A look at the Constitution in contemporary terms reveals a short document--7,000 words long--shorter than every state constitution except Vermont's. Only thirty-three of the more than 11,000 amendments that have been proposed have been approved by Congress and submitted to states. Twenty-seven have been ratified. Nevertheless, the Constitution is an unfinished work that has evolved through less formal methods of change--congressional legislation, presidential actions, judicial review, custom and use.
