ShmoopTube

00:03

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

A lot of people would say that the United States Constitution is the most important

00:17

document to have ever been written… [Picture of the constitution]

00:20

…even more important than the script for "Frozen."

00:22

But hey, we say they're both pretty important…one represents the supreme law of the United States [The constitution next to the frozen script]

00:27

of America…

00:28

…and the other includes the song "Let it Go."

00:31

So…they're both prettttty important. [Both are stamped important]

00:34

But let's focus on the Constitution.

00:36

The original Constitution contained seven articles, and each article was basically just [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:40

a rule.

00:41

And the Constitution isn’t written in stone.

00:44

In fact, it's actually written on paper!

00:45

Article five specifically outlines the process of changing or amending the constitution.

00:51

Which we’ve done, by the way.

00:52

27 times.

00:53

That's why we have 27 amendments.

00:56

So what does Article Five of the Constitution say about how to make a change to that oh-so-important [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

01:01

document?

01:02

Well, there are a few steps…

01:04

First, Congress – aka, all those elected politicians in the Senate and the House of [Capitol Hill]

01:09

Representatives – has to propose a joint resolution to amend the Constitution.

01:13

Then, they would vote on it.

01:16

If two-thirds of Congress likes it, it passes. [Pie chart showing a 2/3 majority]

01:19

After congress passes the amendment, 3/4 of states need to agree for the amendment to become law.

01:26

Easy peasey right, except the agreeing part, that's more difficult...

01:31

There is another way to amend the Constitution, but it’s never actually happened. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

01:35

But if two-thirds of the state legislature decided that Congress should hold a big national

01:40

meeting dedicated to proposing amendments, they would. [2/3 of the states highlighted]

01:43

What's especially interesting about changing the constitution is that no presidential action

01:48

is required.

01:49

That's right, changing the rules of the Constitution, the most important document in the country [Dino looks shocked and drops his pointer]

01:53

(except for maybe the Frozen script), doesn't involve the President at all. ['No presidents' allowed sign]

01:58

That means the President had nothing to do with a bunch of the rights we all know and love,

02:03

like freedom of religion and the right to bear

02:05

arms.

02:06

It was all Congress, baby.

02:08

The last time the constitution was changed by Congress was in 1992. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

02:12

The weird part? It was already passed in 1789 as part of the Bill of Rights

02:17

Somehow is was forgotten about and took until 1992 to finally be approved.

02:22

The 27th amendment made it so congress couldn't give themselves pay raises too easily

02:28

And that any raises wouldn't take effect until the next session of congress.

02:32

No wonder they tried to sweep it under the rug. [The amendment is pushed under a rug by a broom]

02:35

And just so you know, the first ten amendments (aka the Bill of Rights) aren’t the only

02:39

important ones.

02:40

The 15th and 18th amendments gave African Americans and women the right to vote, while [The amendments appear]

02:45

the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18.

02:48

We’re hoping the 28th amendment will have something to do with free donuts. [Donuts falling]

Full Transcript