We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution of the
United States of America.
Article I.
Sect. 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate
and a House of Representatives.
Sect. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members
chosen every second year by the people of the several states,
and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state
legislature.
No person shall be a representative who shall not have
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.
Representative and direct taxes shall be apportioned among
the several states which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual
enumeration shall be made within three years after the first
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent term of ten years in such manner as they shall be law
direct. The number of representative 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 choose 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 choose the Speaker and
other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Sect. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
senators from each state chosen by the legislature thereof, for
six years and each senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of
the first election, they hall be divided as equally as may be
into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first
class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of
the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of
the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that
one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies
happen by resignation, or otherwise during the recess of
the legislature of any state, the Executive thereof may make
temporary appointments until the next meeting of the
Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the
United States, 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 choose 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.
Judgement 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.
Sect. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for
senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state
by the legislature thereof: but the Congress may at any time by
law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of
choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless
they shall be law appoint a different day.
Sect. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such
penalties as each house may provide.
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish
its members for disorderly 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 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.
Sect. 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation
for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of
the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases,
except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged
from arrest during their attendance at the session of their
respective houses, and in going to and returning from the
same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they
shall not be questioned in any other place.
No senator or representative shall, during the time for which
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the
authority of the United States, which shall have been created,
or the emoluments whereof shall have been 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.
Sect. 7. All bill for raising revenue shall originate in the house of
representative; 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 is 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 Representative 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.
Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power:
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay
the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare
of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall
be uniform throughout the United States. To borrow money on the
credit of the United States;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the
several states, and with the Indian tribes;
To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform
laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign
coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the
securities and current coin of the United States; To establish
post offices and post roads;
To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the
exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the
high seas, and offences against the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and
make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to
that use shall be for a longer term than two years; To provide
and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land
and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws
of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed
in the service of the United States, reserving to the States
respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority
of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed
by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever,
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by
cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress,
become the seat of the government of the United States, and to
exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent
of the legislature of the states in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, 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 the Constitution in the government of the
United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Sect. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such
importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the
public safety require it. No bill of attainder or ex post facto
law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in
proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed
to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any
state. No preference shall be given by any regulation of
commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of
another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be
obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence
of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and
account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money
shall be published from time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States:
And- no person holding any office of profit or trust under
them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any
present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from
any king, prince, or foreign state.
Sect. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or
confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money;
emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a
tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post
facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or
grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be
absolutely necessary for executing its 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; all such laws shall be subject to the revision
and control 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.
Sect. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the
term of four years, and, together with the vice-president,
chosen for the same term, be elected as follows.
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole
number of senators and representatives to which the state may be
entitled in the Congress: but no senator or representative, or
person holding an office of trust or profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of
votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the president of the senate. The president
of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of
representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall
then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes
shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the
whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than
one who have such majority, and have am equal 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 choose 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
choose 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. 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 choose from them by ballot the
vice-president.
The Congress may determine the time of the choosing 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 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 be elected.
The president shall, at stated times, receive for his
services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor
diminished during the period for which he shall have been
elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other
emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take
the following oath or affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the office of president of the United States, and will
to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the
constitution of the United States."
Sect. 2. The president shall be commander in chief of the army and
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several
States, when called into the actual service of the United
States; he may require the opinion, in writing of the principal
officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against
the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of
the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the
senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with
the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors,
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court,
and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments
are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by law. But the Congress may by law vest the
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in
the president alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of
departments.
The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that
may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting
commissions which shall expire at the end of their session.
Sect. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may,
on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of
them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to
the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he
shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other
public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United
States.
Sect. 4. The president, vice-president and all civil officers of the
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for,
and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors.
Article III.
Sect. 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress
may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of
the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during
good behavior, and shall, at stated time, receive for their
services a compensation which shall not be diminished during
their continuance in office.
Sect. 2.
1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall
be a party; to controversies between two or more States, between
a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of
different States, between citizens of the same State claiming
lands under grants of different States, and between a State or
the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers
and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the
Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the
other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have
appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such
exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall
make.
3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment,
shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State
where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not
committed within any State the trial shall be at such place or
places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Sect. 3.
1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies,
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of
treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same
overt act, or on confession in open court.
2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of
blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person
attained.
Article IV
Sect. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the
public act, 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.
Sect. 2.
1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.
2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another
State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State
having jurisdiction of the crime.
3. No person held to service or labor 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 labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to
whom such service or labor may be due.
Sect. 3.
1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other State, nor any State be formed by the
junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the
consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as
of the Congress.
2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of
the United States, or of any particular State.
Sect. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of
them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or
of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened),
against domestic violence.
Article V.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both House 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.
Sect. 1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the
United States under this Constitution, as under the
Confederation.
Sect. 2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the
constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.
Sect. 3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and
judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several
States, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office or public trust under the United
States.
Article VII.
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.
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
George Washington
PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY FROM VIRGINIA
NEW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS NEW YORK
John Langdon Nathaniel Gorham Alexander Hamilton
Nicholas Gilman Rufus King
NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA DELAWARE
William Livingston Benjamin Franklin George Read
David Brearley Thomas Mifflin Gunning Bedford, Jr.
William Paterson Robert Morris John Dickinson
Jonathan Dayton George Clymer Richard Bassett
Thomas Fitzsimons Jacob Broom
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris
MARYLAND VIRGINIA NORTH CAROLINA
James McHenry John Blair William Blount
Dan of St. Thomas Jennifer James Madison, Jr. Richard Dobbs Spaight
Daniel Carroll Hugh Williamson
SOUTH CAROLINA GEORGIA
John Rutledge William Few
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Abraham Baldwin
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
AMENDMENTS
1st Amendment
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.
2nd Amendment
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.
3rd Amendment
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quarters in any house,
without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
4th Amendment
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.
5th Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous, crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury,
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia,
when in actual service, in time of war, or public danger; nor shall any
person be subject, for the same offence, to be twice put in jeopardy of
life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness
against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without
just compensation.
6th Amendment
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.
7th Amendment
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact,
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise ~reexamined in any court of the United
States than according to the rules of the common law.
8th Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
9th Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to 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.
11th Amendment
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.
12th Amendment
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by
ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not
be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in
their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots
the person voted for as Vice President; and they shall make distinct lists
of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice
President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall
sign, and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the Government of
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; the President
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and the 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 a majority, then, from the
persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of
those voted for a President, the House of Representative 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] the Vice President shall
act as President, as in case of 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,
form 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; 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.
13th Amendment
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
14th Amendment
Sect. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
Sect. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when
the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for
President and Vice President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial
officers of a State, or the members of the legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion
which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the
whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such
State.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
15th Amendment
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
16th Amendment
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.
17th Amendment
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for sex 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 appointment 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.
18th Amendment
Sect. 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation
thereof from the United States and all territory subject to
the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby
prohibited.
Sect. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Sect. 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 of the date of the submission hereof to the States
by Congress.
19th Amendment
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.
20th Amendment
Sect. 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 3rd 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every years, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
Sect. 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by three-fourths of
the several States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
21st Amendment
Sect. 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
the United States is hereby repealed.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in
the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within
seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States
by the Congress.
22nd Amendment
Sect. 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
his Article becomes operative from holding the office of
President or acting as President during the remainder of such
term.
Sect. 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.
23rd Amendment
Sect. 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 Representative 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 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
24th Amendment
Sect. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election for President or Vice President, for
electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any
poll tax or other tax.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
25th Amendment
Sect. 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speakers 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.
Sect. 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 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.
26th Amendment
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
