amend

Examples of amend in the following topics:

• Article V

  • Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution may be altered; altering the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment or amendments and subsequent ratification.
  • The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

• Formal Methods of Amending the Constitution

  • The formal amendment processes are enumerated in Article V of the Constitution.
  • In theory the two houses first adopt a resolution indicating that they deem an amendment necessary.
  • House of Representatives instead directly proceed to the adoption of a joint resolution; thus, they mutually propose the amendment with the implication that both bodies "deem" the amendment to be "necessary. " All amendments presented so far have been proposed and implemented as codicils, appended to the main body of the Constitution .
  • The President has no formal role in the constitutional amendment process.
  • Although a proposed amendment is effective after three-fourths of the states ratify it, states have, in many instances, ratified an amendment that has already become law, often for symbolic reasons.

• The Twenty-Seven Amendments of the U.S. Constitution

  • There are 27 amendments to the constitution, the first 10 being the Bill of Rights .
  • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
  • The 21st makes the 18th amendment inactive, thereby un-banning alcohol.
  • The 22nd amendment states that no one can be elected President more than 2 terms.
  • Recall the number of amendments to the Constitution and their aims

• Amending the Constitution

  • The Articles of Confederation made amending the law very difficult, as all states had to agree to an amendment before it could pass.
  • There are two ways to propose amendments: First, states may call for a convention.
  • The other way is for Congress to pass amendments by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.
  • Alternatively, an amendment can be ratified by three-fourths of specially convoked state convention.
  • Also, no amendment may affect the equal representation of states in the Senate without a state's consent.

• Informal Methods of Amending the Constitution: Societal Change and Judicial Review

  • The formal amendment process is one of two major ways to amend the constitution.
  • Informal amendments mean that the Constitution does not specifically list these processes as forms of amending the Constitution, but because of change in society or judicial review changed the rule of law de facto.
  • Describe the ways of "informally" amending the Constitution, such as societal change and judicial review.

• The Civil War Amendments

  • The 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th Amendments (1870) were the first amendments made to the U.S. constitution in 60 years.
  • This amendment explicitly banned slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
  • This amendment also gave Congress the power to enforce the article through legislation.
  • This amendment set out the definitions and rights of citizenship in the United States.
  • Finally, the amendment dealt with the Union officers, politicians, and debt.

• The Constitution

  • Over 10,000 constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1789.
  • The Constitution has been amended 17 additional times – for a total of 27 amendments – and its principles are applied in courts of law by judicial review.
  • An amendment can be proposed one of two ways.
  • Over 10,000 constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1789.
  • The Constitution has 27 amendments.

• The Bill of Rights

  • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the US Constitution and they guarantee certain liberties.
  • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution .
  • Congress passed twelve amendments, yet only ten were originally passed by the states.
  • This amendment was adopted to prevent such a misinterpretation.
  • This amendment was adopted to reassure people that the national government would not swallow up the states.

• Ratification of the Constitution

  • On August 2, 1788, North Carolina refused to ratify the Constitution without amendments, but relented and ratified it a year later.
  • North Carolina was not the only state that wanted amendments.
  • On September 26, 1789, Congress sent a list of twelve amendments to the states for ratification.
  • Ten of the amendments would become the Bill of Rights.
  • Here is a summary of the ten amendments ratified on that day:

• The Conflict-Resolution Function

  • Joint resolutions are the normal way to propose a constitutional amendment or declare war.
  • The committee members may offer amendments or revisions.
  • Committees may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments.
  • If amendments are extensive, sometimes a new bill with amendments built in will be submitted as a so-called "clean bill" with a new number.
  • The house may debate and amend the bill.