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 1.
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 choose 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
choose 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 choose 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. Judgment 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 Choosing 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 its 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
increased 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 Debts and provide for the common Defence 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, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and 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 forth 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 Buildings; 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 its 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 Control 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 2.
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 lie 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 choose 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 choose 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. 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 choose from them by Ballot the Vice-President. The Congress may
determine the Time of choosing 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 the 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
increased 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 Reprieves 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 3.
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 Behavior, 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 or 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
attainted.
Article 4.
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 States
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 5.
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 6.
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 Pursuance 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 7.
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
Twelfth.
In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
George Washington - President and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut - William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York - Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey - William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan
Dayton
Pennsylvania - Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George
Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris
Delaware - George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett,
Jacob Broom
Maryland - James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll
Virginia - John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina - William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
South Carolina - John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles
Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia - William Few, Abraham Baldwin Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
Amendment 1- 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.
Amendment 2- 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.
Amendment 3- 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.
Amendment 4- 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.
Amendment 5- 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 offense 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.
Amendment 6- 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 defence.
Amendment 7- 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 re-examined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8- Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9- The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10- 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.
Amendment 11- 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.
Amendment 12- The Electors shall meet in their respective states, 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 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 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.
Amendment 13- 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. 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14- 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. 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 way 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. 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. 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. 5. The Congress shall have power to
enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15- 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. 2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16- 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.
Amendment 17- 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.
Amendment 18- 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. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 3. This article shall
be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by the legislatures 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.
Amendment 19- 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.
Amendment 20- 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. 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. 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. 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. 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect
on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article. 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.
Amendment 21- 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
the United States is hereby repealed. 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. 3. The 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.
Amendment 22- 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 becomes operative from holding the
office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. 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.
Amendment 23- 1. 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 Representatives 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. 2. The
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 24- 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. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. 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. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives 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. 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 powers 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.
Amendment 26- 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. 2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27- No law, varying the compensation for the services of the
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of
Representatives shall have intervened.