THE CONSTITUTION Courtesy of the U.S. Historical
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Preamble.
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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the
Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue
Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse
their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3. Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States
shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be
equally divided.
Clause 5: 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.
Clause 6: 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 1: 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 Places of chusing Senators.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its
Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the
Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: 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.
Clause 1: 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. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, beprivileged 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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;
Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United
States;
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,
and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the
United States;
Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,
and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of
counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Clause 8: 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;
Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the
supreme Court;
Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and
Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque
and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no
Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and
Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia
to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Clause 16: 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;
Clause 17: 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
Clause 18: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law
shall be passed.
Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall
be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before
directed to be taken.
Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles
exported from any State.
Clause 6: 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 8: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 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
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: 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.
Clause 5: 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.
Clause 6: 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 VicePresident, 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 8: 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.
Clause 1: 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
Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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. 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.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be
entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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 Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
[The
first 10 articles are known as the Bill of Rights]
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 defence.
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 re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 becomes 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 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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.