Contents
The Constitution of the United States
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.
Section 1 - The Legislature
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of
the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
Section 2 - The House
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every
second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each
State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most
numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the
Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in
which he shall be chosen.
(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included within this
Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by
adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service
for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was superseded
by Amendment XIV, section 2.) The actual
Enumeration
shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of
the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such
Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not
exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative; and until such
enumeration
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to
chuse three,
Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one,
Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South
Carolina five and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive
Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall
chuse their
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of
Impeachment.
Section 3 - The Senate
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,)
(The preceding words in parentheses superseded by
Amendment XVII, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall
have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The
Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration
of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth
Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that
one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the
Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then
fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were
superseded by Amendment XVII, section 2.)
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who
shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall
be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate,
but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall
chuse their other Officers, and also a President
pro tempore,
in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office
of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all
Impeachments.
When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the
Concurrence
of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of
Impeachment
shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification
to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United
States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to
Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section 4 - Elections, Meetings
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Place of
Chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting
shall (be on the first Monday in December,) (The
preceding words in parentheses were superseded by
Amendment XX, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a
different Day.
Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals,
Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a
Quorum to
do Business; but a smaller number may
adjourn
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent
Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members
for disorderly Behavior, and, with the
Concurrence
of two-thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time
publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require
Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any
question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on
the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent
of the other,
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in
which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section 6 - Compensation
(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of
the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in
parentheses were modified by Amendment XXVII.) They
shall in all Cases, except
Treason,
Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they
shall not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United
States which shall have been created, or the
Emoluments
whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding
any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during
his Continuance in Office.
Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process,
Presidential Veto
All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or
concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the
Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the
United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return
it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who
shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to
reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall
agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to
the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved
by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases
the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names
of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the
Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the
President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been
presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had
signed it, unless the Congress by their
Adjournment
prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the
Concurrence
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of
Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States;
and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House
of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the
Case of a Bill.
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and
Excises, to
pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general
Welfare of
the United States; but all Duties,
Imposts and
Excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and
among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,
and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix
the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting
the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and
Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas,
and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant
Letters of
Marque and
Reprisal,
and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use
shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for
governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United
States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the
Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of
the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased
by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be,
for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other
needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,
or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9 - Limits on Congress
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as
any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and
eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding
ten dollars for each Person.
The privilege of the Writ of
Habeas Corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
public Safety may require it.
No Bill of
Attainder
or ex post
facto Law shall be passed.
(No capitation, or other
direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or
Enumeration
herein before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses
modified by Amendment XVI.)
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to
the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or
from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time
to time.
No Title
of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding
any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the
Congress, accept of any present,
Emolument,
Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign
State.
Section 10 - Powers prohibited of States
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant
Letters of
Marque and
Reprisal;
coin Money; emit
Bills of Credit;
make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass
any Bill of
Attainder,
ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or
grant any
Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or
Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for
executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and
Imposts,
laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the
Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the
Revision and Controul
of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress,
lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace,
enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign
Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger
as will not admit of delay.
Section 1 - The President
Note1
Note2
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States
of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and,
together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as
follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no
Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit
under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
(The Electors shall meet in their respective States,
and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an
Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of
all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the
Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate.
The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House
of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be
counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the
President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an
equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot
one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the
five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner
chuse the
President. But in
chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the
Representation from each State having one Vote; a
quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the
greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if
there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall
chuse from them
by Ballot the Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was
superseded by Amendment XII.)
The Congress may determine the Time of
chusing the
Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall
be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that
Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been
fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
(In Case of the Removal of the President from Office,
or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and
Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and
the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation
or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly,
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.)
(This clause in parentheses has been modified by Amendments
XX and XXV.)
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within
that Period any other
Emolument
from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my
Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United
States."
Section 2 - Civilian Power over Military,
Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the
United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into
the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in
writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon
any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall
have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United
States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur;
and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the
supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such
inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the
Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen
during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire
at the End of their next Session.
Section 3 - State of the Union, Convening
Congress
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State
of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene
both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them,
with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment,
he may adjourn
them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and
other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully
executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section 4 - Disqualification
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment
for, and Conviction of,
Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Section 1 - Judicial powers
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold
their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their
Continuance in Office.
Section 2 - Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction,
Jury Trials
(The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law
and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States,
and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; to all
Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all
Cases of admiralty and maritime
Jurisdiction;
to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to
Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of
another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.)
(This section in parentheses is modified by Amendment XI.)
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have
original
Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court
shall have
appellate
Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under
such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
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
Note
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.
Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts,
Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may
by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and
Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2 - State citizens, Extradition
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with
Treason,
Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another
State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he
fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having
Jurisdiction
of the Crime.
(No Person held to Service or
Labour in one
State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence
of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or
Labour, But shall
be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or
Labour may be
due.) (This clause in parentheses is superseded by
Amendment XIII.)
Section 3 - New States
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new
States shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction
of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more
States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the
States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules
and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the
United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to
Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4 - Republican government
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican
Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on
Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
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.
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
Georgia - William Few, Abr Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
The following are the Amendments to the Constitution. The first ten
Amendments collectively are commonly known as the
Bill of Rights.
History
Amendment I - Freedom of Religion, Press,
Expression.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
Note
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a
redress of
grievances.
Amendment II - Right to bear arms.
Ratified
12/15/1791.
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 III - 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 IV - Search and seizure.
Ratified
12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for
Takings.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person
be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived
of life, liberty, or property, without
due process
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
Amendment VI - Right to speedy trial, confrontation
of witnesses.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an
impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence.
Amendment VII - Trial by jury in civil cases.
Ratified
12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII - Cruel and Unusual punishment.
Ratified
12/15/1791.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX - Construction of Constitution.
Ratified
12/15/1791.
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X - 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.
Amendment XI - Judicial Limits.
Ratified
2/7/1795.
Note
History
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the
United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of
any Foreign State.
Amendment XII - Choosing the President,
Vice-President.
Ratified 6/15/1804.
Note
History
The Electoral
College
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the
United States, directed to the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and
House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then
be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be
the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot,
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a
quorum for
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And
if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of
the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall
be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two
highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a
quorum for
the purpose shall consist of two- thirds of the whole number of Senators,
and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no
person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be
eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
Amendment XIII - Slavery Abolished.
Ratified
12/6/1865.
History
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within
the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XIV - Citizenship rights.
Ratified
7/9/1868.
Note
History
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they
reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process
of law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be
apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice
of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State,
or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of
the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in
rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear
to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector
of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as
a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of
any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
the provisions of this article.
Amendment XV - Race no bar to vote.
Ratified
2/3/1870.
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 XVI - Income taxes authorized.
Ratified
2/3/1913.
Note
History
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from
whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census
or
enumeration.
Amendment XVII - Senators elected by popular vote.
Ratified
4/8/1913.
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.
Amendment XVIII - Liquor abolished.
Ratified
1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment XXI, 12/5/1933.
History
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation
thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all
territory subject to the
jurisdiction
thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several
States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of
the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment XIX - Women's
suffrage.
Ratified
8/18/1920.
History
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XX - Presidential, Congressional terms.
Ratified
1/23/1933.
History
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the
20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon
on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended
if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors
shall then begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President,
the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become
President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed
for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed
to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a
President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the
case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have
qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which
one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of
the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case
of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice
President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of
the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment XXI - Amendment XVIII
repealed.
Ratified 12/5/1933.
History
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United
States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or
possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating
liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as
an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment XXII - Presidential 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 XXIII - 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.
Amendment XXIV -
Poll tax
barred.
Ratified 1/23/1964.
History
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or
other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President
or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure
to pay any
poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XXV - Presidential disability and
succession.
Ratified 2/10/1967.
Note
History
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or
resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the
contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal
officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may
by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the
Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office
as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties
of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling
within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the
Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both
Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and
duties of his office.
Amendment XXVI - Voting age set to 18 years.
Ratified
7/1/1971.
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.
Amendment XXVII - Congressional pay increases.
Ratified
5/7/1992.
History
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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