Establishing Of The Amendment Process In United States Constitution

Article 5 of the United States Constitution establishes the two ways through which the Constitution itself can be amended. Article 5 prescribes that amendments may be proposed by either the U. S. Congress or by a constitutional convention and must be passed by a two-thirds supermajority of the legislatures of the states. It is imperative a supermajority of the states ratify constitutional amendments because this process maintains the “enumerated” power of the federal government from the states, keeping the power of the federal government in check.

The first method prescribed by Article 5 through which an amendment is made to the United States Constitution is via the U. S. Congress. An amendment to the Constitution may be proposed by any single member of either the Senate or House of Representatives. Once proposed, the amendment is considered by both the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives in “joint review,” a legislative measure that requires approval from both houses (similar to the process of passing a bill). For the amendment to proceed through this process, a two-thirds supermajority must pass it in both houses. Once approved by Congress, the amendment is then sent to all 50 states for their approval. Finally, if the amendment is ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states out of 50 states), it is officially ratified and becomes part of the Constitution.

In the second method prescribed by Article 5, the Constitutional amendment is conceived in a state legislature. Moreover, if two-thirds of state legislatures vote to deem it necessary (34 states out of 50 states), Congress must hold a constitutional convention in which delegates from all 50 states would attend in order to vote on the amendment. In order for the proposed amendment to become an official amendment to the Constitution, three-fourths of the states that participate in this convention must vote in favor of the amendment. It is worth it to note that all 27 amendments that have been made to the Constitution have been passed via the first method. As previously mentioned, it is imperative a supermajority of the states ratify constitutional amendments because this process maintains the “enumerated” power of the federal government from the states, keeping the power of the federal government in check.

At the time the Constitution was created, the greatest fear of all states was an oppressive federal government. Therefore, our forefathers included countless clauses meant specifically to limit the power of the federal government. Among these, the amendment process: the forefathers believed the power to amend the Constitution to be crucial, and thus must be held by the states as much as the federal government.