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It changes in 2 ways: by amendment and by judical interpretation. The amendment process is pretty well known.The amendment must be passed by a 2/3s vote of both the House and Senate and then by a 3/4 vote of the state legislatures. Alternately, a Constitutional Convention may be called by 2/3s of the states, who may pass one or more amendments. The amendments passed by the Constituional Convention must then be passed by 3/4s of the states just as they would if initiated by the Congress. In practice, this has never been done. All 27 Amendments came about through the Senate/House route. For practical purposes the meaning of the Constitution is changed by judical decisions. The Supreme Court's decisions create interpretions that have the effect of law through precedence. Basically, lower courts are obliged to accept the higher court's rulings as to the meaning of the Constitution. The Court can "Read in" rights that are not explictly stated, such as the right to privacy which is the basis of Roe v Wade or stretch the commerce clause to cover just about any area of law (gun control,minimum wage,child labor) Another example would be that of segregation. Segregation, separate but equal and affirmative action have all at some time been sanctioned by the Supreme Court under the same constitution, which was not amended during that time period. Declations of War , which are reserved to the Senate are another example. The US has not declared war since WWII, but wars continue without Senate approval by calling them something other than "war" such are "Police action" The confessions of prisoners in custody were admissible until Mapp v Ohio (Federal) and Miranda v Arizona (State)While many consider the Constitution to be some sort of bulwark protecting their rights, in reality it means whatever 5 Justices say it means on any given day. Remember that in a 5-4 decision that 4 of the highest ranking judges in the country DISAGREE with the decision so essentially the new meaning is simply decided by one person. As an interesting note, at times the Court has been unable to enforce it's opinions and the government has simply ignored their decision (See the Cherokee Nation case)or the executive has threatened to "Pack" the court with more members (FDR)
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ProfessorThere is an amendment process for changing the Constitution. So far there have been 27 amendments. The Supreme Court can in effect change the Constitution by its decisions. Indeed the changes made by the Supreme Court are often more radical and far-reaching than those made by amendment .
The Constitution changes in a couple ways. One is where a Constitutional Amendment is adopted that adds something that is not in the Constititution or takes out something that is in the Constitution or just modifies it in some way. The other way it changes is when the Supreme Court makes rulings that interpret provisions of the Constitution. Particular provisions of the Constitution get interpreted in one way, then perhaps generations later when social views have changed, the same provision might be interpreted in a different manner. For example, at one time segregated schools and public facilities were deemed to be constitutional as long as they were "separate but equal." Years later, this ruling was overruled and segregation of schools and public facilities was deemed unconstitutional, even if there were equal facilities for different races. The wording of the Constitution itself did not change but its meaning did.
The meaning of the Constitution having the ability to evolve over time shows that the founding fathers provided for changes that would need to take place for future generations within the United States. The evolution capabilities of the U.S. Constitution have made it possible for voting rights, the abolishing of slavery, new state additions, and more.
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The fact that the Constitution has been changed only twenty-seven times in over two hundred years is an example of what concept?
adaptability
How has the power of the bureaucracy changed over the last 200 years?
The power of the bureaucracy has changed in the last 200 years in that it has increased and become more powerful. Some of these changes have come about through amendments to the Constitution.
What Since it was ratified over 200 years ago the constitution had been amended?
27 times
The _____ outlined in the Constitution have been the foundation of the government of the United States for over 200 years.?
Basic principles
How many revisions in the US Constitution?
Over 200 years, after being changed, or amended, 27 times, the U.S. Constitution remains the supreme law of the land http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2009/January/20090108124155wltsruh0.176037.html#ixzz0KS91UUKY&D
