What are the Constitutional Amendments?

What are Constitutional Amendments?

Although the Constitution of the United States is considered to be the foremost piece of legislature with regard to the implementation and authorization of legality and lawfulness within the United States; upon its creation, the Constitution of the United States not only outlined a framework for a legislative system, but also an identifiable statute with regard to alterations, adjustments, and modifications to the original text:

The Founding Fathers had instated a procedure for the adjoining of subsequent Constitutional Amendments in order to bestow in it a quality allowing it to avoid irrelevance

The Founding Fathers had understood that as the United States underwent progression, innovation, and an invariable paradigm shift, certain legal statues would require modification

In order to retain the innate framework of the Constitution of the United of the United States while allowing for measures of adjustment and modernization, a policy was implemented with regard to the adoption of future – and potential - Constitutional Amendments

The History of Constitutional Amendments

While James Madison is credited as one of the primary authors of the Constitution, he is primarily credited with the conception of the Bill of Rights. This appointment is due to his concern with regard to an absence of a Constitutional Clause providing the document with a procedural system allowing for both the amendment and adjustment of the original text:

Subsequent to the voicing of his concerns, a Constitutional Clause was created that rectified the a prospective alteration process, which made way for the inclusion of Constitutional Amendments

James Madison’s foresight resulted in the proposal of the Bill of Rights in 1789, in addition to its subsequent ratification in 1791; the Bill of Rights is the moniker given to the first 10 Constitutional Amendments passed – they were all passed at the same time

Approving Constitutional Amendments

In order to successfully pass Constitutional Amendments, a process exists that requires a variety of levels of approval and acknowledgement from a variety of legislative bodies:

Step 1: Passing a Constitutional Amendment

Congress must approve of the proposed Constitutional Amendments through a vote illustrating a 2/3rd’s majority – this applicable for both the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate

Individual state legislation will be required to convene; only after a 2/3rd’s majority vote will the Constitutional Amendments proposed move to the next step of the approval process

Step 2: Passing a Constitutional Amendment

Subsequent to the completion of the first step, the ratification – or adoption – process will be required to take place; this approval process may take place in ONE of the following TWO methods:

Method #1: Within each of the individual states participatory in the approval of the proposed Constitutional Amendments, a 3/4th’s majority vote of approval must result

OR

Method #2: With regard to the individual states participatory within the previous approval process, each state must conduct a convention during which time that state’s Constitution is amended in order to reflect the adoption of the proposed Constitutional Amendments – this majority approval must occur as a 3/4th’s majority

NEXT: What are the Parts of the Constitution?