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 a 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;[1] 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;[2] and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate.[3]

[1] No one realized more fully than the framers of the constitution that, with the best thought which they could give to it, the constitution might need amending, and therefore they provided ways for proposing and ratifying amendments.

It is purposely made difficult to amend the constitution because the fundamental law should not be changed except for weighty reasons. If these exist, the amendments may be made; the difficulty is not so great as to be insurmountable.

[2] By reading the clauses referred to, the student will readily see whom this was a concession to.

[3] This was to protect the small states, in whose interest the senate was organized.

The first ten amendments were proposed by congress at its first session in 1789, and they were ratified in 1791.

Two other amendments were proposed at the same time, but they were not ratified. One of them was to regulate the number of representatives; the other, to prevent congressmen from increasing their own salaries.

The eleventh amendment was proposed in 1796, and ratified in 1798.

The twelfth amendment, a consequence of the disputed election of 1801, was proposed in 1803, and ratified in 1804.

An amendment prohibiting citizens of the United States from accepting any titles, pensions, presents, or other emoluments from any foreign power, on pain of loss of citizenship, was proposed in 1811, but it was not ratified.

An amendment making slavery perpetual was proposed in 1861, in the hope that this might avert the war, but it was not ratified.

The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments were proposed in 1865 and 1868 respectively, and they were ratified the same years.

The fifteenth amendment was proposed in 1869, and ratified in 1870.

The propositions of amendments have thus far been made by congress, and all ratifications have been made by the state legislatures.

Pertinent Questions.

State four ways in which the constitution may be amended. What temporary limitation was placed upon the power to amend the constitution? What permanent prohibition? How is the English constitution amended? In what case must congress call a convention to propose amendments? Must the convention thus called propose any amendments? Which is the better of the two ways of proposing amendments? When an amendment is proposed by two-thirds of both houses of congress, is it necessary to secure the approval of the president? Can a state withdraw its ratification of an amendment? When is an amendment, once proposed, dead? Did it take three-fourths of all the states or only three-fourths of the loyal states to ratify the thirteenth amendment? How many of the disloyal states finally ratified it? How is the ratification and consequent validity of any proposed amendment made known?