THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
We the people of the United
States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common 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. 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.
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 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 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, 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.
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 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.
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.
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;-- 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.
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 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. 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, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such state.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of
President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any
state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House,
remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law,
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
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.
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.