Omar Bennett
Amendments are changes or modifications to a constitution. They can be interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text, or they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document. The process of amending a constitution is usually made deliberately difficult and time-consuming. For instance, in the case of the U.S. Constitution, which has been amended 27 times since 1787, a proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of all states.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments to the US Constitution | 27 |
| Number of proposed amendments | 11,000+ |
| Difficulty of amending the Constitution | Very difficult |
| Requirement for approval | Two-thirds of both houses of Congress |
| Alternative requirement for approval | Two-thirds vote at a national convention |
| Requirement for ratification | Three-fourths of all states |
| Alternative requirement for ratification | Ratification at a special convention |
| Example of an amendment | 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote |
| Example of a proposed amendment | Outlawing flag burning |
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What You'll Learn
Amendments are rare and difficult to pass
The United States Constitution was written to endure for ages to come. To ensure its longevity, the framers made it a challenging process to amend the document. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the early 1800s that the Constitution was intended to be enduring. The framers knew that for the document to meet future challenges or crises, it would need amendments. However, they also wanted the amendment process to be difficult to create stability in the United States.
The process of amending the Constitution is indeed very difficult and time-consuming. A proposed amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. A proposed amendment only becomes part of the Constitution when ratified by legislatures or conventions in three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states). This can be done either in their statehouses or at a special convention. Many proposed amendments to the Constitution never reach ratification.
Since the Constitution's drafting in 1787, there have only been 27 amendments, the last of which was in 1992. This is out of approximately 11,848 measures proposed to amend the Constitution from 1789 through January 3, 2019. The small number of amendments compared to the large number of proposals highlights the difficulty of the process. The Constitution is a short document, usually fewer than 20 pages long, and outlines the structure of the government rather than most of the laws that exist in the United States. Most law changes do not require constitutional amendments, as they can be made through other methods.
Amendments are typically only needed to change or clarify something that the Constitution specifically states. They are usually reserved for issues of major impact affecting all Americans or securing the rights of citizens. For example, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, while the 26th Amendment lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. Other notable amendments include the enactment and subsequent repeal of Prohibition, the abolition of poll taxes, and the outlawing of flag burning.
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Amendments can alter existing text or be appended as additions
The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult. The Framers, the men who wrote the Constitution, wanted the amendment process to be challenging to create stability in the United States. As a result, constitutional amendments are rare.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization, or other type of entity. Amendments can be interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. For instance, the postwar 1949 German constitution explicitly allowed amendments by changing its text. Similarly, the Indian constitution has been amended 106 times, as of August 2021.
On the other hand, amendments can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions (codicils), thereby changing the government's framework without altering the existing text of the document. An example of this is the 1919 German Weimar Constitution, which allowed any law that reached the necessary supermajorities in both chambers of parliament to deviate from the constitution without becoming part of it.
In the United States, the amendment process requires that a proposed amendment be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of all states, either in their statehouses or at a special convention. This process has only been completed 27 times since the Constitution was drafted in 1787.
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Amendments require a special procedure, such as supermajorities
The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately designed to be challenging. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Constitution was written "to endure for ages to come". Over 11,000 amendments have been proposed, but only 27 have been ratified. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
Amendments to the Constitution require a special procedure, such as supermajorities. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, and then ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states). This is a deliberately high bar to meet, and the process is time-consuming.
The Constitution can also be amended by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. However, this has never happened. A proposed amendment can also be submitted to the people for ratification by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite.
In other countries, supermajorities are also required to pass constitutional amendments. For example, in 2006, the Constitution of Florida was amended to require a 60% majority for new constitutional amendments. In Poland, a three-fifths majority of MPs is needed to overturn a veto from the President. In Australia, a referendum is required to pass a constitutional amendment, and it must achieve a "double majority": a majority of those voting nationwide, and separate majorities in a majority of states.
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The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since 1787
The amendments to the Constitution have had a significant impact on the rights and lives of American citizens. For example, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, the 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes, and the 26th Amendment lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. Additionally, amendments have been used to enact and repeal Prohibition, with the 18th Amendment prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors, and the 21st Amendment repealing it.
Some proposed amendments have not been successful, such as the ERA Amendment, which did not pass the necessary majority of state legislatures in the 1980s. Other proposed amendments that have been popular with some congressional leaders include allowing voluntary school prayer, making English the official language, and abolishing the Electoral College.
The process of amending the Constitution is meant to ensure that any changes have a major impact on the country and its citizens. While the high bar for amendments helps maintain the integrity of the Constitution, it can also be a source of frustration for those seeking change.
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Amendments can clarify or change what the Constitution specifically says
The Constitution is the founding document of the United States and is considered the "supreme law of the land," meaning that the government must follow it. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Constitution was written "to endure for ages to come." The document's framers made it difficult to amend the Constitution to ensure its longevity.
Amendments are changes or clarifications to what the Constitution specifically says. They are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. For instance, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established Prohibition, was repealed by the 21st Amendment. Amendments can also be appended to the Constitution as supplemental additions (codicils), changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document. An example of this is the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, without changing the existing text of the Constitution.
The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally challenging. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of the states, either in their statehouses or at a special convention. This process ensures that amendments are usually only needed to clarify or change something that the Constitution specifically says.
Since the Constitution was drafted in 1787, there have been 27 amendments, including the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which were ratified in 1791. The amendment process is very difficult and time-consuming, and as a result, amendments are usually permanent.
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Frequently asked questions
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization, or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text.
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution since it was drafted in 1787. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
Amending the US Constitution is a difficult and time-consuming process. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of all states.
The framers of the Constitution made it difficult to amend the document to ensure its longevity and create stability in the country. They believed that a long and complicated amendment process would help prevent frequent changes to the nation's founding document.
