The Constitutional Framework Of US Government: Formal And Informal Amendment Of The Constitution Flashcards
What are the 2 ways formal amendments occur?
Through Congress and ratification of individual state legislation
How does individual states making amendments work?
Amendments to be proposed by 2/3 of states calling for a national constitutional convention, then 3/4 of state legislatures must ratify it, but this has never happened
How many successful amendment have there been?
27 amendments, 10 of which passed very soon after the Constitution was ratified
What are the first ten amendments known as?
The Bill of Rights 1791
When was the last major amendment?
The 26th in 1971 lowering the voting age form 21 to 18
What is the first amendment?
Introduced freedom of religion, speech, the press and assembly
What is the second amendment?
Introduced he right to bear arms
What is the eighth amendment?
Banned the use of ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment
What is the thirteenth amendment (1865)?
Abolished slavery
What is the fourteenth amendment (1868)?
Gave citizenship to former enslaved people and included the ‘equal protection’ and ‘due process’ clauses
What is the seventeenth amendment (1913)?
Introduced direct election to the Senate
What is the twenty-seventh amendment (1992)?
Specified that any increase to congressional salaries could only take effect after the next election, which was originally proposed by James Madison for inclusion of the Bill of Rights but didn’t ‘make the cut’
What is informal amendments?
Judgements of the Supreme Court
What are some examples of judgement from the Supreme Court that have led to informal amendments and ‘discovering’ new meanings and right within existing clauses?
The explicit right to private gun ownership, as a result of District of Columbia v Heller (2008)
The rights of those stopped by police to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination, the so-called ‘Miranda rights’
The rights of LGBTQ+ Americans in Obergefell v Hodges (2015)
