How are amendments made to the U.S. Constitution?
There are two paths for making a proposed amendment part of the Constitution, and therefore, into law. The first path is this: An amendment is proposed in the U.S. Congress, the law-making body of the United States, which is composed of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Two-thirds of both houses must then approve the amendment; if they do not, then the proposal ends at this point. If approved in both houses, the proposed amendment is sent to the legislatures (or conventions) of each state of the union. Three-fourths of all state legislatures must then approve it according to their own rules. Once three-fourths of the states have approved the amendment, it becomes law; if approval is not given by three-fourths of the states, the amendment fails to become law. The second path is this: The legislatures (law-making bodies) of two-thirds…
