Let’s Study The U.S. Constitution – Part 4

The Coach's Team ^ | 6/16/17 | Susan Frickey

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Article V is one of the most important parts of the Constitution, setting forth the amendment process. In the past, changes to a form of government in most countries were accomplished by revolution. The amendment process allowed for change to the Constitution in a peaceful manner.

An amendment must be passed by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate. Then it goes to the people, who must pass it through their state legislature. The process was made deliberately difficult to prevent changes without a lot of forethought, and required a great deal of deliberation by the Congress and the People in order to preserve Constitutional stability. You may be old enough to remember the years of public discourse on the twenty-sixth amendment, ratified in 1971, lowering the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen.

The Framers believed that a lengthy amendment process would protect the Constitution’s integrity while strengthening the document’s authority with the people. George Washington wrote in his Farewell Address of 1796, “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.”

The Framers put a great deal of trust in the People to stay engaged with the government they created. Have we been worthy of this trust?

In order to persuade Southern states to ratify the Constitution, Article 1, Sec. 9, Clause 1 was included to postpone restrictions on the importation of slaves until 1808. The slave states needed 20 years to change state law, convert their production systems and close down slave operations. While some of the Founders inherited slaves and were prohibited by various state laws from freeing them, they made it clear they reviled King George’s policies on slavery.

Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration firmly denounced slavery and the king’s...