Amending The Constitution

Question 0

States need how many years to approve an amendment?

Answer 0

7 years

Question 1

Constitutional amendments can be proposed and ratified in two ways:

Answer 1

Proposed:

• 2/3’s vote in the house and senate (only successful one to date)
• 2/3’s of the states petition (appeal) to congress to call a convention.

Obtaining approval:

• 3/4’s of state legislatures ratify an amendment (most popular)
• states hold conventions and 3/4s of the conventions must approve.

Question 2

What is the elastic clause and how is it correlated to the enumerated powers

Answer 2

Elastic clause: allows congress to stretch its powers to meet situations Founders could not anticipate.

It allows congress to do everything they can to stretch out and enforce enumerated powers.

Question 3

What are ways that each branch has changed the constitution?

Answer 3

Executive - through executive agreements and treaties, constitution just wanted treaties but those take too much work so we now use executive agreements

Legislative - article 1 gives congress power to “lay and collect taxes.” Congress has expanded on this by passing complex tax laws filling many volumes.

Judiciary - constitution established “One Supreme Court “ and other courts “as the Congress may… Establish.”
Congress completed the Judiciary Act of 1789, thus creating the judicial branch.