Changes to the Constitution

The Constitution can be changed both formally, through the amendment process, or informally by changes in what is called the 'unwritten constitution.'
There are several different ways to formally amend the constitution, a process with two steps. First, an amendment can be proposed with a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress, or by a national convention by request of 2/3 of state legislatures. For all amendments passed ,with the exception of the 21st, Congress has proposed the amendment. Once an amendment has been proposed, there are two ways it can be ratified. Mostly commonly, 3/4 of state legislatures ratify the amendment, but through conventions called in 3/4 of states, an amendment can also be ratified.
Informally, there are four ways the Constitution can be changed. They are considered informal because the written Constitution is not changed, only the unwritten one concerning the tradition, practice and procedure of a country. Judicial interpretation, or the way the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution in court cases through judicial review is one way to change. With different judges, the Constitution could be interpreted differently. Changes in political practice can shape the Constitution and change the meaning. The current system of political parties is one change that has occured- when George Washington was president there were no parties, and so the Constitution applied differently to politics then. Technology has also advanced the way politics are viewed and speeds up the change in the unwritten constitution by exposing more ideas to more people all at once. Finally, demands on policymakers, due to both domestic and international affairs, are causing change. Growing and changing affairs create need for new policies, and these policies shape the Constitution in their own ways.
Sometimes, passing an amendments takes decades, sometimes only a few years. Change to the unwritten consitution has the same broad range. In some ways it is very easy to adapt the Constitution to fit our modern politics, especially informally, but no matter what, chage is always occuring.