How We Have Learned More and More About the Constitution's "Convention for Proposing Amendments"
Listen to Mark Levin’s interview of Rob here. (Go to Aug. 29 podcast, and fast forward to minute 55.) This past week, conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly contributed a short piece to Townhall.com in which she attacked the movement for an Article V convention. As I wrote in my response, she was relying on claims about […]
The Problems With Repealing the Direct Election of Senators/17th Amendment
Some political activists argue for repeal of the 17th amendment. In other words, they want to end popular elections of U.S. Senators and return to the original constitutional system of election by state legislatures. Repeal advocates argue that the pre-17th amendment system better preserved federalism than does direct election. Whatever the theoretical merits of their […]
Mark Levin's New Book on Amendments
I have received many requests that I review radio talk-show host Mark Levin’s new book, The Liberty Amendments. Although I favor adopting one or more amendments to restore the federal government to constitutional limits, I generally do not take positions on specific proposed amendments. My mission is to research our Constitution and educate others about […]
The Constitutional Convention Did Not Exceed Its Power and the Constitution is not “Unconstitutional”
Judging by recent claims in the media such as this one, there is still a lot of life in the old tale (dating back to the Anti-Federalists) that the 1787 federal convention “ran away” and that the Constitution was unconstitutionally adopted. I’ve dealt with both claims in this column occasionally (see, e.g., here and here), […]
It's Been Done Before: A Convention of the States to Propose Constitutional Amendments
In 1861, the states held a dry run for an Article V “convention for proposing amendments.” The event was the Washington Conference Convention or Washington Peace Conference. It was called by the Virginia legislature in January of 1861 in an effort to avert the Civil War. The idea was that the convention would draft and […]
A Response to the “Runaway Scenario”
NOTE: This is an updated version of an essay first published in 2013. For a comprehensive treatment of amendment law, see The Law of Article V: State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments and postings at the Article V Information Center website. Many lawmakers and activists, and most of the public, now favor a constitutional amendment to […]
Constitutional Arcana: The Forgotten Navigation Convention of 1786
In an earlier post, I reported that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was far from unique: that during the lifetime of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) nearly 20 inter-colonial and interstate conventions met. Some were attended by as few as three colonies or states; others by as many as 12. These multi-governmental conventions were held in Philadelphia […]
New Article: James Madison, Federal Overreaching, and Amendments Conventions
The writings of James Madison still offer useful guidance for states seeking to restrain federal overreaching. Akron Law Review has just published my short article discussing the evolution of Madison’s thought on the subject—from Federalist No. 46, through the Virginia Resolution of 1798 and subsequent writings, to his final recommendation that states unhappy with federal […]
New “how to” paper on proposing constitutional amendments by convention
The Independence Institute has published my new Issue Paper, Amending the Constitution by Convention: Practical Guidance for Citizens and Policymakers. It explains the basic rules and makes recommendations for those seeking constitutional reform in a way that avoids congressional obstruction. This work is an updated version of my earlier version, published last year by Arizona’s […]
New History of Founding Era Conventions
Very few people know that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 only the last of nearly 20 other conventions in which American colonies, and later states, met to deliberate on specified problems. In these gatherings, states met as semi-sovereigns; these were essentially diplomatic meetings. The rule for decision was “one state, one vote.” Those conventions were […]
Why an Amendments Convention is not a “Constitutional Convention”
Sometimes a convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution is referred to as a “constitutional convention.” That title is both wrong and fatally misleading. The correct name—given by the Constitution itself—is convention for proposing amendments. Other accurate names are amendments convention, Article V convention, or convention of the states. In the Founding Era and […]
The Little-Known—but Seminal—York Town Convention of 1777
The U.S. Constitution authorizes a “convention for proposing amendments” to offer amendments for ratification (or rejection) by the states. The mechanism has never been used (all amendments have come from Congress), and many people have been curious about how it is supposed to work. But that’s because they are unaware of the long series of […]
