Amending the U.S. Constitution: a basic guide
Widespread public dissatisfaction with the federal government has sparked interest in recalibrating the system.
Welcome to Article V Information Center
A Project of the Independence Institute
The Article V Information Center promotes truthful, unbiased information about the U.S. Constitution's amendment process. It does not take stands on particular amendments, but instead functions much like a non-partisan voter information center. Just as a voter information center provides correct information and helps prevent efforts to suppress the vote, the Article V Information Center corrects misinformation so citizens may exercise an important constitutional right.
What is An Amendments Convention All About? A Quick Intro
Are you a journalist or other citizen who needs a quick overview of the Constitution’s Article V “Convention for Proposing Amendments?” Get our issue paper, “Curing Federal Dysfunction by Constitutional Amendment: A Primer.”
It’s a vital resource for anyone who wants a quick and accurate overview of the process.
It explains what a Convention for Proposing Amendments […]
What's New
New scholarly article explains amendments conventions
To amend the Constitution, approval of an amendment by three fourths of the states (now 38 of 50) is required. But before that, the amendment […]
Tennessee Supreme Court, like the U.S. Supreme Court, says an amendments convention is a “convention of the states”
This blog previously has noted that in the 1831 case of Smith v. Union Bank, the Supreme Court referred to an Article V convention as […]
Newly published founding-era documents confirm that an amendments convention is a traditional “convention of the states”
The editors of the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution recently released two volumes of documents covering the Constitution’s ratification in North Carolina—the last state […]
John Paul Stevens’ greatest legacy
By clarifying constitutional amendment law, Stevens made it more accessible to citizens who now seek to use it to cure our dysfunctional federal government.
New Information on the Convention Process from Recently Published Founding-Era Documents
Scholarly research over the past decade has fairly well discredited the factual assertions made by the opponents. However, the latest three volumes of the Documentary History of the Ratification contain fragments of information buttressing what we already know.