Today in History: The Bill of Rights

On this day (September 25) in 1789 the United States Congress passed The Bill of Rights firmly establishing the limits of the authority of the Federal Government in regard to its citizens. What is less well known is that two other amendments were also passed that day. The Congressional Apportionment Amendment would have established a formula for deciding how many people from each state would be elected to the House of Representatives. Since it was never ratified by the states, this has been determined by legislation. The Congressional Compensation Amendment languished for 202 years before being ratified. It established that pay increases or decreases for Congress cannot take effect until the next session of congress. It is the most recent constitutional amendment ratified in the U.S.