GOV CH 3-4 AMENDING THE CONST

Name: PERIOD:

COMENTS:

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

The Formal Process of Amending the Constitution The Constitution has endured for over two hundred years with only twenty-seven added amendments. One reason that the number of amendments is small is that the framers, in Article V, made the formal amendment process extremely difficult. There are two ways to introduce an amendment and two ways to ratify one. The result is that there are only four possible ways for an amendment to become law.
*INTRODUCE AN AMENDMENT*	*RATIFY AN AMENDMENT*
2/3 Vote in House + 2/3 Vote in the Senate	3/4 of States Approve
OR	OR
2/3 Vote of States in National Convention	3/4 of States in National Convention Approve

The writer suggest that one of the reasons the Consitution has lasted so long is that

a.	there have been many changes	c.	it is easy to make changes
b.	there have been very few changes	d.	the Constitution has not changed

How many ways are there to introduce a change in the Constitution?

a.	two	c.	six
b.	four	d.	eight

After a change in the Constitution has been introduced, it must be ratified (approved) by three-quarters of the states

true

false

Congress can introduce a change in the Constitution?

true

false

Methods of Introducing an Amendment

The two methods of introducing an amendment are as follows:

1. An amendment may be introduced by a two-thirds vote in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. All of the twentyseven existing amendments have been introduced in this way.

2. Two-thirds of the state legislatures may request that Congress call a national amendment convention. Congress may then call one, and the convention may propose amendments to the states for ratification.

The notion of an amendment convention is exciting to many people. On two separate occasions, calls for a national amendment convention almost became reality. Between 1963 and 1969, thirty-three state legislatures (out of the necessary thirty-four) attempted to call a convention to amend the Constitution to eliminate the Supreme Court's "one person, one vote" decisions in regard to congressional elections Between 1975 and 1998, thirty-two states asked for a national convention to introduce an amendment requiring that the national government balance its budget-that it spend no more than it receives in revenues.

Other people are fearful of calling a neational convention. At a national convention the members could re-write the entire constitution and institute an entirely new form of government. The key to our success as a nation is moderation and compromise. There is no telling what could happen at a consitutional convention if radicals took control of the agenda.

What method has been used to introduce all of the constitutional amendments?

a.	3/4 vote in both the house and senate	c.	2/3 vote in the house and 3/4 in the senate
b.	2/3 vote in both the house and senate	d.	2/3 vote in the senate and 3/4 in the house

If the states want to amend the constitution and the congress refuses to do so, what would the states have to do to introduce an amendment?

a.	Call a national convention	c.	Get 3/4 of the state legilatures to request a change
b.	There is nothing they could do	d.	Get 2/3 of the state legislatures to request a change

Why are some people fearful of calling a national convention?

a.	A national convention is against the law	c.	A dictator and his people could take over the convention
b.	The states might boycott the convention	d.	It might be too hard to get anything done

What is the main idea that the above passage is trying to communicate.

a.	The ways of ratifying the constitution	c.	The methods for organizing a new government
b.	The methods for proposing a new constitution	d.	The ways that a constitutional amendment can be proposed

Methods of Ratifying an Amendment

There are two methods of ratifying an amendment that has been introduced:

1. An amendment is ratified when three-fourths of the state legislatures vote in favor of ratification. This method is considered the "traditional" one and has been used twenty-six times.

2. The states can call special conventions to ratify the amendment. If three-fourths of the states approve, the amendment is ratified. The second method was used only once, in 1933, to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment. That amendment repealed-made void-the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors."

What happens when an amendment is ratified?

a.	It becomes the law	c.	It goes to the President for his signiture or veto
b.	It goes to the states for approval	d.	It dies an is discarded

10.

What is/are the methods for ratifying an amendment.

a.	2/3 vote of the legislatues	c.	3/4 vote of state legislatures and 3/4 vote of states in convention
b.	3/4 vote of the state governors	d.	3/4 vote of state legislatures or 3/4 vote of states in convention

11.

The Eighteenth Amendment brought “Prohibition” to the U.S. which outlawed the consumption or sale of alcohol. Which Amendment overturned the Eighteenth Amendment?

a.	Bill of Rights	c.	21 st Amendment
b.	22 nd Amendment	d.	Amendment 1933

Why So Few Amendments?

More than eleven thousand amendments to the Constitution have been considered by Congress. Yet only twenty-seven have been ratified. The process, therefore, must be difficult.

The competing social and economic interests in this nation guarantee one thing. The two-thirds approval required from both the House and the Senate to introduce an amendment is difficult to achieve. It takes only thirty-four of the one hundred senators to block the introduction of an amendment, for example. That means the senators from seventeen sparsely populated states, voting together, could keep any amendment from being introduced. The ratification process is even more difficult. Three-fourths (thirty-eight) of the states must approve the amendment in one of the two manners described previously. As you can imagine, to be ratified, any amendment must have wide popular support in both parties and in all regions of the country. There is also a time-limit problem. The Constitution does not specify a time limit for ratification. In 1917, however, Congress set a seven-year deadline on the ratification of what was to become the Eighteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court later ruled in favor of Congress on the constitutionality of this time limit in the case of Dillon v. Gloss. Since then, most amendments have included a seven-year time limit on ratification. Some amendments, after being successfully introduced, have failed because they did not meet this deadline.

In contrast, the newest amendment was ratified 203 years after its introduction. On May 7, 1992, Michigan became the thirtieth state to ratify the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which deals with congressional salaries. This amendment was one of the twelve that were originally sent to the states in 1789. Given the seven-year time limit specified by Congress for most recent amendments, some people questioned whether the amendment would become effective even if the necessary number of states ratified it. Is 203 years too long a lapse of time between the introduction and the final ratification of an amendment? It apparently is not, because the amendment was certified as legitimate on May 18, 1992

12.

Amending the Constitution is

a.	easy	c.	frequent
b.	hard	d.	impossible

13.

What is the accepted time limit for ratifying a change to the Constitution?

a.	4 years	c.	7 years
b.	6 years	d.	203 years

Check all of the readings for answers

14.

A simple majority of Congress can ratify an amendment

true

false

15.

The process of amending the Constitution calls for proposing and ratifying

true

false

16.

No amendment has ever been repealed

true

false

17.

Most amendments proposed in Congress are sent to the state legislatures for ratification

true

false

18.

Only 27 Amendments have been adopted

true

false

19.

The twenty seventh Amendment was ratified after being considered for more than 200 years

true

false