Note: The following text is a transcription
of the Constitution as it was inscribed by Jacob Shallus on parchment (the
document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.)
The spelling and punctuation reflect the original.
.
Sections in orange have been
superseded by later amendments.
.
Paragraph numbers have been added. They do not
appear in the original.
Preamble
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
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested
in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Section 2
[1.] The House of Representatives shall be composed
of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite
for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
[2.] No Person shall be a Representative who shall
not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years
a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
[3.] Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within this Union, according
to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to
Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths
of all other Persons. 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.
Note: Article I Section 2
has been modified by Section 2 of the 14th Amendment.
[4.] When vacancies happen in the Representation
from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election
to fill such Vacancies.
[5.] The House of Representatives shall chuse their
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3
[1.] The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature
thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
[2.] Immediately after they shall be assembled in
Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as
may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first
Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second
Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the
Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second
Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or
otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive
thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature,
which shall then fill such Vacancies.
[3.] 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.
[4.] The Vice President of the United States shall
be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally
divided.
[5.] The Senate shall chuse their other Officers,
and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President,
or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
[6.] The Senate shall have the sole Power to try
all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on
Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without
the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
[7.] Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not
extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold
and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States:
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment,
Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Note: Article I Section 3
has been modified by the 17th Amendment.
Section 4
[1.] The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by
the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or
alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
[2.] The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first
Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different
Day.
Note: Article I Section 4
has been modified by Section 2 of the 20th Amendment.
Section 5
[1.] Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections,
Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from
day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members,
in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
[2.] Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,
punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence
of two thirds, expel a Member.
[3.] Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings,
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in
their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas 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.
[4.] Neither House, during the Session of Congress,
shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days,
nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section 6
[1.] The Senators and Representatives shall receive
a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out
of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except
Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during
their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going
to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either
House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
[2.] No Senator or Representative shall, during
the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under
the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the
Emoluments whereof shall have been 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
[1.] All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate
in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
[2.] Every Bill which shall have passed the House
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it 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.
[3.] Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the
Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary
(except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President
of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations
prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8
[1.] The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect
Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the
common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties,
Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
[2.] To borrow Money on the credit of the United
States;
[3.] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,
and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
[4.] To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,
and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
[5.] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,
and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
[6.] To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting
the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
[7.] To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
[8.] To promote the Progress of Science and useful
Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive
Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
[9.] To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme
Court;
[10.] To define and punish Piracies and Felonies
committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
[11.] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and
Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
[12.] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation
of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
[13.] To provide and maintain a Navy;
[14.] To make Rules for the Government and Regulation
of the land and naval Forces;
[15.] To provide for calling forth the Militia to
execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
[16.] To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining,
the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in
the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively,
the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
[17.] To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may,
by 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
[18.] To make all Laws which shall be necessary
and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,
or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9
[1.] The
Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing
shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior
to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may
be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
[2.] The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
public Safety may require it.
[3.] No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall
be passed.
[4.] No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be
laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration
herein before directed to be taken.
[5.] No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported
from any State.
[6.] No Preference shall be given by any Regulation
of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another:
nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear,
or pay Duties in another.
[7.] No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury,
but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement
and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall
be published from time to time.
[8.] No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the
United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under
them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince,
or foreign State.
Note: Article I Section 9
has been modified by the 16th Amendment.
Section 10
[1.] No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance,
or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit
Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment
of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing
the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
[2.] No State shall, without the Consent of the
Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what
may be absolutely necessary for executing 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.
[3.] 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
[1.] The executive Power shall be vested in a President
of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during
the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for
the same Term, be elected, as follows
[2.] Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as
the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the
whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding
an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed
an Elector.
[3.] The Electors shall meet
in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom
one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves.
And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number
of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in
the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates,
and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest
Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of
the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who
have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of
Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President;
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.
[4.] The Congress may determine the Time of chusing
the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day
shall be the same throughout the United States.
[5.] No Person except a natural born Citizen, or
a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,
shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person
be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty
five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
[6.] In Case of the Removal
of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability
to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve
on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case
of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and
Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and
such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or
a President shall be elected.
[7.] 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.
[8.] Before he enter on the Execution of his Office,
he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—”I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States.”
Note: Article II Section
1 has been modified by the 12th Amendment.
Section 2
[1.] The President shall be Commander in Chief
of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may
require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the
executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their
respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons
for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
[2.] He shall have Power, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the
Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the
United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for,
and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
[3.] The President shall have Power to fill up all
Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3
[1.] 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
[1.] 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
[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
[1.] The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases,
in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United
States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to
all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to
all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which
the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more
States;— between a State and Citizens of another
State,—between Citizens of different States,—between Citizens of
the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between
a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
[2.] In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and 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.
[3.] The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of
Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State
where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed
within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress
may by Law have directed.
Note: Article III Section
2 has been modified by the 11th Amendment.
Section 3
[1.] Treason against the United States, shall consist
only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving
them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless
on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession
in open Court.
[2.] The Congress shall have Power to declare the
Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption
of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article IV
Section 1
[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
[1.] The Citizens of each State shall be entitled
to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
[2.] 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.
[3.] 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.
Note: Article IV Section
2 has been modified by the 13th Amendment.
Section 3
[1.] New States may be admitted by the Congress
into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction
of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures
of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
[2.] The Congress shall have Power to dispose of
and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or
other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution
shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States,
or of any particular State.
Section 4
[1.] 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
[1.] 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.
Note: The "no amendment"
clause in Article V expired in 1808.
Article VI
[1.] All Debts contracted and Engagements entered
into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against
the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
[2.] This Constitution, and the Laws of the United
States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made,
or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall
be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be
bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the
Contrary notwithstanding.
[3.] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned,
and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and
judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States,
shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but
no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office
or public Trust under the United States.
Article VII
[1.] The Ratification of the Conventions of nine
States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution
between the States so ratifying the Same.
[2.] 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 Independance of the United States
of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our
Names,
Note: Abbreviation of names have been
spelled out.
George Washington
President and deputy from Virginia
Delaware
George Read
Gunning Bedford,
Jr.
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jacob Broom
Maryland
James McHenry
Daniel
of St. Thomas
Jenifer
Daniel Carroll
Virginia
John Blair
James Madison Jr. |
North Carolina
William Blount
Richard Dobbs
Spaight
Hugh Williamson
South Carolina
John Rutledge
Charles
Cotesworth
Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
Georgia
William Few
Abraham Baldwin
|
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut
William Samuel
Johnson
Roger Sherman
New York
Alexander
Hamilton |
New Jersey
William Livingston
David Brearley
William Paterson
Jonathan Dayton
Pennsylvania
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robert Morris
George Clymer
Thomas
FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris |
THE UNITED STATES
BILL OF RIGHTS
Note: The following text is a transcription
of the first ten 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.”
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.
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 re-examined 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.
ATTEST,
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House of
Representatives
John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, and
President of the Senate
John Beckley, Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Samuel A Otis Secretary of the Senate
CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS 11-27
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 to the age of 18 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.
[1.] The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six
years; and each 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.
[2.] When vacancies happen in the representation
of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall
issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature
of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments
until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may
direct.
[3.] This amendment shall not be so construed as
to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes
valid as part of the Constitution.
AMENDMENT XVIII
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 elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act
as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected,
and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President
shall have qualified.
Section 4
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death
of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose
a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them,
and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate
may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved
upon them.
Section 5
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of
October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of
its submission.
AMENDMENT XXI
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 the President
more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding
the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress,
and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President,
or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes
operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during
the remainder of such term.
Section 2
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of
its submission to the States by the Congress.
AMENDMENT XXIII
Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March
29, 1961.
Section 1
[1.] The District constituting the seat of Government
of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
[2.] 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 any 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
[1.] 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.
[2.] 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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