We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article 1.
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of
a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2
The House of Representatives shall be composed of
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the
several States, and the Electors in each State shall
have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the
most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
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
choose 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 choose 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.
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.
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 choose 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 Place of Choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns
and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of
each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a
smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be
authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members,
in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House
may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly 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
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 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
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
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and
provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of
the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles
square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the
acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the
Government of the United States, and to exercise like
Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of
the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be,
for the Erection of
Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other
needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of
the States now existing shall think proper to admit,
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the
Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or
duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding
ten dollars for each Person.
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
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 its 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 Control 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 2.
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 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 choose 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
choose 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. 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 choose from them by Ballot the
Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of choosing 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.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the
several States, when called into the actual Service of
the United States; he may require the Opinion, in
writing, of the principal Officer in each of the
executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have
Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses
against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two
thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall
nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and
all other Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established
by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment
of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads
of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to
their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary
Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and
in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to
the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such
Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive
Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall
Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of
the United States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or
other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article 3.
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 Behavior, 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.
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 4.
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.
Section 3
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
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 5.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses
shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to
this Constitution, or, on the Application of the
Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall
call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in
either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes,
as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the
Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or
the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made
prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight
shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses
in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no
State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its
equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article 6.
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 7.
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.
George Washington – President and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire – John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts – Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut – William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York – Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey – William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton
Pennsylvania – Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris
Delaware – George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom
Maryland – James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll
Virginia – John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina – William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
South Carolina – John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia – William Few, Abraham Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any
house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of
war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.
Amendment 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in
the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offense to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property
be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall
have been committed, which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted
with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to
have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury
shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall
be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
Amendment 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people.
Amendment 10
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 11
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 12
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 13
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 14
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote
at any election for the choice of electors for President
and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives
in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a
State, or
the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any
of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in
any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion,
or other crime, the basis of representation therein
shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of
male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or
hold any office, civil or military, under the United
States, or under any State, who, having previously taken
an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of
any State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for
payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and
void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or
by any State on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16
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 17
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 18
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 19
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 20
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 21
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution
by conventions in the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 22
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the
President more than twice, and no person who has held
the office of President, or acted as President, for more
than two years of a term to which some other person was
elected President shall be elected to the office of the
President more than once. But this Article shall not
apply to any person holding the office of President,
when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and
shall not prevent any person who may be holding the
office of President, or acting as President, during the
term within which this Article becomes operative from
holding the office of President or acting as President
during the remainder of such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 23
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 24
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in
any primary or other election for President or Vice
President, for electors for President or Vice President,
or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or any State
by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25
1. In case of the removal of the President from office
or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall
become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and
duties of his office unless the Vice President and a
majority of either the principal officers of the
executive department or of such other body as Congress
may by law provide, transmit within four days to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives their written declaration
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide
the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within
twenty one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble,
determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties
of his office, the Vice President shall continue to
discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the
President shall resume the powers and duties of his
office.
Amendment 26
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 27
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until
an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Please note that repealed text is omitted from this
version.
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