what is the purpose of amendments?

Answer 1

To address the issues the original constitution didn't

Answer 2

There are a number of formal differences, from one jurisdiction to another, in the manner in which constitutional amendments are both originally drafted and written down once they become law. In some jurisdictions, such as the Republic of Ireland, Estonia and Australia, constitutional amendments originate as bills and become law in the form of acts of parliament. This may be the case notwithstanding the fact that a special procedure is required to bring an amendment into force. Thus, for example, in Republic of Ireland and Australia although amendments are drafted in the form of acts of parliament they cannot become law until they have been approved in a referendum. By contrast, in the United States a proposed amendment originates as a joint resolution of Congress rather than a bill and, unlike a bill, is not submitted to the President for his assent.

The manner in which constitutional amendments are finally recorded takes two main forms:

* In most jurisdictions, amendments to a constitution take the form of revisions to the main body of the original text. Thus once an amendment has become law, portions of the original text may be deleted or new articles may be inserted among existing ones.

* The second, less common method, is for amendments to be appended to the end of the main text in the form of special articles of amendment, leaving the body of the original text intact. Although the wording of the original text is not altered, the doctrine of implied repeal applies. This means that in the event of conflict, an article of amendment will usually take precedence over the provisions of the original text, or of an earlier amendment. Nonetheless there may still be ambiguity as to whether an amendment is intended to supersede an existing article in the text or merely to supplement it. An article of amendment may, however, explicitly express itself as having the effect of repealing a specific existing article [4]. The use of appended articles of amendment is most famous as a feature of the United States Constitution, but it is also the method of amendment in a number of other jurisdictions, such as Venezuela.

Answer 3

What do YOU think the purpose is? I'm assuming you are referring to the Constitution of the US? I'll make a deal with you -- you go do a bit of research on the web and figure out what you think is the best way to answer this. Post your answer, and I'll help you edit it so that your teacher will be duly impressed.

Answer 4

The constitution is not perfect or timeless (even though the incredibly patriotic would have you beleive otherwise) and as time goes on, new problems crop up that can not be solved with simple legislation because the laws would be unconstitutional. In these cases, the constitution itself must change.

Answer 5

an amendment is to add on to what was not thought of originally

Answer 6

to keep everyting in order..

otherwise the whole country would be in complete chaos.

amendments are like rules ok?

Answer 7

To modify, or change laws.

Answer 8

duh! to give people rights and freedom!