The framers of the Constitution designed the amendment process to be difficult

Amending the Constitution requires broad support

The framers created a demanding amendment process. Proposed changes require two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures, making sure that constitutional amendments reflect a broad national consensus rather than temporary political majorities.

The Constitution is difficult to amend

Amended just 27 times in more than 230 years, the US Constitution is deliberately hard to change. This animated video from TED-Ed explains why the amendment process is so complex and what that rigidity means in practice.

Thousands of constitutional amendments have failed

Of nearly 12,000 proposed constitutional amendments, only 27 were ratified. This article highlights radical failed proposals that would have renamed the country, abolished the presidency, capped personal wealth, or fundamentally rewritten how American democracy works.

The US Constitution has been amended 27 different times since its ratification

Dive deeper into each amendment to the Constitution with resources provided by the National Constitution Center. This website features podcasts, videos, and other web resources for each of the amendments, examining their creation and their impact on today’s political and social landscape.

The Bill of Rights originally proposed 12 amendments, not 10

Congress proposed 12 amendments in 1789, not 10. Of the two amendments not ratified, the one on congressional pay raises remained dormant for 203 years before finally becoming the 27th Amendment in 1992.

Term limits for Congress face a steep constitutional hurdle

Although polls show overwhelming support for congressional term limits, this would require a constitutional amendment. Since 1995, the Supreme Court has barred states from imposing their own limits, leaving only the difficult Article V amendment process as a path forward.

The Bill of Rights was shaped by hundreds of drafts

This interactive resource from the National Constitution Center traces the complex drafting process behind the Bill of Rights, showing how state proposals and revisions evolved into the first 10 amendments.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention was initially called to amend the Articles of Confederation

Delegates initially met in 1787 to amend the Articles of Confederation, but within weeks chose to redesign the government entirely. Months of intense debate over power and representation produced the compromises that shaped the Constitution.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The Constitution included compromises that still shape the US today

The creation of the Constitution necessitated numerous compromises to accommodate the diverse interests of the states. The significant compromises included resolutions on debates over representation in Congress and the status of enslaved individuals.

Surprises you may not know about the US Constitution

This article offers intriguing and lesser known insights into the creation and content of the US Constitution. Examples include that Rhode Island disliked the Constitution so much that it almost started a civil war and that Ben Franklin was so ill he needed to be carried into the Constitutional Convention in a sedan chair.

In the 1930s, Congress nearly passed a constitutional amendment requiring a national vote before declaring war

The Ludlow Amendment, proposed amid rising isolationism after World War I, would have required a national referendum before Congress could declare war, except in cases of direct attack. It was defeated 209 to 188 in 1938 after Roosevelt lobbied against it.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Voting rights expanded from 6% of Americans in 1789 to nearly all adult citizens today

In the first US election, only white male property owners—about 6% of the population—could vote. Constitutional amendments culminating in the 26th Amendment gradually expanded voting rights to nearly all citizens aged 18 and older.

The framers feared creating another monarchy through an unchecked executive

Having rebelled against British royal power, the framers deliberately limited the presidency—balancing "energy in the executive" with safeguards against tyranny. Debate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention centered on preventing any return to monarchical rule.

The Senate's filibuster—a procedure that allows for unlimited debate—is not in the Constitution

In the United States Senate, the filibuster enables senators to delay or block legislation. Ending debate became possible in 1917 with a cloture rule requiring a two-thirds vote. In 1975, that was changed to 60 votes in most cases.

Explore the nearly 1,000 laws, regulations, and provisions the court has held unconstitutional since Marbury v. Madison

Over more than two centuries, the Supreme Court has struck down nearly 1,000 federal, state, and local measures—exercising its authority to invalidate laws that conflict with the Constitution and shaping civil rights, the separation of powers, and the scope of government authority.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms

One of the most debated amendments, the Second Amendment has divided courts, lawmakers, and the public for decades. The Supreme Court held in 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller that it protects an individual right. Legal challenges continue today.

The 21st Amendment was the only amendment to repeal another

The 1933 constitutional amendment rolled back 1920's 18th Amendment, better known as Prohibition, which outlawed "the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors."

The Reconstruction Amendments aimed to rebuild the nation and secure freedom after slavery

Ratified between 1865 and 1870 after the conclusion of the war, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and equal protection, and extended voting rights to Black men—transforming the Constitution's definition of liberty and equality.

Early American citizenship was defined inconsistently by individual states

The original US Constitution did not define national citizenship, leaving it to the states to apply their own rules. This led to inconsistent and often exclusionary standards across the country until after the Civil War.

The Constitution gives Congress sweeping control over the federal budget

Article I, Section 8's Spending Clause authorizes Congress to tax, pay debts, and promote the "common Defence and general Welfare," making it one of Congress's most powerful tools—and the constitutional foundation of federal budget control.

The Eighth Amendment prevents cruel and unusual punishment and was borrowed from England

The exact wording of the amendment came from England's Bill of Rights, written more than a century before America's. Today, the Eighth Amendment governs death penalty standards, prison conditions, and sentencing limits, though its interpretation remains actively contested.

How Americans have voted throughout history

From shouting candidates’ names, to hanging chads to electronic scanning, the nature of voting has a long, sometimes bumpy history in the United States. See descriptions and images in chronological order with this digestible timeline.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Few actual Stamp Act stamps survived, as colonists destroyed nearly all of them in protest

The elaborate stamp bore royal symbols and the word "America" and was printed in Britain and shipped to the colonies to be sold by government officials. Protests erupted in nearly every colony before it could take effect, often violently targeting stamp collectors.

Most Americans don’t want a new national anthem

Despite some citizens voicing distaste for the composition of the song or Key’s history as a slaveholder, the overwhelming majority of Americans want to keep “The Star-Spangled banner.” A 2020 YouGov poll of over 25,000 American adults found that 60% believe it should remain as the anthem.

How income taxes evolved from a funding tool for war into a crucial revenue source for the federal government

Americans have long resisted income taxes. So, how did they become permanent? This overview explains how wartime funding needs, constitutional changes, and economic shifts gave rise to the modern tax system, from the Civil War to the payroll withholding rules we follow today.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'