No
Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age
of twenty-five years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State
in which he shall be
chosen.
Representatives
and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which
may be included within this Union, according to their respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The
actual Enumeration shall be made
within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the
United
Sates, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as
they
shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one
for
every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative;
and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire
shall
be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey
four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten,
North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When
vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive
Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The
House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers;
and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section
3. The Senate of the United States
shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the
Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one
Vote.
Immediately
after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election,
they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The
Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the
Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of
the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth
Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the
Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall
then fill such Vacancies.
No
Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and
who shall not,
when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in 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 are 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 the President of the United States.
The
Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting
for that purpose, they shall by on Oath or Affirmation. When the
President of the Unit4ed States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside: And no person
shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members
present.
Judgment
in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from
Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor,
Trust, or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall
nevertheless be
liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment, and Punishment,
according
to Law.
Section
4. The Times, Places and Manner of
holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed
in each state by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any
time by Law make
or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of Choosing Senators.
The
Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting
shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law
appoint a different Day.
Section
5. Each House shall be the Judge of
the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a
Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a
smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to
compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such
Penalties, as each House may provide.
Each
House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members
for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel
a Member.
Each
House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time
publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require
Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any
question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered
on the Journal.
Neither
House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of
the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place
than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section
6. The Senators and Representatives
shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by
Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in
all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be
privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their
respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for
any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in
any other Place.
Any
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, be 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 an 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;
w To borrow money on the credit of the United states;
w To regulate Commerce with foreign
Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
w To establish an uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies
throughout the United States;
w To coin Money, regulate the Value
thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and
Measures;
w To provide for the Punishment of
counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
w To establish Post Offices and
post Roads;
w 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;
w To constitute Tribunals inferior
to the Supreme Court;
w 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;
w To raise and support Armies, but
no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than
two years;
w To provide and maintain a Navy;
w To make Rules for the Government
and Regulation of the land and naval forces;
w To provide for calling forth the
Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and
repel Invasions;
w 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;
w To exercise exclusive Legislation
in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles
square) as may, by Cession of particular States 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;
lTo borrow money on the credit of the United states;
lTo regulate Commerce with foreign
Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
lTo establish an uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies
throughout the United States;
lTo coin Money, regulate the Value
thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and
Measures;
lTo provide for the Punishment of
counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
lTo establish Post Offices and post
Roads;
lTo 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;
lTo constitute Tribunals inferior
to the
Supreme Court;
lTo 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;
lTo raise and support Armies, but
no Appropriation
of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two years;
lTo provide and maintain a Navy;
lTo make Rules for the Government
and Regulation of the land and naval forces;
lTo provide for calling forth the
Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and
repel Invasions;
lTo 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;
lTo exercise exclusive Legislation
in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles
square) as may, by Cession of particular Statse
tes,
and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of 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, doc-Yards, and other needful
Buildings; --And
To
make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any
Department or Officer thereof.
Section
9. The Migration or Importation of
such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to
admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one
thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on
such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The
privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless
when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No
Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No
capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid unless in Proportion to
the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No
Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No
Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Revenue to the Ports of
one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from,
one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No
Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from
time to time.
No
Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person
holding nay 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 or Marque and
Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and
silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder,
ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or
grant any title of Nobility.
No
State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or
Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its 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.
ARTICLE
II
Section
1. The executive Power shall be vested
in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his
Office
during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President,
chosen
for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each
State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives
to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under
the United States,
shall be appointed an Elector.
The
Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for
two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the
same State with
themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for,
and
of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and
certify,
and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States,
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate
shall,
in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all
the
Certificates and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the
greatest
Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of
the
whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be 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 Chose 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 chose from them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The
Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day
on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No
person except a natural-born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty-five years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United
States.
In
Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the
said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the
Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death,
Resignation, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President,
declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer
shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or
a President shall be elected.
The
President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services a
Compensation, which
shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which
he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period
any
other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before
he enter on the execution of his Office, he shall take the following
Oath or Affirmation: -- “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will
faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and
will, to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States.”
Section
2. The President shall be Commander in
Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of
the
several States, when called into the actual Service of the United
States;
he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in
each
of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties
of
their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves
and
pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
H
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 Counsels,
Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the
Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they
think
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads
of
Departments.
The
President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen
during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall
expire at the End of
their next Session.
Section
3. He shall from time to time give to
the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to
their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he
may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them,
and in Case of Disagreement between them, with respect to the Time of
Adjournment,
he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall
receive
Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the
Laws
be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the
United
States.
Section
4. The President, Vice President and
all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office
on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high
Crimes and Misdemeanors.
ARTICLE
III
Section
1. The judicial Power of the United
States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The
Judges, both of the
supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good
Behavior, and shall, at states Times, received 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 counsels; -- 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
States;
-- 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 Counsels,
and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Courts shall
have original
Jurisdiction. In all other Cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court
shall
have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such
Exception,
and under such Regulation as the Congress shall make.
The
trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury;
and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall
have been
committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be
at
such Place or Places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section
3. Treason against the United States,
shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their
Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of
Treason
unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on
confession in open Court.
The
Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no
Attainder
of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during
the
Life of the Person attainted
ARTICLE
IV
Section
1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each state to the public
Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the
Congress may 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.
Section
3. New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected
within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by
the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the
Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the
Congress.
The
Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and
Regulation 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 an purposes, as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode
of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the year One
thousand
eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,
without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the
Senate.
ARTICLE
VI
All
Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of
this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution, as
under the Confederation.
This
Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in
Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under
the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the
Land; and the Judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws
of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The
Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by
Oath or Affirmation
to support this Constitution; but not 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.
AMENDMENT I [1791]
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
AMENDMENT
II [1791]
A
Well Regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be
infringed.
AMENDMENT
III [1791]
No
Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the
consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
AMENDMENT IV[1791]
The
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
AMENDMENT
V[1791]
No
person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be
subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property
be taken for public use, without just compensation.
AMENDMENT
VI[1791]
In
all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
to
be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
AMENDMENT
VII[1791]
In
suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the
United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
AMENDMENT
VIII[1791]
Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.
AMENDMENT
IX[1791]
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people.
AMENDMENT
X[1791]
The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
AMENDMENT XI[1798]
The
Judicial powers 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
states.
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.
– 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, 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 b0uonties for services in suppression 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 the 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 chooses before it becomes valid as part of the
Constitution.
AMENDMENT XVIII[1919]
Section
1. After one year from the
ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation
of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the
exportation thereof from
the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
for
beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section
2. The Congress and the several States
shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Section
3. This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution
by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof
to the States by the Congress.
AMENDMENT
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 3rd 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
3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section
3. If, at the time fixed for the
beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have
died, the Vice-President elect shall become President. If a President
shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of
his term, or if the President elect
shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice-President elect shall act
as
President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may
by
law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a
Vice-President
elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as president,
or
the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such
person
shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have
qualified.
Section
4. The Congress may by law provide for
the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of
the persons from whom the
Senate may choose a Vice-President whenever the right of choice shall
have
devoted 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 hearof to the States
by the Congress.
AMENDMENT
XXII[1951]
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
AMENDMENT
XXIII[1961]
Section
1. The District constitution 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
Senators 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 the power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
|