Why is the US Constitution so hard to amend? - Peter Paccone

When it was ratified in 1789, the US Constitution didn’t just institute a government by the people – it provided a way for the people to alter the Constitution itself. And yet, of the nearly 11,000 amendments proposed in the centuries since, only 27 have succeeded as of 2016. Peter Paccone explains why the US Constitution is so hard to change.

Lesson by Peter Paccone, animation by Augenblick Studios.

[Theiliteritesbian]

That last part on Thomas Jefferson, finishing with 'the earth belongs to the living, not the dead' was great. Nice work.

[charlietuba]

The 27th Amendment was proposed in 1789 and was finally ratified in 1992.

[Edmonton-ofec]

Quite ironically, the burning of flag being legal says good things about America. It simply demonstrates the freedom you have, the ability to make moral or immoral, good or bad decisions.

[alejandroescobedo]

The constitution is for the national level, meaning it affects EVERY one’s rights and liberties. It should be difficult to change it since it’s at the national level. Laws change more frequently at the state level, and even more at the county/city level. The constitution was designed to allow smaller governments, such as the city, county, and states, to better respond and change to the needs of their people. So if you want to make some changes, start your local/community level.

[devasheeshdubey]

3:33 Even women in the Supreme Court have beards?

[ExplosiveBrohoof]

To put it simply, the founding fathers didn't want ratification to occur easily. Government has the tendency to take away freedoms rather than protecting them. We should at least make it so that it does so slowly and inefficiently.

[Bergen]

I think it is very difficult to pass an amendement in US Constitution also because Founding Fathers did not want it to be changed easily, so the rights of the citizens would not be dismissed easily

[oldemail]

I like that it's difficult to amend the constitution. There are a lot of people who want to get their way using nefarious means.

[bigjimfanning]

This is the reason why it has stood for so long and will stand for many years. The founders were smart.

[randyarbogast]

The system of checks and balances slows down things so that the proposals being made may be clearly thought out and weighed. It is a brilliant system.

[rolan]

So you have to make an amendment to lower the standards for passing an amendment to pass and amendment to lower the standards for passing amendments?

[nicegan]

Australia's constitution is similarly static. 8 amendments since 1901.

All amendments need to pass Parliament and then a referendum that passes nationally and in at least 4 of the 6 states.

[emmab]

Wouldn’t it kind of defeat the point of the Constitution if it could just be altered on a whim? The point is that it needs overwhelming support since it’s such a huge change

[SpinTheWords]

“The earth belongs to the living, not the dead”

*stops on mother-in-law’s grave*

YOU HEAR THAT!? YOU HAG!!!

[tsal]

Love this video except the last part where it mentioned Jefferson suggesting to Madison that laws should expire after about 20 years, it wasn't 19. This was because Thomas was intrigued by a utopia and thought each generation was sovereign. The video left it open without including James' response which was gentle, unassuming, and very logical. James told him that as fascinating as that idea was, it was a recipe for anarchy and ran directly counter to the whole trust of his own political effort to establish a stable constitutional settlement that compelled the trust and abiding respect of present and future generations of Americans. So, let's be clear and not leave that hanging in the balance for it to be distorted and turned into a new agenda to eradicate one of the most beautiful forms of freedom ever expressed in written form, our Constitution.

[deepfriedpepe]

THEY KNEW MAN. . .


**inhale** they knew. . .

[simoncarlile]

The Constitution is hard to amend because the founders (particularly Jefferson) would never have imagined that we'd use the exact same document for centuries. He said something like "a healthy democracy rewrites its foundation every 19 years". So we've kind of dropped the ball on that one.

EDIT: I should probably watch the whole video before commenting from now on

[MarshaIngrao]

This is a great lesson, Peter! Kudos. It has certainly sparked some varied opinions.

[psyphi]

Even the female justices grew beards too! :P

[Tshering_Yangzom]

You've mentioned amendments to Constitution in countries like Germany and France which is comparatively very less with respect to India. Indian Constitution has been amended for 104 times which is a big big number for a democratic country. I feel this needed a mention in your video and was lacking.