We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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. (Changed
by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment)]
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
the first Meeting of thc 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,
(Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment)]
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 thc 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.
(Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment)]
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.
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 Places
of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be [on the first Monday in December, (Changed
by Section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment)] 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 Behaviour, 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 thc 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 thc 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 becomes 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. (See Sixteenth Amendment)]
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. (Changed
by the Twelfth Amendment)]
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 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 be 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. (Changed by the Twenty-Fifth
Amendment )]
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. 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 Officer
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; (Changed
by the Eleventh Amendment)] 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. (Changed
by the Eleventh Amendment)]
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. 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. (Changed by the Thirteenth Amendment)]
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 rower 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 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 it's
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 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 thc 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,
G.o Washington -- Presd.t
and deputy from Virginia
Attest William Jackson Secretary
The Bill of Rights
Congress OF THE United
States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday
the
Fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
The Conventions of a number of
the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution,
expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse
of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses
should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence
in the Government will best insure the beneficent ends of its
institution;
Resolved, by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress
assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following
articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States,
as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all
or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of
the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes
as part of the said Constitution, namely:
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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 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 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Amendment 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.
Additional Amendments
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment XVIII (Changed
by twenty first amendment)
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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment XXVI
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who
are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 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.
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