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 defence, 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
- The Legislative Branch Note
Section 1 - The Legislature
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
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 previous sentence in parentheses was modified by
the 14th Amendment,
section 2.) 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
The Senate of the United States
shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the
Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section
1.) 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.) (The preceding words in parentheses were
superseded by the 17th
Amendment, section 2.)
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 - Elections, Meetings
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 Place of Chusing
Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least
once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in
December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 20th Amendment, section
2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment
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 - Compensation
(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.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the
27th Amendment.)
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 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto
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 - Powers of Congress
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 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, 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 - Limits on Congress
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.)
(Section in parentheses clarified by the 16th Amendment.)
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 - Powers prohibited of States
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
- The Executive Branch Note
Section 1 - The President
Note1 Note2
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 lie 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.)
(This clause in parentheses was superseded by the 12th Amendment.)
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.) (This clause in parentheses has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments.)
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 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
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 - State of the Union, Convening Congress
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 - Disqualification
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
- The Judicial Branch Note
Section 1 - Judicial powers
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such
inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold
their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their
Continuance in Office.
Section 2 - Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials
(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.) (This section in parentheses is modified by the 11th Amendment.)
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.
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
- The States
Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others
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 - State citizens, Extradition
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.) (This clause in parentheses is
superseded by the 13th
Amendment.)
Section 3 - New States
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 - Republican government
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
- Amendment Note1
- Note2 - Note3
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
- Debts, Supremacy, Oaths
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
- Ratification Documents
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.
Note
Go Washington - President 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 Brearley,
Wm Paterson, Jona. Dayton
Pensylvania
- 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 Tho 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
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
The following are the Amendments to the
Constitution. The first ten Amendments collectively are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. History
Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified
12/15/1791. Note
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 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified
12/15/1791. Note
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 3 - Quartering of Soldiers. Ratified
12/15/1791. Note
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 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified
12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings. Ratified
12/15/1791.
No person shall be held to answer
for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public
danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified
12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury
of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to
have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified
12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the
value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury
shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined
in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common
law.
Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Ratified
12/15/1791.
Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified
12/15/1791.
The enumeration in
the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment
10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified
12/15/1791. Note
The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendment 11 - Judicial Limits. Ratified
2/7/1795. Note History
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 12 - Choosing the President, Vice-President. Ratified
6/15/1804. Note History The
Electoral College
The Electors shall meet in their
respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of
whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall,
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest
Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such
majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three
on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having
one vote; a quorum
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of
March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number
of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall
choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to
that of Vice-President of the United States.
Amendment
13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified
12/6/1865. History
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.
2. Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified
7/9/1868. Note History
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.
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.
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.
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.
5. The Congress shall have power to
enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment
15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified
2/3/1870. History
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.
2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment
16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified
2/3/1913. Note History
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
17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote.
Ratified
4/8/1913. History
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
18 - Liquor Abolished. Ratified
1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment 21,
12/5/1933. History
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.
2. The Congress and the several
States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
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 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified
8/18/1920. History
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 20 - Presidential, Congressional Terms. Ratified
1/23/1933. History
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.
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.
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.
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.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take
effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
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 21 - Amendment
18 Repealed. Ratified
12/5/1933. History
1. The eighteenth article of amendment
to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
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.
3. The 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
22 - Presidential Term Limits. Ratified
2/27/1951. History
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.
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 23 - Presidential Vote for District of Columbia. Ratified
3/29/1961. History
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.
2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment
24 - Poll Tax Barred.
Ratified
1/23/1964. History
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.
2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25 - Presidential Disability and Succession. Ratified
2/10/1967. Note History
1. In case of the removal of the President
from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
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.
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.
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
26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified
7/1/1971. History
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.
2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27 - Limiting Changes to Congressional Pay. Ratified
5/7/1992. History
No law, varying the compensation for
the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
election of Representatives shall have intervened.