Constitution
of the United States
We the People
of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Article I
Section 1-- All legislative Powers
herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2--
1 The House of Representatives shall
be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several
States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite
for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
2 No person shall be a Representative
who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been
seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
3 Representatives and direct Taxes
shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to
Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths
of all other Persons. 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.
4 When vacancies happen in the Representation
from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election
to fill such Vacancies.
5 The House of Representatives shall
chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power
of Impeachment.
Section 3--1 The Senate of the United
States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, [chosen by the
Legislature thereof,]{3} for six Years; and each Senator shall have one
Vote.
2 Immediately after they shall be
assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided
as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of
the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year,
of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third
Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen
every second Year; [and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise,
during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof
may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature,
which shall then fill such Vacancies].{4}
3 No Person shall be a Senator who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years
a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
4 The Vice President of the United
States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless
they be equally divided.
5 The Senate shall chuse their other
Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice
President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United
States.
6 The Senate shall have the sole
Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall
be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is
tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted
without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
7 Judgment in Cases of Impeachment
shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification
to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United
States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject
to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section 4--1 The Times, Places and
Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be
prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress
may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the
Places of chusing Senators.
2 The Congress shall assemble at
least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall [be on the first Monday
in December,] {5} unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5--1 Each House shall be
the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members,
and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a
smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel
the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties
as each House may provide.
2 Each House may determine the Rules
of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and,
with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
3 Each House shall keep a Journal
of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting
such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and
Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire
of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
4 Neither House, during the Session
of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more
than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses
shall be sitting.
Section 6--1 The Senators and Representatives
shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by
Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. 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.
2 No Senator or Representative shall,
during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office
under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created,
or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time;
and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member
of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 7--1 All Bills for raising
Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate
may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
2 Every Bill which shall have passed
the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a
Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve
he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to
that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections
at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill,
it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds
of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes
of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of
the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal
of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President
within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented
to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it,
unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
3 Every Order, Resolution, or Vote
to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may
be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented
to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take
Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be
repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according
to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8--1 The Congress shall
have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay
the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the
United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout
the United States;
2 To borrow Money on the credit
of the United States;
3 To regulate Commerce with foreign
Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
4 To establish an uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout
the United States;
5 To coin Money, regulate the Value
thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
6 To provide for the Punishment
of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
7 To establish Post Offices and
post Roads;
8 To promote the Progress of Science
and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors
the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
9 To constitute Tribunals inferior
to the supreme Court;
10 To define and punish Piracies
and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law
of Nations;
11 To declare War, grant Letters
of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and
Water;
12 To raise and support Armies,
but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than
two Years;
13 To provide and maintain a Navy;
14 To make Rules for the Government
and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
15 To provide for calling forth
the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and
repel Invasions;
16 To provide for organizing, arming,
and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as
may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the
States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority
of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
17 To exercise exclusive Legislation
in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square)
as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress,
become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise
like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature
of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And
18 To make all Laws which shall
be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,
and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of
the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9--1 The Migration or Importation
of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to
admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand
eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation,
not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
2 The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion
the public Safety may require it.
3 No Bill of Attainder or ex post
facto Law shall be passed.
4 No Capitation, or other direct,
Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein
before directed to be taken.{6}
5 No Tax or Duty shall be laid on
Articles exported from any State.
6 No Preference shall be given by
any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those
of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged
to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
7 No Money shall be drawn from the
Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular
Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money
shall be published from time to time.
8 No Title of Nobility shall be
granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit
or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept
of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from
any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section 10--1 No State shall enter
into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and
Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and
silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder,
ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant
any Title of Nobility.
2 No State shall, without the Consent
of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except
what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and
the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports
or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States;
and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the
Congress.
3 No State shall, without the Consent
of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in
time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State,
or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or
in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II
Section I--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
2 Each State shall appoint, in such
Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal
to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State
may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or
Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall
be appointed an Elector.
[The Electors shall meet in their
respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at
least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And
they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number
of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates,
and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number
of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole
Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such
Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives
shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no
Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said
House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President,
the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State
having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or
Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States
shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the
President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors
shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who
have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice
President.]{7}
3 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.
4 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.
5 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,{8} 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.
6 The President shall, at stated
Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be
encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been
elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument
from the United States, or any of them.
7 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--1 The President shall
be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of
the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service
of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal
Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating
to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to
grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except
in Cases of Impeachment.
2 He shall have Power, by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise
provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads
of Departments.
3 The President shall have Power
to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate,
by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3--He shall from time to
time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend
to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time
of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper;
he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the
Officers of the United States.
Section 4-- The President, Vice
President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed
from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or
other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article III
Section 1-- The judicial Power of
the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The
Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices
during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services,
a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance
in Office.
Section 2--1 The judicial Power
shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution,
the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to
Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies
between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State;{9}--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.
2 In all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be
Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the
other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction,
both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations
as the Congress shall make.
3 The Trial of all Crimes, except
in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held
in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when
not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places
as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3--1 Treason against the
United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering
to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted
of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt
Act, or on Confession in open Court.
2 The Congress shall have Power
to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall
work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the
Person attainted.
Article IV
Section 1-- Full Faith and Credit
shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial
Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws
prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall
be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2--1 The Citizens of each
State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in
the several States.
2 A Person charged in any State
with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and
be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority
of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
3 [No Person held to Service or
Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall,
in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such
Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom such Service or Labour may be due.]{10}
Section 3--1 New States may be admitted
by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected
within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by
the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent
of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
2 The Congress shall have Power
to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the
Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing
in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims
of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4-- The United States shall
guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of
the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened)
against domestic Violence.
Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds
of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this
Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds
of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments,
which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as
Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three
fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof,
as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
Provided [that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand
eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and]{11} that no State,
without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI
1 All Debts contracted and Engagements
entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid
against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
2 This Constitution, and the Laws
of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all
Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United
States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of
any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
3 The Senators and Representatives
before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and
all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of
the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support
this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification
to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions
of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution
between the States so ratifying the Same.
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,
Go. WASHINGTON-- Presidt. 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
Pennsylvania 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
Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia John Blair-- James Madison
Jr.
North Carolina Wm. Blount, Rich'd
Dobbs Spaightm, Hu Williamson
South Carolina J. Rutledge, Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia William Few, Abr Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
Articles in addition to, and amendment
of, The Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress,
and ratified by the legislatures of the several states pursuant to the
fifth article of the original Constitution.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution
were proposed by the Congress on Sept. 25, 1789. They were ratified by
the following states, and the notifications of the ratification by the
governors thereof were successively communicated by the President to the
Congress: New Jersey, Nov. 20, 1789; Maryland, Dec. 19, 1789; North Carolina,
Dec. 22, 1789; South Carolina, Jan. 19, 1790; New Hampshire, Jan. 25,
1790; Delaware, Jan. 28, 1790; New York, Feb. 4, 1790; Pennsylvania, March
10, 1790; Rhode Island, June 7, 1790; Vermont, Nov. 3, 1791; and Virginia,
Dec. 15, 1791. Ratification was completed on Dec. 15, 1791.
The amendments were subsequently
ratified by Massachusetts, March 2, 1939; Georgia, March 18, 1939; and
Connecticut, April 19, 1939.
Two other amendments were concurrently
proposed in 1789. One failed of ratification. The other (Amendment XXVII)
was not ratified until May 7, 1992, when the Michigan legislature gave
it the required number of state approvals.
Amendment
[I]{12} 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 [II] 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 [III] 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 [IV] 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 [V] 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 [VI] In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public
trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process
for obtaining Witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel
for his defence.
Amendment [VII] 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 reexamined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment [VIII] Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment [IX] The enumeration
in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment [X] 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 [XI] [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 [XII] [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.]{13} 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 XIII [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 XIV [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,{14}
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years
of age in such State.
Section 3--No person shall be a
Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice
President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,
or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member
of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State,
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each
House, remove such disability.
Section 4--The validity of the public
debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred
for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection
or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor
any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations
and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5--The Congress shall have
power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment XV [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 XVI [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 [XVII] [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 [XVIII] [1919]{15}
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 [XIX] [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 [XX] [1933] Section
1--The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on
the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives
at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would
have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their
successors shall then begin.
Section 2--The Congress shall assemble
at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the
3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3--{16}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 [XXI] [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 [XXII] [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 [XXIII] [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 [XXIV] [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 [XXV] [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 [XXVI] [1971] Section
1--The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years
of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2--The Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment [XXVII] [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.
Notes
{1} This text of the Constitution
follows the engrossed copy signed by General Washington and the deputies
from 12 states. The superior number preceding the paragraphs designates
the number of the clause; it was not in the original.
{2} The part included in brackets
was changed by section 2 of the 14th amendment.
{3} The part included in brackets
was changed by section 1 of the 17th amendment.
{4} The part included in brackets
was changed by clause 2 of the 17th amendment.
{5} The part included in brackets
was changed by section 2 of the 20th amendment.
{6} See also the 16th amendment.
{7} This paragraph has been superseded
by the 12th amendment.
{8} This provision has been affected
by the 25th amendment.
{9} This clause has been affected
by the 11th amendment.
{10} This paragraph has been superseded
by the 13th amendment.
{11} Obsolete.
{12} Only Amendments XIII, XIV,
XV, and XVI had numbers assigned to them at the time of ratification.
{13} The part included in brackets
has been superseded by section 3 of Amendment XX.
{14} See Amendment XXVI.
{15} Repealed by section 1 of Amendment
XXI.
{16} See Amendment XXV.
