The Bill of Rights and Amending the Constitution: An FPRI Primer

As proud as they were of the U.S. Constitution, the Founders did not assume their creation was perfect. Recognizing the text might need future changes, they outlined a clear and detailed process for amendments in Article V, which stated:

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.

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