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CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED
STATESWe the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.Article. I.
Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.
Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the
Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for
Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the
Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that
State in which he shall be chosen.
[Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the
several States which maybe included within this Union, according to
their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the
whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a
Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other Persons.]* The actual Enumeration shall be made within three
Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States,
and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they
shall by Law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one
for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of
New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight,
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York
six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,
Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.*Changed by section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment.When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill
such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker
and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, [chosen by the Legislature thereof,]* for six
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.*Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment.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.]**Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment.No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age
of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he
shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro
tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise
the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of
two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office
of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment,
Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for
Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by
the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make
or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be [on the first Monday in December,]* unless they shall
by Law appoint a different Day.*Changed by section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment.Section. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns
and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of
absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House
may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two
thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House
on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be
entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any
other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid
out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any
Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any
other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof
shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any
Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during
his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments
as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the
President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if
not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it
shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration
two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House,
it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses
shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons
voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each
House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President
within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented
to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it,
unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the
United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and
Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the
common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all
Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United
States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws
on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and
fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas,
and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that
Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia,
and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service
of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the
Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of
particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of
the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority
over an Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State
in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dockYards and other needful Buildings;--And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution in the Government of the United States or in any
Department or Officer thereof.
Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such
Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may
require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to
be taken.**See Sixteenth Amendment.No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall
Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear,
or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law, and a regular Statement and Account of
the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published
from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office,
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit
Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in
Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or
Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of
Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of
all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall
be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws
shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or
engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as
will not admit of delay.Article. II.
Section. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen
for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of
Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in
the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an
Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed
an Elector.
[The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by
Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an
Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a
List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for
each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having
the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number
be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if
there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal
Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House
shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the
President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation
from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall
consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States,
and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice.
In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the
Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal
Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.]**Changed lay the Twelfth Amendment.The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and
the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the
same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the
United States.
[In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties
of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and
the Congress may 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.]**Changed by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during
the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not
receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States,
or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take
the following Oath or Affirmation:--....I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States.''
Section. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in
each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except
in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent
of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the
United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for,
and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may
happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which
shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the
Time of Adjoumment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall
think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers;
he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall
Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of
the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for,
and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.Article. III.Section. 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested
in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may
from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme
and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,
and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation,
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2. 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.]**Changed by the Eleventh Amendment.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court
shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before
mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction,
both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such
Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment; shall be
by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said
Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any
State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may
by Law have directed.
Section. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them
Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on
the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession
in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason,
but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or
Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.Article. IV.Section. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to
the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other
State; And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner
in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and
the Effect thereof.
Section. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime,
who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on
Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled,
be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of
the Crime.
[No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or
Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but
shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or
Labour may be due.]**Changed by the Thirteenth Amendment.Section. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the
Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the
Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful
Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property
belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution
shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United
States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in
this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each
of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature,
or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened)
against domestic Violence.Article. V.The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on
the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which,
in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as
Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of
three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three
fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may
be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may
be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall
in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth
Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its
Consent, shall be deprived of it's equal Suffrage in the Senate.Article. VI.All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the
Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be
made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be
made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme
Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby,
any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary
notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members
of the several State Legislatures and all executive and judicial
Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall
be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but
no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any
Office or public Trust under the United States.Article. VII.The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be
sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the
States so ratifying the Same.
done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present
the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United
States of America the Twelfth In Witness whereof We have hereunto
subscribed our Names,G . Washington--Presid .
and deputy from VirginiaNew Hampshire John Langdon
Nicholas GilmanMassachusetts Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman
¡
New York Alexander HamiltonNew Jersey Wil: Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: DaytonPennsylvania B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv MorrisDelaware Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: BroomMaryland James McHenry
Dan of St Thos. Jenifer
Danl CarrollVirginia John Blair--
James Madison Jr.North Carolina Wm. Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu WilliamsonSouth Carolina J. Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
Georgia William Few
Abr BaldwinAttest William Jackson SecretaryIn Convention Monday
September 17th 1787.PresentThe States ofNew Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Mr. Hamilton from New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.Resolved,
That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United States
in Congress assembled, and that it is the Opinion of this Convention,
that it should afterwards be submitted to a Convention of Delegates,
chosen in each State by the People thereof, under the Recommendation
of its Legislature, for their Assent and Ratification; and that each
Convention assenting to, and ratifying the Same, should give Notice
thereof to the United States in Congress assembled. Resolved, That it
is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the Conventions of
nine States shall have ratified this Constitution, the United States
in Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors should be
appointed by the States which shall have ratified the same, and a Day
on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the President, and
the Time and Place for commencing Proceedings under this Constitution.
That after such Publication the Electors should be appointed, and
the Senators and Representatives elected: That the Electors should meet
on the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and should transmit
their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution
requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled,
that the Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and
Place assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the
Senate, for the sole Purpose of receiving, opening and counting the
Votes for President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress,
together with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute
this Constitution.
By the unanimous Order of the ConventionGo. WASHINGTON--Presidt.W. JACKSON Secretary.*Congress OF THE United Statesbegun and held at the City of New-York,
on Wednesday the fourth of March,
one thousand seven hundred and eighty nineTHE Conventions of a number of the States; having at the time of
their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to
prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further
declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending
the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure
the beneficent ends of its institution:RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses
concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures
of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United
States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of
the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part
of the said Constitution; viz.t.ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the
Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of
the original Constitution. . . .FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
JOHN ADAMS, Vice-President of the United States,
and President of the Senate.
ATTEST,
JOHN BECKLEY, Clerk of the House of Representatives.
SAM. A. OTIS Secretary of the Senate.*On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the state legislatures
twelve proposed amendments, two of which, having to do with
Congressional representation and Congressional pay, were not adopted.
The remaining ten amendments became the Bill of Rights.AMENDMENTS
TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAmendment I.**The first ten Amendments (Bill of Rights) were ratified effective
December 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.A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.
Amendment III.No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner
to be prescribed by law.Amendment IV.The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Amendment V.No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use without just compensation.Amendment VI.In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for
his defence.Amendment VII.In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and
no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Amendment VIII.Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Amendment IX.The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Amendment X.The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.Amendment XI.**The Eleventh Amendment was ratified February 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.**The Twelfth Amendment was ratified June 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 PA 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.*Superseded by section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment.Amendment XIII.****The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified December 6, 1865.Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.Amendment XIV.******The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified July 9, 1868.Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens
of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President
and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress,
the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of
the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of
such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United
States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion,
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in
the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the
whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil
or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such
disability.Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion,
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim
for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.Amendment XV.*Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.Amendment XVI.**The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several
States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.Amendment XVII.***The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of
the State legislatures.*The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified February 3, 1870.
**The Sixteenth Amendment was ratified February 3, 1913.
***The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified April 8, 1913.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.*[Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within,
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
years from the date of the submission here of to the States by the
Congress.]*The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified January 16, 1914. It was
repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment, December 5, 1933.Amendment XIX.*The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.Amendment XX.**Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end
at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and
Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in
which such terms would have ended if this article had not been
ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year,
and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless
they shall by law appoint a different day.Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of
the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President
elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been
chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the
President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified;
and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one
who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.*The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified August 18, 1920.The Twentieth Amendment was ratified January 23, 1933.Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death
of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose
a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them,
and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate
may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have
devolved upon them.Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of
October following the ratification of this article.Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the
date of its submission.Amendment XXI.*Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution
of the United States is hereby repealed.Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State,
Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use
therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof,
is hereby prohibited.Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in
the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the
Congress.*The Twenty-First Amendment was ratified December 5, 1933.Amendment XXII*Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President
more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President,
or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some
other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of
the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any
person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed
by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding
the office of President, or acting as President, during the term
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office
of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of threefourths of the several States within seven years from the date
of its submission to the States by the Congress.Amendment XXIII.**Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the
United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the
whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which
the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event
more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those
appointed by the
*The Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified February 27, 1951.
**The Twenty-Third Amendment was ratified March 29, 1961.States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the
election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed
by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such
duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.Amendment XXIV.*Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in
any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for
electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax
or other tax.Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.Amendment XXV.**Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or
of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall
take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of
Congress.Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged
by the Vice President as Acting President.*The Twenty-Fourth Amendment was ratified January 23, 1964.**The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was ratified February 10, 1967.Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body
as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately
assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume
the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a
majority of either the principal officers of the executive department
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within
four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-
eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within
twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or,
if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress
is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers
and duties of his office.Amendment XXVI*Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.Amendment XXVII**No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators
and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of
Representatives shall have intervened.*The Twenty-Sixth Amendment was ratified July 1, 1971.
**Congress submitted the text of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the
States as part of the proposed Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789.
The Amendment was not ratified together with the first ten Amendments,
which became effective on December 15, 1791. The Twenty-Seventh
Amendment was ratified on May 7, 1992, by the vote of Michigan. .AppendixTHE DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCEAction of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous
Declaration of the thirteen United States of AmericaWHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one
People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the
separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of
Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the Separation.WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the
Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive
of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such
Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be
changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience
hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which
they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them
underabsolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.
Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is
now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems
of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a
History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct
Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary
for the public Good.HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them.HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large
Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right
of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them,
and formidable to Tyrants only.HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public
Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance
with his Measures.HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with
manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise;
the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of
Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for
that Purpose obstructingthe Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to
encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new
Appropriations of Lands.HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of
their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms
of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace Standing Armies, without
the consent of our Legislatures.HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior
to the Civil Power.HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign
to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his
Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any
Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging
its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit
Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and
altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and
destroyed the Lives of our People.HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign
Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny,
already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head
of a civilized Nation.HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners
of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the
merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an
undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress
in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered
only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by
every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a
free People.NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We
have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to
extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them
of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have
appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured
them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations,
which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity.
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which, denounces our
Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in
War, in Peace, Friends.WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by
Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and
Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be,
FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection
between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have
full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES
may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm
Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
