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The
Constitution of the United States of America
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. - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature
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
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
previous sentence in parentheses was superseded by Amendment XIV, section
2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty
Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until
such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled
to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South
Carolina five and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from
any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to
fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3 - The Senate
The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each State, (chosen by
the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in
parentheses superseded by Amendment XVII, section 1.) 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.) (The preceding words in
parentheses were superseded by Amendment XVII, section 2.)
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 - Elections, Meetings
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter
such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on
the first Monday in December,) (The preceding words in
parentheses were superseded by Amendment XX, section 2.) unless
they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5 - Membership, Rules,
Journals, Adjournment
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 - Compensation
(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.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified
by Amendment XVII.) 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 - Revenue Bills,
Legislative Process, Presidential Veto
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 - Powers of Congress
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 - Limits on Congress
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.) (Section in parentheses modified by Amendment
XVI.)
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 - Powers prohibited of
States
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. - The Executive Branch
Section 1 - The President
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 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.) (This clause in
parentheses was superseded by Amendment XII.)
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 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.) (This clause in
parentheses has been modified by Amendments XX and XXV.)
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 - Civilian Power over
Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
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 - State of the Union,
Convening Congress
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 - Disqualification
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. - The Judicial Branch
Section 1 - Judicial powers
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 - Trial by Jury, Original
Jurisdiction, Jury Trials
(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.) (This section in parentheses is modified by
Amendment XI.)
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.
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
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. - The States
Section 1 - Each State to Honor all
others
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 - State citizens,
Extradition
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.) (This
clause in parentheses is superseded by Amendment XIII.)
Section 3 - New States
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 - Republican government
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. - Amendment
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses
shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or,
on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States,
shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case,
shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution,
when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment
which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight
shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section
of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be
deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI. - The United States
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 VII. - Ratification Documents
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.
Go Washington - President and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut - Wm Saml Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York - Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey - Wil Livingston, David Brearley, Wm Paterson, Jona.
Dayton
Pensylvania - B Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt Morris, Geo. Clymer,
Thos FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris
Delaware - Geo. Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard
Bassett, Jaco. Broom
Maryland - James McHenry, Dan of St Tho Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia - John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina - Wm Blount, Richd Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson
South Carolina - J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles
Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia - William Few, Abr Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
The
Amendments
The following are the Amendments to
the Constitution. The first ten Amendments collectively are commonly known
as the Bill of Rights.
Amendment I - Freedom of Religion,
Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 - Right to bear arms.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 - Quartering of
soldiers. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 - Search and seizure.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 - Trial and Punishment,
Compensation for Takings. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 - Right to speedy trial,
confrontation of witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 VII - Trial by jury in
civil cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 VIII - Cruel and Unusual
punishment. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX - Construction of
Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Amendment X - States' Rights.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
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 XI - Judicial Limits.
Ratified 2/7/1795.
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 - Choosing the
President, Vice- President. Ratified 6/15/1804.
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 - Slavery Abolished.
Ratified 12/6/1865.
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 XIV - Citizenship rights.
Ratified 7/9/1868.
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 XV - Race no bar to vote.
Ratified 2/3/1870.
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 XVI - Income taxes
authorized. Ratified 2/3/1913.
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 - Senators elected by
popular vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.
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 - Liquor abolished.
Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment XXI, 12/5/1933.
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 XIX - Women's suffrage.
Ratified 8/18/1920.
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 - Presidential,
Congressional terms. Ratified 1/23/1933.
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 XXI - Amendment XVIII
repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933.
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 XXII - Presidential terms
limits. Ratified 2/27/1951.
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 XXIII - Presidential vote
for District of Columbia. Ratified 3/29/1961.
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 XXIV - Poll tax barred.
Ratified 1/23/1964.
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 XXV - Presidential
disability and succession. Ratified 2/10/1967.
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 XXVI - Voting age set to 18
years. Ratified 7/1/1971.
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 XXVII - Congressional pay
increases. Ratified 5/7/1992.
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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