WHY IT MATTERS

Our Constitution has been in force for
over 200 years – far more than the
written constitution of any other nation in
the world.
WHY IT MATTERS
The Framers of the Constitution realized
there would have to be changes made
to the document they wrote.
 Article V provides for the process of
FORMAL AMENDMENT.
 To date, 27 amendments have been
added to the Constitution.

CHANGE


1789 – the US was a small agricultural nation of
fewer than 4 million people
 scattered over 1,300 miles along the
eastern edge of the nation
 travel and communication were
limited to horseback and sailing ships
Today, nearly 300 million people live in 50 states
spread across the continent
 the US is the most powerful nation on
Earth with a highly modern,
industrialized, and technological society
 makes us the envy of the rest of the world due
to our standard of living
CHANGE

How has the Constitution endured and
kept up with all our change and growth?
 The US Constitution of today is and is not
the same document of1787.
 Many words are the same and have the
same meaning, yet some words have been
changed, some eliminated, and some were
added over time.
 MOST IMPORTANTLY… the meanings of
many of its provisions have been modified.
CHANGE

This process of constitutional change, of
modification and growth comes about in
two basic ways: formal amendment and
informal means
FORMAL AMENDMENT PROCESS

Article V sets out 2 methods for proposal
and 2 methods for the ratification of
constitutional amendments = 4 possible
methods of formal amendment
(changes or additions that become part
of the written language of the
Constitution itself – see diagram on
page 73).
1ST METHOD
1. Amendment is proposed by 2/3 vote in
both houses (Senate, House of
Representatives)
2. Amendment is ratified by 3/4 of the
State legislatures (38)
2ND METHOD
1. Amendment MAY be proposed by a national
convention which is called by Congress at the
request of 2/3 of the State legislatures and
must then be ratified by 3/4 of the State legislatures
 only the 21st amendment was adopted this
way (1933) b/c Congress felt that the
conventions’ popularly elected delegates
would be more likely to reflect public
opinion on the question of the repeal of
nationwide prohibition than would State
legislators
3RD METHOD
Amendment may be proposed by a
national convention called by Congress
at the request of 2/3 of the State
legislators (34).
 It must then be ratified by conventions in
3/4 of the States
 To date, Congress has not called such a
convention

4TH METHOD

An amendment may be proposed by a
national convention and ratified by
conventions in ¾ of the States – the
Constitution itself was adopted in much
this same way
FEDERALISM AND POPULAR
SOVEREIGNTY
○ Formal amendment process emphasizes the federal
character of the governmental system (proposal at
national level and ratification is a State-by-State matter)
○ When the Constitution is amended, that action represents
the expression of the people’s sovereign will. The people
have spoken.
○ Some criticize this process because it permits a
constitutional change w/o a clear-cut expression by the
people
○ The Supreme Court has held that a State cannot require
an amendment proposed by Congress to be approved by
a vote of the people of the State before it can be ratified
by the State legislature -- see Hawke v. Smith, Kimble v.
Swackhamer, page 74
 BUT, a State legislature can call for an advisory vote
by the people before it acts – see Kimble v.
Swackhammer, page 74
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
○ The Constitution places only one restriction on the
subjects w/which a proposed amendment may deal. This
is found in Article V.
 When both houses of Congress pass a resolution
proposing an amendment, Congress does not send it to
the President to be signed or vetoed – b/c Congress is
proposing an amendment, not making law.
○ If a State rejects a proposed amendment, it is not forever
bound by that action. It may later reconsider and ratify.
But once it is ratified, that is binding and cannot be
changed.
 Nearly 15,000 joint resolutions calling for amendments
to the Constitution have been proposed to Congress
since 1789.
 of these, only 33 have been sent on to the States
 27 were ratified
THE 27 AMENDMENTS
○ These can be found on page 76
○ 1st 10 are the Bill of Rights, later ones added
over 200 years due to particular sets of
circumstances
THE BILL OF RIGHTS




1st ten amendments to the US Constitution
that were added less than three years after it
became effective
Each arose out of controversy surrounding the
ratification of the Constitution itself
They set out the great constitutional
guarantees of freedom, belief, and expression;
of freedom and security of the person; of fair
and equal treatment before the law.
The 10th Amendment does not deal with civil
rights but it does spell out the concept of
reserved powers in the federal system.
THE LATER AMENDMENTS

Each of the other amendments that
have been added to the Constitution
over the past 200 years also grew out of
particular and sometimes interesting
circumstances
SUMMARY
1.
Describe the four possible methods of formal amendment.
2.
Describe three freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights in your own words.
3.
Explain why the Constitution provides that BOTH houses of Congress agree to the
proposal of an amendment.
4.
Cite three events or controversies that led to amendments to the Constitution AND
explain how each of these amendments settled a particular question.
5.
Read “Letters of Liberty” on page 78 and answer questions 1-4 in complete
sentences.