[Preamble]
We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquillity, 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.
[Legislative Department]
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
repeal 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 or 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 of 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.
[Executive Department]
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 Representatives
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
encreased 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 on 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.
[Judiciary]
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.
[States'
Relations]
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.
[Mode
of Amendment]
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.
[Prior Debts, National Supremacy
and Oaths of Office]
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]
The Ratification of the Conventions of
nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this
Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.
Done in convention by the unanimous
consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of
the independence of the United States of America the twelfth.
In witness whereof We have hereunto
subscribed our Names,
G. Washington-Presidt. and deputy from
Virginia
New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas
Gilman
Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus
King
Connecticut: Wm: Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York:
Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey:
Wil: Livingston, David Brearly, Wm. Paterson, Jona: Dayton
Pennsylvania: B.
Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons,
Jared
Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris
Delaware:
Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco:
Broom
Maryland:
James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia:
John Blair--, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina: Wm. Blount,
Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson
South Carolina: J. Rutledge,
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia:
William Few, Abr Baldwin
In Convention Monday, September 17th
1787. Present The States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
MR Hamilton from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia.
Resolved,
That the preceeding Constitution be
laid before the United States in Congress assembled, and that it is
the Opinion of this Convention, that it should afterwards be submitted
to a Convention of Delegates, chosen in each State by the People
thereof, under the Recommendation of its Legislature, for their Assent
and Ratification; and that each Convention assenting to, and ratifying
the Same, should give Notice thereof to the United States in Congress
assembled. Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention, that
as soon as the Conventions of nine States shall have ratified this
Constitution, the United States in Congress assembled should fix a Day
on which Electors should be appointed by the States which shall have
ratified the same, and a Day on which the Electors should assemble to
vote for the President, and the Time and Place for commencing
Proceedings under this Constitution. That after such Publication the
Electors should be appointed, and the Senators and Representatives
elected: That the Electors should meet on the Day fixed for the
Election of the President, and should transmit their Votes certified,
signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution requires, to the
Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled, that the
Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and Place
assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the Senate,
for the sole Purpose of receiving, opening and counting the Votes for
President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress, together
with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute this
Constitution.
By the Unanimous Order of the
Convention
Go: Washington--Presidt.
W. Jackson Secretary.
Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated militia, being
necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to
keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
No soldier shall, in time of peace be
quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time
of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or
naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war
or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have
been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
assistance of counsel for his defense.
In suits at common law, where the value
in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury
shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the
rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required,
nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are
reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
The judicial power of the United States
shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity,
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens
of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
The electors shall meet in their
respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President,
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for
as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the
votes shall then be counted;--the person having the greatest number of
votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person
have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers
not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the
House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the
President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds
of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to
a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a
President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before
the fourth day of March next following,
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the
death or other constitutional disability
of the President. The person having the greatest number of
votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no
person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list,
the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no
person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be
eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several states according to their respective numbers, counting the
whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed.
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives
in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the
members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion
which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative
in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any
state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress,
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each
House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor
any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid
of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim
for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by
appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
The Congress shall have power to lay
and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any
census or enumeration.
The Senate of the United States shall
be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people
thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for
electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the
representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of
such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies:
Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive
thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so
construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen
before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this
article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating
liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation
thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the
jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution,
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the
states by the Congress.
The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or
by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President
shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of
Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the
years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not
been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of
January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3. If, at the time fixed
for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect
shall have died, the Vice President elect
shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of
his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as
President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case
wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who
shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person
shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of
the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives
may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have
devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the
persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the
right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th
day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years
from the date of its submission.
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any
state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or
use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof,
is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution,
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the
states by the Congress.
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the
President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of
President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to
which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the
office of the President more than once. But this article shall not
apply to any person holding the office of President when this article
was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may
be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the
term within which this article becomes operative from holding the
office of President or acting as President during the remainder of
such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years
from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government
of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may
direct:
A number of electors of President and
Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if
it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state;
they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they
shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and
Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall
meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the
twelfth article of amendment.
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