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's New
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.
How to reform our dysfunctional federal government
Over the 230 years since our Constitution went into operation, amendments have proved to be powerful instruments of reform.
Willful Misrepresentation: Convention Opponents’ Persistent Promotion of Clear Falsehoods
One mark of authors who oppose all efforts to use Article V’s application and convention process is their continued repetition of claims that are demonstrably false. Those statements—whether made by those on the Left or Right—are often remarkably similar, reflecting their common origin in a 1960s-70s propaganda campaign.
Point by point response to one of those anti-convention op-eds
Some of the authors are academics . . . . But they all have two attributes in common: None has ever published independent research on Article V, and none displays any knowledge of recent scholarship on the subject.