Limitations on the Constitutional Amending Process

Article V of the Constitution has been variously praised as "the keystone" of the constitutional arch, 1 "one of the lynch pins of the American federal system,"2 and as "perhaps the most important part" of the Constitution.3On the surface its provisions are fairly straightforward.An amendment becomes part of the Constitution when proposed by two-thirds majorities in both Houses of Congress and subsequently ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures or special conventions called for this purpose.4 Alternatively, twothirds of the states may petition Congress to call a special convention to propose constitutional amendments, which are then again subject to the approval of three-quarters of the states.Article V contains only two stated limits on the amending process.One, designed to permit slave importation for twenty years, is no longer in force.The other, protecting the right of each state to "equal suffrage in the Senate," is addressed later in this paper.Despite its apparent simplicity, article V raises a number of unresolved and perplexing questions.What are the basic principles Head,