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- We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
- perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
- Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the
- general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
- ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
- Constitution for the United States of America.
- Article I.
- Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be
- vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall
- consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
- Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of
- Members chosen every second Year by the People of the
- several States, and the Electors in each State shall have
- the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most
- numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
- No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
- attained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven
- Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not,
- when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he
- shall be chosen.
- [Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
- the several States which may be included within this Union,
- according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
- determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
- including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
- excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
- Persons.] The actual Enumeration shall be made within three
- Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United
- States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in
- such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of
- Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty
- Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
- Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made,
- the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three,
- Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations
- one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four,
- Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia
- ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia
- three.
- When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State,
- the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of
- Election to fill such Vacancies.
- The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and
- other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of
- Impeachment.
- Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed
- of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature
- thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one
- Vote.
- Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of
- the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may
- be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the
- first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second
- Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth
- Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth
- Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and
- if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
- Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive
- thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next
- Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such
- Vacancies.
- No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to
- the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of
- the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
- Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
- The Vice President of the United States shall be President
- of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be
- equally divided.
- The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a
- President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President,
- or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the
- United States.
- The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all
- Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be
- on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United
- States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no
- Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two
- thirds of the Members present.
- Judgement in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further
- than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold
- and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the
- United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be
- liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and
- Punishment, according to Law.
- Section 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections
- for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in
- each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may
- at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as
- to the Place of Chusing Senators.
- The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and
- such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,
- unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
- Section 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections,
- Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a
- Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business;
- but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be
- authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in
- such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may
- provide.
- Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,
- punish it Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the
- Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
- Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from
- time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may
- in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of
- the Members of either House on any question shall, at the
- Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the
- Journal.
- Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall,
- without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than
- three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the
- two Houses shall be sitting.
- Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
- Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law,
- and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They
- shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the
- Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at
- the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and
- returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in
- either House, they shall not be Questioned in any other
- Place.
- No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for
- which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under
- the Authority of the United States, which shall have been
- created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased
- during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the
- United States, shall be a Member of either House during his
- Continuance in Office.
- Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in
- the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or
- concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
- Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
- Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a
- Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If
- he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it,
- with his Objections to that House in which it shall have
- originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their
- Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
- Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass
- the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to
- the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered,
- and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become
- a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall
- be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons
- voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the
- Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be
- returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted)
- after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be
- a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the
- Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
- Case it shall not be a Law.
- Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of
- the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary
- (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to
- the President of the United States; and before the Same
- shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being
- disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the
- Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules
- and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
- Section 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect
- Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debt and
- provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the
- United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be
- uniform throughout the United States;
- To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
- To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
- several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
- To establish an uniform rule of Naturalization, and uniform
- Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
- States;
- To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
- Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
- To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the
- Securities and current Coin of the United States;
- To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
- To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
- securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
- exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
- Discoveries;
- To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
- To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
- high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
- To declare War, grand Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and to
- make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
- To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money
- to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
- To provide and maintain a Navy;
- To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
- and naval Forces;
- To provide for calling for the Militia to execute the
- Laws of the Union; suppress Insurrections and repel
- Invasions;
- To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the
- Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be
- employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to
- the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers,
- and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
- discipline prescribed by Congress;
- To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
- over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may,
- by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of
- Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United
- States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places
- purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in
- which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts,
- Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful
- Building;--And
- To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
- carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
- Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
- United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
- Section 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as
- any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit,
- shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year
- one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may
- be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars
- for each Person.
- The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
- suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
- public Safety may require it.
- No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
- No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
- Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before
- directed to be taken.
- No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
- State.
- No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce
- or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another:
- nor shall Vessels bound to, or from one State, be obliged to
- enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
- No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in
- Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular
- Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of
- all public Money shall be published from time to time.
- No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States:
- And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under
- them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of
- any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind
- whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
- Section 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance,
- or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin
- Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and
- silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of
- Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the
- Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
- No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
- Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be
- absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws:
- and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any
- State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the
- Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be
- subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
- No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any
- duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of
- Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another
- State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless
- actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not
- admit of delay.
- Article II.
- Section 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a
- President of the United States of America. He shall hold his
- Office during the term of four Years, and, together with the
- Vice-President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as
- follows.
- Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
- thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
- Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State
- may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
- Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or
- Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an
- Elector.
- [The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote
- by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be
- an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they
- shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the
- Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and
- certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government
- of the United States, directed to the President of the
- Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence
- of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
- Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The
- Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the
- President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number
- of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who
- have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then
- the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by
- Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
- Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said
- House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in
- chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States,
- the representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum
- for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from
- two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States
- shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the
- Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
- Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President.
- But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes,
- the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the
- Vice-President.]
- The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors,
- and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day
- shall be the same throughout the United States.
- No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
- United States, at the time of Adoption of this Constitution,
- shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall
- any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have
- attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen
- Years a Resident within the United States.
- In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of
- his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers
- and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the
- Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the
- Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of
- the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer
- shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act
- accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President
- shall be elected.
- The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his
- Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased
- nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have
- been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period
- any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
- Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall
- take the following Oath or Affirmation:--``I do solemnly
- swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office
- of President of the United States, and will to the best of
- my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of
- the United States.''
- Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the
- Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of
- the several States, when called into the actual Service of
- the United States; he may require the Opinion in writing, of
- the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments,
- upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective
- Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprives and
- Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in
- Cases of Impeachment.
- He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of
- the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the
- Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
- with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
- Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of
- the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
- States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided
- for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
- may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers,
- as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts
- of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
- The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that
- may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
- Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
- Session.
- Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress
- Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to
- their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
- necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions,
- convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of
- Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
- Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall
- think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public
- Ministers he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully
- executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the
- United States.
- Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil
- Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office
- on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or
- other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
- Article III.
- Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be
- vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as
- the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.
- The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall
- hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at
- stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation
- which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in
- Office.
- Section 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in
- Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of
- the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made
- under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
- other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of
- admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to
- which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies
- between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of
- another State;--between Citizens of different
- States;--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands
- under Grants of different States, and between a State, or
- the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or
- Subjects.
- In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
- and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the
- supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the
- other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have
- appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such
- Exceptions, and Under such Regulations as the Congress shall
- make.
- The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment,
- shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State
- where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when
- not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such
- Place and Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
- Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist
- only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their
- Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be
- convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two
- Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in Open
- Court.
- The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of
- Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption
- of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
- attained.
- Article IV.
- Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each
- State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings
- of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws
- prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, records and
- Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
- Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to
- all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several
- States.
- A person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
- Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another
- State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the
- State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to
- the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
- No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the
- Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence
- of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such
- Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the
- Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
- Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into
- this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected
- within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be
- formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of
- States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the
- States concerned as well as of the Congress.
- The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
- needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or
- other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing
- in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice
- any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
- Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State
- in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall
- protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of
- the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
- cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
- Article V.
- 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.
- Article VI.
- All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before
- the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against
- the United States under this Constitution, as under the
- Confederation.
- This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which
- shall be made in Persuance thereof; and all Treaties made,
- or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United
- States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges
- in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the
- Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary
- notwithstanding.
- The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
- Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive
- and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the
- several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to
- support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever
- be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
- under the United States.
- Article VII.
- The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be
- sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution
- between the States so ratifying the Same.
- Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States
- present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our
- Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the
- Independence of the United States of America the Twelth. In
- witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
- Go WASHINGTON
- Presidt and deputy from Virginia
- New Hampshire. Delaware.
- John Langdan Geo: Read
- Nicholas Gilman John Dickinson
- Jaco: Broom
- Gunning Bedford jun
- Massachusetts. Richard Bassett
- Nathaniel Gorham
- Rufus King Maryland.
- James McHenry
- Connecticut. Danl Carroll
- Dan: of St Thos Jenifer
- Wm Saml Johnson
- Roger Sherman
- Virginia.
- New York. John Blair--
- James Madison Jr.
- Alexander Hamilton
- North Carolina.
- New Jersey.
- Wm Blount
- Wil: Livingston Hu Williamson
- David Brearley. Richd Dobbs Spaight.
- Wm Patterson
- Jona: Dayton
- South Carolina.
- Pennsylvania. J. Rutledge
- Charles Pinckney
- B. Franklin Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
- Robt. Morris Pierce Butler
- Thos. Fitzsimons
- James Wilson
- Thomas Mifflin Georgia.
- Geo. Clymer
- Jared Ingersoll William Few
- Gouv Morris Abr Baldwin
- Attest:
- WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
- Articles in Addition To, and Amendment Of, the Constitution
- of the United States of America, Proposed by Congress, and
- Ratified by the Legislatures of the Several States, Pursuant
- to the Fifth Article of the Original Constitution.
- Article I.
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
- religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
- abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
- right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
- the Government for a redress of grievances.
- Article II.
- A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of
- a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,
- shall not be infringed.
- Article III.
- No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any
- house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war,
- but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
- Article IV.
- The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
- houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches
- and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall
- issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
- affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
- searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
- Article V.
- No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
- otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
- indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the
- land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
- service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any
- person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in
- jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
- criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
- deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process
- of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
- without just compensation.
- Article VI.
- In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
- right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of
- the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
- committed, which district shall have been previously
- ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
- cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
- against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
- witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of
- Counsel for his defense.
- Article VII.
- In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
- exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
- preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
- reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according
- to the rules of the common law.
- Article VIII.
- Excessive bail shall not be required, or excessive fines
- imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
- Article IX.
- The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
- shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
- by the people.
- Article X.
- The powers not delegated to the United States by the
- Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
- reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
- Article XI.
- The Judicial power of the United States shall not be
- construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced
- or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens
- of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign
- State.
- Article XII.
- The Electors shall meet in their respective sates and vote
- by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at
- least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with
- themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
- voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person
- voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct
- lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all
- persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of
- votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and
- transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
- States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The
- President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and
- House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the
- votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest
- number of votes for President, shall be the President, if
- such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
- appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
- the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three
- on the list of those voted for as President, the House of
- Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the
- President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
- taken by states, the representation from each state having
- one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a
- member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a
- majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.
- And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a
- President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon
- them, before the fourth day of March next following, then
- the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of
- the death or other constitutional disability of the
- President.--The person having the greatest number of votes
- as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such
- number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
- appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the
- two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the
- Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of
- two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority
- of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no
- person constitutionally ineligible to the office of
- President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
- United States.
- Article XIII.
- Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except
- as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
- duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
- place subject to their jurisdiction.
- Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article
- by appropriate legislation.
- Article XIV.
- Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United
- States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
- of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
- No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
- the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
- States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
- liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny
- to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection
- of the laws.
- Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
- several States according to their respective numbers,
- counting the whole number of persons in each State,
- excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at
- any election for the choice of electors for President and
- Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in
- Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or
- the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
- the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years
- of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any
- abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other
- crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced
- in the proportion which the number of such male citizens
- shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
- years of age in such State.
- Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in
- Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or
- hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,
- or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as
- a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States,
- or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
- or judicial officer of any State, to support the
- Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
- insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or
- comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote
- of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
- Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United
- States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for
- payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
- insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But
- neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay
- any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or
- rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the
- loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
- obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
- Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by
- appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
- Article XV.
- Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to
- vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or
- by any State on account of race, color, or previous
- condition of servitude--
- Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
- article by appropriate legislation.
- Article XVI.
- The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on
- incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment
- among the several States, and without regard to any census
- or enumeration.
- Article XVII.
- The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
- Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for
- six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The
- electors in each State shall have the qualifications
- requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the
- State legislatures.
- When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in
- the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall
- issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided,
- That the legislature of any State may empower the executive
- thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill
- the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
- This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the
- election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes
- valid as part of the Constitution.
- Article XVIII.
- Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this
- article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of
- intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,
- or the exportation thereof from the United States and all
- territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage
- purposes is hereby prohibited.
- Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have
- concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
- legislation.
- Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
- have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
- the legislature of the several States, as provided in the
- Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
- submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
- Article XIX.
- The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
- be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
- on account of sex.
- Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
- appropriate legislation.
- Article XX.
- Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President
- shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms
- of Senators and representatives at noon on the 3d day of
- January, of the years in which such terms would have ended
- if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of
- their successors shall then begin.
- Section 2. The congress shall assemble at least once in
- every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d
- day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different
- day.
- Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the
- term of the President, the President elect shall have died,
- the Vice President elect shall become President. If a
- President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed
- for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect
- shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect
- shall act as President until a President shall have
- qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case
- wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect
- shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as
- President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be
- selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a
- President or Vice President shall have qualified.
- Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of
- the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
- Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of
- choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of
- the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may
- choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall
- have devolved upon them.
- Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th
- day of October following the ratification of this article.
- Section 6. 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.
- Article XXI.
- Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the
- Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
- Section 2 The transportation or importation into any State,
- Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery
- or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the
- laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
- Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
- have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
- conventions in the several States, as provided in the
- Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
- submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
- Article XXII.
- Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the
- President more than twice, and no person who has held the
- office of President, or acted as President, for more than
- two years of a term to which some other person was elected
- President shall be elected to the office of the President
- more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any
- person holding the office of President when this Article was
- proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person
- who may be holding the office of President, or acting as
- President, during the term within which this Article become
- operative from holding the office of President or acting as
- President during the remainder of such term.
- Section 2. 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 to the
- States by the Congress.
- Article XXIII.
- Section I. The District constituting the seat of Government
- of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the
- Congress may direct:
- A number of electors of President and Vice President equal
- to the whole number of Senators and Representative in
- Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were
- a State, but in no event more than the least populous
- State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the
- States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of
- the election of President and Vice President, to be electors
- appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District
- and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article
- of amendment.
- Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
- article by appropriate legislation.
- Article XXIV.
- Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to
- vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice
- President, for electors for President or Vice President, or
- for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be
- denied or abridged by the United States or any State by
- reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
- Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
- article by appropriate legislation.
- Article XXV.
- Section 1. In the case of the removal of the President from
- office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President
- shall become President.
- Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the
- Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice
- President who shall take office upon confirmation by a
- majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
- Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President
- pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
- Representative his written declaration that he is unable to
- discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
- transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary,
- such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice
- President as Acting President.
- Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of
- either the principal officers of the executive departments
- or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
- transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
- Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
- declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
- power and duties of his office, the Vice President shall
- immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as
- Acting President.
- Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President
- pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
- Representatives his written declaration that no inability
- exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
- unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
- principal officers of the executive department or of such
- other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within
- four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
- Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
- declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
- powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall
- decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for
- that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within
- twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written
- declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
- twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble,
- determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the
- President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
- his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge
- the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall
- resume the powers and duties of his office.
- Article XXVI.
- Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who
- are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be
- denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
- account of age.
- Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
- article by appropriate legislation.
- Article XXVII.
- No law, varying the compensation for the services of the
- Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
- election of representatives shall have intervened.
|