Formally Amending the Constitution

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Formally Amending the Constitution

• Am Ch.3 sec.2

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• II. Formal Amendment Process
• A. First Method Amendment is proposed by
  Congress by a 2/3 vote in both houses, then
  ratified by 3/4 of the State legislature.

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• B. Second Method Amendment is proposed by
  Congress by a 2/3 vote in both houses, then
  ratified by special conventions in 3/4 of the
  States.

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• C. Third Method Amendment is proposed at a
  national convention when requested by 2/3 of the
  State legislatures, then ratified by three
  fourths of the State legislature.

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D. Fourth Method Amendment is proposed at a
national convention called by Congress when
requested by 2/3 of the State legislatures,
then ratified by special conventions held in 3/4
of the States.

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• Can You Build It?

What else may you need?
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• The Constitution is a picture of Government

Details have had to be worked out to complete
day-to-day operations.
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• III. Informal Amendment
• Key point in understanding the Const. and the
  process of constitutional change is that there is
  much in the const. that cannot be seen by the
  naked eye.
• A. Basic Legislation
• 1.Congress can pass laws that spell out some of
  the Const. brief provisions.
• 2. Congress can pass laws defining and
  interpreting the meaning of const. provisions.

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• B. Executive Action
• 1. Presidents have used their powers to
  delineate unclear const. provisions (ex
  difference between Congresss power to declare
  war and the Pres. power to wage war).
• 2. Pres. Have extended their authority over
  foreign policy by making informal executive
  agreements w/ representatives of foreign
  governments, avoiding the constitutional
  requirement for the Senate to approve formal
  treaties.

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• C. Court Decisions
• (Constitutional Interpretation)
• 1. The nations courts interpret and apply the
  Const. as they see fit, as in Marbury v. Madison.
• 2. The Supreme Court has been called a
  constitutional convention in continuous session.

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• D. Party Practices
• 1. Political parties have been a major source of
  informal amendment.
• 2. Political parties have shaped government and
  its processes by holding political conventions,
  organizing Congress along party lines, and
  injecting party politics in the process of
  presidential appointments.

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• E. Custom
• 1. Each branch of government has developed
  traditions that fall outside the provisions of
  the Constitution.
• 2. Examples Succession - powers and duties of
  the Pres. granted to the vice president, not the
  office itself (25th Amendment 1967)
• No third-term tradition 1796, Washington
  refused a third term FDR broke the tradition
  1940 1944 (22nd Amendment 1951)
• informal amendment became
• a formal amendment.