Ep. 132 - Article V - Amending The Constitution Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Through Articles, 1-4, The Constitution gives us three branches of government and guarantees republicanism to the states. Should we later desire an amendment to the Constitution, how would that happen?  Article V answers that question by codifying an amendment process.  The Founders wanted to strike the right balance between too strong of a central government, like the monarchy in England from whom we had just separated, and too weak of a government like we had under the Articles of Confederation. They realized the importance of being able to tweak government without having to overthrow a monarch or engage in revolution.  The purpose of Article V is to allow change but not in a hasty manner. Nor was the purpose to require unanimity, as under the Articles of Confederation, making change nearly an impossible achievement. Join our student panel and returning guest, Horace Cooper, senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research for this insightful conversation.