The Constitution
Preamble
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Affected by the Fourteenth Amendment Section 2, and
the Sixteenth Amendment.]
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.[Clause 4:]
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such
Vacancies.[Clause 5:]
The House of Representatives
shall chuse their Speaker and
other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3.
[Clause 1:]
The Senate of the United States shall
be composed of two Senators from each
State, chosen by the Legislature thereof,
[Affected by the Seventeenth Amendment]
for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.[Clause 2:]
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. [Affected
by the Seventeenth Amendment.][Clause 3:]
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.[Clause 4:]
The Vice President of the United States shall be President
of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.[Clause 5:]
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.[Clause 6:]
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.[Clause 7:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
The Congress shall assemble
at least once in every Year, and
such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,
[Affected by the Twentieth Amendment, Section 2]
unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.[Clause 4:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.
[Affected by the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.]
They shall in all Cases, except Treason,
Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they
shall not be questioned in any other Place.[Clause 2:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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;[Clause 2:]
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;[Clause 3:]
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes;[Clause 4:]
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;[Clause 5:]
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin,
and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;[Clause 6:]
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities
and current Coin of the United States;[Clause 7:]
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;[Clause 8:]
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;[Clause 9:]
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;[Clause 10:]
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;[Clause 11:]
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;[Clause 12:]
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of
Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;[Clause 13:]
To provide and maintain a Navy;[Clause 14:]
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and naval Forces;[Clause 15:]
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;[Clause 16:]
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;[Clause 17:]
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[Clause 18:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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. [Affected by the Thirteenth
Amendment.][Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be
passed.[Clause 4:]
No
Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
[Affected by the Sixteenth Amendment.][Clause 5:]
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
State.[Clause 6:]
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.[Clause 7:]
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.[Clause 8:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Clause 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[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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. [Superseded
by the Twelfth Amendment.][Clause 4:]
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.[Clause 5:]
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.[Clause 6:]
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,
[Affected by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment]
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.[Clause 7:]
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.[Clause 8:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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;
[Affected by the Eleventh Amendment]
-- 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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[Affected by the Thirteenth Amendment.]
Section 3.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.
[Clause 1:]
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.[Clause 2:]
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.[Clause 3:]
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.
[1789]
Amendments
in order of adoption
First Amendment [1791]
-
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Second Amendment [1791]
-
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 [1791]
-
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 [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.
Fifth Amendment [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 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 [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.
Seventh Amendment [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.
Eighth Amendment [1791]
-
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth Amendment [1791]
-
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth Amendment [1791]
-
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 [1798]
-
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 [1804]
-
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots
the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted
for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted
for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the
number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed
to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates
and the votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of
votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of
the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority,
then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the
list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having
one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 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.
[Superseded by the Twentieth Amendment, Section 3.]
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 [1865]
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within
the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Fourteenth Amendment [1868]
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in
each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any
election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the
United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial
officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to
any of the male inhabitants of such State, being
twenty-one years of age,
[Affected by the Nineteenth Amendment and the
Twenty-Sixth Amendment]
and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State.Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States,
or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial
officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall
have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability.Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Fifteenth Amendment [1870]
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Sixteenth Amendment [1913]
-
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 [1913]
- 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 [1919]
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.
- [Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment]
Nineteenth Amendment [1920]
-
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 [1933]
Section 1.
The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on
the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon
on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if
this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall
then begin.Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall
by law appoint a different day.Section 3.
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall
become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time
fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have
failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until
a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the
case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have
qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which
one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.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 [1913]
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 [1951]
-
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 [1961]
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 [1964]
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 [1967]
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 [1971]
-
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 [1992]
-
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.
- - -
