Back in 1789, when George Washington was President and John Adams presided over the Senate, the First Congress of the United States passed a dozen or so amendments to the Constitution and sent them on to the states for ratification.
Ten were soon ratified as "The Bill of Rights," but another of those amendments was never ratified. For nearly 200 years the amendment lay ignored and forgotten, and might never have been ratified were it not for the personal efforts of a bright and interested student of government at the University of Texas.
In 1982, while researching a paper for his government class, Gregory Watson came across that forgotten constitutional amendment dating back to the First Congress in 1789 and was immediately struck by the importance of the amendment, a significance obviously shared by the Founding Fathers who drafted the amendment 193 years earlier.
The amendment provided that any change in the compensation (salary or payment) to members of the United States Congress may not take effect until an election of the United States House of Representatives has first intervened. Clearly, the intent was to check personal feather-bedding and corruption by Congress.
After further research, Watson became convinced that nothing in Article V of the Constitution placed any time limits on ratification. Believing that this amendment from our Founding Fathers deserved our attention probably more than ever, he launched a personal letter-writing campaign to state legislators across the country. He urged that the amendment be put before state Assemblies for consideration, and receive ratification.
In 1992, after 10 years of campaigning, Watson was rewarded by seeing the ratification of the "27th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (Amendment XXVII)". This was the most recent amendment to the Constitution, and is now part of our country's governmental process.
Gregory Watson, who became a Committee Clerk in the Texas Legislature for many years, persevered in his belief in the American democratic process. With the 27th Amendment ratified, Watson continued his research into lost or forgotten amendments.
First, he discovered that the Mississippi Legislature had never ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. Certainly, slavery itself was not a concern in the state, but the amendment had never been formally ratified.
In 1994, Watson sent letters to all the African-American members of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives, enclosing a draft resolution for the Mississippi Legislature to adopt to ceremonially post-ratify the 13th Amendment. In March 1995, Mississippi's Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 547 was adopted, and Mississippi became the last state to ratify the 13th Amendment-130 years late.
A similar situation drew Watson's attention in 1996 in Tennessee. Of course, people of all races could vote in Tennessee, but the amendment giving them that right had never formally been ratified. As a result of Watson's personal initiative, the 15th Amendment dating back to 1869 establishing the right of adult males of all races to vote was ratified in 1997 by Tennessee lawmakers.
Not resting on his laurels, Watson campaigned in Texas for ratification of the 24th Amendment, prohibiting Congress or the states from conditioning the right to vote in Federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other tax. Watson's efforts were finally rewarded when, in May of 2009, Texas ratified the amendment 45 years after it had been incorporated into the Federal Constitution.
Thanks to Gregory Watson, we can learn how ordinary citizens can accomplish extraordinary goals through personal courage, belief in one's convictions and trust in the goodness of our fellows.
At Novus, where people have made the decision to free themselves from drugs and alcohol, we see every day the important role played by courage and belief in oneself. We are gratified that we can help our clients recover their lives, and we want to share one of their success stories with you.
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Homemaker:
(OxyContin, Xanax, hydrocodone, oxycodone, Ambien)
"Staff is excellent! All counselors and nurses are very attentive and caring. Not at all overbearing. Everyone is very informative. I have learned many ways to deal with stressors other than medications. I went from a pill dependence with bad withdrawals, and I am 100% homeopathic now. The nurses were very compassionate and helpful.
Hayden - could not have made the hardest four days of my life without him. Tammy - was a miracle. Changed my life. Amazing. JJ - brought me in and sent me out! He is a rock! Cate - very informative. Sheri - Love her like a mother! Stacy is the best!
I have learned so many coping skills. Too many to name. I feel free of drug dependence, with a whole new world in front of me. I have learned to NEVER give a doctor power over my body and to try ANYTHING other than medicine to conquer my problems. I have realized that I am free of all medications and never have to step backwards again. I have learned to take care of myself first and take one step at a time. The next step for me will be to return home to intensive outpatient care. I felt like I was so down deep in a hole that I couldn't come out on my own. Novus has helped me realize that I never have to compromise my values again. I never will get stuck in the cycle of pain control dependence. I will go home to my family and live brave and strong and clear headed. I will enjoy every breath my kids take from now on. I will appreciate every day I can live sober from now on." |
