_This season, _More Perfect _ is taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court
and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The
People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both
in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside _
27: The
Most Perfect Album , an
entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art
inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner
notes.In
More Perfect 's final episode of the season, listen to liner notes for
two amendments that contemplate the still-unfinished status of our
Constitution. "27" is an album that marks a particular point in our history:
this moment when we have 27 Amendments to our Constitution. What will be the
28th?
Maybe it will address our nation's capital. The capital has been a bit of a
Constitutional anomaly for much of our nation's history — it's at the heart of
the democracy, but because it's not a state, people in Washington D.C. have
been disenfranchised almost by accident. The 23rd Amendment solved some of the
problem — it gave D.C. the right to vote for president. But it left much of
D.C.'s representation questions unanswered. D.C. still does not have voting
representation in Congress. Instead, D.C. sends a "non-voting delegate" to
Congress. For this liner note,
More Perfect profiles that delegate,
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and her unique approach to fighting for
power in a virtually powerless role.
The
song for the 23rd
Amendment is by
The Mellow Tones, a group of students from D.C. high school Duke Ellington
School of the Arts, along with their teacher Mark G. Meadows. The chorus, "Why
won't you count on me?" reflects on the continued disenfranchisement of our
nation's capital.
The final amendment of the album, the 27th Amendment, put limits on Senators'
ability to give themselves a pay raise, and it has arguably the most unusual
path to ratification of all 27. The first draft for the amendment was written
by none other than James Madison in 1789, but back then, it didn't get enough
votes from the states for ratification. It wasn't until a college student
named Gregory Watson awakened the dormant amendment centuries later that it
was finally ratified. The
27th Amendment
song is by Kevin
Devine and tells Watson's story.
Read more
_This season, _More Perfect _ is taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court
and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The
People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both
in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside _
27: The
Most Perfect Album , an
entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art
inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner
notes.In
More Perfect 's final episode of the season, listen to liner notes for
two amendments that contemplate the still-unfinished status of our
Constitution. "27" is an album that marks a particular point in our history:
this moment when we have 27 Amendments to our Constitution. What will be the
28th?
Maybe it will address our nation's capital. The capital has been a bit of a
Constitutional anomaly for much of our nation's history — it's at the heart of
the democracy, but because it's not a state, people in Washington D.C. have
been disenfranchised almost by accident. The 23rd Amendment solved some of the
problem — it gave D.C. the right to vote for president. But it left much of
D.C.'s representation questions unanswered. D.C. still does not have voting
representation in Congress. Instead, D.C. sends a "non-voting delegate" to
Congress. For this liner note,
More Perfect profiles that delegate,
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and her unique approach to fighting for
power in a virtually powerless role.
The
song for the 23rd
Amendment is by
The Mellow Tones, a group of students from D.C. high school Duke Ellington
School of the Arts, along with their teacher Mark G. Meadows. The chorus, "Why
won't you count on me?" reflects on the continued disenfranchisement of our
nation's capital.
The final amendment of the album, the 27th Amendment, put limits on Senators'
ability to give themselves a pay raise, and it has arguably the most unusual
path to ratification of all 27. The first draft for the amendment was written
by none other than James Madison in 1789, but back then, it didn't get enough
votes from the states for ratification. It wasn't until a college student
named Gregory Watson awakened the dormant amendment centuries later that it
was finally ratified. The
27th Amendment
song is by Kevin
Devine and tells Watson's story.
Read less