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Did You Know? - The Congressional Apportionment Amendment (1789) · Voices Of Life

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  This is the Voices of Life podcast, a ministry
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  of the Church for Life. Today, we open a window
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  into one of the earliest and least known proposals
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  from America's founding generation. An amendment
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  written in 1789, sent to the states, and still
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  technically pending more than two centuries later.
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  It is called the Congressional Apportionment
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  Amendment. And it was designed to keep the House
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  of Representatives close to the people. As the
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  nation grew, most Americans have never heard
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  of it. But today, you will. Here is your host,
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  Pastor David. Welcome to this Voices of Life
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  Did You Know special. I'm Pastor David. When
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  the first Congress met New York City, The young
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  nation was growing fast, new states were joining,
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  populations were shifting, and the founders knew
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  that representation in the House would need to
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  grow as the country grew. So they proposed an
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  amendment to guarantee it. The idea was simple.
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  Make sure the House of Representatives always
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  stays close to the people. Not distant, not unreachable,
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  not swallowed by size or power, but accessible,
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  accountable, and rooted in local communities.
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  The amendment laid out a mathematical formula
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  of how large the House should be as the population
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  increased. It set thresholds, it set ratios,
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  and it tried to ensure that no member of Congress
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  would ever represent an overwhelming number of
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  citizens. In other words, the founders wanted
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  representation to grow with the nation, not drift
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  away from it. But here's the twist. The amendment
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  never reached the required number of the states
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  for ratification. The states that did ratify
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  it were New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina,
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  South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode
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  Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. It fell short
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  by only one state. since at the time the colonies
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  grew from 13 to 14 states and technically needed
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  10 .5, which equated to the 11th state, to ratify
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  it. The states that did not ratify it were Connecticut,
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  Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. And
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  because Congress never set a deadline, it still
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  sits on the table today, more than two centuries
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  later, technically alive, technically pending,
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  and technically capable. If this amendment were
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  to be ratified today, it would dramatically reshape
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  the size of the House of Representatives. Some
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  scholars say it could expand the House into the
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  thousands. Others say it would restore the original
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  vision of close local representation. But all
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  agree on one thing. This amendment is a reminder
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  that the Constitution is not just a document
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  of the past. It is a living covenant between
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  the people and their government. And some parts
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  of the covenant are still unfinished. So what
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  do we learn from a 235 -year -old amendment that
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  never quite crossed the finish line? We learned
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  that the founders cared deeply about representation.
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  We learned that the people believed government
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  works best when it stays close to the people
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  it serves. And we learned that even unfinished
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  ideas can still speak to the heart of a nation
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  striving to remain free. In every generation,
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  liberty requires stewardship, and representation
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  is part of that stewardship. This amendment reminds
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  us that the work of self -government is never
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  done. It is a calling, and it is a responsibility
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  entrusted to us by Providence. But it is never
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  too late for an amendment to be ratified. It
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  is still open. The Congressional Pay Amendment
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  which is known as the 27th Amendment, first passed
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  Congress in September 25, 1789. But it was not
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  ratified until May 7, 1992, 203 years later.
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  So we can never say never of what might happen
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  in the future. And these amendments that have
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  no expiration date can still be ratified in the
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  future, such as this one with the congressional
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  apportionment. This is Pastor David. Thanking
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  you for joining us today. May God bless you and
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  may God bless the United States of America. This
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  has been a Voices of Life. Did you know? Special.
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  A look into an amendment written at the dawn
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  of our republic, still resting on the table,
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  still waiting for the nation to decide its future.
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  The Congressional Apportionment Amendment reminds
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  us that representation is not just a structure,
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  it is a trust. and every generation is called
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  to steward that trust well. Thank you for joining
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  us today. This is the Voices of Life podcast,
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  a ministry of the Church for Life. Until next
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  time, may God bless you, and may God bless the
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  United States of America.