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We the
People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the
common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of
America.
ARTICLE
1
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
(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 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 Caroline 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 (2), 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
(3).
[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, by 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 with 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 the 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, unless they shall
by Law appoint a different Day (4).
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 Behavior, 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 or 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 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.
[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 becomes 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 the 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 prevents
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 Defense and general Welfare
of the Untied 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 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
Offenses against the Laws 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 Cessation 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 Write 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
(5).
[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 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.
[3] No
State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep troups, 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.
[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.
[3] 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; 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 (6).
[4] 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.
[5] 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.
[6] 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 (7).
[7] 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.
[8] 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 Offenses 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 and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of,
Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.
ARTICLE
III
Section 1. The
judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to
time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and
inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and
shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation,
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in
Office.
Section
2.
[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;
- 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 Consults,
and those in which a State shall be a 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
attained.
ARTICLE
IV
Section 1. Full
Faith and Credit shall be given in each Sate to the public Acts and
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 to 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 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
(8).
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 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 (9).
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.
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 (10).
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 of 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 by 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.
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
re-examined in any Court of the United States, then 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 State 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 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 chose 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 (11). -
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 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 of 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, 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]
[1] 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 Senators 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.
[2] 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.
[3] 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]
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 purpose 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 (12).
Amendment
XIX [1920]
[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 sex.
[2] 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 be 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 of 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 State 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 Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall
take office upon conformation 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.
Source for all
information presented is Processes of Constitutional
Decision-Making, Cases and Materials, 3rd Edition, Aspen Law
& Business
See also Declaration of
Independence: http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/declaration/declaration.html
See also Magna
Carta: http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/featured_documents/magna_carta/index.html | 
