You may have heard opponents of the Article V convention process claim that the make-up of a convention for proposing amendments is a “mystery”—that we have no idea of how the membership would be selected, how they would vote, etc.

Those active in the Article V movement have known for some time that this is inaccurate. For one thing, scholarly research by myself and other scholars, such as Professor Michael Rappaport at the University of San Diego School of Law, has established that an amendments convention is a convention of the states—something the Supreme Court itself acknowledged in 1831. Conventions of the states (and, before them, conventions of colonies) have a 300 year history and have played a prominent part in American life. Their protocols are well understood.

I thought it would be a good idea to collect in a single article all the major pieces of evidence that an amendments convention is a “convention of the states.” The material includes the Supreme Court opinion, pre-constitutional history, and records from the Founding era: comments by the Founders, formal state papers, and resolutions by state legislatures.

Pending selection of a final publisher, you can obtain a copy of the article here.