CONSTITUTION OF
THE UNITED STATES
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.
Section. 1. Legislative powers vested in
Congress. 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. House of Representatives; how
constituted; qualifications and election of members; speaker;
power of impeachment; census. 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. Note: The part of this section relating to mode
of apportionment of Representatives among the several states
was changed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The part of this
section relating to apportionment of direct taxes was changed
as to taxes on incomes by the Sixteenth Amendment.
Section. 3. Senate; how constituted;
qualifications of members; officers; trial and judgment in
impeachment cases. 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. Note: The part of this section
relating to the method of electing Senators and filling
vacancies in the Senate was changed by the Seventeenth
Amendment.
Section. 4. Regulation of congressional
elections. 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. Note: The part of this section relating to
meetings of Congress was superseded by the Twentieth
Amendment.
Section. 5. Judging qualifications of
members; legislative proceedings. 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, privileges and
disabilities of members; appointment to or holding other
federal office. 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. Introduction of revenue bills;
submission of bills, orders and resolutions to President;
approval or veto; passage over veto. 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. 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 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. Restrictions on powers of
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 hereinbefore 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. Limitations upon powers 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. II.
Section. 1. Executive power; election of
President and Vice-President; qualification; succession;
compensation; oath. 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 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 encreased 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.""
Note: The third paragraph of this section was superseded by the
Twelfth Amendment. The sixth paragraph of this section was
affected by the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
Section. 2. Powers and duties of the
President. 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. Further powers and duties of the
President. 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. Impeachment of
President, Vice-President and civil officers. The President,
Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction
of, treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.
ARTICLE. III.
Section. 1. Judicial power; term and
compensation of judges. 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. Extent of judicial power; trial
and places of trial of crimes. 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; definition, proof and
punishment. 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. IV.
Section. 1. Full faith and credit to records
and judicial proceedings of sister states; proof and effect.
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. Privileges and immunities of
citizens; surrender of fugitives from other states. 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.
Section. 3. Admission and formation of new
states; power of Congress as to United States territory or
property. 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. Guaranty of republican form of
government; protecting states against invasion or domestic
violence. 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.
Amendments. 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 it's equal
Suffrage in the senate.
ARTICLE. VI.
Constitution, federal laws and treaties
control state constitutions and laws; oath of federal and state
officers to support constitution; religious tests as
qualification to office or trust. 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. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our
Names.
[Here followed names of signers] Articles in
addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United
States of America
AMENDMENT I
Freedom of religion, speech, and press;
right to assemble and petition. 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.
[Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT II Right to bear
arms.
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. [Proposed by Congress in
1789 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1791]
AMENDMENT III Quartering
soldiers in private houses.
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.
[Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT IV Security from
unreasonable searches and seizures.
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. [Proposed
by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of
states in 1791]
AMENDMENT V
When prosecution to be by presentment or
indictment; double jeopardy; self-incrimination; due process;
compensation for property taken for public use. 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. [Proposed by Congress in 1789
and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT VI Rights of accused
in criminal prosecutions.
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. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by
the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT VII
Trial by jury in civil cases. 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. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT VIII Bail, fines
and punishments.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT IX Rights retained by
people.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage
others retained by the people. [Proposed by Congress in 1789
and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT X Powers
reserved to states or 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.
[Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT XI Judicial
power not to extend to certain suits against states.
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. [Proposed by Congress in 1794 and ratified by
the necessary number of states in 1795]
AMENDMENT XII Election of
President and Vice President.
The Electors shall meet in their respective
states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one
of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person
voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists
of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted
for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each,
which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate; The President of the Senate
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall
then be counted; The person having the greatest number of
votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no
person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted
for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right
of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of
March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President. The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two
highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the
Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of
two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of
the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be
eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
[Proposed by Congress in 1803 and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1804]
AMENDMENT XIII
Section 1. Slavery and involuntary servitude
abolished. 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. Enforcement. Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Proposed by Congress and ratified by the necessary number of
states in 1865; Oregon ratified on December 11, 1865, by S. J.
R. 1 (1865 s. s.)] AMENDMENT XIV Section 1. Citizenship;
privileges and immunities; due process; equal protection. 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.
Apportionment of representatives. 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. Persons disqualified from holding
office. 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. Validity of
public debt. 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. Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article. [Proposed by Congress in 1866 and
ratified by the necessary number of states in 1868; Oregon
ratified on September 14, 1866, by S. J. R. 3 (1866), but
""rescinded"" ratification on October 16, 1868, by S. J. R. 4
(1868); Oregon ratified on May 21, 1973 by H. J. R. 13
(1973)]
AMENDMENT XV Section 1. Right of citizens to
vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of
servitude.
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. Enforcement. The Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Proposed by Congress in 1869 and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1870; Oregon rejected on October 26, 1870,
by S. J. R. 30 (1870), but ratified on March 3, 1959, by S. J.
R. 7 (1959)] Note: Tenure of office of President was affected
by the Twenty-second Amendment. Succession to the Presidency
was affected by the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
AMENDMENT XVI Income
tax.
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. [Proposed by Congress in 1909 and
ratified by the necessary number of States in 1913; Oregon
ratified on January 23, 1911, by S. J. R. 1 (1911)]
AMENDMENT XVII Popular election
of Senators.
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. [Proposed by Congress in 1912 and ratified
by the necessary number of states in 1913; Oregon ratified on
January 23, 1913, by S. J. R. 9 (1913)]
AMENDMENT XVIII
Section 1. Use of intoxicating liquors for
beverage purposes prohibited. 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.
Sec. 2. Enforcement. The Congress and the
several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
Sec. 3. Time for ratification. 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. [Proposed by Congress in 1917, ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1919 and repealed in 1933 by
Amendment XXI; Oregon ratified on January 15, 1919, by H. J. R.
1 (1919)] Note: This section was repealed by the Twenty-first
Amendment.
AMENDMENT XIX Right of
citizens to vote regardless of sex.
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. [Proposed by
Congress in 1919 and ratified by the necessary number of states
in 1920; Oregon ratified on January 13, 1920, by H. J. R. 1
(1920)]
AMENDMENT XX
Section 1. Commencement of terms of
President, Vice President, Senators and Representatives. 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.
Sec. 2. Commencement of sessions of
Congress. 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.
Sec. 3. Death or disqualification of
President elect. 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.
Sec. 4. Death of possible successors to
President or Vice President. 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.
Sec. 5. Effective date. Sections 1 and 2
shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the
ratification of this article.
Sec. 6. Time for ratification. 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. [Proposed by Congress in 1932 and
ratified by the necessary number of states in 1933; Oregon
ratified on January 16, 1933, by H. J. R. 5 (1933)]
AMENDMENT XXI
Section 1. Repeal of Amendment XVIII. The
eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States is hereby repealed.
Sec. 2. Transportation or importation of
intoxicating liquors in violation of state laws prohibited. 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.
Sec. 3. Time for ratification. 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. [Proposed by Congress and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1933; Oregon ratified on August 7, 1933, by
action of a convention held under chapter 447, Oregon Laws
1933]
AMENDMENT XXII
Section 1. Limitation on presidential
tenure. 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.
Sec. 2. Time for ratification. 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. [Proposed
by Congress in 1947 and adopted by the required number of
states in 1951; Oregon ratified on April 3, 1947, by H. J. R.
25 (1947)]
AMENDMENT XXIII
Section 1. Presidential electors for
District of Columbia. 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.
Sec. 2. Enforcement. The Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Proposed by Congress in 1960 and adopted by the necessary
number of states in 1961; Oregon ratified on January 27, 1961,
by S. J. R. 2 (1961)]
AMENDMENT XXIV
Section 1. Right to vote for federal office
not to be qualified by payment of tax. 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.
Sec. 2. Enforcement. The Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Proposed by Congress in 1962 and adopted by the required
number of states in 1964; Oregon ratified on January 25, 1963,
by S. J. R. 1 (1963)]
AMENDMENT XXV
Section 1. Vice President succeeds
President. In case of the removal of the President from office
or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
Sec. 2. Filling of vacancy in office of Vice
President. 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.
Sec. 3. Discharge of duties of President
when he declares himself unable to serve. 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.
Sec. 4. Discharge of duties of President
when he is found unable to serve. 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. [Proposed by Congress in 1965 and adopted
by the required number of states in 1967; Oregon ratified on
February 2, 1967, by H. J. R. 2 (1967)]
AMENDMENT XXVI
Section 1. Right of persons 18 years of age
to vote. 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.
Sec. 2. Enforcement. The Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Proposed by Congress in 1971 and adopted by the required
number of states in 1971; Oregon ratified on June 4, 1971, by
H. J. R. 47 (1971)]
AMENDMENT XXVII
Section 1. Compensation of members of
Congress. No law, varying the compensation for the services of
the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
election of Representatives shall have intervened. [Proposed by
Congress in 1789 and adopted by the required number of states
in 1992; Oregon ratified on June 6, 1989, by S. J. R. 26
(1989)]