When the Constitution was being written, the men writing the document realized it might have to be altered in the future. Since the document was written in a general format, the delegates realized that as time changed, it might be necessary to change the Constitution. However, the delegates believed that it should be more difficult to change the Constitution than to change a law. Thus, they required two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of the state governments to agree to change it.
The ideas for making specific changes came from many places. One of the places where people looked for change was in the English
The Radical Republicans believed blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites. They also believed that the Confederate leaders should be punished for their roles in the Civil
