Constitution
Constitutional Amendments:
• Founding Fathers initially desired TO MAKE AMENDMENT DIFFICULT although they had recognized the need for eventually doing so.
• TWO-STAGE PROCESS – The processes required super-majorities of more than 50% such as two-thirds or a three-quarters majority.
• Once the amendment has been proposed it is sent to the states for ratification. An amendment can be ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures or by state constitutional conventions in three-quarters of the states. Of the 27 amendments to the constitution only one has been ratified by state constitutional conventions – The 21st amendment which repealed the 18th amendment and ended prohibition.
• Only six amendments have failed at the ratification stage in over 220 years. The most recent was the amendment designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Proposed in 1972, only 35 state legislatures ratified it – three short of the required ¾.
Amendments proposed by: Amendments ratified by:
Congress: 2/3 majority in both houses required State legislature: ¾ of the state legislature must vote to ratify
National constitutional convention: called by at least 2/3s of the states State constitutional convention: ¾ of the states must hold conventions and vote to ratify

The Bill of Rights were a group of ten amendments proposed together by Congress in September 1789 and ratified together by ¾ of the states in December 1791. The Bill of Rights was created to sugar the impact of being under a new federal Constitution with its potentially powerful centralised government and protect Americans against an over-powerful federal government.
Recent History of Amendments:
• During Bill Clinton’s presidency (1993-2001) over the 6-year period when the Republicans controlled both houses, there were 18 votes on proposed constitutional amendments.
• The House agreed to a Balanced Budget Amendment (1995) and a Flag Desecration Amendment (1995, 1997 and 1999). However, the Senate agreed to none of these, although it was one vote short on the Balanced Budget Amendment with 65-35.
• During the Presidency of George W. Bush there were ten further attempts to amend the Constitution. Only 3/10 votes received the required 2/3s majority, those votes being on the Desecration of the American Flag. This meant that the House had voted on this amendment six times since 1995 whereas the Senate had blocked it each time.
• These votes took place when the Republican Party had a majority. Additionally, the Republicans advocate policies such as the banning of flag desecration and gay marriage. Democrats tended to vote ‘No’ however.