How the Constitution changes: amendments, judicial review and ways of reading the text

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A and B on changing the Constitution. Card A, "Article V" (as printed in 1840, pp. 13–14): "Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution; or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress…" Card B, "Amendments so far" (summary in our words, not a quotation): Congress has sent 33 amendments to the states, and 27 were ratified. Every ratified amendment was proposed by Congress, not by a convention. Only the 21st, in 1933, was ratified by state conventions; the other 26 were ratified by state legislatures.

2. 1.

   Ari reads Cards A and B together. Which statement do both cards support?

   • Conventions can propose amendments, but the states have rejected each proposal a convention has produced
   • Congress decides whether an amendment is ratified, since each ratified amendment was proposed by Congress
   • Article V lets state legislatures alone ratify, and Card B shows that route was used for each amendment
   • Both stages have two routes, but every ratified amendment began in Congress and only one used conventions
3. 2.

   Bo says: if 34 of the 50 state legislatures ask for a convention, whatever it proposes becomes part of the Constitution. What does Card A show?

   • Nothing is wrong, because 34 of 50 is more than the two-thirds that Article V asks for in the Constitution
   • Congress must approve the convention's proposal by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses before ratification can begin
   • Two-thirds of the states cannot call a convention at all; two-thirds of both Houses of Congress alone can start the process
   • The convention only proposes; three-fourths of the states must still ratify, a higher bar than the two-thirds who asked
4. 3.

   Jun writes: 'Since 27 of the 33 amendments Congress sent were ratified, the three-fourths rule is easy to meet.' Which response do Cards A and B best support?

   • Right: six rejections out of 33 show state legislatures almost never use their power to refuse an amendment
   • Right: 27 of 33 means any amendment Congress proposes has about a four-in-five chance of being ratified
   • Weak: only proposals that already won two-thirds of both Houses were sent, so 27 of 33 describes a screened group
   • Right, at least for conventions: the 21st used that route and it succeeded, so conventions make the rule easy

5. Use this

   Cards A and B on the Eleventh Amendment. Card A, "The Eleventh Amendment" (National Archives transcript, exact): "The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State." Card B, "Chisholm v. Georgia" (summary in our words, not a quotation): In 1793 a citizen of South Carolina sued the state of Georgia in the Supreme Court. Georgia objected. The Court ruled that a citizen of another state could sue a state in federal court. Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment in 1794, and it took effect for the whole country when three-fourths of the states had ratified it in 1795.

6. 4.

   Kira compares Cards A and B. What does the Eleventh Amendment do to the result in Chisholm?

   • It bars any lawsuit against a state, whoever files it and in whatever court the suit is brought
   • It shows the Court decided Chisholm wrongly, since the amendment corrected the Court's own reading of the Constitution
   • It protects a state from suits by its own citizens, which is the kind of suit Chisholm allowed against Georgia
   • It reverses that result by changing the Constitution, so a citizen of another state may no longer sue a state in federal court
7. 5.

   Invented case: a resident of the state of Alder sues Alder in federal court. Luz reads only Card A. Do its words bar the suit?

   • Yes: Chisholm let states be sued, and the amendment kept that rule for a state's own citizens
   • Yes: Card A bars any federal suit against a state, and a suit by its own resident is the plainest example
   • Yes: Card A covers federal courts, and Alder's resident chose a federal court, so the suit is barred
   • Not by its words: Card A names suits by citizens of another state or a foreign state, not a state's own citizens
8. 6.

   Milo traces how Georgia's objection to Chisholm became law. Which sequence do Cards A and B support?

   • Georgia's objection led the Court to reverse itself in 1795, and the amendment then wrote that reversal into the text
   • The Court ruled in 1793, Congress proposed an amendment in 1794, and enough states ratified it in 1795
   • Georgia ratified the amendment by itself in 1795, which ended the ruling for that one state alone
   • The Court ruled in 1793, and Congress ended the ruling with an ordinary law passed by both Houses in 1794

9. Use this

   Cards A to D on amendments that changed amendments. Card A, "The Twenty-first Amendment" (National Archives transcript, exact): Section 1. "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." Section 2. "The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." Section 3. "This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress." Card B, "The Eighteenth Amendment" (summary in our words, not a quotation): The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919, banned making, selling and carrying liquor for drinking. The 21st, ratified in 1933, is the only amendment that repealed another. Card C, "The Twenty-seventh Amendment" (National Archives transcript, exact; dates from the same transcript): Originally proposed September 25, 1789; ratified May 7, 1992. "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." Card D, "Article V" (as printed in 1840, pp. 13–14): "Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution; or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress…"

10. 7.

    Pia reads Card A. Which conclusion about the Twenty-first Amendment does it support?

    • Section 3 means state conventions propose the repeal, and state legislatures then ratify it
    • Section 1 merely weakens the 18th, because section 2 keeps a nationwide ban on liquor in force
    • Congress can repeal an amendment by a vote of both Houses once the states have shown the public has changed its mind
    • A later amendment can cancel an earlier one, and this one had to be ratified by state conventions within seven years
11. 8.

    Ren reads Card C. A law cuts the pay of members of Congress and says the cut starts the day it is signed. Can it take effect then?

    • No: the amendment bans any change in the pay of members, raises and cuts, for good
    • Yes: the amendment names raises alone, so a cut in pay is outside what Card C covers and may start at once
    • No: 'varying' covers cuts as well as raises, so the cut waits until after the next House election
    • Yes: the delay protects Senators alone, since Representatives already face voters on a two-year schedule
12. 9.

    Tala says: 'An amendment proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1992 cannot count, because it took too long.' Which response do Cards A, C and D support?

    • The gap does not matter because Card C shows the 27th was ratified by three-fourths of the states, as Article V requires
    • Article V names no deadline and the 27th's own text names none, so the cards give no rule that the 203-year gap breaks
    • Article V names no deadline, so any proposal stays open forever and could be ratified in any century
    • A seven-year limit applies to each amendment, as section 3 of Card A shows
13. 10.

    Zee writes: 'The 21st repealed the 18th, so repeal is an easy way to change the Constitution.' Which response do Cards A and B support?

    • Wrong in the other direction: repeal is harder than adding an amendment, because the 21st took longer than the 18th
    • Right: repeal is easier than adding an amendment, since the 21st needed conventions alone instead of legislatures
    • Right: the 21st needed a single short section to cancel the whole 18th, which shows the process is easy
    • Weak: repeal is possible, as the cards show, but it came 14 years after the 18th, which does not make it easy