Chapter 3 Section 2 AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION Methods

Chapter 3 Section 2 AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

Methods of Amending the Constitution �Amendments: Changes made to the Constitution are called amendments. All amendments must be proposed and ratified through a formal process. �Steps for Amending : �Step 1 - Amending the U. S. Constitution are found in Article V. �Step 2 - Amending the Constitution should be more difficult than passing a ordinary law. By making it difficult to pass a constitutional amendment, the founding fathers ensured that the amendments wouldn’t be trendy and only for the moment.

�Step 3: Proposing Amendment— � 1 A: Proposed by Congress. Two thirds of both the House and Senate must approve an amendment before being sent to the states for ratification. � 2 B: An amendment may be proposed by a national convention called by Congress at the request of least two thirds of the state legislatures

�Step 4: Ratifying Amendments � 1 A: Legislatures in at least three fourths of the states must approve an amendment before it becomes part of the Constitution. � 2 B: The second method ratifying an amendment requires the approval of special conventions in at least three fourths of the states. �Repealed: reversed be legislative act. This happened with the 21 st amendment. Remember the 18 th amendment outlawed the production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Repeal of the 18 th amendment it was no longer a part of the Constitution.

The 27 Amendments �Protecting Individuals Freedoms: �Bill of Rights: The first 10 amendments designed as a protection for individual freedoms. Adopted two years after the Constitution went into effect. �Expanding Voting and Other Rights: Beyond the Bill of Rights other amendments have been adopted in times of great social and political change. �Examples: 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th adopted after the Civil War. Banned slavery in the U. S. , gave African Americans as U. S. citizens, and gave voting rights to African American males.

� 1900 s era of social change: four amendments were passed. 17 th and 19 th the 17 th provided for the popular election of senators and the 19 th granting women the right to vote.

Extending Government Powers �Two other amendments were passed in the early 1900 s, expanded the reach of the government. 16 th which authorized a national income tax. This tax increased the amount of money the government could collect to pay for its programs and to pay other national expenses. 18 th made Prohibition the law of the land.

Ratification Deadlines �The last amendment to the Constitution, the 27 th amendment was ratified by the states in 1992. This amendment was originally proposed in 1789, which says that no vote to increase congress members’ salaries may take effect until after the next regularly scheduled congressional election. In 1789 Congress had not set a deadline for ratification. Usually seven years is the deadline for ratification.