United States Constitution

Constitution of the United States
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{{Infobox document|document_name = United States Constitution|image = Constitution Pg1of4 AC.jpg|image_width = 220px|image_caption = Page one of the original copy of the Constitution|date_created = September 17 1787 [1788|writer = Delegates of the [Philadelphia Convention to replace the [Articles of Confederation-->

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. It was adopted on September 17 1787 by the Philadelphia Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later ratification by conventions in each U.S. state in the name of "the People"; it has been amended twenty-seven times since.http://www.constitution.org/cons/constitu.htmhttp://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Constitution.html The Constitution has a central place in Law of the United States and Politics of the United States. Casey (1974) The U.S. Constitution is argued by many to be the oldest written national constitution.Among possible exceptions is San Marino's Constitution of San Marino#The Statutes of 1600, whose status as a true constitution is disputed by scholars. The handwritten, or "engrossed", Jacob Shallus is on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C..

History Drafting and ratification requirements In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention (1786) to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss improvements to the History of the United States (1776–1789)#Development of federal institutions. After debate, the Congress of the Confederation 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 that its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep the deliberations top secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only nine of the thirteen states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states).

Work of the Philadelphia Convention The Virginia Plan was the unofficial agenda for the Convention, and was drafted chiefly by James Madison, considered to be "The Father of the Constitution" for his major contributions. It was weighted toward the interests of the larger states, and proposed among other points:

A powerful bicameralism legislature with United States House of Representatives and United States Senate
An executive (government) chosen by the legislature
A judiciary, with life-terms of service and vague powers
The national legislature would be able to veto state laws

An alternative proposal, William Patterson's New Jersey Plan, gave states equal weights and was supported by the smaller states. Roger Sherman of Connecticut brokered Connecticut Compromise whereby the House would represent population, the Senate would represent states, and a powerful president would be elected by elite United States Electoral College. Slavery in the United States was not explicitly mentioned, but 3/5 of the number of slaves would be counted toward the population used to apportionment (politics) the House, and runaway slaves would have to be returned.

Ratification {| class="infobox" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="border-collapse:collapse; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;" align=right|-!colspan=5 align=center style="background:#ccccff" | Ratification of the Constitution|-! bgcolor="#efefef" rowspan="2" | ! bgcolor="#efefef" rowspan="2" | Date! bgcolor="#efefef" rowspan="2" | State! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan="2" | Votes|-! Yes! No|-|align="right"|1||December 7 1787|align="right"|30|align="right"|0|-|align="right"|2||[December 12 1787|align="right"|46|align="right"|23|-|align="right"|3||[December 18 1787|align="right"|38|align="right"|0|-|align="right"|4||[January 2 1788|align="right"|26|align="right"|0|-|align="right"|5||[January 9 1788|align="right"|128|align="right"|40|-|align="right"|6||[February 6 1788|align="right"|187|align="right"|168|-|align="right"|7||[April 28 1788|align="right"|63|align="right"|11|-|align="right"|8||[May 23 1788|align="right"|149|align="right"|73|-|align="right"|9||[June 21 1788|align="right"|57|align="right"|47|-|align="right"|10||[June 25 1788|align="right"|89|align="right"|79|-|align="right"|11||[July 26 1788|align="right"|30|align="right"|27|-|align="right"|12||[November 21 1789|align="right"|194|align="right"|77|-|align="right"|13||[May 29 1790|align="right"|34|align="right"|32|}Contrary to the process for "alteration" spelled out in Article 13 of the [Articles of Confederation, Congress submitted the proposal to the states and set the terms for representation.

On September 17 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia at the Federal Convention, followed by a speech given by Benjamin Franklin who urged unanimity, although they decided they only needed nine states to ratify the constitution for it to go into effect. The Convention submitted the Constitution to the Congress of the Confederation, where it received approval according to Article 13 of the Articles of Confederation, but the resolution of the Congress submitting the Constitution to the states for ratification and agreeing with its provision for implementation upon ratification by nine states is contrary to Article 13, though eventually all thirteen states did ratify the Constitution, albeit after it took effect.

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 Federal government of the United States under the Constitution began operations.

Historical influences Several of the ideas in the Constitution were new, and a large number of ideas were drawn from the literature of Republicanism in the United States, from the experiences of the 13 states, and from the Kingdom of Great Britain 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 tyranny. (This in itself reflects the influence of Polybius' 2nd-century BC treatise on the separation of powers of the constitution of the Roman Republic.) John Locke is known to have been a major 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.

Influences on the 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 as well as "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 consists of a preamble, seven original articles, List of amendments to the United States Constitution, and a paragraph certifying its enactment by the constitutional convention.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Preamble: Statement of purpose The Preamble states:

The Preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the rationale behind the Constitution and notes by what authority it is enacted. 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 sections of the Constitution.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article I: Legislative power Article One establishes the legislature of government, the United States Congress, which includes the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. The Article establishes the manner of Elections in the United States and qualifications of members of each House. In addition, it provides for free debate in Congress and limits self-serving behavior 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 the 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland Supreme Court of the United States ruling. Finally, it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article II: Executive power Article Two describes the President of the United States (the executive (government)): procedures for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath of office 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 United States presidential line of succession 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 Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution 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).

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article III: Judicial power Article Three describes the United States Federal judiciary (the judiciary), including the supreme Court of the United States. 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 jury trial in all criminal law, defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it.It also sets the kinds of cases that may be heard by the federal judiciary, which cases the supreme Court may hear first (called original jurisdiction), and that all other cases heard by the supreme Court are by appeal.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article IV: 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 Clause" to the public acts, records and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulation 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 United States nationality law of other states in favor 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 Republic, and to protect the states from invasion and violence.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article V: Process of Amendments Article Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution 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 legislature (United States)s 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 2007, only the first method (proposal by Congress) has been used.

Once proposed—whether submitted by Congress or by a national convention—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 within the states to ratify an amendment to the United States Constitution assembled in the states. The convention method of ratification has been used only once (to approve the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution). 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.

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article VI: Federal power Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it, to be the supremacy clause 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 government 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 honor 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".

wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article VII: 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 #History.)

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 Constitutional amendment. 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.

Constitutional amendment#Form of changes to the text, 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 argue that Demography of the United States 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.

Aside from the direct process of amending the Constitution, the practical effect of its provisions may be altered by judicial decision and review. The United States is a common law country, rooted in English common law, with courts following 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 affected 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 United States Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously. The following seventeen were ratified separately.

The Bill of Rights (1–10) 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 to the United States Constitution, under which some states in the early years of the nation officially state 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 to the United States Constitution was passed, which stated, in part, that:

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 to the United States Constitution despite more than two centuries of pendency. The Congressional Apportionment Amendment—still technically pending before the state legislatures for ratification—pertains to the apportionment of the United States House of Representatives after each decennial United States 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 to the United States Constitution: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congressional state religion over another religion through Law and protecting the right to Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution: declares "a well regulated militia" as "necessary to the security of a free State", and as explanation for prohibiting infringement of "the right of the people to keep and right to bear arms."

Third Amendment to the United States Constitution: 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 to the United States Constitution: guards against search and seizure 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 to the United States Constitution: forbids trial (law) for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to self-incrimination (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 to the United States Constitution: 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 warning.

Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution: assures trial by jury in civil law (common law).

Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained elsewhere by the people.

Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: 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 27 times, only 26 of the amendments are currently used because the 21st amendment supersedes the 18th.

Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (1795): Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits ability of citizens to lawsuit states in federal courts and under federal law. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XI)
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1804): Changes the method of United States presidential election so that members of the United States Electoral College cast separate ballots for president and vice president. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XII)
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1865): Abolishes slavery and grants Congress power to enforce abolitionism. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIII)
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1868): Defines United States nationality law; prohibits states from abridging citizens' Privileges or Immunities Clause and rights to due process and the Equal Protection Clause; repeals the Three-fifths compromise; prohibits repudiation of the federal debt caused by the Civil War. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV)
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1870): Prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XV)
Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913): Authorizes unapportioned federal income tax. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XVI)
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913): Establishes direct election of senators. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XVII)
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1919): Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages (see Prohibition in the United States). Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XVIII)
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1920): Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen to vote women's suffrage. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIX)
Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1933): Changes details of Congressional and presidential terms and of United States presidential line of succession. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XX)
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution (1933): Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXI)
Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution (1951): Term limit president to two terms. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXII)
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution (1961): Grants presidential electors to the Washington, D.C.. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXIII)
Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1964): Prohibits the federal government and the states from requiring the poll tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXIV)
Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1967): Changes details of presidential succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice president. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXV)
Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1971): Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen of age voting age to vote simply because of their age. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXVI)
Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (1992): Limits congressional pay raises. (wikisource:Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XXVII)

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, and far fewer 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 United States 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 the missing thirteenth amendment, or "Titles of Nobility Amendment" (TONA), proposed by the 11th United States 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 United States 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 in the United States). It was ratified by only Ohio and Maryland lawmakers before the outbreak of the American 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 United States 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 in the United States 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 United States 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 United States 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 Desecration Amendment.

Original pages of the Constitution Image:Constitution_Pg1of4_AC.jpg|Page 1Image:Constitution Pg2of4 AC.jpg|Page 2Image:Constitution Pg3of4 AC.jpg|Page 3Image:Constitution Pg4of4 AC.jpg|Page 4

See also General

List of signatories of the United States Constitution
List of sources of law in the United States
Congressional power of enforcement
Constitution Day (United States)
Constitutional interpretation
Federalist Papers
Founding Fathers of the United States
History of democracy
Original Intent
National Constitution Center