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.
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 modified by the 14th
Amendment, 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 17th
Amendment, 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 the 17th
Amendment, 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 Choosing
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 the 20th
Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a
different Day.
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
Judgement 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 the 27th
Amendment.) 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.
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 theirAdjournment
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 generalWelfare
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 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 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
clarified by the 16th
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 - 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 anyImposts
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.
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 the 12th
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 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 the 20th
and 25th
Amendments.)
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 ofAdjournment,
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.
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 the 11th
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 haveappellateJurisdiction,
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.
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 ofTreason,
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 the13th
Amendment.)
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 aRepublican
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.
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 - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths
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.
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. Note
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
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.
Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified
12/15/1791.Note
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not
be infringed.
Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers.Ratified
12/15/1791.Note
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered
in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4 - 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 5 - 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 6 - 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 7 - 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 8 - 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 9 - 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 10 - Powers of the States and
People. Ratified
12/15/1791.Note
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.
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.
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.
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.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned
among the several States according to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians
not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice
of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a
State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male
citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer
of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as
an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the
Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection
or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies
thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House,
remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion,
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified
2/3/1870.History
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax
Clarified. Ratified
2/3/1913.NoteHistory
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 orenumeration.
Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular
Vote. Ratified
4/8/1913.History
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.
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.
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.
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or
possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of
intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby
prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the
several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 22 - Presidential Term Limits.Ratified
2/27/1951.History
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more
than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or
acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some
other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of
the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any
person holding the office of President, when this Article was
proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be
holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the
term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the
office of President or acting as President during the remainder of
such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date
of its submission to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 23 - Presidential Vote for
District of Columbia. Ratified
3/29/1961.History
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.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election for President or Vice President, for
electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll
tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25 - Presidential Disability and
Succession. Ratified
2/10/1967.NoteHistory
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall
take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of
Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his
written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be
discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body
as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately
assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the
powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a
majority of either the principal officers of the executive department
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within
four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty
eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress,
within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one
days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds
vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to
discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President
shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years.Ratified
7/1/1971.History
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.
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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