1. Amending the Constitution: Why Change?

2. School of Rock

3. The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964)
Come gather ‘round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’

4. Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide
Verse 2
Come writers & critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’

5. Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
Verse 3
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’

6. Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend a hand For the times
Verse 4
Your old road is
Rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend a hand
For the times
They are a-changin’
Come mothers & fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command

7. And the first one now The line it is drawn The curse it is cast
Verse 5
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times
They are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’

8. Questions for Discussion
What do you think the song is about, i.e. “what’s going on?”
In each verse, Dylan is challenging a certain group to change. Analyze each verse of the song and identify who or what needs to change.
What do you think is the overall message of the song?
What forces might make it necessary to change the Constitution?

9. The Constitution and the Amendment Process

10. Methods of Proposal

11. Methods of Proposal Method 1
By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate
[most common method of proposing an amendment]

12. Methods of Proposal Method 2 Method 1
By national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures
[This method has never been used]
Method 1
By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate
[most common method of proposing an amendment] Or

13. Methods of Ratification

14. Methods of Ratification
By legislatures in ¾ of the states
[in all but one case, this is how amendments have been ratified]

15. Methods of Ratification
Ratified through conventions in ¾ of the states.
[Only been used once to ratify the 21st Amendment]
Method 1
By legislatures in ¾ of the states
[in all but one case, this is how amendments have been ratified] Or

16. Amendment Process Methods of Proposal Methods of Ratification Method 1
By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate
Method 1
By legislatures in ¾ of the states Or Or
Method 2
Ratified through conventions in ¾ of the states.
Method 2
By national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures

17. The Equal Rights Amendment Proposed 1972
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

18. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): Questions for Discussion
What rights are protected by the ERA?
Why do you think the ERA has evoked such heated debate?
Brainstorm pros and cons of each side.
Do you think the ERA should be ratified?

19. Suggested Amendment Topics
Flag burning
Allow non-natural born citizens to become President
Official language(s) of U.S.
Definition of marriage
Prayer in school
Balanced budget
Electoral College
Terms limits on U.S. Senators & Representatives
Access to medical care for all citizens
Death penalty

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

21. Political Cartoon #2 Title: Flag Burning
Steve Breen, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 25, 2005

22. Political Cartoon #3 Title: Gay Marriage Amendment
Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons. Feb. 26, 2004