Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with hundreds of thousands of bills introduced to prompt change. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article Five, which requires a proposal by Congress with a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. Notable examples of those who fought for constitutional amendments include suffragists, who campaigned for over 70 years for the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, and Susan B. Anthony, who advocated for women's suffrage after the Civil War.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments to the Constitution | 27 |
| Number of bills introduced attempting to amend the Constitution | Hundreds of thousands |
| Number of proposals to amend the Constitution introduced in Congress since 1789 | 11,848 |
| Number of amendments proposed by Congress and sent to states for ratification | 33 |
| Number of amendments ratified by the requisite number of states | 27 |
| Number of amendments that are still pending | 4 |
| First 10 amendments | Ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights" |
| 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments | Collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments |
| Number of amendments receiving a vote by either the full House or Senate since 1999 | 20 |
| Last time a proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate for submission to the states | District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978 |
| Number of states required to ratify an amendment | 38 |
| Number of states required to call a constitutional convention | 34 |
| People who fought for constitutional amendments | Susan B. Anthony and other supporters of women's suffrage |
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What You'll Learn
Women's suffrage and the 19th Amendment
The women's suffrage movement was a long and arduous campaign to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It took activists, reformers, and generations of women nearly 100 years to win that right. The 19th Amendment, signed into law on 26 August 1920, was the result of decades of work by tens of thousands of people across the country who fought for change.
The campaign for women's suffrage began in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 1830s, most states had extended the franchise to all white men, regardless of how much money or property they had. However, it was not until the mid-19th century that several generations of women suffrage supporters began to lecture, write, march, lobby, and practice civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution – guaranteeing women the right to vote. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes.
In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. The Seneca Falls Convention produced a list of demands called the Declaration of Sentiments, which was modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It called for broader educational and professional opportunities for women and the right of married women to control their wages and property. In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association. Later that year, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and others formed the American Woman Suffrage Association.
In the decade leading up to the 19th Amendment's passage, 23 states granted women full or partial voting rights through a series of successful campaigns. By 1896, women had gained the right to vote in four states: Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah. However, southern and eastern states resisted. In 1916, the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), Carrie Chapman Catt, unveiled a "Winning Plan" to get the vote: a blitz campaign that mobilized state and local suffrage organizations across the country, with a special focus on resistant regions. Meanwhile, a splinter group called the National Woman's Party, founded by Alice Paul, focused on more radical and militant tactics aimed at winning dramatic publicity for their cause.
In 1913, more than 5,000 suffragists from around the country paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, to draw attention to their cause. During World War I, suffragists tried to embarrass President Woodrow Wilson into reversing his opposition and supporting a federal woman suffrage amendment. It wasn't until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the promise of the 19th Amendment became a reality for most women of color. This pivotal civil rights legislation banned racial discrimination in voting, opening the door for equal access to the democratic process.
The Amendments: Expanding Individual Rights and Freedoms
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The right to keep and bear arms
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects the right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been the subject of much debate and interpretation over the years. The amendment, ratified on December 15, 1791, states:
> "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The Second Amendment was proposed by James Madison, who tied the right to bear arms to membership in a militia. Madison's intention was to provide assurances to Anti-Federalists, who were concerned about the shift of military power from the states to the federal government, that the militias would not be disarmed. Madison also believed that an armed populace, along with subordinate governments, formed a barrier against federal overreach.
The Supreme Court has played a significant role in interpreting the Second Amendment. In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Court ruled that the right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution but restricts the powers of the federal government from infringing upon this right. In United States v. Miller (1939), the Court adopted a collective rights approach, determining that Congress could regulate certain weapons that did not have a reasonable relationship to a well-regulated militia.
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court analysed the meaning of "keep and bear arms." Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, defined "arms" as weapons not specifically designed for military use. The Court concluded that the Second Amendment extends to all instruments that constitute bearable arms and that the right to "keep arms" is an individual right, unrelated to militia service. This decision affirmed that citizens have the right to possess and carry weapons for self-defence and that certain gun control laws are presumptively lawful.
The Second Amendment continues to be a subject of political and social commentary, with scholars and legal experts offering varying interpretations of its scope and purpose. While some argue that it creates an individual right to possess firearms, others contend that it was intended to restrict Congress from disarming state militias. The future of the Second Amendment remains a divisive issue, with partisan perspectives influencing its interpretation and application.
The Branch That Ratifies Constitutional Amendments
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The process of amending the Constitution
The process of amending the US Constitution is a difficult and time-consuming task. Since the Constitution was ratified in 1789, hundreds of thousands of bills have been introduced to amend it, but only 27 amendments have been ratified. The framers of the Constitution understood that it would need to be amended to confront future challenges and adapt to the nation's growth, but they also wanted to make sure that constitutional reform was not too easy.
According to Article V of the Constitution, an amendment can be proposed in two ways. Firstly, it can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Secondly, it can be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. However, this second option has never occurred.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified. For an amendment to be ratified, it must be approved by legislatures or conventions in three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states). The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process, although they do not make any substantive determinations regarding the validity of state ratification actions. Once an amendment is ratified, the Archivist certifies that it is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice that the amendment process is complete.
Amendments: Understanding Our Constitution's Evolution
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The role of Congress in proposing amendments
The process of amending the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. According to Article V, an amendment can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is known as a joint resolution. The President does not have a constitutional role in this process.
Congress has followed this procedure to propose thirty-three amendments, out of which twenty-seven have been ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states). The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
The process of proposing an amendment by Congress involves both the House and the Senate, with a two-thirds vote of the members present in each house. This is the only method that has been successfully used to initiate constitutional change so far. When James Madison submitted the proposals that evolved into the Bill of Rights, he intended for them to be incorporated into the original text of the Constitution. However, the House decided to propose them as supplementary articles, a method that has been followed since.
Congress can also call a constitutional convention for proposing amendments upon the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. However, this method has never been used.
Amendments: The Constitution's Authority Granters
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The impact of amendments on individual states' rights
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1789. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. These amendments were designed to address the concerns of Anti-Federalists, who feared that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government at the expense of individual states.
One of the most significant amendments regarding states' rights is the Tenth Amendment, which states that the federal government only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution. In other words, it reserves all other powers to the states or to the people. The Tenth Amendment was proposed by Thomas Burke, a strong advocate for states' rights in the Continental Congress. It was passed by the Continental Congress, despite opposition from other Founding Fathers, including James Wilson and John Dickinson.
The Tenth Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as a truism or a restatement of the original Constitution. However, it has had a significant impact on the relationship between the federal government and the states. For example, in South Carolina v. Baker (1988), the Court interpreted the Tenth Amendment as prohibiting the federal government from forcing states to pass or not pass certain legislation or to enforce federal law. This decision affirmed the states' independence and autonomy in the legislative process.
Another example of an amendment that impacted states' rights is the Second Amendment, which grants citizens the right to keep and bear arms. During the Revolutionary War era, "militia" referred to groups of men who came together to protect their communities, towns, and states. The Second Amendment has been the subject of debate, with differing interpretations regarding whether it protects the right of private individuals to bear arms or whether it protects a collective right that should be exercised through formal militia units.
Additionally, the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, guaranteed women's right to vote, ensuring that neither the United States nor any state could deny or abridge this right based on sex. Before the amendment, suffragists like Susan B. Anthony had been working towards this goal for over 70 years, making gradual progress at the state level. By the time of ratification, 30 states and one territory allowed women to vote in at least some elections.
Amendments Addressing Injustices: Our Evolving Constitution
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Frequently asked questions
Women's right to vote was fought for by suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony, and was achieved with the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The process for amending the US Constitution is a two-step process as per Article V of the Constitution. An amendment must be proposed and then ratified before becoming operative. An amendment can be proposed either 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. For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 of 50 states).
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, which includes the first 10 amendments, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments. The Second Amendment, also known as "the right to keep and bear arms," is another well-known example.
