Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the process of amending the US constitution
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the process of amending the US constitution (15 marks)
The US constitution was drawn up in 1787 and since then it has been amended 27 times, a remarkably small number when considering that it has been over 200 years since it was written and the fact the first 10 of these were proposed during the First Congress, show that it is not easy to amend the Constitution.
An advantage of the US’s process of amending the Constitution is that it can not easily be amended. This is an advantage because it is imperative that a country’s constitution does not change from every whim of the public, or other bodies. One example of a proposed amendment that was not successful is the Anti Flag Burning amendment, which was strongly considered after the Texas v Johnson case, but failed to be implemented. This is an advantage for the process of amending the constitution, as it shows that the constitution is safeguarded from temporary popular opinion.