   #copyright

United States Constitution

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Law

   Page one of the original copy of the Constitution.

   The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States
   of America. It was adopted in its original form on September 17, 1787
   by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and
   later ratified by state-selected delegates representing the people of
   the several states. When delegates in nine of the then thirteen states
   ratified the document, it marked the creation of a union of sovereign
   states, and a federal government to administer that union. It took
   effect on March 4, 1789, replacing the weaker, non-centralized union
   that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution of
   the United States is one of the oldest constitutions still in use (the
   oldest being that of Republic of San Marino, which dates back to 1600),
   and the oldest federal constitution currently in use. The original
   transcribed copy of the document is on display at the National Archives
   in Washington, D.C.

Background

Drafting and ratification

                                    Ratification of the Constitution
                                               Date          State  Votes
                                                                   Yes  No
                                1  December 7, 1787       Delaware  30   0
                                2 December 12, 1787   Pennsylvania  46  23
                                3 December 18, 1787     New Jersey  38   0
                                4   January 2, 1788        Georgia  26   0
                                5   January 9, 1788    Connecticut 128  40
                                6  February 6, 1788  Massachusetts 187 168
                                7    April 28, 1788       Maryland  63  11
                                8      May 23, 1788 South Carolina 149  73
                                9     June 21, 1788  New Hampshire  57  47
                               10     June 25, 1788       Virginia  89  79
                               11     July 26, 1788       New York  30  27
                               12 November 21, 1789 North Carolina 194  77
                               13      May 29, 1790   Rhode Island  34  32

   In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis
   Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that
   would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene
   in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government.
   After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise
   the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states,
   Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and
   sent delegates to convene in May 1787. The resolution calling the
   Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the
   Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten
   Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations
   secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design which
   eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify
   for the new government to go into effect (for the participating
   states). Congress unanimously submitted the proposal to the states and
   set the terms for representation.

   On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia,
   followed by a speech given by Benjamin Franklin. In it he talked about
   how he wasn't completely satisfied with it but that perfection would
   never fully be achieved. He accepted the document as it was and he
   wanted all those against the ratification of it to do the same. After
   fierce fights over ratification in many of the states, New Hampshire
   became that ninth state on June 21, 1788. Once the Congress of the
   Confederation received word of New Hampshire's ratification, it set a
   timetable for the start of operations under the Constitution, and, on
   March 4, 1789, the government under the Constitution began operations.
   The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed
   Enlarge
   The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed

Historical influences

   In some instances historians disagree on the specific international
   influences on the overall development of the Constitution, possibly
   because of the large variety of sources that are available. Several of
   the ideas in the Constitution were new, and that a large number of
   ideas were drawn from the literature of republicanism, from the
   experiences of the 13 states, and from the British experience with
   mixed government. The most important influence from the European
   continent was from Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. who
   emphasized the need to have balanced forces pushing against each other
   to prevent tryanny. (This in itself reflects the influence of Polybius'
   second century BC treatise on the checks and balances of the
   constitution of the Roman Republic). John Locke is known to be a mild
   influence, and the due process clause of the United States Constitution
   was partly based on common law stretching back to the Magna Carta of
   1215.
   In 1957 the American Bar Association acknowledged the debt American law
   and constitutionalism had to the Magna Carta by erecting a monument at
   Runnymede, England.
   Enlarge
   In 1957 the American Bar Association acknowledged the debt American law
   and constitutionalism had to the Magna Carta by erecting a monument at
   Runnymede, England.

Bill of Rights

   The United States Bill of Rights were the ten amendments added to the
   Constitution in 1791, as the supporters had promised opponents during
   the debates of 1788. The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an
   inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. For example, both require
   jury trials, contain a right to bear arms, and prohibit excessive bail
   and of “cruel and unusual punishments.” Many liberties protected by
   state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were
   incorporated into the United States Bill of Rights.

Articles of the Constitution

   The Constitution comprises seven original articles and twenty-seven
   amendments.

Preamble

   The Preamble states:


   United States Constitution

     We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
   Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
    common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
   of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
               Constitution for the United States of America.


   United States Constitution

   The Preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it
   only explains the rationale behind the Constitution. The preamble is a
   basic statement of purpose that precedes the constitution. The
   Preamble, especially the first three words ("We the people"), is one of
   the most quoted and referenced sections of the Constitution. Indeed,
   they are, perhaps, the three most important words in the constitution,
   as they denote that the constitution came not from a king, or an
   emperor, but from the people themselves.

Article One: Legislative power

   Article One establishes the legislative branch of government, U.S.
   Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate.
   The Article establishes the manner of election and qualifications of
   members of each House. In addition, it provides for free debate in
   congress and limits self-serving behaviour of congressmen, outlines
   legislative procedure and indicates the powers of the legislative
   branch. There is a debate as to whether the powers listed in Article 1
   Section 8 are a list of enumerated powers. These powers may also be
   interpreted as a list of powers formerly either executive or judicial
   in nature, that have been explicitly granted to the U.S. Congress. This
   interpretation may be further supported by a broad definition of both
   the commerce clause, and the necessary and proper clause of the
   Constitution. The argument for enumerated powers can be traced back to
   1819 McCulloch v. Maryland United States Supreme Court ruling. Finally,
   it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.

Article Two: Executive power

   Article Two describes the presidency (the executive branch): procedures
   for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath
   to be affirmed and the powers and duties of the office. It also
   provides for the office of Vice President of the United States, and
   specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the
   President is incapacitated, dies, or resigns, although whether this
   succession was on an acting or permanent basis was left unclear. In
   practice, this has always been treated as succession, and the 25th
   Amendment provides explicitly for succession.

   Article Two also provides for the impeachment and removal from office
   of civil officers (the President, Vice President, judges, and others).

Article Three: Judicial power

   Article Three describes the court system (the judicial branch),
   including the Supreme Court. The article requires that there be one
   court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create
   lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme
   Court. Article Three also requires trial by jury in all criminal cases,
   defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a
   punishment for it, while imposing limits on that punishment.

Article Four: States' powers and limits

   Article Four describes the relationship between the states and the
   Federal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it requires
   states to give " full faith and credit" to the public acts, records and
   court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to
   regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or proceedings
   may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits state
   governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in
   favour of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for
   residents of Ohio convicted of crimes within Michigan). It also
   establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a
   legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states.
   Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by
   citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles
   of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous
   (and costly) process. Article Four also provides for the creation and
   admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the
   power to make rules for disposing of Federal property and governing
   non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section
   of Article Four requires the United States to guarantee to each state a
   republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion
   and violence.

Article Five: Process of amendment

   Article Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution.
   It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a
   national convention requested by the states. Under the first method,
   Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum,
   not necessarily of the entire body) of the Senate and of the House of
   Representatives. Under the second method, two-thirds (2/3) of the state
   legislatures may convene and "apply" to Congress to hold a national
   convention, whereupon Congress must call such a convention for the
   purpose of considering amendments. As of mid-2006, only the first
   method (proposal by Congress) has been used.

   Once proposed—whether submitted by a national convention or by
   Congress—amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths (3/4) of the
   states to take effect. Article Five gives Congress the option of
   requiring ratification by state legislatures or by special conventions
   assembled in the states. The convention method of ratification has been
   used only once (to approve the 21st Amendment). Article Five currently
   places only one limitation on the amending power—that no amendment can
   deprive a state of its equal representation in the Senate without that
   state's consent.

Article Six: Federal power

   Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of
   the United States made in accordance with it, to be the supreme law of
   the land, and that "the judges in every state shall be bound thereby,
   any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding."
   It also validates national debt created under the Articles of
   Confederation and requires that all legislators, federal officers, and
   judges take oaths or affirmations to "support" the Constitution. This
   means that the states' constitutions and laws should not conflict with
   the laws of the federal constitution-- and that in case of a conflict,
   state judges are legally bound to honour the federal laws and
   constitution over those of any state.

   Article Six also states that "no religious Test shall ever be required
   as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United
   States".

Article Seven: Ratification

   Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the
   Constitution. The Constitution would not take effect until at least
   nine states had ratified the Constitution in state conventions
   specially convened for that purpose. (See above Drafting and
   ratification.)

Provisions for amendment

   The authors of the Constitution were clearly aware that changes would
   be necessary from time to time if the Constitution was to endure and
   cope with the effects of the anticipated growth of the nation. However,
   they were also conscious that such change should not be easy, lest it
   permit ill-conceived and hastily passed amendments. Balancing this,
   they also wanted to ensure that an overly rigid requirement of
   unanimity would not block action desired by the vast majority of the
   population. Their solution was to devise a dual process by which the
   Constitution could be altered.

   Unlike most constitutions, amendments to the U.S. constitution are
   appended to the existing body of the text, rather than being revisions
   of or insertions into the main articles. There is no provision for
   expunging from the text obsolete or rescinded provisions.

   Some people feel that demographic changes in the U.S.—specifically the
   great disparity in population between states—have made the Constitution
   too difficult to amend, with states representing as little as 4% of the
   population theoretically able to block an amendment desired by over 90%
   of Americans; others feel that it is unlikely that such an extreme
   result would occur. However, any proposals to change this would
   necessarily involve amending the Constitution itself, something of a
   Catch-22.

   Aside from the direct process of amending the Constitution, the
   practical effect of its provisions may be altered by judicial decision.
   The United States is a common law country, and courts follow the
   precedents established in prior cases. However, when a Supreme Court
   decision clarifies the application of a part of the Constitution to
   existing law, the effect is to establish the meaning of that part for
   all practical purposes. Not long after adoption of the Constitution, in
   the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established the
   doctrine of judicial review, which is the power of the Court to examine
   legislation and other acts of Congress and to decide their
   constitutionality. The doctrine also embraces the power of the Court to
   explain the meaning of various sections of the Constitution as they
   apply to particular cases brought before the Court. Since such cases
   will reflect changing legal, political, economic, and social
   conditions, this provides a mechanism, in practice, for adjusting the
   Constitution without needing to amend its text. Over the years, a
   series of Court decisions, on issues ranging from governmental
   regulation of radio and television to the rights of the accused in
   criminal cases, has effected a change in the way many Constitutional
   clauses are interpreted, without amendment to the actual text of the
   Constitution.

   Congressional legislation, passed to implement provisions of the
   Constitution or to adapt those implementations to changing conditions,
   also broadens and, in subtle ways, changes the meanings given to the
   words of the Constitution. Up to a point, the rules and regulations of
   the many agencies of the federal government have a similar effect. In
   case of objection, the test in both cases is whether, in the opinion of
   the courts, such legislation and rules conform with the meanings given
   to the words of the Constitution.

Amendments

   The Constitution has a total of 27 amendments. The first ten,
   collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously.
   The following seventeen were ratified separately.

The Bill of Rights (1–10)

   United States Bill of Rights currently housed in the National Archives
   Enlarge
   United States Bill of Rights currently housed in the National Archives

   The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the
   Constitution. Those amendments were adopted between 1789 and 1791, and
   all relate to limiting the power of the federal government. They were
   added in response to criticisms of the Constitution by the state
   ratification conventions and by prominent individuals such as Thomas
   Jefferson (who was not a delegate to the Constitutional Convention).
   These critics argued that without further restraints, the strong
   central government would become tyrannical. The amendments were
   proposed by Congress as part of a block of twelve in September 1789. By
   December 1791 a sufficient number of states had ratified ten of the
   twelve proposals, and the Bill of Rights became part of the
   Constitution.

   It is commonly understood that the Bill of Rights was not originally
   intended to apply to the states, though except where amendments refer
   specifically to the Federal Government or a branch thereof (as in the
   first amendment, under which some states in the early years of the
   nation officially established a religion), there is no such delineation
   in the text itself. Nevertheless, a general interpretation of
   inapplicability to the states remained until 1868, when the Fourteenth
   Amendment was passed, which stated, in part, that:


   United States Constitution

       No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
    privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall
   any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
     process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
                        equal protection of the laws.


   United States Constitution

   The Supreme Court has interpreted this clause to extend most, but not
   all, parts of the Bill of Rights to the states. Nevertheless, the
   balance of state and federal power has remained a battle in the Supreme
   Court.

   The amendments that became the Bill of Rights were actually the last
   ten of the twelve amendments proposed in 1789. The second of the twelve
   proposed amendments, regarding the compensation of members of Congress,
   remained unratified until 1992, when the legislatures of enough states
   finally approved it and, as a result, it became the Twenty-seventh
   Amendment despite more than two centuries of pendency. The first of the
   twelve—still technically pending before the state legislatures for
   ratification—pertains to the apportionment of the United States House
   of Representatives after each decennial census. The most recent state
   whose lawmakers are known to have ratified this proposal is Kentucky in
   1792 during that commonwealth's first month of statehood.
     * First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of speech, freedom
       of the press, the freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, and
       also freedom of religion, both in terms of prohibiting the
       Congressional establishment of religion and protecting the right to
       free exercise of religion.

     * Second Amendment: declares the necessity for "a well regulated
       militia," and prohibits infringement of "the right of the people to
       keep and bear arms."

     * Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes
       as quarters for soldiers without the consent of the owners. The
       only existing case law regarding this amendment is a lower court
       decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey.

     * Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of
       property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to
       believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have
       been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

     * Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after
       indictment by a grand jury; prohibits repeated trials for the same
       offense after an acquittal (except in certain very limited
       circumstances); forbids punishment without due process of law; and
       provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify
       against himself (this is also known as " Taking the fifth" or
       "Pleading the fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the
       accused" amendment. It also prohibits government from taking
       private property without " just compensation," the basis of eminent
       domain in the United States.

     * Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal
       offenses. It requires trial by a jury (of peers), guarantees the
       right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the
       accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in
       the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right
       to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several
       court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United
       States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v.
       Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth
       amendment prohibition on forced self incrimination and the sixth
       amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all
       persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as
       the Miranda rights.

     * Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases involving
       anything valued at more than 20 United States dollars at the time,
       which is currently worth $300, when accounting for inflation.

     * Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and
       unusual punishment.

     * Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in
       the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be
       comprehensive; and that the people have other rights not
       specifically mentioned, but rather retained elsewhere by the
       people.

     * Tenth Amendment: provides that powers that the Constitution does
       not delegate to the United States and does not prohibit the states
       from exercising, are "reserved to the States respectively, or to
       the people."

Subsequent amendments (11–27)

   Amendments to the Constitution subsequent to the Bill of Rights cover
   many subjects. The majority of the seventeen later amendments stem from
   continued efforts to expand individual civil or political liberties,
   while a few are concerned with modifying the basic governmental
   structure drafted in Philadelphia in 1787. Although the United States
   Constitution has been amended a total of 17 times, only 16 of the
   amendments are currently used because the 21st amendment supersedes the
   18th.
     * Eleventh Amendment (1795): Clarifies judicial power over foreign
       nationals, and limits ability of citizens to sue states in federal
       courts and under federal law. ( Full text)
     * Twelfth Amendment (1804): Changes the method of presidential
       elections so that members of the electoral college cast separate
       ballots for president and vice president. ( Full text)
     * Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and grants Congress
       power to enforce abolition. ( Full text)
     * Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defines United States citizenship;
       prohibits states from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities
       and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law;
       repeals the Three-fifths Compromise; prohibits repudiation of the
       federal debt. ( Full text)
     * Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Prohibits the federal government and
       the states from using a citizen's race, colour, or previous status
       as a slave as a qualification for voting. ( Full text)
     * Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes
       on income. ( Full text)
     * Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Establishes direct election of
       senators. ( Full text)
     * Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibited the manufacturing,
       importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages. (see prohibition)
       Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment. ( Full text)
     * Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Prohibits the federal government and
       the states from using a citizen's gender as a qualification for
       voting. ( Full text)
     * Twentieth Amendment (1933): Changes details of Congressional and
       presidential terms and of presidential succession. ( Full text)
     * Twenty-first Amendment (1933): Repeals Eighteenth Amendment.
       Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages.
       ( Full text)
     * Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limits president to two terms. (
       Full text)
     * Twenty-third Amendment (1961): Grants presidential electors to the
       District of Columbia. ( Full text)
     * Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Prohibits the federal government
       and the states from requiring the payment of a tax as a
       qualification for voting for federal officials. ( Full text)
     * Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967): Changes details of presidential
       succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and
       provides for replacement of the vice president. ( Full text)
     * Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Prohibits the federal government and
       the states from forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote
       simply because of their age. ( Full text)
     * Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992): Limits congressional pay raises. (
       Full text)

Unratified amendments

   Over 10,000 Constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress
   since 1789; in a typical Congressional year in the last several
   decades, between 100 and 200 are offered. Most of these concepts never
   get out of Congressional committee, much less get proposed by the
   Congress for ratification. Backers of some amendments have attempted
   the alternative, and thus-far never-utilized, method mentioned in
   Article Five. In two instances—reapportionment in the 1960s and a
   balanced federal budget during the 1970s and 1980s—these attempts have
   come within just two state legislative "applications" of triggering
   that alternative method.

   Of the thirty-three amendments that have been proposed by Congress, six
   have failed ratification by the required three-quarters of the state
   legislatures—and four of those six are still technically pending before
   state lawmakers (see Coleman v. Miller). Starting with the 18th
   amendment, each proposed amendment (except for the 19th Amendment and
   for the still-pending Child Labor Amendment of 1924) has specified a
   deadline for passage. The following are the unratified amendments:
     * The Congressional Apportionment Amendment proposed by the 1st
       Congress on September 25, 1789, defined a formula for how many
       members there would be in the United States House of
       Representatives after each decennial census. Ratified by eleven
       states, the last being Kentucky in June 1792 (Kentucky's initial
       month of statehood), this amendment contains no expiration date for
       ratification. In principle it may yet be ratified, though as
       written it became moot when the population of the United States
       reached ten million.
     * The so-called missing thirteenth amendment, or "Titles of Nobility
       Amendment" (TONA), proposed by the 11th Congress on May 1, 1810,
       would have ended the citizenship of any American accepting "any
       Title of Nobility or Honour" from any foreign power. Some maintain
       that the amendment was actually ratified by the legislatures of
       enough states, and that a conspiracy has suppressed it, but this
       has been thoroughly debunked. Known to have been ratified by
       lawmakers in twelve states, the last in 1812, this amendment
       contains no expiration date for ratification. It may yet be
       ratified.
     * The Corwin amendment, proposed by the 36th Congress on March 2,
       1861, would have forbidden any attempt to subsequently amend the
       Constitution to empower the Federal government to "abolish or
       interfere" with the "domestic institutions" of the states (a
       delicate way of referring to slavery). It was ratified by only Ohio
       and Maryland lawmakers before the outbreak of the Civil War.
       Illinois lawmakers—sitting as a state constitutional convention at
       the time—likewise approved it, but that action is of questionable
       validity. The proposed amendment contains no expiration date for
       ratification and may yet be ratified. However, adoption of the
       13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments after the Civil War likely means
       that the amendment would be ineffective if adopted.
     * A child labor amendment proposed by the 68th Congress on June 2,
       1924, which stipulates: "The Congress shall have power to limit,
       regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under eighteen years of
       age." This amendment is now moot, since subsequent federal child
       labor laws have uniformly been upheld as a valid exercise of
       Congress' powers under the commerce clause. This amendment contains
       no expiration date for ratification. It may yet be ratified.

   Properly placed in a separate category from the other four
   constitutional amendments that Congress proposed to the states, but
   which not enough states have approved, are the following two offerings
   which—because of deadlines—are no longer subject to ratification.
     * The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, which reads in pertinent part
       "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
       by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Proposed
       by the 92nd Congress on March 22, 1972, it was ratified by the
       legislatures of 35 states, and expired on either March 22, 1979, or
       on June 30, 1982, depending upon one's point of view of a
       controversial three-year extension of the ratification deadline,
       which was passed by the 95th Congress in 1978. Of the 35 states
       ratifying it, four later rescinded their ratifications prior to the
       extended ratification period which commenced March 23, 1979 and a
       fifth—while not going so far as to actually rescind its earlier
       ratification—adopted a resolution stipulating that its approval
       would not extend beyond March 22, 1979. There continues to be
       diversity of opinion as to whether such reversals are valid; no
       court has ruled on the question, including the Supreme Court. But a
       precedent against the validity of rescission was first established
       during the ratification process of the 14th Amendment when Ohio and
       New Jersey rescinded their earlier approvals, but yet were counted
       as ratifying states when the 14th Amendment was ultimately
       proclaimed part of the Constitution in 1868.
     * The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was proposed by
       the 95th Congress on August 22, 1978. Had it been ratified, it
       would have granted to Washington, D.C., two Senators and at least
       one member of the House of Representatives as though the District
       of Columbia were a state. Ratified by the legislatures of only 16
       states—less than half of the required 38—the proposed amendment
       expired on August 22, 1985.

   There are currently only a few proposals for amendments which have
   entered mainstream political debate. These include the proposed Federal
   Marriage Amendment, the Balanced Budget Amendment, and the Flag-Burning
   Amendment.

   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
