The U.S. 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.
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Article I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature
All legislative Powers herein granted
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of
a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2 - The House
The House of Representatives shall
be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several
States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite
for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative
who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven
Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be
an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
(Representatives and direct Taxes
shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service
for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was superseded by Amendment
XIV, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years
after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within
every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand,
but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three,
Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut
five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland
six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia
three.
When vacancies happen in the
Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue
Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall
chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of
Impeachment.
Section 3 - The Senate
The Senate of the United States
shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature
thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by Amendment XVII,
section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be
assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as
equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first
Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second
Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the
Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second
Year; (and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess
of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then
fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded
by Amendment XVII, section 2.)
No person shall be a Senator who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant
of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United
States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they
be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other
Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President,
or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole
Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall
be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without
the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment
shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification
to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States:
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment,
Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section 4 - Elections,
Meetings
The Times, Places and Manner of
holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in
each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by
Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing
Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at
least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday
in December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by Amendment
XX, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5 - Membership, Rules,
Journals, Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of
the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority
of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of
absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may
provide.
Each House may determine the Rules
of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with
the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal
of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such
Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of
the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth
of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session
of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than
three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall
be sitting.
Section 6 - Compensation
(The Senators and Representatives
shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law,
and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words
in parentheses were modified by Amendment XXVII.) They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest
during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in
going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either
House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall,
during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office
under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or
the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no
Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either
House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative
Process, Presidential Veto
All bills for raising Revenue shall
originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or
concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed
the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law,
be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall
sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House
in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large
on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration
two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent,
together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise
be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become
a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined
by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the
Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill
shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like
Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent
its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote
to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be
necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the
President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall
be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two
thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules
and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To
lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and
provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;
but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United
States;
To borrow money on the credit of
the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign
Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout
the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value
thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and
Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of
counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post
Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science
and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior
to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and
Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of
Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of
Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and
Water;
To raise and support Armies, but
no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two
Years;
To provide and maintain a
Navy;
To make Rules for the Government
and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the
Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel
Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming,
and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may
be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States
respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training
the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation
in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square)
as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress,
become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like
Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of
the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and
all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United
States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9 - Limits on Congress
The Migration or Importation of
such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit,
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation,
not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion
the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post
facto Law shall be passed.
(No capitation, or other direct,
Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein
before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses modified by Amendment
XVI.)
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on
Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by
any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those
of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to
enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the
Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular
Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money
shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted
by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust
under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince
or foreign State.
Section 10 - Powers prohibited
of States
No State shall enter into any Treaty,
Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money;
emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in
Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing
the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent
of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except
what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and
the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or
Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all
such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent
of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time
of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with
a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent
Danger as will not admit of delay.
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Article II. - The Executive Branch
Section 1 - The President
The executive Power shall be vested
in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office
during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen
for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such
Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal
to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may
be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person
holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed
an Elector.
(The Electors shall meet in their
respective States, and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least
shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall
make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for
each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the
Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of
the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall
then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be
the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have
an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner
chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken
by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice.
In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there
should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from
them by Ballot the Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was superseded
by Amendment XII.)
The Congress may determine the
Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their
Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born
Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of
this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither
shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to
the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the
United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President
from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the
Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice
President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death,
Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring
what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly,
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.) (This
clause in parentheses has been modified by Amendments XX and XXV.)
The President shall, at stated
Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased
nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and
he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United
States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution
of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States."
Section 2 - Civilian Power over
Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
The President shall be Commander
in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of
the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each
of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of
their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and
Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers
of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided
for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President
alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power
to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate,
by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
Session.
Section 3 - State of the Union,
Convening Congress
He shall from time to time give
to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he
may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them,
and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he
shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care
that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers
of the United States.
Section 4 - Disqualification
The President, Vice President and
all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes
and Misdemeanors.
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Article III. - The Judicial Branch
Section 1 - Judicial powers
The judicial Power of the United
States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts
as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both
of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good
Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section 2 - Trial by Jury, Original
Jurisdiction, Jury Trials
(The judicial Power shall extend
to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws
of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies
to which the United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two
or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens
of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under
Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof,
and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.) (This section in parentheses is
modified by Amendment XI.)
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party,
the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases
before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both
as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the
Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except
in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in
the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed
within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress
may by Law have directed.
Section 3 - Treason Note
Treason against the United States,
shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies,
giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless
on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession
in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to
declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work
Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
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Article IV. - The States
Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others
Full Faith and Credit shall be
given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings
of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the
Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the
Effect thereof.
Section 2 - State citizens,
Extradition
The Citizens of each State shall
be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several
States.
A Person charged in any State with
Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found
in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having
Jurisdiction of the Crime.
(No Person held to Service or Labour
in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service
or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service
or Labour may be due.) (This clause in parentheses is superseded by Amendment
XIII.)
Section 3 - New States
New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within
the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction
of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the
Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to
dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory
or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United
States, or of any particular State.
Section 4 - Republican
government
The United States shall guarantee
to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect
each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or
of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic
Violence.
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Article V. - Amendment
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.
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Article VI. - The United States
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.
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Article VII. - Ratification
Documents
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for
the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the
Same.
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Done in Convention by the Unanimous
Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence
of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto
subscribed our Names. Note
Go Washington - President and deputy
from Virginia
New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas
Gilman
Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham,
Rufus King
Connecticut - Wm Saml Johnson,
Roger Sherman
New York - Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey - Wil Livingston, David
Brearley, Wm Paterson, Jona. Dayton
Pensylvania - B Franklin, Thomas
Mifflin, Robt Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James
Wilson, Gouv Morris
Delaware - Geo. Read, Gunning Bedford
jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco. Broom
Maryland - James McHenry, Dan of
St Tho Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia - John Blair, James Madison
Jr.
North Carolina - Wm Blount, Richd
Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson
South Carolina - J. Rutledge, Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia - William Few, Abr
Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson,
Secretary
The Amendments
The following are the Amendments to the Constitution. The first ten Amendments
collectively are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. History
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Amendment I - Freedom of Religion,
Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
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Amendment II - Right to bear arms.
Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
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Amendment III - Quartering of soldiers.
Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
No Soldier shall, in time of peace
be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time
of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
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Amendment IV - Search and seizure.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
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Amendment V - Trial and Punishment,
Compensation for Takings. Ratified 12/15/1791.
No person shall be held to answer
for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment
of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or
in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy
of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without
just compensation.
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Amendment VI - Right to speedy
trial, confrontation of witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed
of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor,
and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
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Amendment VII - Trial by jury in
civil cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the
value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury
shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined
in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common
law.
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Amendment VIII - Cruel and Unusual
punishment. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Excessive bail shall not be required,
nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
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Amendment IX - Construction of
Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The enumeration in the Constitution,
of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.
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Amendment X - Powers of the States
and People. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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Amendment XI - Judicial Limits.
Ratified 2/7/1795. Note History
The Judicial power of the United
States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced
or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State,
or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
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Amendment XII - Choosing the President,
Vice-President. Ratified 6/15/1804. Note History The Electoral College
The Electors shall meet in their
respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one
of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons
voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall,
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest
Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each
state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member
or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall
not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them,
before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall
act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability
of the President.
The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number
be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate
shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of
two- thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of
the United States.
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Amendment XIII - Slavery Abolished.
Ratified 12/6/1865. History
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XIV - Citizenship rights.
Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History
1. All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned
among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting
the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President
and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the
Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged,
except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator
or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President,
or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under
any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress,
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature,
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against
the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt
of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment
of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion,
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any
slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and
void.
5. The Congress shall have power
to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
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Amendment XV - Race no bar to vote.
Ratified 2/3/1870. History
1. The right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XVI - Income taxes
authorized. Ratified 2/3/1913. Note History
The Congress shall have power to
lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census
or enumeration.
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Amendment XVII - Senators elected
by popular vote. Ratified 4/8/1913. History
The Senate of the United States
shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people
thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the
most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the
representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such
State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That
the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary
appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature
may direct.
This amendment shall not be so
construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before
it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
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Amendment XVIII - Liquor abolished.
Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment XXI, 12/5/1933. History
1. After one year from the ratification
of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating
liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof
from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several
States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution,
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by
the Congress.
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Amendment XIX - Women's suffrage.
Ratified 8/18/1920. History
The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by
any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XX - Presidential,
Congressional terms. Ratified 1/23/1933. History
1. The terms of the President and
Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms
of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the
years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified;
and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble
at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the
3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the
beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died,
the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not
have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or
if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and
the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President
elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall
then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be
selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice
President shall have qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide
for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall
have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons
from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice
shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take
effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this
article.
6. This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years
from the date of its submission.
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Amendment XXI - Amendment XVIII
repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933. History
1. The eighteenth article of amendment
to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation
into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery
or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof,
is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within
seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the
Congress.
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Amendment XXII - Presidential term
limits. Ratified 2/27/1951. History
1. No person shall be elected to
the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the
office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a
term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to
the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply
to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed
by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the
office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which
this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting
as President during the remainder of such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years
from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
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Amendment XXIII - Presidential
vote for District of Columbia. Ratified 3/29/1961. History
1. The District constituting the
seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the
Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President
equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to
which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event
more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed
by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election
of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and
they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the
twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XXIV - Poll tax barred.
Ratified 1/23/1964. History
1. The right of citizens of the
United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice
President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other
tax.
2. The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XXV - Presidential disability
and succession. Ratified 2/10/1967. Note History
1. In case of the removal of the
President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President
shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy
in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice
President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both
Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits
to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by
the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President
and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers
and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the
powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President
transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists,
he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President
and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four
days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall
decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if
not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of
the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two
thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge
the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers
and duties of his office.
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Amendment XXVI - Voting age set
to 18 years. Ratified 7/1/1971. History
1. The right of citizens of the
United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
age.
2. The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Amendment XXVII - Congressional
pay increases. Ratified 5/7/1992. History
No law, varying the compensation
for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect,
until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
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