UNIT III - Mr. Graham Social Studies



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UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 9

How can the Constitution be amended? How and why has it been amended throughout history?

SS.7.C.3.5 Explain the Constitutional amendment process.

Source

Adapted from lessons by the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) at the University of Virginia at

Overview

In this lesson, students will explore what an amendment is by analyzing the Preamble to the United States Constitution. After defining the term amendment, students will be presented with a case study and asked to think critically about the amendment process. Students will also discuss ways in which the Constitution might be amended to make the phrase, We the People, more accurate.

Objectives

• Students will define the term amendment in order to identify how each of the amendments to the Constitution demonstrates that definition.

• Students will examine the Equal Rights Amendment in order to discuss reasons why the amendment may not have passed the amendment process.

• Students will propose changes to the Constitution based on their knowledge of the amendment process.

Time

• One 50 minute class period

Passport Vocabulary

• Amendment

o A formal change to the Constitution

• Preamble

o The introduction to the Constitution. It states that the people establish the government and lists the purposes of the government.

• Ratification

o Formal approval (of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, individual amendments)

Strategies

• Critical reading

• Cooperative learning

Materials

All materials are located in the What Is An Amendment PDF file with this lesson.

• Copy of “Preamble” for use with an overhead projector

• Copies of “Analyzing the Amendments,” 1 per student

• Copy of “The Amendment Process” for use with an overhead projector

• Copies of “New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment” handout, 1 per student

• Copies of “Proposal for an Amendment” handout, 1 per student.

Activities

1. Begin class by asking students how the class remembers the articles of the Constitution (Lazy Elephants Jump Slowly And Sleep Regularly). Tell them that today they will be focusing on the “And” part of the saying. Ask them what “And” stands for (Amendment).

2. Display the Preamble overhead. Ask students to read the Preamble out loud and discuss the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the Preamble? (to state that the people establish the government and to list the purposes of that government)

• What is the goal of the Constitution according to the Preamble? (there are seven goals: to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, to secure the blessings of liberty, to set up the government)

• Who is included in the phrase We the People…today? A hundred years ago? Two hundred years ago?

• Why is the possibility of Constitutional change so important as described by Thomas Jefferson?

3. Place the term Amendment on the board or overhead and ask students to provide a definition for the term. Answers might include a change, way to create new rules for the country, a way to establish more rights for more people. After reviewing their answers, ask students to think about the following statement:

An amendment is a change in the function or structure of government that extends the statement ”We the People” to all citizens.

4. Read the first amendment together as a class. Does this amendment fit our definition of an amendment? Does it seek to protect rights and allow us to be full members of our nation? Where do these rights come from?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

5. Break students into pairs and have them examine an amendment or several amendments. Using the student handout, Analyzing the Amendments, students should explain the purpose of the amendment and how it makes the statement We the People true. When students have completed the activity, have them share their observations. Discuss the following questions:

• How has the process of amending the Constitution made the phrase We the People more accurate?

• Does this amendment change the structure or function of the government?

• How do the amendments prove that the Constitution is a living document?

Note: Not all of the amendments will fit the definition upon immediate inspection (e.g., Amendment XVIII does not fit the definition but its repeal does. Other difficult amendments include XVI, XXI, and XXIII – you might assign these to students who seem to grasp the content more quickly).

6. Display the overhead, The Amendment Process. Working in groups, have the students discuss the cartoon. Distribute the student handout, New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment. Review the definition of amendment as discussed earlier. As a class, read the focus questions for the article and make sure that students understand that they will be forming an opinion about the proposed amendment. Students should read independently and highlight information that will help them in answering the focus questions.

Extension Suggestion

Distribute the student handout “Proposing an Amendment.” Using the criteria established earlier in the lesson, students will support a proposal for or against the Equal Rights Amendment by writing a letter to a Congressional representative.

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TEACHER CONTENT KNOWELDGE RESOURCE

UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 9

How can the Constitution be amended? How and why has it been amended throughout history?

SS.7.C.3.5 Explain the Constitutional amendment process.

Passport Vocabulary

• Amendment

o A formal change to the Constitution

• Preamble

o The introduction to the Constitution. It states that the people establish the government and lists the purposes of the government.

• Ratification

o Formal approval (of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, individual amendments)

This document addresses the following issues:

1. What are the amendment procedures outlined in the U.S. Constitution?

2. In what ways, and how many times, has the U.S. Constitution been amended?

3. Amending the Florida Constitution

1. What are the amendment procedures outlined in the U.S. Constitution?

Article V of the U.S. Constitution outlines two methods for introducing amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These methods are:

a) Two-thirds of each house of Congress votes to amend the U.S. Constitution followed by three-fourths of the state legislatures (or conventions of the state legislatures) approving of the amendment.

b) A national convention where two-thirds of all states are represented votes to introduce an amendment followed by three-fourths of the state legislatures (or conventions of the state legislatures) approving of the amendment.

Both circumstances require that three-fourths of the state legislatures (or conventions of the state legislatures) approve an amendment before it becomes part of the U.S. Constitution. The first method, where amendments are introduced in state legislatures, has never been used. All amendments, whether ratified or not, have been proposed in Congress. The amendment procedure in many ways reflects a states’ rights approach, where the state legislatures or their conventions are responsible for ratifying all amendments.

2. In what ways, and how many times, has the U.S. Constitution been amended?

The Constitution has been amended 27 times; the first 10 amendments, collectively known as the “Bill of Rights” were ratified in 1791. The last time that the Constitution was amended was in 1992.

Many constitutional amendments exhibit a relationship to one another as to their theme or timeframe in which they were ratified. For example, the Bill of Rights reflects the anti-federalist founders’ fears that the federal government would infringe on basic personal and political rights including the right of political expression and the right to due process in criminal proceedings and other matters. The “Civil War Amendments”, amendments 13 through 15, were ratified between 1865 and 1870, and were part of the post-Civil War Reconstruction. These amendments eliminated slavery, defined citizenship, and prevented the states from denying citizens the right to vote. Southern states were expected to ratify these amendments following the Civil War in exchange for monetary support from the federal government. Three 20th century amendments reflect concerns about a presidency growing too powerful; the 20th amendment, ratified 1933, reduces the “lame duck period” between Election Day and Inauguration Day, the 22nd amendment (1951) limits the presidency to two four year terms (plus up to two years in those cases where the vice-president becomes president due to death, resignation or removal), and the 25th amendment (1967), which provides that the vice-president shall become “acting president” during such time that the president is alive but otherwise unable or unwilling to serve.

There are three amendments that deny states the right to limit voting rights to certain populations. The 15th amendment (1870) forbids states from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude while the 19th amendment (1920) forbids states from denying citizens the right to vote on account of sex. Finally, the 26th amendment (1971) extended voting rights to all citizens 18 years and older. Before these amendments were ratified, states had the option of denying citizens the right to vote based on race and sex. Before 1971, some states allowed only those 21 and older the right to vote.

The last constitutional amendment, which denies Congress the right to raise its own pay (Congress may vote to raise the pay of the next Congress; Congresses last two years), was originally approved by Congress in 1789 but was not ratified until 1992. This amendment had no ratification deadline. When Congress introduces an amendment, it may include a ratification deadline (typically seven years) although one is not required.

Only one amendment has been rescinded. The 18th amendment that prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation” of alcohol was ratified in 1919. It was rescinded with the 21st amendment in 1933. Since then, there has been some debate about rescinding other amendments, such as the 22nd amendment which limits presidential terms.

In addition to the U.S. Constitution providing no ratification timeline, it is also worth noting that the U.S. Constitution is silent on two other matters critical to amendment ratification. First, there is no provision for states rescinding their votes. A state legislature may ratify a federal amendment and then decide later, during the amendment ratification window, to rescind its vote. For example, during Equal Rights Amendment ratification period (originally 1972-1979, and then extended to 1983), four states that had ratified the amendment later reversed their votes. Questions have arisen as to whether a state has a right to take such action. Further, while Article V requires that three-fourths of the legislatures ratify amendments, the U.S. Constitution is silent on what constitutes legislative support. This means that some states may require 50%+ 1 for passage while others may require higher percentage thresholds such as 60% or more. In Illinois, for example, the state Senate voted 59% approval for the ERA while the House of Representatives voted 64% to ratify; however, the Illinois constitution required at least 60% of the vote in both houses for ratification. The same percentages in other states, such as Florida (which required 50% + 1 at the time), would have insured ratification.

Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides for a state-centered amendment ratification process. While nearly 10,000 amendments have been introduced, the U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times, including one rescission. Further, all 27 amendments were introduced in Congress. In one instance of the 27 have the states ratified an amendment through ratifying conventions of the state legislatures; otherwise, all amendments have been ratified by state legislatures.

3. Amending the Florida Constitution

Amending the Florida constitution is a process quite different from amending the U.S. Constitution. Unlike the two processes for amending the U.S. Constitution, amendments to the Florida may be submitted using one of five different methods. At the national level, only elected state and federal legislators may vote on constitutional amendments; in Florida, all registered voters may vote on amendments. One final difference is that the process for amending the U.S. Constitution has never changed; in Florida, many procedures have changed, including several in the 21st century (listed below).

The following table is adapted and updated from “Vote Smart Florida” (Available at: ) which outlines the ways that amendments to Florida’s constitution are introduced.

|Method Name |What it Means |

|Ballot Initiative Process: |According to Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution, a committee must register with Secretary of |

| |State. The committee must collect a number of signatures equal to eight percent of the votes cast in the |

| |most recent presidential election from at least one-half of the congressional districts in the state. Based|

| |on presidential voting in 2008, 676,811 signatures are required for amendments to be placed on the 2010 and |

| |2012 ballot secured from voters residing in at least 13 congressional districts. |

|Constitutional Convention: |Florida voters may call a constitutional convention by collecting a designated amount of signatures and then|

| |gaining a majority of the vote to the question "Shall a constitutional convention be held?" |

|Constitutional Revision |Composed of 37 members, this commission meets every 20 years to examine the constitution of the state and |

|Commission:  |propose the amendments deemed necessary. |

|Legislative Joint Resolution: |The Florida Legislature can pass a joint resolution supported by three-fifths of the membership of each |

| |house of the legislature. |

|Taxation and Budget Reform |This is a 22-member Commission that last met in 2007 and will meet every 20th year thereafter. |

|Commission: | |

Recent legislation and amendments have changed how the state constitution is amended. These changes include:

|Year |Change |Impact |

|2007 |The Florida legislature granted commercial property owners the right to |Limits the available places where petition circulators |

| |remove persons collecting signatures removed from their property even if |may collect signatures |

| |the property is designated for public use. | |

|2005 |Amendment placed on the ballot requiring that amendments be ratified with|Increased the minimum threshold for ratifying |

| |60% of the vote when it had been 50%+1. This amendment was ratified in |constitutional amendments; made it more difficult to |

| |2006. |ratify amendments. |

|2004 |Amendment placed on the ballot to move the deadline for citizen generated|All signatures must be submitted by February 1 of the |

| |amendment proposals to about six months earlier than previously required.|year that the amendment will be placed on the November |

| |This change was ratified in 2004. |ballot. |

REFERENCES

Lutz, Donald S. “Toward a Theory of Constitutional Amendment”, American Political Science Review, Volume 88:2, pp. 355-370, June 1994.

May, Janice C. “Constitutional Amendment and Revision Revisited”, Publius, Volume 17:1 , pp. 153-179, Winter 1987.

Schaller, Thomas F. “Democracy at Rest: Strategic Ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment”, Publius, Volume 28:2, pp. 81-97, Spring 1998.

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