The framers of the US Constitution knew the nation would grow and evolve, so they created a process for amending its founding document, which they explained in Article V. To ensure that changes were infrequent and the government remained steady the framers made amending the Constitution far more difficult than passing ordinary laws and regulations.
Article V
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 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; 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; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Two-thirds of the Senate and of the House must vote to approve an amendment in order for it to be presented to the states – or two-thirds of the states must demand a national convention to recommend a change. A proposed amendment needs the explicit support of three-fourths of the state legislatures or state conventions to be added to the Constitution. The process was intentionally complex; the framers wanted to ensure an amendment had overwhelming approval before it was adopted.
“[Article V] equally enables the general and the state governments to originate the amendment of errors, as they may be pointed out by the experience on one side, or on the other,” James Madison wrote in Federalist 43.
