The Amendment Process

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Amendments

The US constitution is entrenched. This means that there is a clause within it that makes it difficult to amend. Article V of the US Constitution sets out the process to amend the constitution.

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.

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.

Advantages of the Amendment Process

The amendment process has several advantages - it is hard to change, it protects the rights of small states, it protects the key principles that the Founding Fathers intended.

Populism

The amendment process makes it hard for any one group or populist movement to amend it.
- Donald Trump tweeted that he could end birthright citizenship (automatic citizenship granted to someone born in the US), as protected by the 14th amendment, with an executive order.
- This is not possible.
- If it were this easy to change there could be serious repercussions for civil liberties in the US.
- This means that amendments are those that are desired by the whole country.

States' rights

The amendment process protects small states’ rights.
- States with a small population are able to maintain their rights against the larger states, one of the main reasons for the continuation of the electoral college.

Key principles

The amendment process protects the key principles as the Founding Fathers intended.
- For example regular elections and the separation of powers.

Disadvantages of the Amendment Process

The amendment process has been criticised for giving states too much power in the process, and being undemocratic.

States overrepresented

States have changing populations - some have grown, like Idaho, and some have shrunk, like Illinois.
Small states with small populations get an equal say to large states.
- The population of Wyoming is around 579,000, whereas the population of California is around 39,537,000.
- The fact that each state has an equal say in the ratification process means that some populations are overrepresented, and some populations are underrepresented.

Undemocratic

13 states can block the will of the people
- Feminist groups have been trying to introduce an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) since 1921
- It has received a supermajority in both houses of Congress (the House in 1971, and the Senate in 1972).
- The ERA has been blocked by a small group of conservative states refusing to ratify the amendment.