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Constitution of the United States of America
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.
Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
Section. 2.
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 chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations
one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South
Carolina five, and Georgia three.
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 chuse 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 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 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.
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 chusing 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 Behaviour, 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 encreased during such time; and no Person
holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either
House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
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
Defence 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 an 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 Offences 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, dock-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 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 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 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 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 it's inspection Laws: and the net
Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports,
shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws
shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
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
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner
chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken
by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for
this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the
greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if
there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse
from them by Ballot the Vice President.
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.
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 Offences
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.
Article III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time
to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior
Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated
Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be
diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
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.
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 Labour in one
State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence
of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour,
but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or
Labour may be due.
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 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.
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 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.
The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth
Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an
Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being
interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first
Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty
fourth Lines of the second Page.
Attest William Jackson Secretary
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
- 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
- New Hampshire
- John Langdon
- Nicholas Gilman
- Massachusetts
- Nathaniel Gorham
- Rufus King
- Connecticut
- Wm. Saml. Johnson
- Roger Sherman
- New York
- Alexander Hamilton
- New Jersey
- Wil: Livingston
- David Brearley
- Wm. Paterson
- Jona: Dayton
- Pennsylvania
- B Franklin
- Thomas Mifflin
- Robt. Morris
- Geo. Clymer
- Thos. FitzSimons
- Jared Ingersoll
- James Wilson
- Gouv Morris
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THE PREAMBLE TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS
Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having
at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order
to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory
and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of
public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of
its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both
Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the
Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the
United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths
of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part
of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the
Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and
ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth
Article of the original Constitution.
-
THE FIRST 10 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AS RATIFIED BY
THE STATES
[Note: The following text is a transcription of the
first 10 amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments
were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of
Rights."]
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.
Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled
in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
-
Amendments 11-27 to the Constitution
of the United States
AMENDMENT XI
Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.
Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was
modified by amendment 11.
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
Passed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804.
Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution
was superseded by the 12th amendment.
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 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.
*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.
AMENDMENT XIII
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution
was superseded by the 13th amendment.
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
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified
by section 2 of the 14th amendment.
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 the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
the provisions of this article.
*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
AMENDMENT XV
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
AMENDMENT XVI
Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified
by amendment 16.
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
Passed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified
by the 17th amendment.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the
State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election
to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State
may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the
people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the
Constitution.
AMENDMENT XVIII
Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919.
Repealed by amendment 21.
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
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 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
Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.
Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified
by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment
was superseded by section 3.
Section 1.
The terms of the President and the 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 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
Passed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 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
Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 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 President more than once. But
this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President
when this Article was proposed by 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
Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961.
Section 1.
The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall
appoint in such manner as 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
Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other
election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice
President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay
poll tax or other tax.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
AMENDMENT XXV
Passed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967.
Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected
by the 25th amendment.
Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or
resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that
he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and
duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers
of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President
is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice
President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as
Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his
written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and
duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling
within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the
Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both
Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and
duties of his office.
AMENDMENT XXVI
Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971.
Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was
modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by
any State on account of age.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
AMENDMENT XXVII
Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992.
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators
and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives
shall have intervened.
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