\u201cBy definition, the Constitution is an instrument of fundamental and extraordinary law and, as such, Article 5 is its single most important provision,\u201d said Simon. \u201cIt\u2019s what makes the Constitution constitutional in nature because it sets forth an extraordinary procedure for the enactment of amendments as distinguished from the ordinary procedure that is used for enacting, amending, or repealing any federal statute.<\/p>\n
![\"Arthur](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/arthur-simon-article-v-embed-940x529.webp\")
\nArthur Simon<\/p>\n
\u201cIt likewise served as a bulwark against future revolutions, providing stability in that it necessitates and promotes thoughtful deliberation before any changes can occur\u2014which helped to preserve and protect this new-fangled republic that was created in the new world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
A critical prerequisite to the Bill of Rights<\/p>\n
Moreover, Article 5 was a critical prerequisite to the ratification of the Constitution and did ultimately lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights, he said.<\/p>\n
This \u201camending article\u201d stipulates that any change to the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress and then ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures, he explained. A separate procedure exists for a constitutional convention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not too easy to amend the Constitution\u2014and that\u2019s inherent in this extraordinary constitutional process and essential to understanding how it helps to preserve and protect our republic,\u201d Simon pointed out. \u00a0<\/p>\n
He noted that the framers recognized that previous attempts at republics in the \u201cold world\u201d had all eventually failed because of frictions, factions, and political corruption that arose\u2014and because there was no practical way to resolve these types of problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cArticle 5 forces deliberation before any change can be made. Whatever the passions of the day may be, it requires extraordinary deliberation in both houses and then from the states for ratification,\u201d Simon said. \u201cSo, it could be a long period of time before any change is accomplished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a bad thing; it allows for and promotes sober judgement. You can think of it as a safety valve against the type of evils that could otherwise permeate the decision-making process at the highest levels of constitutional government,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
If not for Article 5<\/p>\n
George Washington, selected as president of the convention in Philadelphia, and most others recognized that the new governing document, as written, was imperfect in many regards, yet they accepted it because of Article 5, which allows the opportunity for amendments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simon explained that ratifying conventions in some states\u2014Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York, the biggest and most important \u2014were very reluctant to ratify the newly proposed Constitution because it lacked explicit guarantees of civil liberties and limits to the federal government\u2019s power.<\/p>\n
He cited the example of John Hancock, the most famous signatory of the Declaration of Independence, who was governor of Massachusetts in 1788. Although he was ill, Hancock spoke at the end of the state\u2019s ratification convention to urge ratification of the proposed Constitution, subject to approval of amendments (immediately after ratification) to protect civil rights and liberties. In this regard, Hancock prompted James Madison, one of the Constitution\u2019s principal authors, to publicly change his Federalist position and support the addition of the requested amendments in the first session of the newly constituted Congress. And he did, thereby adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf not for Article 5, the Constitution may not have been ratified. It should be remembered that the framers still remembered the Revolutionary War, and they learned a valuable lesson from that to do anything and everything they could to militate against the potential for another revolution to alter or change our government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Valid criticisms<\/p>\n
Simon noted that Article 5 is not without its critics\u2014and that the criticisms are accurate and valid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opened the door to a massive expansion of power by the Supreme Court to interpret and effectively \u2018amend\u2019 the Constitution through the exercise of judicial review,\u201d Simon said. \u201cArticle 5 is what has really empowered the court. We have only 27 formal amendments. And yet there have been hundreds of important changes to constitutional law by virtue of the Supreme Court\u2019s interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
This criticism and others should be acknowledged, he said; yet he emphasized that they do not detract from the article\u2019s supreme importance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts great principle is that it sought to enable changes that are practical and not too easy\u2014and for those to be secured through deliberation and caution,\u201d Simon said. \u201cAnd to follow experience rather than open a way for experiments suggested by mere speculation on feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArticle 5,\u201d he highlighted, \u201cis the capstone that holds the U.S. Constitution together as the world’s longest-surviving written national constitution, in continuous use since its ratification in 1788.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From May to September 1787, the 55 delegates representing the 12 extant states cloistered themselves inside the Pennsylvania…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-326044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}