Constitution Of The United States

The Constitution of the United States

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 dfence , promote the general Welfare , and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our  Posterity , do  ordain  and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article I – The Legislative Branch

Section 1 – The Legislature

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2 – The House

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3 – The Senate

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 17th Amendment, section 2.)

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section 4 – Elections, Meetings

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 20th Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section 5 – Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6 – Compensation

(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section 7 – Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section 8 – Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section 9 – Limits on Congress

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

(No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses clarified by the 16th Amendment.)

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.

Section 10 – Powers prohibited of States

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article II – The Executive Branch

Section 1 – The President 1 2

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

(The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was superseded by the 12th Amendment.)

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

(In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.) (This clause in parentheses has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments.)

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Section 2 – Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section 3 – State of the Union, Convening Congress

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 4 – Disqualification

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III – The Judicial Branch

Section 1 – Judicial powers

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section 2 – Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials

(The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.) (This section in parentheses is modified by the 11th Amendment.)

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section 3 – Treason

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article IV – The States

Section 1 – Each State to Honor all others

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2 – State citizens, Extradition

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

(No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.) (This clause in parentheses is superseded by the 13th Amendment.)

Section 3 – New States

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section 4 – Republican government

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Article V – Amendment 1 – 2 – 3

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article VI – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article VII – Ratification Documents

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.

Go Washington – President and deputy from Virginia

New Hampshire – John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts – Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King

Connecticut – Wm Saml Johnson, Roger Sherman

New York – Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey – Wil Livingston, David Brearley, Wm Paterson, Jona. Dayton

Pensylvania – B Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris

Delaware – Geo. Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco. Broom

Maryland – James McHenry, Dan of St Tho Jenifer, Danl Carroll

Virginia – John Blair, James Madison Jr.

North Carolina – Wm Blount, Richd Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson

South Carolina – J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler

Georgia – William Few, Abr Baldwin

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary

The Amendments

The following are the Amendments to the Constitution. The first ten Amendments collectively are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. History

Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 2 – Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment 3 – Quartering of Soldiers. Ratified 12/15/1791.

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment 5 – Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings. Ratified 12/15/1791.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment 6 – Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment 7 – Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment 8 – Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment 9 – Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

 

Amendment 10 – Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Amendment 11 – Judicial Limits. Ratified 2/7/1795.  History

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

Amendment 12 – Choosing the President, Vice-President. Ratified 6/15/1804.  History The Electoral College

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

Amendment 13 – Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865. History

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 14 – Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.  History

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdictionthereof, 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 depriveany person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportionedamong the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Amendment 15 – Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870. History

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 16 – Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified 2/3/1913.  History

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

Amendment 17 – Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913. History

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

Amendment 18 – Liquor Abolished. Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment 21, 12/5/1933. History

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdictionthereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Amendment 19 – Women’s Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920. History

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 20 – Presidential, Congressional Terms. Ratified 1/23/1933. History

1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

Amendment 21 – Amendment 18 Repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933. History

1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Amendment 22 – Presidential Term Limits. Ratified 2/27/1951. History

1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

Amendment 23 – Presidential Vote for District of Columbia. Ratified 3/29/1961. History

1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 24 – Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964. History

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll taxor other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 25 – Presidential Disability and Succession. Ratified 2/10/1967.  History

1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Amendment 26 – Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971. History

1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 27 – Limiting Changes to Congressional Pay. Ratified 5/7/1992. History

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Major reference texts

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

September 17, 1787

PREAMBLE

We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, to establish justice, to bring about internal peace, to provide for the common defense, to develop the general welfare and to secure the benefits. from freedom to ourselves and to our posterity, we decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

FIRST ARTICLE

Section 1.

All legislative powers granted by this Constitution shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.

Section 2.

The House of Representatives will be composed of members chosen every two years by the people of the different States; in each state the electors will have to meet the conditions required to be a voter to the most numerous assembly of the legislature of that state.

No one can be a representative if he has not reached the age of twenty-five, if he has not been an American citizen for seven years and if he does not reside, at the time of the election, in the State. where he is to be elected.

Representatives and direct taxes will be distributed among the different States which may be part of this Union, in proportion to the number of their inhabitants, which will be determined by adding to the total number of free persons, including those who have hired for a number of years determined, but excluding Indians not subject to tax, three-fifths of all other persons. The census will be taken within three years of the first meeting of Congress, and every ten years thereafter, as determined by law. The number of representatives will not exceed one per thirty thousand inhabitants, but each state will have at least one representative: until the census is carried out, the

When vacancies occur in the representation of a state, the executive branch of that state will conduct elections to fill it.

The House of Representatives will choose its president and the other members of its office, and it will have the sole power of impeachment before the Senate.

Section 3.

The United States Senate will be composed of two senators for each state, chosen for six years by the legislature of each, and each senator will have one vote.

As soon as they are convened following the first election, the senators will be divided as equally as possible into three groups. The seats of the senators of the first group will be declared vacant at the end of the second year, those of the second group at the end of the fourth year and those of the third group at the end of the sixth year, so that one third can be renewed every two years; and if vacancies occur, by resignation or otherwise, outside the legislative sessions of a state, the executive branch of that state may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which will then fill such vacancies. .

No one can be a senator if he has not reached the age of thirty years, if he has not been a citizen of the United States for nine years and if he does not reside, at the time of the election, in the ‘State for which he is elected.

The Vice President of the United States will be President of the Senate, but will not have the right to vote, unless there is an equal division of votes in the Senate.

The Senate will choose the other members of its office, as well as a temporary president, in the absence of the vice-president of the United States, or when the latter is called upon to serve as president of the United States.

The Senate alone will have the power to try those indicted by the House of Representatives. When sitting for that purpose, senators will take an oath or make a solemn declaration. In the event of a judgment by the President of the United States, the President of the Supreme Court will preside. No one can be declared guilty except by a vote of two thirds of the members present.

The sentences pronounced in the event of “impeachment” cannot exceed the dismissal and the prohibition to occupy any post of confidence or to exercise any honorary or remunerated function of the United States; but the condemned party will nevertheless be responsible and subject to accusation, trial, judgment and condemnation according to common law.

Section 4.

The time, place and procedure for the election of senators and representatives shall be determined in each state by the legislature of that state; the Congress can, however, at any time, determine or modify by law the rules of the elections, with the exception of those relating to the place of the elections of the senators.

Congress will meet at least once a year, on the first Monday in December, unless by law it fixes a different day.

Section 5.

Each Chamber will be the judge of the election of its members, the number of votes they have obtained and their eligibility; a majority in each House will be necessary for the deliberations to be valid; but a smaller number may adjourn the sitting from day to day and may be authorized to require the presence of absent members by such means and under such penalties as the House may decide.

Each Chamber can establish its rules, impose sanctions against its members for conduct contrary to good order and, by a two-thirds majority, pronounce the expulsion of one of them.

Each Chamber will keep minutes of its debates and publish them from time to time, with the exception of those parts which it considers to require secrecy; the votes for and the votes against members of each of the Chambers on any question shall, at the request of one fifth of the members present, be recorded in the minutes.

Neither of the two Chambers may, during a session of Congress and without the consent of the other Chamber, adjourn for more than three days, nor move to any place other than that where the two Chambers are sitting.

Section 6.

Senators and Representatives will receive an indemnity to be fixed by law and paid by the United States Treasury. In no case other than those of treason, crime or breach of public peace, they may not be arrested during their participation in the sessions of their Chamber, nor when they go to a session of this Chamber or return from it; they cannot be disturbed in any place for their speeches or discussions in any of the Chambers.

No senator or representative may, during the period for which he has been elected, be appointed to a civilian office under the authority of the United States, which has been created or whose salary has been increased during that period; no person holding office under the authority of the United States will be a member of either House while in office.

Section 7.

All bills involving the levying of taxes will emanate from the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or accept amendments to be made to it as to other bills.

Any bill passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate must, before acquiring the force of law, be submitted to the President of the United States. If the latter approves it, he will sign it; otherwise it will send it back, with its objections, to the Chamber from which it emanates, which will insert the objections in full in its minutes and will proceed to a new examination of the project. If, after this new examination, the bill obtains in its favor the votes of two-thirds of the members of this House, it will be transmitted, with the accompanying objections, to the other House, which will also examine it from new, and, if two-thirds of its members approve it, it will have the force of law. In such a case, the votes of the two Chambers will be acquired by yes and by no, and the names of the members voting for and against the project will be entered in the minutes of each House respectively. Any project not returned by the president within ten days (Sunday not included) which will follow its submission, will become law as if the president had signed it, unless Congress has, by its adjournment, made the dismissal impossible; in which case the project will not acquire the force of law.

Any orders, resolutions or votes, for the adoption of which the agreement of the Senate and the House of Representatives may be necessary (except in matters of adjournment), shall be represented to the President of the United States, and, before becoming binding , approved by him, or, in the event of disagreement on his part, re-adopted by two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives, in accordance with the rules and subject to the reservations prescribed for bills.

Section 8.

Congress will have the power:

To levy and collect taxes, duties, taxes and excises, to pay debts and to provide for the common defense and general prosperity of the United States; but the said duties, taxes, and excises shall be uniform throughout the whole of the United States;

To borrow on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, between the various states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization and uniform bankruptcy laws applicable throughout the United States;

To coin money, to determine its value and that of the foreign currency, and to fix the standard of weights and measures;

To ensure the suppression of counterfeit bills and current currency in the United States;

To establish post offices and routes;

To promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by ensuring, for a limited time, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

To constitute courts inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracy and crimes committed on the high seas and attacks on the law of nations;

To declare war, to grant letters of marque and reprisals, and to establish regulations concerning captures on land and at sea;

To raise and maintain armies, provided that no allocation of funds for this purpose extends over more than two years;

To create and maintain a navy of war;

To establish regulations for the command and discipline of the forces of land and sea;

To provide for the mobilization of the militia to ensure the execution of the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for the organization, armament and discipline of the militia, and for the command of such part thereof as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of officers and the necessary authority to train the militia according to the rules of discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise the exclusive right of legislation, in any matter, over such district (with an area not exceeding 10 square miles) which, by cession of particular States and with the acceptance of Congress, will have become the seat of government of the United States and to exercise similar authority over all acquired places, with the consent of the legislature of the state in which they are situated, for the erection of forts, depots, arsenals, shipyards and other necessary constructions;

And to make such laws as shall be necessary and proper to carry out the foregoing powers and any other powers conferred by this Constitution on the government of the United States or any of its departments or officers.

Section 9.

The immigration or importation of such persons as any of the states presently existing shall deem it expedient to admit shall not be prohibited by Congress until the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty not exceeding 10 dollars per head can be raised on this import.

The privilege of the habeas corpus ordinance may not be suspended, except in cases of rebellion or invasion, where public security may require it.

No confiscation decree, or retroactive law will be promulgated.

No capitation or other direct tax will be levied, except in proportion to the census or enumeration above ordered.

No taxes or duties will be levied on items exported from any state.

No preference shall be given by commercial or fiscal regulation to ports of one State over those of another; and no ship to or from one State shall be subject to formalities or duties of entry, exit or customs in another.

No sum will be withdrawn from the Treasury, except by virtue of appropriations stipulated by law; a regular statement and account of all receipts and expenditures of public money will be published from time to time.

No title of nobility shall be conferred by the United States, and no person who shall hold an office of profit or confidence in it shall, without the consent of Congress, accept any presents, emoluments, offices or titles whatsoever, of a king, prince or foreign state.

Section 10.

No State may be party to a treaty or an alliance or to a Confederation; grant letters of marque and retaliation; coin money; to issue paper money, to give legal tender, for the payment of debts, to anything other than gold or silver currency; promulgate any decree of confiscation, any retroactive law or which would affect the obligations resulting from contracts; nor confer titles of nobility.

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, levy taxes or duties on imports or exports other than those which are absolutely necessary for the execution of its inspection laws, and the proceeds net of all duties or taxes levied by a state on imports or exports will be earmarked for the use of the United States Treasury; and all such laws will be subject to the review or control of Congress.

No State may, without the consent of Congress, levy tonnage rights, maintain troops or warships in peacetime, enter into agreements or covenants with another State or a foreign power, or enter into war, unless it is actually invaded or in too imminent danger to allow the slightest delay.

ARTICLE II

Section 1.

Executive power will be vested in a President of the United States of America. He will remain in office for a period of four years and will be, along with the vice-president chosen for the same term, elected as follows:

Each state shall appoint, in the manner prescribed by its legislature, a number of electors equal to the total number of senators and representatives to which it is entitled in Congress, but no senator or representative, nor any person holding the office of the United States of trust or profit, cannot be nominated as a voter.

Voters will meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for two people, at least one of whom will not reside in the same state as them. They will draw up a list of all the people who have received votes and the number of votes obtained by each of them. They will sign this list, certify it and send it, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, to the address of the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, will open all the certified lists, and the votes will then be counted. The person who obtains the greatest number of votes will be president, if that number represents the majority of all the electors nominated. If two or more persons have obtained this majority and an equal number of votes, the House of Representatives, by ballot, will immediately choose one of them as president. If no one has obtained the necessary majority, the House of Representatives will then choose the President, according to the same procedure, from among the five persons having obtained the greatest number of votes. But, for the choice of the president, the votes will be counted by state, the representation of each state having one vote. The quorum necessary for this purpose will be constituted by the presence of one or more representatives of two thirds of the States, and the adhesion of the majority of all the States will have to be acquired for the validity of the choice. In any case, after the election of the president, the person who will have obtained after him the greatest number of the votes of the electors will be vice-president. But if there are two or more people left with the same number of votes, the Senate will choose the vice-president from among them by ballot.

Congress may fix the time when voters will be chosen and the day they must vote, that day being the same throughout the United States.

No one may be elected President unless he is a citizen by birth, or if he is not a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, if he has not completed thirty-five years. and has not resided in the United States for fourteen years.

In the event of dismissal, death or resignation of the president, or of his inability to exercise the powers and fulfill the duties of his office, these shall devolve on the vice-president. The Congress may, by law, provide for the case of dismissal, death, resignation or incapacity of both the president and the vice-president by designating the official who will then act as president, and this official will fulfill the said function. until cessation of incapacity or election of a president.

The President will receive for his services, at fixed times, an indemnity which shall neither be increased nor decreased during the period for which he will have been elected, and he will not receive during this period any other emolument from the United States, nor from any of the States.

Before taking office, the President will take the oath or make the following affirmation:

“I solemnly swear (or affirm) to faithfully serve as President of the United States and, to the best of my ability, to safeguard, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. ”

Section 2.

The President will be Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army and Navy, and of the state militia when called up to active service in the United States. He may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal official of each of the executive departments on any matter relating to the duties of his office. He will have the power to grant stays and pardons for crimes against the United States, except in cases of “impeachment”.

He shall have the power, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to enter into treaties, subject to the approval of two-thirds of the Senators present. He shall propose to the Senate and, on the advice and with the consent of the latter, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, justices of the Supreme Court, and all other officials of the United States whose appointment no. is not provided for by this Constitution, and whose positions will be created by law. But Congress may, when it sees fit, entrust the president alone, the courts or the heads of departments with the appointment of certain inferior officials.

The president will have the power to fill any vacancies which occur between sessions of the Senate, by granting commissions which will expire at the end of the following session.

Section 3.

The President will inform Congress from time to time of the state of the Union, and will recommend to its attention such measures as he considers necessary and expedient. He may, in extraordinary circumstances, convene one or the other or both Chambers at the same time, and in the event of disagreement between them on the date of their adjournment, he may adjourn them at such time as he sees fit. suitable. He will receive ambassadors and other public ministers. He will see that the laws are faithfully carried out, and will commission all officials of the United States.

Section 4.

The President, Vice President, and all civilian officials of the United States will be removed from office on indictment and conviction for treason, corruption or other major felonies and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III

Section 1.

Judicial power in the United States shall be vested in a Supreme Court and such lower courts as Congress may from time to time direct the establishment. The judges of the Supreme Court and the lower courts will retain their offices as long as they are worthy of it and will receive, at fixed dates, an indemnity which will not be reduced while they remain in office.

Section 2.

Judicial power shall extend to all cases of law and equity arising from this Constitution, the laws of the United States, treaties already concluded, or which may come to be made under their authority; in all cases concerning ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; in all cases falling under the Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; disputes to which the United States is a party; disputes between two or more states, between one state and the citizens of another, between citizens of different states, between citizens of the same state claiming land under concessions from other states, between a state or its citizens and states, citizens or foreign subjects.

In all cases concerning ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those to which a State is a party, the Supreme Court will have jurisdiction of first instance on the date of their adjournment, it will have jurisdiction of appeal, and for the right and for the fact, with such exceptions and in accordance with such regulations as Congress shall establish.

All crimes, except in cases of “impeachment”, will be tried by a jury. The trial shall take place in the State where the said crimes have been committed, and, when they have not been committed in any, in such a place or place as Congress shall have fixed by law.

Section 3.

The crime of treason against the United States will consist only in the act of making war against them, or of siding with their enemies by giving them aid and relief. No one will be convicted of treason, except on the testimony of two witnesses of the same manifesto, or on his own admission in open court.

Congress will have the power to set the penalty for treason, but no conviction on this count will result in civil death or confiscation of property, except during the life of the convicted person.

ARTICLE IV

Section 1.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public documents, minutes and judicial records of all other States. And Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which the validity of these acts, minutes and minutes shall be established, as well as their effects.

Section 2.

The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the various states.

Anyone who, accused in one State of treason, felony or other crime, has escaped justice by flight and is found in another State, shall, at the request of the executive authority of the State of ‘where she fled, to be delivered to be brought back to the state having jurisdiction over the crime.

A person who, being bound to a service or work in one State under the laws existing there, would escape to another, shall not be released from that service or work under any law or regulation of that other State, but will be delivered on the claim of the party to whom the service or work may be due.

Section 3.

New states can be admitted by Congress into the Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected in the territory subject to the jurisdiction of another State, nor any State formed by the joining of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned. , as well as of Congress.

Congress shall have the power to dispose of the territory or any other property belonging to the United States, and to make all necessary laws and regulations in respect thereof; and nothing in this Constitution shall be construed so as to prejudice the claims of the United States or any particular state.

Section 4.

The United States will guarantee each state in the Union a republican form of government, protect each of them from invasion and, at the request of the legislature or the executive (when the legislature cannot be assembled), against all internal violence.

ARTICLE V

Congress, when two-thirds of the two Chambers deem it necessary, will propose amendments to this Constitution or, at the request of the legislatures of two-thirds of the States, convene a convention to propose them; in either case, these amendments shall be valid in all respects as forming an integral part of this Constitution, when they have been ratified by the legislatures of three-quarters of the States, or by conventions in three-quarters of ‘between them, depending on whether one or the other mode of ratification has been proposed by Congress. Provided that no amendment adopted before the year one thousand eight hundred and eight may in any way affect the first and fourth clauses of the ninth section of the

ARTICLE VI

All debts incurred and commitments made before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as they were under Confederation.

This Constitution, together with the laws of the United States resulting from it, and all treaties already made, or to be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in each State shall be bound by the aforesaid, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Constitution or the laws of any of the States.

The above-mentioned senators and representatives, members of the various state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officials, both of the United States and of the various states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to defend this Constitution; but no profession of religious faith will be required as a condition of fitness for public office or office under the authority of the United States.

ARTICLE VII

The ratification of the conventions of nine States will be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States which have thus ratified it.

AMENDMENTS

FIRST ARTICLE

Congress shall not make any law which affects the establishment or prohibits the free exercise of a religion, nor which restricts the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people to assemble peacefully and to petition the government for redress for the wrongs it has to complain about.

ARTICLE II

Since a well-organized militia is necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to own and bear arms will not be violated.

ARTICLE III

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be lodged in a house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in the manner prescribed by law.

ARTICLE IV

The right of citizens to be guaranteed in their person, domicile, papers and effects, against searches and seizures without reason will not be violated, and no warrant will be issued, except on serious presumption, corroborated by oath or affirmation, or without particularly describing the place to be searched and the people or things to be seized.

ARTICLE V

No one will be held accountable for a capital or infamous crime without an indictment, spontaneous or provoked, by a Grand Jury, except in the case of crimes committed while the accused was serving in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, in time of war or public emergency; no one may for the same offense be threatened twice in his life or in his body; no one may, in a criminal case, be compelled to testify against himself, nor be deprived of his life, liberty or property without due legal procedure; no private property can be requisitioned in the public interest without fair compensation.

ARTICLE VI

In all criminal proceedings, the accused shall have the right to be tried promptly and publicly by an impartial jury of the State and of the district where the crime has been committed – the district having been previously delimited by law -, to be instructed in the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with defense witnesses, to demand by legal means the appearance of prosecution witnesses, and to be assisted by counsel for his defense.

ARTICLE VII

In common law trials where the value in dispute exceeds twenty dollars, the right to trial by a jury will be observed, and no fact tried by a jury will be re-examined in a court of the United States other than under the rules of the common right.

ARTICLE VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and exceptional punishment inflicted.

ARTICLE IX

The enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution cannot be interpreted as denying or restricting other rights retained by the people.

ARTICLE X

Powers that are not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor denied by it to states, are retained by the states respectively or by the people.

[The first ten amendments, which constitute the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791.]

ARTICLE XI

The judiciary of the United States shall not be construed as extending to any lawsuit or equity brought or pursued against any of the United States by citizens of any other state, or by citizens or subjects of a foreign state. [1798]

ARTICLE XII

Voters will meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for the president and vice-president, at least one of whom will not reside in the same state as them. They will indicate on separate ballots the name of the person they wish to elect president and of the one they wish to elect vice-president. They will draw up separate lists of all the people who will have obtained votes for the presidency, all those who will have obtained votes for the vice-presidency, and the number of votes received by each of them. They will sign these lists, certify them and transmit them, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, to the address of the President of the Senate. The latter, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, will open all certified lists, and the votes will then be counted. The person who obtains the greatest number of votes for the presidency will be president, if that number represents the majority of all the electors nominated. If none has obtained the necessary majority, the House of Representatives will immediately choose the President, by ballot, from the three people at most who have obtained the greatest number of votes. But, for the choice of the president, the votes will be collected by State, the representation of each having one vote. The quorum necessary for this purpose will be constituted by the presence of one or more representatives of two thirds of the States, and the adhesion of the majority of all the States must be acquired for the validity of the choice. If the House of Representatives, when it has the right to choose, does not choose the president before the fourth day of March following, the vice-president will act as president, as well as in the event of death or other incapacity. Constitution of the President. The person who obtains the greatest number of votes for the vice-presidency will be vice-president if this number represents the majority of all the electors nominated; if none has obtained the necessary majority, the Senate will then choose the vice-president from among the two persons on the list who will have the greatest number of votes. The quorum necessary for this purpose will be constituted by the presence of two thirds of the total number of senators, and the Membership of the majority of all senators must be acquired for the choice to be valid. But no person constitutionally ineligible for the office of President can be elected to that of Vice President of the United States. [1804]

ARTICLE XIII

Section 1.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime of which the culprit has been duly convicted, will exist in the United States or in any of the places under their jurisdiction.

Section 2.

Congress shall have the power to give effect to this article by appropriate legislation. [1865]

ARTICLE XIV

Section 1.

Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, is a citizen of the United States and of the state in which they reside. No state shall make or enforce laws which would restrict the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; not deprive a person of their life, liberty or property without due legal process; nor deny anyone under its legal jurisdiction the protection of the laws.

Section 2.

The representatives will be distributed among the various states in proportion to their respective populations, calculated by counting all the inhabitants of each state, excluding Indians, not taxed. But, when the right to vote in the election of electors of the President and Vice President of the United States, representatives in Congress, executive and judicial officials of a state, or members of its legislature, will be denied to male residents of that state, who are twenty-one years old and citizens of the United States, or restricted in any way, except in the case of participation in a rebellion or other crime,

Section 3.

No one shall be a senator or representative to Congress, or elector of the president and vice-president, nor shall hold any civil or military office in the government of the United States or any of the states, who after taking the oath, as a member of Congress, or officer of the United States, or member of a state legislature, or executive or judicial officer of a state, to defend the Constitution of the United States, has taken part in an insurrection or rebellion against them, or given aid or relief to their enemies. But the Congress will be able, by a vote of two thirds of each Chamber, to remove this incapacity.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including commitments made for the payment of pensions and bonuses for services rendered in suppressing insurgencies or rebellions, will not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State will assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred for assistance in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States, nor any claim for the loss or emancipation of slaves, and all debts, obligations and claims of this nature will be considered illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have the power to give effect to the provisions of this article by appropriate legislation. [1868]

ARTICLE XV

Section 1.

The right to vote of citizens of the United States will not be denied or limited by the United States, or by any state, for reasons of race, color, or prior condition of servitude.

Section 2.

Congress shall have the power to give effect to this article by appropriate legislation. [1870]

ARTICLE XVI

Congress shall have the power to establish and collect taxes on income, from whatever source they derive, without distribution among the various states, and independent of any census or enumeration. [1913]

ARTICLE XVII

Section 1.

The United States Senate will be composed of two senators for each state, elected for six years by the people of that state; and each senator will be entitled to one vote. Voters in each state will be required to qualify to be voters in the state’s largest legislature.

Section 2.

When a vacancy occurs in the representation of a state in the Senate, the executive authority of that state will summon the electors to fill the vacancy, provided that in each state the legislature can give the executive the power to make decisions. temporary appointments until the people have filled the vacancies by elections which the legislature may order.

Section 3.

This amendment shall not be interpreted as affecting the election or the term of office of any Senator chosen before such amendment has acquired executive force and becomes an integral part of the Constitution. [1913]

ARTICLE XVIII

Section 1.

The manufacture, sale or transport of alcoholic beverages within the territory of the United States and any territory subject to their jurisdiction, as well as the importation of such beverages into these territories or their export outside these territories.

Section 2.

Congress and the various states shall concurrently have the power to give effect to this section by appropriate legislation.

Section 3.

This article shall be inoperative unless it is ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the various states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of its presentation to the states by Congress. [1919]

ARTICLE XIX

The right to vote of citizens of the United States may not be denied or restricted on the basis of sex by the United States or any of the states. Congress shall have the power to give effect to this article by appropriate legislation. [1920]

ARTICLE XX

Section 1.

The terms of the president and vice-president will end at noon on the twentieth day of January, and the terms of senators and representatives at noon on the third day of January of the years in which those terms would have expired if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors will begin from that moment.

Section 2.

Congress will meet at least once a year, and the meeting will be held at noon on the third day of January, unless by law it fixes a different day.

Section 3.

If, on the date set for the assumption of office of the President, the President-elect has died, the Vice-President-elect shall become President. If a president has not been chosen before the date fixed for the start of his term of office, or if the president-elect does not meet the requirements, the vice-president-elect will then act as president until a president meets the required conditions; and Congress may, by law, provide for the incapacity of both the President-elect and the Vice-President by designating the person who shall then act as President, or the manner of choosing him, and such person shall act in accordance with this capacity until a chairman or vice-chairman fulfills the required conditions.

Section 4.

Congress shall provide by law in the event of the death of one of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a president when the right to choose lies with it, and in the event of the death of one of the persons among whom the Senate may choose a president. choose a vice-president when the right to choose falls to him.

Section 5.

Sections 1 and 2 will come into force on the fifteenth day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6.

This article shall be inoperative if it is not ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-quarters of the various States, within seven years from the date of its submission. [1,933]

ARTICLE XXI

Section 1.

The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is repealed.

Section 2.

Transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States of alcoholic beverages for delivery or consumption therein, in violation of any laws therein, is prohibited.

Section 3.

This article shall be inoperative, if it is not ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the various States assembled in convention as provided for in the Constitution, within seven years following the date of its submission to the States by the Congress. [1933]

ARTICLE XXII

Section 1.

No one may be elected to the presidency more than twice, and no one who has served as president, or acted as president, for more than two years of a term for which some other person was appointed president, cannot be elected to the office of president more than once. But this article will not apply to anyone who is serving as president at the time this article was proposed by Congress, and it will not preclude anyone who may serve as president, or act as president, during the period. term during which this article becomes enforceable, to serve as president or to act as president during the remainder of that term.

Section 2.

This article shall not take effect until it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-quarters of the various states within seven years from the date of its presentation to the states by Congress. [1951]

ARTICLE XXIII

Section 1.

The district in which the seat of the government of the United States is established shall designate, by such procedure as may be determined by Congress, a number of electors for the president and vice-president equal to the total number of senators and representatives in Congress to which that district would be entitled. if it was constituted as a State; this number may not in any case exceed that of the electors designated by the least populated State of the Union; these voters will join those nominated by the States and they will be considered, for the purposes of the election of the President and the Vice-President, as nominated by a State; they will meet in the territory of the district and perform the duties specified by the Twelfth Amendment.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to give effect to the provisions of this article by appropriate legislation. [1961]

ARTICLE XXIV

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election of President and Vice-President, of the President’s and Vice-President’s Grand Voters, or of Senators and Representatives to Congress, shall not be denied or restricted nor by the United States, or by any state, for non-payment of election tax or any other tax.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to give effect to the provisions of this article by appropriate legislation. [1964]

ARTICLE XXV

Section 1.

In the event of dismissal, death or resignation of the president, the vice-president will become president.

Section 2.

If the post of Vice-President becomes vacant, the President will appoint a Vice-President who will take office as soon as his appointment has been approved by a majority vote of both Chambers of Congress.

Section 3.

If the President sends to the President pro tempore of the Senate and to the President of the House of Representatives a written declaration informing them of his inability to exercise the powers and fulfill the duties of his office, and until such time as he will notify them in writing to the contrary, these powers will be exercised and these duties will be fulfilled by the Vice-President in his capacity as Acting President.

Section 4.

If the vice-president, as well as a majority of the principal officials of the executive departments or of such other body designated by a law promulgated by the Congress, send to the president pro tempore of the Senate and to the president of the House of Representatives a written declaration the advising that the president is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, the vice-president will immediately assume these functions as interim president. Subsequently, if the president sends the president pro tempore of the Senate and the president of the House of Representatives a written declaration informing them that no incapacity exists, he will resume his functions, unless the vice-president and a majority of the principal officials of the executive departments or such other body designated by a law promulgated by Congress send within four days to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the president of the House of Representatives a written declaration stating that the president is incapable of exercising the powers and fulfilling the duties of his office. Congress will then have to make a decision; if it is not sitting, it will meet for that purpose within 48 hours. If, within 21 days of receipt by Congress of this last written declaration, or within 21 days of the date of the meeting of Congress, if Congress is not in session, the latter decides by a two-thirds vote of the two Chambers that the president is unable to exercise the powers and fulfill the duties of his office, the vice-president will continue to exercise these functions as interim president; otherwise, the president will resume the exercise of said functions. [1967]

ARTICLE XXVI

Section 1.

The right to vote of citizens of the United States who are eighteen years of age or over may not be denied or restricted on the basis of age either by the United States or by any state.

Section 2.

Congress shall have the power to give effect to this article by appropriate legislation. [1971]

ARTICLE XXVII

No law modifying the remuneration for the services of Senators and Representatives will come into force until an election of Representatives has taken place.