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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.
All legislative Powers
herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
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
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 actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first
Meeting of the Congress of the
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.
The Senate of the
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
The Vice President of
the
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
Behaviour, 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.
The Senators and
Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be
ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the
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.
All Bills for raising
Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may
propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall
have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it
become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he
approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections
to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the
Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it.If after
such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill,
it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which
it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that
House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses
shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting
for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten
Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same
shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress
by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a
Law.
Every Order,
Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of
Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall
be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same
shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him,
shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives,
according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
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
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
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
To establish Post
Offices and post Roads;
To promote the
Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
Discoveries;
To constitute
Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish
Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the
Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant
Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land
and Water;
To raise and support
Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term
than two Years;
To provide and
maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the
Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for
calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
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.
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
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.
The executive Power
shall be vested in a President of the
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
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.
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
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.
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
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."
The President shall be
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the
Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the
United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal
Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to
the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power,
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided
two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise
provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by
Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in
the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall
have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the
Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
Session.
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.
The President, Vice
President and all civil Officers of the
The judicial Power of
the
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.
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.
Treason against the
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Congress shall
have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations
respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the
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.
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.
All
Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be as valid against the
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.
The
Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the
Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
The Word, "the," being interlined between
the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being
partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The
Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third
Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the
forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.
Attest William Jackson Secretary
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,
G°.
Washington
Presidt and deputy from
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 Cotesworth 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 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
The Bill of Rights and Other Amendments to the Constitution
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.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary
to the security of a
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.
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.
No person shall be held to answer for a
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment
of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy
of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without
just compensation.
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.
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
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.
The powers not delegated to the
AMENDMENT XI
Ratified
The Judicial power of the
Ratified
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 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
*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th
amendment.
Ratified
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
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Ratified
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the
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
Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
the provisions of this article.
Ratified
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Ratified
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.
Ratified
The Senate of the
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.
Ratified
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
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.
The right of citizens of the
Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
Ratified
Section 1.
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at
Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting
shall begin at
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 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.
Ratified
Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession
of the
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.
Ratified
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 President more than once. But
this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President
when this Article was proposed by 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.
Ratified
Section 1.
The District constituting the seat of Government of the
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.
Ratified
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Ratified
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.
Ratified
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 power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Ratified
No law, varying the compensation for the
services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
election of representatives shall have intervened.
