Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
Article. I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate
and House of Representatives.
Section 2 - The House
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications
requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the
State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years
a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when
elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall
be chosen
(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within this
Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was
modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual
Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first
Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by
Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one
for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least
one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made,
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three,
Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four,
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten,
North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State,
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election
to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and
other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3 - The Senate
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature
thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded
by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each
Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of
the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be
into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first
Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year,
of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and
of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so
that one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive
thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next
Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such
Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were
superseded by the 17th Amendment, section 2.)
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to
the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of
the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally
divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a
President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President,
or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the
United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.
When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or
Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be
convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members
present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than
to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy
any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States:
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and
subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment,
according to Law.
Section 4 - Elections, Meetings
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators
and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law
make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of
Chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and
such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,)
(The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the
20th Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint
a different Day.
Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each
shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number
may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel
the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under
such Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish
its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence
of two-thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from
time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in
their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the
Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire
of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without
the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days,
nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall
be sitting.
Section 6 - Compensation
(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and
paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The
preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th
Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony
and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during
their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses,
and in going to and returning from the same; and for any
Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned
in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which
he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the
Authority of the United States which shall have been created,
or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during
such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United
States, shall be a Member of either House during his
Continuance in Office
Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law,
be presented to the President of the United States; If he
approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with
his Objections to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass
the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to
the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered,
and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a
Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons
voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the
Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be
returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be
a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the
Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary
(except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to
the President of the United States; and before the Same shall
take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved
by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and
House of Representatives, according to the Rules and
Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for
the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;
but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform
throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities
and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to
that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the
Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be
employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to
the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and
the Authority of training the Militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may,
by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of
Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United
States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places
purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in
which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9 - Limits on Congress
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand
eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on
such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
(No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid,
unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein
before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses
clarified by the 16th Amendment.)
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor
shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to
enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence
of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and
Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money
shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States:
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under
them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of
any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever,
from any King, Prince or foreign State.
Section 10 - Powers prohibited of States
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin
Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and
silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of
Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation
of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be
absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and
the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State
on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of
the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the
Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty
of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace,
enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or
with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually
invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of
delay.
Article. IV. - The States
Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other
State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the
Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be
proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2 - State citizens, Extradition
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another
State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
(No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under
the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence
of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such
Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the
Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.) (This
clause in parentheses is superseded by the 13th Amendment.)
Section 3 - New States
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new States shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by
the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States,
without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or
other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in
this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any
Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4 - Republican government
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each
of them against Invasion; and on Application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot
be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article. V. - Amendment
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem
it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution,
or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of
the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing
Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all
Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several
States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the
one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior
to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth
Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its
Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the
Senate.
Article. VI. - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against
the United States under this Constitution, as under the
Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which
shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or
which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution
or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive
and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the
several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to
support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever
be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States.
Article. VII. - Ratification
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.
The Amendments
The following are the Amendments to the Constitution. The
first ten Amendments collectively are commonly known as
the Bill of Rights
Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of
a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,
shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers. Ratified 12/15/1791.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in
a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of
War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor
shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of
Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of
the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel
for his defence.
Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases.
Ratified 12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according
to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.
Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people.
The Amendments
Amendment 11 - Judicial Limits. Ratified 2/7/1795
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or
prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of
another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign
State.
Amendment 12 - Choosing the President, Vice-President. Ratified 6/15/1804.
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 VicePresident, if such number be
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if
no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers
on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a
quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the
whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to
that of Vice-President of the United States.
Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865.
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.
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.
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.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold
any office, civil or military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or
as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection
or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations
and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified 2/3/1913.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on
incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment
among the several States, and without regard to any census or
enumeration.
Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for
six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
electors of the most numerous branch of the State
legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue
writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the
legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to
make temporary appointments until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the
election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes
valid as part of the Constitution.
Amendment 18 - Liquor Abolished. Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed
by Amendment 21, 12/5/1933.
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.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 20 - Presidential, Congressional Terms. Ratified 1/23/1933.
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at
noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and
Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years
in which such terms would have ended if this article had not
been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year,
and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice
President elect shall become President. If a President shall
not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning
of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to
qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President
until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may
by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect
nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who
shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is
to act shall be selected, and such person shall act
accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have
qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death
of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives
may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have
devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of
the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of
October following the ratification of this article.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within
seven years from the date of its submission.
The Amendments
Amendment 21 - Amendment 18 Repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933.
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
the United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State,
Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or
use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws
thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions
in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within
seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the
States by the Congress.
Amendment 22 - Presidential Term Limits. Ratified 2/27/1951.
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President
more than twice, and no person who has held the office of
President, or acted as President, for more than two years of
a term to which some other person was elected President shall
be elected to the office of the President more than once. But
this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office
of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress,
and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office
of President, or acting as President, during the term within
which this Article becomes operative from holding the office
of President or acting as President during the remainder of
such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within
seven years from the date of its submission to the States
by the Congress.
Amendment 23 - Presidential Vote for District of Columbia.
Ratified 3/29/1961.
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the
United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may
direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President
equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in
Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a
State, but in no event more than the least populous State;
they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States,
but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election
of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a
State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such
duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 24 - Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964.
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.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25 - Presidential Disability and Succession. Ratified 2/10/1967
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of
his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President
who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote
of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives his written declaration that he is unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until
he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary,
such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice
President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive departments or of such
other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers
and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives his written declaration that no inability
exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive department or of such
other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within
four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall
decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one
days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if
Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds
vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall
continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise,
the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971.
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are
eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27 - Limiting Congressional Pay Increases. Ratified 5/7/1992.
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Article III. - The Judicial Branch
Section 1 - Judicial powers
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress
may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both
of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices
during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished
during their Continuance in Office.
Section 2 - Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials
(The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the
United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty
and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the
United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two
or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State;
between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States,
and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign
States, Citizens or Subjects.) (This section in
parentheses is modified by the 11th Amendment.)
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the
supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the
other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have
appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such
Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall
make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment,
shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State
where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not
committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place
or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3 - Treason
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies,
giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of
Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same
overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of
Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
Article. II. - The Executive Branch
Section 1 - The President
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President
chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may
be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative,
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the
United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
(The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and
vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall
not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And
they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of
the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and
certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government
of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The
Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the
President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number
of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who
have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then
the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by
Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said
House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in
chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States,
the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum
for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from
two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States
shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the
Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President.
But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes,
the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the
Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was
superseded by the 12th Amendment.)
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors,
and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day
shall be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;
neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years,
and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
(In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or
of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the
Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve
on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide
for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability,
both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall
act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a
President shall be elected.) (This clause in parentheses
has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments.)
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his
Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased
nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have
been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period
any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall
take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the Office of President of the United States, and
will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon
Power, Appointments
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several
States, when called into the actual Service of the United
States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments,
upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective
Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and
Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of
the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the
Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of
the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided
for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers,
as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts
of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that
may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
Session.
Section 3 - State of the Union, Convening Congress
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information
of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both
Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement
between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he
may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he
shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he
shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and
shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section 4 - Disqualification
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the
United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment
for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high
Crimes and Misdemeanors.