What if two-thirds of the states had the power to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution as easily as two-thirds of each House of Congress?
Well, that's what the Founders told us!
But at least six times the Founders told us that two-thirds of the states could apply for the proposal of any desired amendment using their power to organize a convention for proposing amendments under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
The Founders never said that the Article V convention itself must be responsible for drafting amendments. Instead, they said the convention would do whatever two-thirds of the states requested in their "application" to Congress.
Texas and Indiana knew this in the 1950s, when they applied for a convention of the states under Article V by advancing a specific amendment and convention rules proposal in their application.
We demonstrate conclusively that the Compact for America approach of applying under Article V for the proposal of a specific and pre-drafted amendment, together with all convention logistics, is fully consistent with the original meaning of Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
Check out Policy Brief No. 9 if you want to understand what Texas and Indiana knew about the power of the states to laser-target an Article V convention to any desired amendment!