I feel like the biggest hurtle this country faces is our lack of understanding of who we are-- I mean as a people-- as a nation. I also feel like there are things coming that are not good that if we had some understanding that maybe we could change. This causes me to speak out. In this case though I want to let our founding fathers speak, and so I am posting our constitution in it's entirety. If you want change please read it, and post it to others. Maybe if our people read and understand it we can remember who we are and make our country what it was meant to be. I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I didn't just want to give a link:
The
Constitution Of The United States of America
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.
Section.
1.
All
legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of
the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
Section.
2.
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 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 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, 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.
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.
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 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.
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 encreased during such time; and no Person
holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of
either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section.
7.
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.
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 Defence and
general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and
Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow
Money on the credit of the United States;
To
regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,
and with the Indian Tribes;
To
establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the
subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin
Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the
Standard of Weights and Measures;
To
provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
To
establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To
promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
To
constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define
and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and
Offences against the Law of Nations;
To
declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise
and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall
be for a longer Term than two Years;
To
provide and maintain a Navy;
To make
Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To
provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To
provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of
the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the
Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the
Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To
exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not
exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States,
and the Acceptance of Congress, become the
Seat of the Government of the United States, and
to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent
of the Legislature of the 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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
Section.
1.
The
judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to
time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and
inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and
shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation,
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section.
2.
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.
Section.
3.
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.
Section.
1.
Full
Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts,
Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the
Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts,
Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section.
2.
The
Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
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.
Section.
3.
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 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.
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 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
Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient
for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so
ratifying the Same.
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 Independance of the United
States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto
subscribed our Names,
G°.
WashingtonPresident
and deputy from Virginia
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 York
Alexander Hamilton
|
New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David
Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: Dayton
|
Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas
Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared
Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv
Morris
|
ARTICLES
IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF,
THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA,
PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED
BY
THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE
FIFTH
ARTICLE OF
THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION
AMENDMENTS
TO
THE
CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES
OF
AMERICA
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.
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.
AMENDMENT
VI
In
all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance
of Counsel for his 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
United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
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 United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
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 on
the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or
Subjects of any Foreign State.
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 VicePresident, and they shall make
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all
persons voted for as VicePresident, and of the number of votes for
each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate;—The President of the Senate shall, in the
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
certificates and the votes shall then be counted;—The person having
the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons
having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each
state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a
member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of
all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the
President—The person having the greatest number of votes as
Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no
person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall
be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.
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.
SECTION.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
SECTION. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective numbers, counting the
whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a
State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male
citizens twentyone 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.
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.
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.
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.
SECTION.
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within,
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
SECTION.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
SECTION.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the
Congress.
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.
SECTION.
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on
the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and
Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in
which such terms would have ended if this article had not been
ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
SECTION. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of
January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
SECTION.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the VicePresident
elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been
chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the
President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified;
and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one
who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act
accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have
qualified.
SECTION. 4. The Congress may by law provide for the
case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any
of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
SECTION.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
SECTION. 6. This
article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of
the several States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
AMENDMENT
XXI
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.
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.
SECTION.
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United
States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A
number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole
number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the
District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more
than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those
appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the
purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be
electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District
and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of
amendment.
SECTION. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
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.
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 has 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.
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.
No law
varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives shall take effect, until an election of
Representatives shall have intervened.
This
text of the Constitution is a transcription of the document in its
original form. Hypelinks will be added as related posts become part
of this site. For a transcription with hyperlinks that show how
sections of the Constitution have been superseded by Amendment view
the US
Government Archives Constitution.
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