The Amendment Process Flashcards
The Amendment Process
The process to amend the US Constitution is as follows: Two-thirds (a supermajority) of both houses of Congress have to vote to introduce an amendment, or two-thirds of states can call a constitutional convention to propose amendments. Amendments require the formal support (ratification) of ¾ of states.
How many times has the Constitution been successfully amended?
On 26 occasions, the amendment process has been proposed by two-thirds (supermajority) of the House and Senate, and then ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures (38).
Only once, the amendment process has been proposed by two-thirds (supermajority) of the House and Senate, and then ratified by ratifying conventions in three-quarters of the states.
The Bill of Rights
The best-known amendments are the first 10, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights, which were ratified in 1791.
Famous amendments:
1st: The right to freedom of speech and religion.
2nd: The right to bear arms.
4th: The right to not have “unreasonable searches and seizures”
6th: The right to a trial by jury, the right to a lawyer.
8th: The right not to have cruel and unusual punishments.
10th: all power not granted to the federal government is granted to the states and the people.
Other Amendments
The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were passed after the Civil War which abolished slavery and established civil rights for ex-slaves.
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
The 22nd Amendment limits the President to two terms in office.
The 26th Amendment changed the voting age from 21 to 18.
In total there have been 27 amendments with the most recent one passed in 1992.
