Key points
An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution.
When drafting the Constitution, the Framers detailed an
amendment process in Article V that gave citizens avenues to
change the Constitution.
Why do we need an amendment process?
The Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1789, making it 229
years old, the oldest constitution in the modern world.
As the United States has continued to grow and face unique challenges
brought on through modern warfare, alliances, and technology, some
critics have argued that the Framers of the Constitution could not have
foreseen the changes the United States would experience. What can we
do to update the Constitution to address these new issues? Well, the
Framers thought of a solution: citizens could add changes to the
Constitution.
The Framers added a process for amending, or changing, the
Constitution in Article V. Since 1789, the United States has added 27
amendments to the Constitution. An amendment is a change to the
Constitution. The first ten amendments to the Constitution became
known as the Bill of Rights. These first amendments were designed to
protect individual rights and liberties, like the right to free speech and
the right to trial by jury.
Article V
Article V describes the process for amending the Constitution. But the
Framers intended for the amendment process to be difficult: although
the federal government could add amendments, three-fourths of states
have to ratify every amendment.
“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall
call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case,
shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution,
when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States,
or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other
Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that
no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand
eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,
without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the
Senate.”
Article V, The United States Constitution, 1787
There are two avenues for amending the Constitution:
the congressional proposal method and the convention method. In the
congressional proposal method, two-thirds of both chambers of
Congress must propose an amendment. The proposed amendment
must then be ratified by three-fourths of state conventions or state
legislatures, as chosen by Congress.
Diagram of each form of proposing and ratifying an amendment.
Congress has proposed all 27 amendments to the Constitution of the
United States. 26 of these amendments were passed by three-fourths
of state legislatures and one amendment was passed by three-fourths
of state conventions.
In the state convention method, two-thirds of states ask Congress to
organize a convention. The amendment is proposed at this meeting. As
in the congressional proposal method, the proposed amendment then
must be ratified by three-fourths of state conventions or state
legislatures, as chosen by Congress. The state convention method has
never been used to introduce an amendment.
Challenges to the amendment process
Between 1789 and 2014, over 11,000 amendments have been
proposed; however, only 27 amendments have been ratified. Why is it
so hard for proposed amendments to receive support for final
ratification? A few roadblocks are standing in the way.
First, every amendment must receive support from three-fourths of
state conventions or state legislatures. It’s incredibly difficult to get that
many states to agree on a permanent change to the Constitution.
Take, for example, the Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA. The ERA was
introduced in 1923. It finally passed Congress in 1972 and was sent to
the states for ratification. The ERA was designed to guarantee equal
rights for all citizens regardless of sex. It fell three states short of
ratification and so was not added to the Constitution.
Second, for an amendment to be passed through the congressional
proposal method, two-thirds of Congress must propose the
amendment. To introduce a new amendment the two parties must
cooperate, as no one party has controlled two-thirds of both the House
of Representatives and the Senate. With each party supporting different
ideological goals, getting two-thirds of Congress to agree on a change to
the Constitution is nearly impossible without some level of cooperation.
The process is so difficult that it could take years before the US
Constitution has its 28th amendment. Some amendments continue to
pop up in Congress, including an amendment requiring Congress to pass
a balanced budget, an amendment setting term limits for members of
Congress, and amendments defining who can get married.