Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8: Gives Congress the power to declare war and raise and support the armed forces.

Article V says that “on the Application of two thirds of the Legislatures of the several States, [Congress] shall call a Convention for proposing amendments.” The convention can propose amendments, whether Congress approves of them or not. Those proposed amendments would then be sent to the states for ratification.

Article I, Section 6 also says that Senators and Representatives shall not be questioned in court or by the President for any speech or debate they give or participate in on the floor of the Senate or the House. This assures ample freedom of debate in Congress.

Slavery was implicitly recognized in the original Constitution in provisions such as Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, commonly known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which provided that three-fifths of each state’s enslaved population (“other persons”) was to be added to its free population for the purposes of …

The Meaning Article I, Section 10, limits the power of the states. States may not enter into a treaty with a foreign nation; that power is given to the president, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate present. States cannot make their own money, nor can they grant any title of nobility.

No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title …

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title …

Powers Reserved for the Federal Government Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of the United States puts limits on the powers of the states. States cannot form alliances with foreign governments, declare war, coin money, or impose duties on imports or exports.

There has never been a Constitutional Convention called by the states. However, many states have made efforts to call a convention. Estimates show state legislatures have passed hundreds of resolutions calling for an Article V Constitutional Convention in the last 200 years.

The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document, and the Bill of Rights was not ratified to become part of the Constitution until the end of the following year.

Through its “Convention of States Project”, CSG is seeking “to urge and empower state legislators to call a convention of states.” CSG states that it initiated the Convention of States project “for the purpose of stopping the runaway power of the federal government.” Mark Levin has supported CSG’s efforts to a call a …

Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (i.e., 34 of 50 states). Amendments proposed by Congress or convention become valid only when ratified by the legislatures of, or conventions in, three-fourths of the states (i.e., 38 of 50 states).

Twenty-three States have also enacted term limits on their Federal congressional delegations. Of these 23 States, 21 passed term limits by ballot initiatives, with average support exceeding 64 percent. The remaining States, Utah and New Hampshire, passed term limits laws through their State legislatures.

Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to propose amendments to the document. Amendments may be proposed either by the Congress, through a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds vote, or by a convention called by Congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.

Key constitutional elements include the following: The legislatures of two-thirds of the states, 34 at present, must present applications to Congress. Congress shall then “call a Convention for proposing Amendments.” Amendments proposed by an Article V Convention must also be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution, the nation’s frame of government, may be altered. Under Article V, the process to alter the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment or amendments, and subsequent ratification.

Under Article V of the Constitution, there are two ways to propose and ratify amendments to the Constitution. To propose amendments, two-thirds of both houses of Congress can vote to propose an amendment, or two-thirds of the state legislatures can ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.

The two ways in which an amendment may be ratified is the proposed amendment can be sent to the state legislatures for approval. All but one of the amendments to the Constitution were approved this way. The second way is the proposed amendment can be sent to state conventions for consideration.

(Article I, Section 3: “the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state.”) But the guarantee of “equal Suffrage in the Senate” can never be amended (although apparently any state, large or small, that just feels like giving up one of its Senate seats can “Consent” to do so).

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; ArtI.

Article 1, Section 3. Text of Article 1, Section 3: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. The Senate shall have sole Power to try all Impeachments.

The idea is simply to ensure that one third of the Senate’s seats are up for election every two years, making the Senate a “continuing body.” That just means that all the senators will never face election at the same time.

The 13th amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. Lincoln recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment in order to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.