ratification Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the Constitution (46–23). [38] [39] December 18 • Ratification New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the ...
Thirty-three amendments to the Constitution of the United States 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 part of the Constitution.
How long does it take to ratify a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution? The First and 27th amendments had very different paths.
To become part of the Constitution, an adopted amendment must be ratified by either: The legislatures of three-fourths (presently 38) of the states; or. State ratifying conventions in three-fourths (presently 38) of the states. [4] The decision of which ratification method will be used for any given amendment is Congress' alone to make. [3]
Some states agreed to ratify the Constitution only if the amendments that were to become the Bill of Rights would be taken up immediately by the new government. In September 1788, the Congress of the Confederation certified that eleven states had ratified the new Constitution, and chose dates for federal elections and the transition to the new ...
The decades-long delay is likely to be the subject of any legal challenge from opponents, though the Constitution does not make any reference to a deadline for states to ratify an amendment.
The other unlikely option is to ratify the constitution through a special meeting known as a convention, where three-fourths of all 50 U.S. states must agree to it.
Amendments may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate; or by a convention to propose amendments called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. [1] To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must then be ratified by either—as determined by ...