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 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 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 Places 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 Defense 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 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 of
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; emits 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 Control of the Congress.
No State shall, without the
Consent of the 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 no 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 the 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 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 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 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 be 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.
The first ten Amendments were
ratified Dec. 15, 1791, and form what is known as the Bill of Rights.)
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 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.
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 defense.
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
(Ratified Feb. 7, 1795)
The Judicial power of the
United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity,
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another
State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Amendment 12
(Ratified July 27, 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.—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
(Ratified Dec. 6, 1865)
Section 1. Neither Slavery,
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14
(Ratified July 9, 1868)
Section 1. All persons born
or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives
shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians
not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of
electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives
in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of
the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in
any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be
a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice
President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress,
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature,
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the
Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of
the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States
nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss
or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall
be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall
have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provision of this
article.
Amendment 15
(Ratified Feb. 3, 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.
Amendment 16
(Ratified Feb. 3, 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.
Amendment 17
(Ratified April 8, 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.
Amendment 18
(Ratified Jan. 16, 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.
Amendment 19
(Ratified Aug. 18, 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.
Amendment 20
(Ratified Jan. 23, 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 third 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 third 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.
Amendment 21
(Ratified Dec. 5, 1933)
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.
Amendment 22
(Ratified Feb. 27, 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.
Amendment 23
(Ratified March 29, 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.
Amendment 24
(Ratified Jan. 23, 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.
Amendment 25
(Ratified Feb. 10, 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.
Amendment 26
(Ratified July 1, 1971)
Section 1. The right of
citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
age.
Section 2. The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27
(Ratified May 7, 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.[1]