III. Amending the Constitution

A. Amendment Process Amendment – Written change to the Constitution Allows the Constitution to adapt to changing times Describe in Article 5

B. Long and Tedious Process 27 Amendment have been passed in 220 years Last Amendment was passed in 1992 10,000+ Amendments have been debated since 1791 Around 50 per year

C. Case Study – 27th Amendment Forbids Congress from raising their own pay during that term Original words of the amendment were written by James Madison in 1789 Apart of the originally proposed Bill of Rights Passed in 1992, 202 years after it was introduced

D. Formal Amendment Process 1) Congress can propose an amendment with a 2/3rd vote in both Houses of Congress ¾ (38 of 50) States must ratify an amendment 26 amendments were adopted this way

18th Amendment

2) Amendment can be approved by Congress and then ratified by state conventions Only 21st Amendment has been ratified in this way

21st Amendment

3) 2/3 of the states (34 of 50) can demand Congress to call a constitutional convention Method has never been used Question: What happened the last time this country meet at a constitutional convention?

E. Informal Changes Our interpretation of the Constitution changes from time to time Many rights enjoyed by Americans are not mentioned in the Constitution E.g. The right to vote, minimum wage

The Supreme Court’s use of judicial review is able to change the meaning of parts of the Constitution Court’s rulings help reflect the changing conditions of the time Judicial Activism – Court plays an active role in shaping national policies

F. Customs and Tradition “Unwritten Constitution” Many changes in government are the result of tradition George Washington – Set the precedents of only serving two terms of office, having a cabinet, and writing treaties Precedent – Example that others follow