Amendments to the Constitution

Standard 5.2: Amendments to the Constitution

Explain the historical context and significance of changes in the Constitution, including key amendments. (Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Studies) [8.T5.2]

FOCUS QUESTION: How has the Constitution Been Amended and What has Been the Impact of Those Amendments?

Article V of the Constitution deals with how to amend (change) the laws of the land.

The authors of the Constitution recognized that change would be needed from time to time so they established a rigorous amendment process. While the Constitution has been changed over time, it is not easy to do, nor has it happened often.

Since 1787, 11,770 amendments have been proposed but just 27 have been passed—the first 10 were the Bill of Rights.

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Here is an overview of Amendments 11-27. The most well-known and impactful amendments have dealt with freedom of speech, the right to vote, civil rights for African Americans and women, and Prohibition and its repeal. However, most amendments have dealt with voting procedures, elections, and government administration (Texas A&M University School of Law, 2019).

A summary of all Amendments to the Constitution is available from the National Constitution Center.

What amendment is most well-known and considered most important? A majority of Americans (77 percent) know the First Amendment and its protections of freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press; four in ten (41 percent) say it is the most important. One in four (27 percent) Republicans indicate the Second Amendment is most important (Moore, 2016,). A case can be made for the significance of the 19th Amendment, for as journalist Lynn Sherr observed, "In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for the crime of voting while female. In 1920, that "crime" became a right" (quoted in Matchin, 2020, p. B8). How you rate your knowledge of the amendments and which ones do you regard as most important and/or most historically impactful?

1. INVESTIGATE: Prohibition and the 18th and 21st Amendments

In 1919, the United States passed the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. It began a period in American history known as Prohibition. 

The Prohibition era, noted historian Daniel Okrent (2011), is framed by a profound historical puzzle: “How did a freedom-loving people decide to give up a private right that had been freely exercised by millions upon millions since the first Europeans arrived in the New World?” (p. 3).

One answer is that the United States emerged from World War I with “deep seismic faults in its society,” giving rise to “clashes” between urban and traditional society that would reverberate through the decade and beyond. Exploring Prohibition is a way to “help students grasp the era’s great complexity and give them insights into different cultural attitudes that still exist in our society” (Gifford, 1996, p. 3).

Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. For a brief overview of the entire period, see Unintended Consequences by Michael Lerner from the Ken Burns Prohibition website. 

Online Resources for the Prohibition Era

• Traditionalism and Modernity in the 1920s
• Ken Burns' prohibition trailer video
• Explore a picture gallery on Prohibition from the Discovery Channel
• "The Lawless Decade" - a companion site to the book by Paul Sann 
• Bet You Didn't Know: Prohibition | History video
• People of the Prohibition

2. UNCOVER: Alice Paul and the History of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Suffragist, feminist, and women’s rights activist, Alice Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment (or ERA) in 1923. Originally called the "Lucretia Mott Amendment" (1921), the ERA "seeks to end legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment and other matters" (EqualRightsAmendment.org, 2018, para. 1).

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The ERA was widely opposed and remained so for 50 years until 1972 when it was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. In the mid-1970s, First Lady Betty Ford was one of the amendment’s leading supporters.

The ERA needed to be ratified by 38 states within seven years in order to become a part of the Constitution. Conservative and Christian activists, notably Phyllis Schlafly led the movement opposing ratification of the ERA in the 1970s, claiming the amendment would lead to tax dollars being spent on abortion, civil rights for same sex couples, women being drafted into the military, and unisex bathrooms. The anti-ERA campaign was successful and the amendment was not passed by the 1982 deadline. Schlafly’s daughter Anne Schlafly Cori is an anti-ERA leader today.

In 2018, Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the amendment; Nevada having done so in 2017 (NPR, 2017). That left the ERA one state short of the three-quarters of the states total needed for passage of a constitutional amendment. Virginia then passed the ERA in early 2020. 

What happens now? The original deadline for ratification has long passed, although the 27th Amendment was first proposed in 1789 and was not ratified until 1992. Congress would need to vote to void its earlier deadline in order to confirm the result. But in the meantime five states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota) that originally passed the ERA have attempted withdrawn their support. Are the votes of those states now null and void? The issue is likely to go the Supreme Court for resolution.

Online Resources for the Equal Rights Amendment

• History of the Equal Rights Amendment from the Alice Paul Institute
• A chronology of the Equal Rights Amendment
• HipHughes' History video on the ERA
• What happened to the Equal Rights Amendment - a video on the ERA and why it has repeatedly failed
• Website of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (New York's 12th District) for more information on her efforts to reintroduce the Equal Rights Amendment.

3. ENGAGE: What New Amendments to the Constitution Are Needed Today?

More than 40 constitutional amendments are introduced in Congress every year. They range across the political spectrum from overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court decision (from progressive and liberal groups) to repealing the 16th Amendment’s federal income tax (from conservative groups).

Amendments to balance the federal budget, implement campaign finance reform, punish flag desecration, and institute the direct election of the President have been the ones most often introduced since 1999. Hardly any of these proposed amendments get voted on, but the ideas of the amendments are added to the overall public dialogue about national and state policy (Desilver, 2018).

You can read what different scholars think about changes to the Constitution in a New Constitutional Amendments interactive from the New York Times (August 4, 2021).

Online Resources for Amendments to the Constitution

• Lesson Plan: Lesson 5: What Makes an Amendment?  Scholastic. Justice by the People: A Civics, History, and Language Arts Program
• Amending America: How Do We Amend? (video)
• Adding a New Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Not an Easy Task! from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
• For more on the amendment process, see Article V: Amending the Constitution from the Exploring Constitutional Conflicts website from the University of Missouri Kansas City
• Article V: Amendment Process
• Amending the Constitution, National Conference of State Legislatures

Standard 5.2 Conclusion

The amendment process has produced highly consequential changes to the United States Constitution. INVESTIGATE looked at the Prohibition Era that began with the 18th Amendment and ended with the 21st Amendment. UNCOVER explored the long history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that began with Alice Paul and continues to be supported and opposed today. ENGAGE asked students what new amendments to the Constitution do they think are needed today.