JOHN R. VILE is Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. His many articles have appeared in journals such as The Journal of Law & Politics, The American Journal of Legal History, and The National Law Journal. In addition, he is the author of three books on the U.S. Constitution: Rewriting the United States Constitution (Praeger, 1991), The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought (Praeger, 1992), and A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments (Praeger, 1993).

• PrefaceThe Origins and History of the Constitutional Amending Process in AmericaThe Question of Justiciability--Which Branch of Government Should Have the Ultimate Say Over Issues Involving the Amending Process?The Question of Standards--What Rules Are Most Appropriately Applied to Procedural Issues Surrounding the Amending Process?The Question of Safety: Are There Adequate Rules and Enforceable Limits on Article V Conventions?The Question of Exclusivity--Can Any Constitutional Changes Be Adopted Without Using Article V?The Question of Exclusivity--The Arguments of Akil Reed AmarThe Question of Limitations--Are There Implicit Restraints on the Constitutional Amending Process?Selected BibliographyIndex