Model Student Answer for 2001 FRQ on Amending Constitution

See how close your answer matches with this one, which earned all 9 points on the FRQ portion of the exam. You can easily substitute Supreme Court decisions (like Brown v. Board) as well as Congressional Acts for the answer provide below....

2001 FRQ on Amending the Constitution

Two formal ways of amending the constitution are having the amendment proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and ¾ of state legislatures ratify the amendment. This way has happened 27 times. The second way is having the amendment proposed by 2/3 of both houses and ¾ of special state conventions ratifying , as with the repeal of prohibition.

Two informal ways to change the constitution are by using the elastic/”necessary and proper” clause or by Supreme Court decisions. The elastic clause was used in expanding the role of Congress in interstate commerce. Congress can now regulate anything that crosses state borders. Supreme Court decisions have been used to change the meaning of the Constitution like in cases where they nationalized the Bill of Rights through the 14th Amendment. The elastic clause states that congress can do anything “necessary and proper” to carry out their expressed powers.

Informal methods are used most often because it takes much less work than formal methods. A lot of support is needed to add an amendment to the Constitution. It is much less difficult to change the Constitution with the elastic clause or Supreme Court decisions.