# Why is the US Constitution so hard to amend?

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED-Ed
- Speaker: Peter Paccone
- Year: 2016
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Society and politics, Law, History, Teaching and learning
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_paccone_why_is_the_us_constitution_so_hard_to_amend)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

When it was ratified in 1789, the US Constitution didn't just institute a government by the people – it provided a way for the people to alter the Constitution itself. And yet, of the nearly 11,000 amendments proposed in the centuries since, only 27 have succeeded as of 2016. Peter Paccone explains why the US Constitution is so hard to change. \[Directed by Jeremy Jusay, narrated by Addison Anderson\].

## Lectures

1. [Why is the US Constitution so hard to amend?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/peter_paccone_why_is_the_us_constitution_so_hard_to_amend/8685aa95b719), 5 min (TED's player)