Preamble
We the People of the United States, in order to
form a more perfect union, establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, 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.
Section 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.
Section 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed
of members chosen every second year by
the people of the several states, and the electors
in each state shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch
of the state legislature. No person shall be a
representative who shall not have attained to
the age of twenty-five years, and been seven
years a citizen of the United States, and who
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that
state in which he shall be chosen.
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 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 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.
Section 3.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two senators from each state chosen by
the legislature thereof, for six years and each
senator shall have one vote. Immediately after
they shall be assembled in consequence of the
first election, they shall be divided as equally as
may be into three classes. The seats of the senators
of the first class shall be vacated at the
expiration of the second year, of the second
class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of
the third class at the expiration of the sixth
year, so that one-third may be chosen every second
year; and if vacancies happen by resignation,
or otherwise during the recess of the legislature
of any state, the Executive thereof may make
temporary appointments until the next meeting
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such
vacancies.
No person shall be a senator who shall not have
attained to the age of thirty years, and been
nine years a citizen of the United States, 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.
Section 4.
The times, places and manner of holding elections
for senators and representatives, shall be
prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof:
but the Congress may at any time by law
make or alter such regulations, except as to
the places of 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 by law
appoint a different day.
Section 5.
Each house shall be the judge of the elections,
returns and qualifications of its own members,
and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum
to do business; but a smaller number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized
to compel the attendance of absent members,
in such manner, and under such penalties as each
house may provide.
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings,
punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and with the concurrence of two- thirds,
expel a member.
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings,
and from time to time publish the same,
excepting such parts as may in their judgment
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the
members of either house on any question shall,
at the desire of one-fifth of those present be
entered in the journal.
Neither house, during the session of Congress
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn
for more than three days, nor to any other place
than that in which the two houses shall be
sitting.
Section 6.
The senators and representatives shall receive
a compensation for their services, to be
ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury
of the United States. They shall in all cases,
except treason, felony and breach of the peace,
be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the session of their respective
houses, and in going to and returning from the
same; and for any speech or debate in either
house, they shall not be questioned in any other
place.
No senator or representative shall, during the
time for which he was elected, be appointed to
any civil office under the authority of the United
States, which shall have been created, or the
emoluments whereof shall have been increased
during such time; and no person holding any
office under the United States, shall be a member
of either house during his continuance in
office.
Section 7.
All bills for raising revenue shall originate
in the house of representatives; but the senate may
propose or concur with amendments as on other
bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the house of
representatives and the senate, shall, before it
become a law, be presented to the president of
the United States; if he approve he shall sign it,
but if not he shall return it, with his objections
to that house in which it shall have originated,
who shall enter the objections at large on their
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after
such reconsideration two-thirds of that house
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent,
together with the objections, to the other house,
by which 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
Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of adjournment) shall be presented to
the President of the United States; and before
the same shall take effect, shall be approved by
him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed
by two-thirds of the Senate and House of
Representatives, according to the rules and limitations
prescribed in the case of a bill.
Section 8.
The Congress shall have power
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the
common defense 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 a uniform rule of naturalization,
and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies
throughout the United States;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and
of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights
and measures;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting
the securities and current coin of the United
States;
To establish post offices and post roads;
To promote the progress of science and useful
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and
inventors the exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed
on the high seas, and offenses against
the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal,
and make rules concerning captures on
land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation
of money to that use shall be for a longer
term than two years;
To provide and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute
the laws of the union, suppress insurrections
and repel invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining,
the militia, and for governing such part of
them as may be employed in the service of the
United States, reserving to the States
respectively, the appointment of the officers,
and the authority of training the militia according
to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten
miles square) as may, by cession of particular
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become
the seat of the government of the United States,
and to exercise like authority over all places
purchased by the consent of the legislature of
the 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.
Section 9.
The migration or importation of such persons as
any of the states now existing shall think
proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed
on such importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall
not be suspended, unless when in cases of
rebellion or invasion the public safety may require
it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid,
unless in proportion to the census or
enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported
from any state. No preference shall be given
by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the
ports of one state over those of another: nor
shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be
obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but
in consequence of appropriations made by
law; and a regular statement and account of the
receipts and expenditures of all public money
shall be published from time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United
States:--And no person holding any office of
profit or trust under them, shall, without the
consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever,
from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Section 10.
No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance,
or confederation; grant letters of marque and
reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make
any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in
payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder,
ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation
of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress,
lay any imposts or duties on imports or
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing 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.
Section 1.
The executive power shall be vested in a president
of the United States of America. He shall
hold his office during the term of four years,
and, together with the vice-president, chosen for
the same term, be elected as follows.
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the
legislature thereof may direct, a number of
electors, equal to the whole number of senators
and representatives to which the state may be
entitled in the Congress: but no senator or representative,
or person holding an office of trust or
profit under the United States, shall be appointed
an elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective states,
and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom
one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the
same state with themselves. And they shall make a
list of all the persons voted for, and of the
number of votes for each; which list they shall sign
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat
of the government of the United States, directed to
the president of the senate. The president of
the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and
house of representatives, open all the certificates,
and the votes shall then be counted. The
person having the greatest number of votes shall
be the president, if such number be a majority
of the whole number of electors appointed; and
if there be more than one who have such
majority, and have 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."
Section 2.
The president shall be commander in chief of the
army and navy of the United States, and of
the militia of the several States, when called
into the actual service of the United States; he
may require the opinion, in writing of the principal
officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the
duties of their respective offices, and he shall
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for
offenses against the United States, except in
cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and
consent of the senate, to make treaties,
provided two-thirds of the senators present concur;
and he shall nominate, and by and with the
advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,
judges of the supreme court, and all other officers
of the United States, whose appointments
are not herein otherwise provided for, and which
shall be established by law. But the Congress
may by law vest the appointment of such inferior
officers, as they think proper, in the president
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads
of departments.
The president shall have power to fill up all
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the
senate, by granting commissions which shall expire
at the end of their 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 behavior, and shall, at
stated time, receive for their services a compensation
which shall not be diminished during
their continuance in office.
Section 2.
1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases,
in law and equity, arising under this
Constitution, the laws of the United States,
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under
their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors,
other public ministers, and consuls; to all
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;
to controversies to which the United States shall
be a party; to controversies between two or more
States, between a State and citizens of
another State, between citizens of different
States, between citizens of the same State claiming
lands under grants of different States, and between
a State or the citizens thereof, and foreign
states, citizens, or subjects.
2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, and those in which a
State shall be 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.
Section 3.
1. Treason against the United States shall consist
only in levying war against them, or in
adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and
comfort. No person shall be convicted of
treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses
to the same overt act, or on confession in
open court.
2. The Congress shall have power to declare the
punishment of treason, but no attainder of
treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture
except during the life of the person
attained.
Article IV
Section 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.
Section 2.
1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled
to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the
several States.
2. A person charged in any State with treason,
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from
justice, and be found in another State, shall,
on demand of the executive authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed
to the State having jurisdiction of the
crime.
3. No person held to service or 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.
Section 3.
1. New States may be admitted by the Congress
into this Union; but no new State shall be
formed or erected within the jurisdiction of
any other State, nor any State be formed by the
junction of two or more States, or parts of States,
without the consent of the legislatures of the
States concerned as well as of the Congress.
2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of
and make all needful rules and regulations
respecting the territory or other property belonging
to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice
any claims of the United States, or of any
particular State.
Section 4.
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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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 John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
MASSACHUSETTS Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
NEW YORK Alexander Hamilton
NEW JERSEY William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton
PENNSYLVANIA Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin,
Robert Morris, George Clymer,
Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson,
Gouverneur Morris
DELAWARE George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John
Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob
Broom
MARYLAND James McHenry, Dan of St. Thomas Jennifer, Daniel Carroll
VIRGINIA John Blair, James Madison, Jr.
NORTH CAROLINA William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
SOUTH CAROLINA John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth
Pinckney, Charles Pinckney,
Pierce Butler
GEORGIA William Few, Abraham Baldwin
AMENDMENTS
1st Amendment (1791)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.
2nd Amendment (1791)
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the
security of a free state, the right of the people
to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
3rd Amendment (1791)
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered
in any house, without the consent of the
owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to
be prescribed by law.
4th Amendment (1791)
The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not
be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to be
searched and the persons or things to be seized.
5th Amendment (1791)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
or otherwise infamous, crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or
in the militia, when in actual service, in time
of war, or public danger; nor shall any person be
subject, for the same offense, to be twice put
in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness
against himself; nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor shall private property be taken for public
use, without just compensation.
6th Amendment (1791)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the state and district wherein
the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained
by law; and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor;
and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense.
7th Amendment (1791)
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right
of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact,
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re- examined
in any court of the United States than according
to the rules of the common law.
8th Amendment (1791)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishment inflicted.
9th Amendment (1791)
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain
rights shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
10th Amendment (1791)
The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
states, are reserved to the states respectively,
or to the people.
11th Amendment (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.
12th Amendment (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 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 (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.
14th Amendment (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 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.
15th Amendment (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.
16th Amendment (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 or
enumeration.
17th Amendment (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
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 (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 of the date of the submission hereof
to the States by Congress.
19th Amendment (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.
20th Amendment (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
years, 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 three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
21st Amendment (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.
22nd Amendment (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.
23rd Amendment (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 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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
24th Amendment (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.
25th Amendment (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 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.
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 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 (1971)
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States, who
are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States
or by any State on account of age.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
27th Amendment (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.