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Chapter 3 Section 2: Amending the Constitution

Chapter 3 Section 2: Amending the Constitution. Amendments. Changes to the Constitution All such amendments must be proposed and ratified through a formal process. Methods of Amending the Constitution. Found in Article V of the Constitution

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Chapter 3 Section 2: Amending the Constitution

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  1. Chapter 3 Section 2: Amending the Constitution

  2. Amendments • Changes to the Constitution • All such amendments must be proposed and ratified through a formal process.

  3. Methods of Amending the Constitution • Found in Article V of the Constitution • Amending the constitution should be more difficult than passing an ordinary law.

  4. Passing an ordinary law requires a majority vote, but passing an amendment requires more than a simple majority.

  5. The Constitution sets out two ways to propose an amendment.

  6. Proposing Amendments 1. By a vote in Congress. • All amendments to the Constitution so far have been proposed by Congress.

  7. At least two thirds of both the House (290 votes) and the Senate (67 votes) must approve and amendment before it can be sent to the states for ratification.

  8. 2. An amendment also may be propsed by a national convention that is called by Congress at the request of at least two thirds (34) of the state legislatures. No convention has even been called to propose an amendment.

  9. Ariticle V does not say whether a convention can be limited to proposing only the amendment it was called to consider.

  10. Ratifying Amendments • All but one of the Constitution's amendments have been ratified by votes in states legislatures. • Legislatures in at least three fourths (38) of the states must approve an amendment before it becomes part of the Constitution.

  11. The second method for ratifying an amendment requires the approval of special conventions in at least three fourths of the states. • The 21st Amendment was ratified in this way. • This amendment repealed – or reversed by legislative act – the 18th Amendment, which had outlawed the production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages.

  12. The 27 Amendments • Because of the difficult amendment process, only 27 amendments have been added to the Constitution. • These amendments have protected individual freedoms, expanded voting and other rights, and extended the government’s power.

  13. Protecting Individual Freedoms • The first 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights, were designed as a protect for individual freedoms. • The Bill of Rights protects citizens’ freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, and it guarantees a free press and the rights of people accused of crimes. • It also acknowledges the rights and powers of the states and the people.

  14. Expanding Voting and Other Rights • 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were adopted just after the Civil War. • These amendments banned slavery in the United States, made African Americans U.S. citizens, and gave various rights, including the right to vote, to African American males.

  15. Extending Government Powers • 16th Amendment – authorized a national income tax. • 18th Amendment – made Prohibition the law of the land.

  16. Ratification Deadlines • 27th Amendment- Proposed in 1789- Ratified by the states in 1992 – no vote to increase congressmembers’ salaries may take effect until after the next regularly scheduled congressional election. • Congress usually has set deadlines – generally around seven years – for ratifying amendments.

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