AMENDING AMERICA: If We Love the Constitution So Much, Why Do We Keep Trying to Change It?

A thought-provoking history of the Constitutional amendment process explains how the American people have used the process to reshape the Constitution to meet changing needs and examines the various amendments--approved and rejected--since 1789. 15,000 first printing.

Though the title may sound frivolous, this is a sober, straightforward history of the process of amending the Constitution, augmented by analysis from Bernstein, coauthor of Are We to Be a Nation?: The Making of the Constitution. Bernstein is an able, anecdotal guide to the debates and conflicts over each amendment. He addresses the unsuccessful efforts by states to enact the Equal Rights Amendment and discusses the amendments concerning the flag and the English language that were rejected by Congress. He reflects on how amendments have changed the presidency and judiciary, and, thus, the nature of government. Though his chapter on proposals to rewrite the Constitution seems sketchy, Bernstein, prompted by the 1992 passage of an obscure amendment (about the timing of legislators' salary increases) proposed in 1789, intriguingly explores how several unresolved issues "haunt the Constitution's amending process." Coauthor Agel has collaborated with authors Carl Sagan and Marshall McLuhan, among others.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a thoughtful history of the Amendments to the Constitution, Bernstein (New York Law School) and Agel (coauthor with Bernstein of the YA title The Congress, 1987, etc.) point out that America is unique among nations with written constitutions in that its Constitution is central to the country's national identity. They also ask though fail to answer the question: ``Are we truly aware of the consequences of `amending America'?'' The authors focus on Article V, which sets forth the formal procedure for amendment. They seem aware of, but fail to discuss in depth, the equally transformative effect upon the Constitution of political events and judicial decisions, notably the jurisprudence of the post-New Deal era, which has established new civil liberties and given Congress broad-ranging power to regulate the nation's economic life. Bernstein and Agel recount the efforts to find a practical and flexible alternative to the amendment procedure of the Articles of Confederation (which, requiring unanimity, was unworkable); James Madison's victorious 1789 struggle to ratify the Bill of Rights; the early constitutional crises that resulted in the Eleventh and Twelfth Amendments, prohibiting federal suits against states and revising the procedure for electing the President; the important Civil War-era Amendments; and the progressive political movements that led to the early ``democratizing'' Amendments (among them, those dictating the popular election of US senators, enabling passage of the income tax, and giving suffrage to women). The authors' historical survey demonstrates that, while resolution of purely political questions through the Constitution (as in the Eighteenth Amendment's enacting Prohibition) has been unsuccessful, the Constitution owes its vitality to its ability to respond to the rapidly changing nature of American society. An excellent delineation of issues debated by modern constitutional scholars--though the authors' unwillingness to attempt to resolve these issues can be frustrating. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From its ratification in 1789 to the present day, the U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times. According to the authors, over 10,000 more amendments have been debated and rejected. As Bernstein and Agel correctly argue, amending the nation's most fundamental legal and political document is not a trivial issue. Fortunately, they give it the serious attention it deserves. Focusing on the amending article, Article V, the writers stress the salient fact that when we change the Constitution we change the country itself. Emphasizing the critical connection between constitutional language and national aspirations, Bernstein and Agel have produced an excellent work about an often-ignored issue. Any future work will have to begin with this fine book. Recommended for all libraries.
- Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarine Coll., Nampa, Id.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.