TOPIC #10 — AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

Q1.     Why might we want to amend the Constitution? What is the relationship between the amendment process and the idea of “consent of the governed”?

Q2.     What are the four different procedural routes available for amending the Constitution? How often has each route been used?

Q3.     What unresolved or controversial procedural issues are raised by the amendment process?

Q4.     What historical patterns have emerged in the amendment process?

Q5.     Have any amendments to the Constitution been proposed but then failed to be ratified by the requisite number states?

Q6.     What topics have been the subject of recent and current proposals for constitutional amendments?

Article V: alternative procedures for proposal and ratification

procedural issues

          "runaway" convention

          rescission

          contemporaneity (7-year limit vs. 27^th Amendment)

          ERA controversy

categories of amendments

currently proposed amendments