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.
Article I
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein
granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall
consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2
The House of Representatives
shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of
the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the
Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the
State Legislature.
No Person shall be a
Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five
Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who
shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he
shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes
shall be apportioned among the several States which 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 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 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 chuse their
other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the
Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the
United States.
The Senate shall have the sole
Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall
be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is
tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted
without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment
shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit
under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment,
according to Law.
Section 4
The Times, Places and Manner of
holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed
in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any
time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of
chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at
least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday
in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5
Each House shall be the Judge of
the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a
Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller
Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties
as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the
Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour,
and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal
of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting
such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and
Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire
of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session
of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more
than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two
Houses shall be sitting.
Section 6
The Senators and Representatives
shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by
Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in
all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged
from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech
or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other
Place.
No Senator or Representative
shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any
civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have
been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during
such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States,
shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 7
All Bills for raising Revenue
shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may
propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have
passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it
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 Offences 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 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 it's
inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by
any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of
the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision
and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the
Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of
War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another
State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually
invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II
Section 1
The executive Power shall be
vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his
Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice
President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Each State shall appoint, in such
Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors,
equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the
State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative,
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their
respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at
least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And
they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number
of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the
greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a
Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more
than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes,
then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one
of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the
five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the
President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by
States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of
the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a
Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice
President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes,
the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
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.
The President shall, at stated
Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be
encreased 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 Offences 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 III
Section 1
The judicial Power of the United
States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The
Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their
Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during
their Continuance in Office.
Section 2
The judicial Power shall extend
to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the
Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime
Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a
Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;—between a State and
Citizens of another State,—between Citizens of different States,—between
Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different
States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign
States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a
State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original
Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court
shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such
Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except
in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held
in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when
not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or
Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3
Treason against the United
States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering
to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be
convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to
declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall
work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the
Person attainted.
Article IV
Section 1
Full Faith and Credit shall be
given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial
Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws
prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall
be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State
with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and
be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of
the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or
Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another,
shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged
from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the
Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3
New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected
within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by
the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the
Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the
Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to
dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the
Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing
in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of
the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4
The United States shall guarantee
to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall
protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be
convened) against domestic Violence.
Article V
The
Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary,
shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of
the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a
Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be
valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no
Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred
and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in
the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its
Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI
All Debts contracted and
Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution,
shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as
under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws
of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all
Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United
States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of
any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives
before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and
all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of
the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support
this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article VII
The
Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for
the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying
the Same.
First Amendment
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.
Second Amendment
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.
Third Amendment
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.
Fourth Amendment
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.
Fifth Amendment
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 offence 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.
Sixth Amendment
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.
Seventh Amendment
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.
Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth Amendment
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth Amendment
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.
Eleventh Amendment
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.
Twelfth Amendment
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 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.
Thirteenth Amendment
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Fourteenth Amendment
Section 1
All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are
citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
Section 2
Representatives shall be
apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United
States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any
of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State.
Section 3
No person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President,
or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under
any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any
State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State,
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each
House, remove such disability.
Section 4
The validity of the public debt
of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for
payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States,
or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Fifteenth Amendment
Section 1
The right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition
of servitude–
Section 2
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Sixteenth Amendment
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.
Seventeenth Amendment
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.
Eighteenth Amendment
Section 1
After one year from the
ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of
intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the
exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to
the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3
This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution
by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof
to the States by the Congress.
Nineteenth Amendment
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.
Twentieth Amendment
Section 1
The terms of the President and
the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the
terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January,
of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had
not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2
The Congress shall assemble at
least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d
day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3
If, at the time fixed for the
beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have
died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President
shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of
his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then
the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall
have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein
neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have
qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in
which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act
accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4
The Congress may by law provide
for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of
the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever
the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6
This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution
by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven
years from the date of its submission.
Twenty-First Amendment
Section 1
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2
The transportation or importation
into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for
delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the
laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3
This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution
by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution,
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States
by the Congress.
Twenty-Second Amendment
Section 1
No person shall be elected to
the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held
the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years
of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be
elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article
shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this
Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person
who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President,
during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding
the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of
such term.
Section 2
This article shall be
inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the
Congress.
Twenty-Third Amendment
Section 1
The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A
number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole
number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District
would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the
least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by
the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the
election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a
State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as
provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Section 1
The right of citizens of the
United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or
Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for
Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll
tax or other tax.
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in
the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice
President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of
both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Whenever the President transmits
to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to
them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a
majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President
shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting
President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he
shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice
President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue,
assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session.
If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter
written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by
two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue
to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President
shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
Section 1
The right of citizens of the
United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account
of age.
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Twenty-Seventh Amendment
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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