10 things that might surprise you about the Constitution

July 04, 2008|By Richard Labunski

As we celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the nation's founding, it's a good time to think about the Constitution. Here are 10 things you may not know:

1 The Constitution restricts the power of federal, state and local governments but not private groups. The government doesn't have the power to tell you what you can or can't say in the workplace, but your employer does.

2 From 1791, when it was ratified, to the 20th Century, the Bill of Rights restrained only the federal government. Any state could abridge those fundamental rights. In 1937, the Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction and death sentence of a man Connecticut put on trial twice for the same crime, in violation of the double-jeopardy clause of the 5th Amendment. The court said the amendment didn't apply, and the state executed him.

In the 20th Century, the court finally began to apply the Bill of Rights to the states, but did so gradually: freedom of speech (1925), freedom of the press (1931), freedom of religion (1947), search and seizure protection in the 4th Amendment (1961), the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause in the 8th Amendment (1962), the 6th Amendment's right to counsel (1963), the self-incrimination clause of the 5th Amendment (1964), the right to a jury trial (1968), protection against double jeopardy (1969) and prohibition against excessive bail (1971).

3 When Congress proposed the Bill of Rights and forwarded it to the states for ratification, what we know today as the 1st Amendment was listed third. It moved up to its exalted position only because the first two amendments Congress offered were not ratified at the time.

4 The 27th Amendment, the last one added to the Constitution, was proposed by Congress in 1789 with no expiration date. It was not ratified until 1992. Under the amendment, if Congress gives itself a pay raise, the raise cannot take effect until after the legislators face voters in a general election.

5 If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes or there is a tie, the election is decided by the House of Representatives. Under the "unit rule" in the Constitution, each state, regardless of the size of its House delegation, gets one vote. California has 70 times the population of Wyoming, yet those states would have equal participation in the election of the president.

6 Congress has the power to alter the appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. Almost all cases the Supreme Court hears are appealed from state or federal courts. (A few go directly to it without being considered by a lower court). Thus, Congress can remove all cases dealing with abortion and other controversial issues from the Supreme Court's docket as long as the president signed such a bill or a veto was overridden.

7 Congress has the power to change how many justices serve on the Supreme Court. It has increased or reduced the number seven times. The court began with six seats and has had as few as five and as many as 10. Since 1869, there have been nine seats on the court.

8 The Framers of the Constitution worried that the vice president would have nothing to do, so they made that person the head of the Senate with the power to break tie votes. "If the vice president were not to be president of the Senate, he would be without employment," Roger Sherman said during the 1787 convention.

9 The vice president, as Senate president, can preside over his or her impeachment trial. The Constitution says the Senate shall try all impeachments. When the president is impeached, the chief justice is in charge.

10 For much of the nation's history, members of Congress elected in November of even-numbered years were not sworn in until March and did not hold their first session until the following December, 13 months after they were elected. The 20th Amendment changed this in 1933. Now members of Congress take office Jan. 3, and their first session begins that day.


Richard Labunski is a journalism professor at the University of Kentucky and author of "James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights."

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The Amendments


Freedom of speech, assembly, religion, the press and the right to petition the government


Right to bear arms


No quartering of troops in homes in time of peace


No unreasonable searches and seizures


Due process and protection of property


Speedy and public trial by jury


Jury trial in civil cases


No cruel and unusual punishment


Enumeration of rights does not deny other rights of the people


Rights reserved to the states


Sovereign immunity


Electoral College reform


Abolition of slavery


Equal protection under law and due process of law


Right to vote shall not be abridged because of race, color or previous servitude


Income tax


Election of senators




Women's right to vote


Terms of president and Congress


Repeal of prohibition


Presidential term limits


District of Columbia suffrage


Poll taxes abolished


Presidential succession


Right to vote at age 18


Congressional pay raises