The United States Constitution is experiencing a period of historical stagnation, making it one of the most difficult governing documents in the world to amend. Historian Jill Lepore notes that the formal amendment process under Article V has become increasingly unreachable in a polarized political environment. This lack of modern updates has shifted the power of constitutional evolution away from the legislative process and toward the Supreme Court. As a result, the nation continues to be governed by a document that has not been substantially updated to reflect current social and legal realities.
- The U.S. Constitution has been amended only 27 times since its ratification, with the most recent change occurring in 1992.
- The amendment process requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, as well as ratification by three-fourths of the states.
- Historians point to the “Progressive Era” in the early 20th century as a time of significant constitutional change, where four amendments were passed in a single decade.
- The difficulty of passing new amendments has led to “constitutional calcification,” where the text remains static despite evolving public opinion.
- With the legislative amendment process stalled, the Supreme Court has taken on an expanded role in defining and interpreting fundamental rights.
- The United States maintains the oldest and most difficult-to-change written constitution of any major democracy.
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SCOTUS does not AMEND the Constitution. Only Congress can do that.
It’s best to not amend because if they did, the politicians will repeal the 1st-5th amendments
Where does the 28th amendment stand? Enough states ratified iy, out even though some tried to withdraw their approval, is withdrawal of approval legal?
Here we go. Coordinated attack on SCOTUS.
Examples?
This is exactly the problem. I would agree with pro-abortion people that say abortion is a constitutional right… if it was in the constitution. But they tried loosely tying it to the 9th and 14th amendments. Which is what really killed RvW. There is no constitutional basis for any medical procedure, actually. But, had they amended the constitution to include that, then it wouldn’t have been able to be brought forward to the SCOTUS. So now they’re in a heap of trouble where the state constitutions have to uphold this “right.”
If we could amend the constitution for voting rights, we can amend it for health rights.
How exactly is SCOTUS amending the constitution?