We the
people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of
America.
Section
1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section
2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every
second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous
branch of the state legislature.
No
person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of
twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be
chosen.
[Representatives and direct taxes
shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this
union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by
adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service
for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons. ][1] The actual Enumeration shall be made within three
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within
every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct.
The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each state shall have at least one Representative; [and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire
shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four,
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina
five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.][2]
When
vacancies happen in the Representation from any state, the executive authority
thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.
The
House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and
shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Section
3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each
state, [chosen by the legislature
thereof,][3] 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 the third
class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that][4] 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.][5]
No
person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty
years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not,
when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.
The
Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall
have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
The
Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in
the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of
President of the United States.
The
Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that
purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United
States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no person shall be
convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.
Judgment
in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office,
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit
under the United States: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable
and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.
Section
4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof;
but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except
as to the places of choosing Senators.
The
Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be [on the first Monday in December,][6] unless they shall by law appoint a
different day.
Section
5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications
of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business;
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to
compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such
penalties as each House may provide.
Each
House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for
disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.
Each
House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish
the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the
yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the
desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.
Neither
House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other,
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the
two Houses shall be sitting.
Section
6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their
services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United
States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of
their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for
any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other
place.
No
Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which
shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased
during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States,
shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.
Section
7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives;
but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to
the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not
he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections,
to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved
by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the
votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the
persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each
House respectively.
If any
bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like
manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent
its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United
States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or
being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and
House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in
the case of a bill.
Section
8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be
uniform throughout the United States;
To
borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To
regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with
the Indian tribes;
To
establish a 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, dockyards, and other
needful buildings;--And
To
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution
the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the
government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Section
9. [The migration or importation of such
persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall
not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred
and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding
ten dollars for each person.][7]
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.[8]
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 receipts and expenditures
of all public money shall be published from time to time.
No
title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding
any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the
Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Section
10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters
of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but
gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of
contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing it's inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties
and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of
the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the
revision and control of the Congress.
No
state shall, without the consent of 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.
Section
1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of
America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together
with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:
Each
state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a
number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives
to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an elector.
[The electors shall meet in their
respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least
shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each;
which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be
counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall
be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an
equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority,
then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner
choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or
members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall
be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the
person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice
President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.][9]
The
Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which
they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United
States.
No
person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of
President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a
resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the
said office,[10] the
same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide
for the case of removal, death, resignation
or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly,
until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The
President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation,
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other
emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before
he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or
affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of
my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United
States."
Section
2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy
of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called
into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in
writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon
any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for 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. 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.
Section
1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme
Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain
and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold
their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for
their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
Section
2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; — to all cases
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; — to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; — to controversies to which the United
States shall be a party; — to controversies between two or more states; —
between a state and citizens of another state;[11]
— between citizens of different states; — between citizens of the same state
claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or
the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.
In all
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in
which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original
jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and
under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The
trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such
trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such
place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section
3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against
them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person
shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the
same overt act, or on confession in open court.
The
Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no
attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except
during the life of the person attainted.
Section
1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts,
records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by
general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings
shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Section
2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several states.
A
person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall
flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the
executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
[No
person held to service or labor 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 labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of
the party to whom such service or labor may be due.][12]
Section
3. 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. 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.
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][13] that no state, without its
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
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, anything 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.
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,
G.
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 Brearly, 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, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu
Williamson
South
Carolina: J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce
Butler
Georgia:
William Few, Abr Baldwin
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
assistance of counsel for his defense.
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.
Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to
deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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.
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.
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.][15]
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.
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.
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,[16]
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 age16
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.
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.
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 of enumeration.
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.
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.
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.
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.[18]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Section
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or
older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any
state on account of age.
Section
2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
No law
varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives
shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
[1] This part was changed by section 2 of the 14th
Amendment.
[2] This part was a temporary rule, which was made
unnecessary by the censuses held every 10 years.
[3] This part was changed by section 1 of the 17th
Amendment.
[4] This part was a temporary rule for the very first
Senate; ever since, one-third of the Senate is reelected every second year,
while each Senator serves for six years.
[5] This part was changed by clause 2 of the 17th
Amendment.
[6] This part was changed by section 2 of the 20th
Amendment.
[7] This part has only historical interest: it referred to
the importation of slaves, but slavery was abolished in the US by the 13th
Amendment.
[8] See also the 16th Amendment.
[9] This paragraph has been superseded by the 12th
Amendment.
[10] This provision has been affected by the 25th
Amendment.
[11] This clause has been affected by the 11th
Amendment.
[12] This paragraph has been superseded by the 13th
Amendment.
[13] This part is outdated.
[14] Amendments I to X, collectively called the Bill of
Rights, were ratified by December 15, 1791.
[15] This part has been superseded by section 3 of the 20th
Amendment.
[16] See the 26th Amendment.
[17] Repealed by section 1 of the 21st
Amendment.
[18] See the 25th Amendment.