... The
Congress, whenever two thirds of both
Houses shall deem it necessary, shall
propose Amendments to this
Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
States, shall call a
Convention for proposing
Amendments, which, in either
Case, shall be
valid to all
Intents and
Purposes, as Part of this
Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several
States, or by
Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no
Amendment which may be made
prior to the
Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first
Article; and that no
State, without its
Consent, shall be
deprived of its
equal Suffrage in the
Senate. ...
... Sections 1 and 2 shall take
effect on the 15th
day of October following the
ratification of this
article. ...
... This
article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an
amendment to the
Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
States within seven
years from the
date of its submission. ...