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News Release
Contact: Tom Parisi, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-3635
February 25, 2004
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History indicates constitutional amendments are a long shot
DeKalb, Ill.--If history is any indicator, the president's proposal for a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage faces long odds of ever being approved. NIU History Professor David Kyvig, author of four books on constitutional amendment, notes that more than 14,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress since the Constitution was adopted in 1787. Only 27 have been approved--and some have produced unanticipated or undesired results.
- After World War II, Republicans introduced the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two terms in office. They wanted to avoid having to deal with a parade of liberal presidents in the mold of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to four terms. The next five decades saw only Republicans Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan elected to second terms.
- The 12th Amendment, aimed at simply fixing a flawed electoral system, ended up reducing the significance of the vice presidency.
- The narrow wording of the 15th Amendment permitted the South to employ literacy tests and poll taxes that amounted to discrimination against blacks and poor whites.
- The national prohibition amendments encouraged the development of federal government involvement in local law enforcement.
- In winning enough support for adoption of the 19th Amendment, its supporters gained only a limited advance for women's rights, rather than the full equality that many thought suffrage would achieve.
Kyvig's books on the history of constitutional amendments include "Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendment" and "Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995." The latter title received Columbia University's Bancroft Prize, the most prestigious book-publishing accolade for American history. Kyvig also is a recipient of NIU's highest award for research, the Presidential Research Professorship.
To arrange an interview with Kyvig, contact Tom Parisi at (815) 753-3635.
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