(See Note 1)
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Article. I.
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every
second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State
shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch
of the State Legislature.
Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the
Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States,
and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he
shall be chosen.
Clause 3: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the
several States which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (See Note 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.
Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such
Vacancies.
Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other
Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, (See Note 3) for six Years; and
each Senator shall have one Vote.
Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The
Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of
the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and
of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be
chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise,
during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may
make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which
shall then fill
such Vacancies. (See Note 4)
Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall
not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
Clause 5: The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro
tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the
Office of President of the United States.
Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no
Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members
present.
Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor,
Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall
nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and
Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4.
Clause 1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;
but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except
as to the Places of chusing Senators.
Clause 2: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, (See Note 5) unless they shall
by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.
Clause 1: Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a
Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may
be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and
under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel
a Member.
Clause 3: Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require
Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question
shall, at the
Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Clause 4: Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place
than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for
their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the
United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and
Breach of the Peace, beprivileged 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.
Clause 2: No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United
States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been
encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United
States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
Clause 1: All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on
other Bills.
Clause 2: Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the
United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it,
with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall
enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If
after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the
Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that
House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses
shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for
and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in
like Manner as if he had
signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
Clause 3: Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of
Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and
before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of
Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case
of a Bill.
Section. 8.
Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and
general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall
be uniform throughout the United States;
Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on
the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and
fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries;
Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high
Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that
Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United
States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers,
and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed
by Congress;
Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession 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
Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.
Section. 9.
Clause 1: The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be
imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Clause 2: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. (See
Note 7)
Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
Clause 6: No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue
to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or
from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts
and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Clause 8: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the
Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of
any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
Clause 1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation;
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any
Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of
Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or
grant any Title of Nobility.
Clause 2: No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts
or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for
executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts,
laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of
the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and
Controul of the Congress.
Clause 3: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement
or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless
actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article. II.
Section. 1.
Clause 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
Clause 2: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no
Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under
the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
Clause 3: The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot
for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same
State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for,
and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the
Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall
immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like
Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum
for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should
remain two or more who have equal
Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. (See Note
8)
Clause 4: The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the
Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout
the United States.
Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to
the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years
a Resident within the United States.
Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office,
(See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the VicePresident, 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.
Clause 7: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nordiminished 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.
Clause 8: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I
will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will
to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States."
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the
United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the
actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of
the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to
grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
Clause 2: He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he
shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall
appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court,
and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper,
in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
Clause 3: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may
happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall
expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
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.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall
be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article. III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court,
and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may
from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and
inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good
Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a
Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their
Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
Clause 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; (See Note 10)--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.
Clause 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the
supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before
mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate
Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such
Regulations as the Congress shall make.
Clause 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.
Section. 3.
Clause 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.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason,
but no Attainder of Treason shall work
Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
Article. IV.
Section. 1.
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.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Clause 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.
Clause 3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence
of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but
shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom such Service or Labour may be due. (See Note 11)
Section. 3.
Clause 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.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules
and Regulations respecting the Territory or
other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution
shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of
the United States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4.
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 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.
Clause 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.
Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be
made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under
the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and
the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution
or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Clause 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,
GO WASHINGTON--Presidt. and deputy from Virginia
[Signed also by the deputies of twelve States.]
Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom
Maryland
James MCHenry
Dan of ST ThoS. Jenifer
DanL Carroll.
Virginia
John Blair--
James Madison Jr.
North Carolina
WM Blount
RichD. Dobbs Spaight.
Hu Williamson
South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles 1ACotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler.
Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin
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
Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
RobT Morris
Geo. Clymer
ThoS. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson.
Gouv Morris
Attest William Jackson Secretary
NOTES
Note 1: This text of the Constitution follows the engrossed copy signed by Gen.
Washington and the deputies from 12 States. The small superior figures preceding
the paragraphs designate Clauses, and were not in the original and have no
reference to footnotes.
The Constitution was adopted by a convention of the States on September 17,
1787, and was subsequently ratified by the several States, on the following
dates: Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey,
December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788;
Massachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May
23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788.
Ratification was completed on June 21, 1788.
The Constitution was subsequently ratified by Virginia, June 25, 1788; New York,
July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1789; Rhode Island, May 29, 1790;
and Vermont, January 10, 1791.
In May 1785, a committee of Congress made a report recommending an alteration in
the Articles of Confederation, but no action was taken on it, and it was left to
the State Legislatures to proceed in the matter. In January 1786, the
Legislature of Virginia passed a resolution providing for the appointment of
five commissioners, who, or any three of them, should meet such commissioners as
might be appointed in the other States of the Union, at a time and place to be
agreed upon, to take into consideration the trade of the United States; to
consider how far a uniform system in their commercial regulations may be
necessary to their common interest and their permanent harmony; and to report to
the several States such an act, relative to this great object, as, when ratified
by them, will enable the United States in Congress effectually to provide for
the same. The Virginia commissioners, after some correspondence, fixed the first
Monday in September as the time, and the city of Annapolis as the place for the
meeting, but only four other States were represented, viz: Delaware, New York,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the
commissioners appointed by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and
Rhode Island failed to attend. Under the circumstances of so partial a
representation, the commissioners present agreed upon a report, (drawn by Mr.
Hamilton, of New York,) expressing their unanimous conviction that it might
essentially tend to advance the interests of the Union if the States by
which they were respectively delegated would concur, and use their endeavors to
procure the concurrence of the other States, in the appointment of commissioners
to meet at Philadelphia on the Second Monday of May following, to take into
consideration the situation of the United States; to devise such further
provisions as should appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of the
Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union; and to report such
an act for that purpose to the United States in Congress assembled as, when
agreed to by them and afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State,
would effectually provide for the same.
Congress, on the 21st of February, 1787, adopted a resolution in favor of a
convention, and the Legislatures of those States which had not already done so
(with the exception of Rhode Island) promptly appointed delegates. On the 25th
of May, seven States having convened, George Washington, of Virginia, was
unanimously elected President, and the consideration of the proposed
constitution was commenced. On the 17th of September, 1787, the Constitution as
engrossed and agreed upon was signed by all the members present, except Mr.
Gerry of Massachusetts, and Messrs. Mason and Randolph, of Virginia. The
president of the convention transmitted it to Congress, with a resolution
stating how the proposed Federal Government should be put in operation, and an
explanatory letter. Congress, on the 28th of September, 1787, directed the
Constitution so framed, with the resolutions and letter concerning the same, to
"be transmitted to the several Legislatures in order to be submitted to a
convention of delegates
chosen in each State by the people thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the
convention."
On the 4th of March, 1789, the day which had been fixed for commencing the
operations of Government under the new Constitution, it had been ratified by the
conventions chosen in each State to consider it, as follows: Delaware, December
7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18, 1787;
Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts, February
6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire,
June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 25, 1788; and New York, July 26, 1788.
The President informed Congress, on the 28th of January, 1790, that North
Carolina had ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789; and he informed
Congress on the 1st of June, 1790, that Rhode Island had ratified the
Constitution May 29, 1790. Vermont, in convention, ratified the Constitution
January 10, 1791, and was, by an act of Congress approved February 18, 1791,
"received and admitted into this Union as a new and entire member of the
United States."
Note 2: The part of this Clause relating to the mode of apportionment of
representatives among the several States has been affected by Section 2 of
amendment XIV, and as to taxes on incomes without apportionment by amendment
XVI.
Note 3: This Clause has been affected by Clause 1 of amendment XVII.
Note 4: This Clause has been affected by Clause 2 of amendment XVIII.
Note 5: This Clause has been affected by amendment XX.
Note 6: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXVII.
Note 7: This Clause has been affected by amendment XVI.
Note 8: This Clause has been superseded by amendment XII.
Note 9: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXV.
Note 10: This Clause has been affected by amendment XI.
Note 11: This Clause has been affected by amendment XIII.
Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution
The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the
Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse
of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added,
and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best
insure the beneficent ends of its institution;
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the
following articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as
amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all or any of which
articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid
to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution, namely:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the
right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the
consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by
law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time
of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same 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 VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a
jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to
the people.
Other Amendments
Amendment XI
(1798)
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any
suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States
by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
Amendment XII
(1804)
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 XIII
(1865)
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the
United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XIV
(1868)
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in
each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any
election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the
United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers
of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the
male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of
the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in
rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced
in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a
member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any
state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove
such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services
in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither
the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations
and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
the provisions of this article.
Amendment XV
(1870)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XVI
(1913)
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 of enumeration.
Amendment XVII
(1913)
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 XVIII
(1919)
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof
into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory
subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states,
as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the states by the Congress.
Amendment XIX
(1920)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XX
(1933)
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on
the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon
on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if
this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law
appoint a different day.
Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President,
the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become
President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for
the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to
qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President
shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein
neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to
act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President
or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of
the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of
the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several states within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment XXI
(1933)
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United
States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or
possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating
liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission
hereof to the states by the Congress.
Amendment XXII
(1951)
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than
twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as
President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was
elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than
once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of
President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent
any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as
President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from
holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of
such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states
by the Congress.
Amendment XXIII
(1961)
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United States
shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number
of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be
entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state;
they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they shall be
considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to
be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District and
perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XXIV
(1964)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or
other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or
Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay
any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment XXV
(1967)
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death
or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4. 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 XXVI
(1971)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age
or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any
state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXVII
(1992)
No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.