Why Amend?

What children learn in Level 81

• The writers of the Constitution knew that their plan wasn't perfect. They knew that the country would change in ways they couldn't guess. So they built in a way to fix it.
• They had learned from the Articles of Confederation. Under that plan, every state had to agree to a change. One state could stop everything.
• Amendments have made America fairer. The 13th ended slavery. The 17th let voters choose their senators. Others protected the right to vote, as you'll soon see.
• Amendments can fix mistakes, too. The 18th banned alcohol, but people broke that law all the time, so the 21st ended the ban. And after Franklin Roosevelt won four elections, the 22nd limited presidents to two terms.
• So why is it hard? The Constitution holds our most basic rules. They shouldn't change just because of one angry year. A change needs agreement across the whole country.