Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution is notoriously difficult to amend. Since 1789, there have been nearly 12,000 proposals to amend it, and only 33 amendments have been approved by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Of these, 27 have been ratified by the requisite number of states and are now part of the Constitution. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V, which establishes two methods for proposing amendments. The first method requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, while the second method involves a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. The ratification process is administered by the Archivist of the United States, who notifies the states of proposed amendments and issues a certificate when an amendment has been duly ratified. This process ensures that any changes to the Constitution are carefully considered and widely supported.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments proposed by the United States Congress | 33 |
| Number of amendments ratified | 27 |
| Number of amendments pending ratification | 4 |
| Number of amendments that failed ratification | 2 |
| Number of proposals to amend the Constitution introduced in Congress since 1789 | ~11,848 |
| Average number of proposals by members of the House and Senate per two-year term of Congress | 200 |
| Number of proposals that received a vote by either the full House or Senate since 1999 | ~20 |
| Number of amendments ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791 | 10 |
| Number of amendments constituting the Bill of Rights | 10 |
| Number of amendments that are Reconstruction Amendments | 3 |
| Number of amendments ratified by state convention method | 1 |
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What You'll Learn
The Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution outlines a two-step process for making amendments to the nation's plan of government. Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, was proposed and ratified in a similar manner.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution. These amendments were proposed as supplemental additions (codicils) to the Constitution, rather than being incorporated into the main body of the document. Articles Three through Twelve were ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, and became Amendments One through Ten. The ratified Articles constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process. When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The Director examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. Once the required number of authenticated ratification documents is received, the Archivist certifies that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and serves as official notice that the amendment process has been completed.
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The Reconstruction Amendments
It was not until the mid-20th century that the full benefits of the Reconstruction Amendments were realised. In 1954, the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, along with subsequent civil rights legislation in the 1960s, restored and expanded the rights guaranteed by these amendments. The Reconstruction Amendments played a significant role in transforming the Constitution from a document focused on federal-state relations and property rights to one that protected the freedoms and civil rights of vulnerable minorities against misconduct by all levels of government.
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Congress's role in the process
The process of amending the United States Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. This article establishes a two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government, which involves proposing and ratifying amendments.
Congress plays a crucial role in this process. Firstly, Congress has the authority to propose amendments to the Constitution. For an amendment to be proposed by Congress, it must receive a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is a significant hurdle, as it requires a substantial level of support for an amendment to even be considered.
Once an amendment is proposed by Congress, it is then sent to the states for ratification. Congress determines the method by which the states must ratify the amendment. There are two methods available: ratification by state legislatures or ratification by state ratifying conventions. Congress has specified the second mode of amendment only once, for the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed Prohibition. The first method, ratification by state legislatures, has been used for all other amendments.
Congress also has the authority to set a ratification deadline, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Coleman v. Miller (1939). Since the early 20th century, Congress has stipulated that an amendment must be ratified by the required number of states within seven years of its submission to the states. This deadline adds an extra layer of complexity to the amendment process.
After an amendment has been ratified by the required number of states, Congress is notified, and the amendment becomes an operative part of the Constitution. While no further action by Congress is constitutionally required, Congress has, on a few occasions, adopted a resolution declaring the amendment process successfully completed. This action is symbolic and may serve political purposes.
In summary, Congress plays a central role in the amendment process by proposing amendments, determining the ratification method, setting ratification deadlines, and declaring the successful completion of the process. The involvement of Congress at various stages ensures a rigorous and deliberate approach to amending the Constitution.
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The ratification process
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution and is a two-step process. Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This process was designed to strike a balance between the excesses of constant change and inflexibility.
An amendment may be proposed by either the US Congress, whenever a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives deem it necessary, or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures (34 since 1959). This second option has never been used.
Once an amendment has been proposed, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each state governor, along with informational material. The governors then formally submit the amendment to their state legislatures or call for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified.
For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). Congress determines which method the states must follow for ratification, and there are two methods: three-fourths of state legislatures must ratify the amendment, or three-fourths of state ratifying conventions must approve the amendment. This second method has only been used once, for the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment establishing Prohibition.
When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action. Once the Archivist has received the required number of state ratifications, they issue a certificate proclaiming that the amendment has become an operative part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and US Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process has been completed.
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The difficulty of amending the Constitution
Amending the US Constitution is a difficult and time-consuming process. The US Constitution is considered one of the most rigid constitutions in the world, and it has been labelled "ancient and virtually impervious to amendment".
The US Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was drafted in 1787. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article Five of the Constitution and involves two steps: proposing an amendment and ratifying it. An amendment can be proposed by the US Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a national convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures (34 since 1959). However, this second option has never been used. Once an amendment is proposed, it is sent to the states for ratification. The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process. An amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 of 50 states) to become part of the Constitution. This can be done either through the state legislatures or a state-called convention.
The difficulty in amending the Constitution is intentional. As Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the early 1800s, the Constitution was written "to endure for ages to come". The framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure its longevity, and so they made the amendment process challenging. This difficulty is further exacerbated by the close political divide in Congress and the configuration of congressional power.
Despite the challenges, proponents of amendments continue to pursue them. Approximately 11,848 measures have been proposed to amend the Constitution since 1789, with thousands proposed in the last half-century alone. However, most of these proposals have failed to gain traction, and none of the recent proposals have become part of the Constitution. The last time an amendment proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate was in 1978 for the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment. However, only 16 states ratified it when the seven-year time limit expired.
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Frequently asked questions
Article Five of the US Constitution outlines a two-step process for amending the Constitution. Amendments must be proposed and ratified before becoming operative. Amendments can be proposed by the US Congress, with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, or by a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states, either through their legislatures or ratifying conventions, as determined by Congress.
The Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. They notify state governors of proposed amendments, and upon receiving a state's ratification, they issue a certificate proclaiming the amendment as part of the Constitution. The amendment and certificate are then published in the Federal Register as official notice.
Out of the 33 amendments proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, 27 have been successfully ratified and are part of the Constitution. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are collectively called the Reconstruction Amendments. Six amendments have not been ratified by the required number of states.
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