A constitutional amendment must first be proposed, and then it must be ratified. The Constitution allows two methods
of proposing a constitutional amendment: (1) by passage in the House and the Senate with a two-thirds vote, or (2) by passage
in a national convention called by Congress in response to petitions by two-thirds of the state lagislatures. Congress then
chooses the method of ratification, which can be either (1) by vote in the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, or
(2) by vote in conventions called for that purpose in three-fourths of the states.
Some of the greatest changes in the Constitution have come about not by formal amendment but by interpretations of the
document by courts, Congresses, and presidents. Through judicial review, the U.S. Supreme Court has come to play the major
role in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution. This power is itself largely an interpretation of the Constitution because
it is not specifically mentioned in the document.
Congress and the president have also undertaken to interpret the Constitution. Nearly every president has argued that
the phrase "executive Power" in Article II includes more than the specific powers mentioned afterward. Congress by law has
tried to restrict the president's power as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces by requiring the president to notify Congress
when U.S. troops are sent to "situations when imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated" and limiting their
stay to sixty days unless COngress authorizes an extension.
The Constitution changes over time as a result of generally accepted customs and practice. It is interesting to note
that the Constitution never mentions political parties. But soon after Thomas Jefferson resigned as President Washington's
first secretary of state the Virginian attracted the support of Anti-Federalists, who believed the national government was
too strong. When Washington retired from office, most Federalists supported John Adams as his successor. But many Anti-Federalists
ran for posts as presidental electors, promising to be "Jefferson's men." Adams won the presidential election of 1796, but
the Anti-Federalists organized themselves into a political party, the Democratic-Republicans, to oppose Adams in the election
of 1800.
