Think-Pair-Share (group) The President of the United States should be elected by popular vote ONLY!! Agree? Disagree? Explain. Be ready to share with the class

If we all agree,… Al Gore would have been president in 2000 So, how do we make this happen now??

The constitutions of Virginia and the United States can be amended through processes outlined in the constitutions. The Virginia constitution has been rewritten several times.

A Living Document (copy me) The U.S. Constitution is called a living document because of the ability to amend (change) it.

The Constitutions of the U.S. and VA and the Amendment Process

A living document? Let’s say something is in the US Constitution that we do not like Or something is not in there that should be What do we do to make sure this problem is fixed? AMENDMENT FIRST AMENDMENT

We can add amendments Amendment– a written, formal change to the constitutions of VA and the US (write only this) IT IS COMPLEX!!! Amendment Process 1. It is very complex 2. There have been 27 Amendments passed so far

1 st Step—Proposal---introducing a new idea (skip 10 lines) 2 nd Step---Ratification—approving the idea to become a part of the constitutions(US & VA) (write these)

Most common Used only once Most common

Amendment Process (Federal-- Congress) Methods of Proposal Method 1 By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate (most common) Or Method 2 By national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 (34) of the state legislatures Methods of Ratification Method 1 By legislatures in ¾ of the states (38) (most common) Or Method 2 Ratified through conventions in ¾ of the states. (used only once—21 st amendment)

Step 1: Proposal by Congress (write both) Propose – This means to suggest and pass a possible amendment to the US Constitution Congress – The Legislative Branch (listens to the people) and writes an Amendment that will be added to the Constitution

Step 1: Or Proposal by Convention A Convention is when the states come together and ask the Congress to pass an Amendment for them to ratify This is because the states want something important Gay Marriage Prohibition Immigration

Step 2: Ratify by the states Ratify: This means the states AGREE sign the proposed amendment 38 States ¾ of the states must agree to pass the Amendment If they do, it is officially added to the US CONSTITUTION **write it all 27 th Amendment: Pay raises

Constitution of Virginia Amendment process: – Proposal: action by General Assembly (lawmaking body in VA) or convention – Ratification: by voters of Virginia

Why should we change the Constitution? Our founding fathers knew America and the world would change They wanted to make sure the document they wrote would be able to change with it This is called an AMENDMENT AMENDMENT = CHANGE TO US CONSTITUTION

The process is Complex It takes a long time to pass an Amendment (up to 7 years) It’s complex on purpose We wanted the process to be hard so that we didn’t change the US Constitution easily Complex = Difficult or Complicated

Changed only 27 times in 235+ years It is only changed when America is really concerned about an issue It isn’t just changed because American’s feel like it THE ISSUE MUST BE SUPER IMPORTANT Gay Marriage Prohibition Immigration Women’s Suffrage

Warm-Up 10/22/2014 Answer the following questions in your notebook. 1. Why is the constitution a living document? 2. Describe in detail two ways to propose an amendment. 3. Why is the amendment process so complex? Conteste las siguientes preguntas en su cuaderno. 1. ¿Por qué es la constitución de un documento vivo ? 2. Describir en detalle dos maneras de proponer una enmienda. 3. ¿Por qué el proceso de enmienda tan complejo

Political Cartoon #1 Political Cartoon #1 Title: Flag Burning Amendment Gary Markstein, Wisconsin, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, July 18, 2005,

Political Cartoon #2 Political Cartoon #2 Title: Flag Burning Steve Breen, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 25,

Political Cartoon #3 Political Cartoon #3 Title: Gay Marriage Amendment Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons. Feb. 26,

Textbook Reading Read pp Answer questions on p key terms, 1,2, 3

Group Activity You are all members of Congress simulating the amendment process. You will work as a team to come to a consensus on the position you will take on an issue, compose a proposal for an amendment, and present that proposal to the class (states) for a vote. Look over the amendments in the textbook to see how to go about writing your proposed amendment.

Teams 1.Choose a team leader—keeps everyone on task 2.Scribe—writer Debate the issue in your teams, take a position, write an amendment, present the amendment to the class (state legislatures), be ready to defend your position.

Proposal Topics Flag Burning or Flag Desecration? Naturalized Citizens becoming President/Vice President of the United States? English-Official Language of the United States? Gay Marriages? Prayer in Schools? D.C. Statehood? Death Penalty allowed in all states? Age limits on Supreme Court Justices? Term limits for members of Congress?

Have your paper set up as such: Names of team members. State each member represents. Proposal: Rationale: Why do you want this proposal to become an amendment? (at least 2 reasons)

“Exit ticket” Explain in 2-3 sentences. The process for adding amendments to the US Constitution from start to finish.