"Basic facts about the
scope and purpose of the U.S. Constitution." By James D. Agresti. Just
Facts, September 15, 2008.
http://justfacts.com/constitution.asp#BasicFacts
Constitution of the
United States.
Signed September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788.
http://justfacts.com/constitution.asp#Constitution
[First,
Second, Third...] Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States. Ratified YYYYY ZZ,
QQQQ. http://justfacts.com/constitution.asp#AmendmentX
* The U.S. Constitution is
the supreme legal authority in the United States. It is the written pact
that established the U.S. federal government and vested it with certain
powers. All Presidents, governors, and federal/state judges and
legislators are "bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support" it.
* During the convention
at which the Constitution was established, Roger Sherman, a delegate
from Connecticut and signatory to the Declaration of Independence,
alleged that the principal duties of a national government are to defend
against foreign danger and internal uprisings, establish treaties, and
regulate/tax trade with foreign nations. James Madison, who later authored
the Bill of Rights and became known as the "Father of the Constitution"
for his central role in its formation, responded that these were all
"important and necessary objects," but they must be combined with "providing more effectually for the security of private rights and the
steady dispensation of Justice." He said that violations of these ideals
"had more perhaps than any thing else, produced this convention."
* Continuing, Madison
stated that all civilized societies are "divided into different Sects,
Factions, and interests," and "where a majority are united by a common
interest or passion, the rights of the minority are in danger." He
asserted that this was the cause of slavery, which he referred to as "the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man." Among
other "unjust laws" he ascribed to this cause were those that allowed
borrowers to defraud their creditors and those that targeted certain
types of properties with disproportionate taxes. Concluding, he stated
it was the duty of the convention to frame a system of government that
would protect the rights of the minority from the will of the majority.
* Towards this end, the
framers of the Constitution developed a system of checks and balances on
the powers of the government that they formed. Guarding this system while giving it
flexibility is Article V, which allows the Constitution to be amended
via supermajority votes in either of the following manners:
1) By a proposal passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of
Representatives, followed by approval of three-quarters of the states.
2) By a proposal made at a convention requested by two-thirds of
the states, followed by approval of three-quarters of the states.[10]
* In his farewell address to
the nation, George Washington, the president of the Constitutional
Convention and the first U.S. President, stated:
| If in the opinion of the
People the distribution or
modification of the
Constitutional powers be in any
particular wrong, let it be
corrected by an amendment in the
way which the Constitution
designates. But let there be no
change by usurpation; for though
this, in one instance, may be
the instrument of good, it is
the customary weapon by which
free governments are destroyed. |
* After the Constitution was
signed by the framers on September 17, 1787, it was submitted to the
individual states for ratification. Written into the Constitution is the
condition that it would only be binding on the states that ratified it
and would not become effective until at least nine of the states did so.
* On June 21, 1788, the
ninth state (New Hampshire) ratified the Constitution, thereby making it
effective. By January 10, 1791, all of the existing states had ratified
the Constitution.
Introductory Notes
Underlined words have been
altered by later amendments. Clicking on these
words will bring you to the relevant amendments.
Words in [brackets] such as
the clause callouts are not part of the original text of the
Constitution.
Footnote callouts such as
[17],
[18] contain
links to Just Facts' research on issues of Constitutional import.
[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.
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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3]
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.
[Clause 4] When vacancies
happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority
thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
[Clause 5] The House of
Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall
have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] 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.
[Clause 4] The Vice
President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but
shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
[Clause 5] 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.
[Clause 6] 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.
[Clause 7] 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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] 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.
[Clause 4] 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.
[Clause 1]
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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] 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.
[Clause 1] 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;
[Clause 2] To borrow Money
on the credit of the United States;
[Clause 3] To regulate
Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with
the Indian Tribes;
[Clause 4] To establish an
uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of
Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
[Clause 5] To coin Money,
regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of
Weights and Measures;
[Clause 6] To provide for
the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the
United States;
[Clause 7] To establish Post
Offices and post Roads;
[Clause 8] 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;
[Clause 9] To constitute
Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
[Clause 10] To define and
punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences
against the Law of Nations;
[Clause 11] To declare War,
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures
on Land and Water;
[Clause 12] To raise and
support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a
longer Term than two Years;
[Clause 13] To provide and
maintain a Navy;
[Clause 14] To make Rules
for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
[Clause 15] To provide for
calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress
Insurrections and repel Invasions;
[Clause 16] 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;
[Clause 17] To exercise
exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not
exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession 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
[Clause 18] 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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] No Bill of
Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
[Clause 4] No Capitation, or
other direct, Tax shall be laid,
unless in Proportion to the
Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
[Clause 5] No Tax or Duty
shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
[Clause 6] 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.
[Clause 7] 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.
[Clause 8] 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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] 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.
[Clause 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
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3]
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.
[Clause 4] 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.
[Clause 5] 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.
[Clause 6]
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.
[Clause 7] 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.
[Clause 8]
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.
[Clause 1] 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.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] 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.
Article. III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the
United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such
inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall
hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times,
receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be
diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
[Clause 1] The judicial
Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which
shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of
admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the
United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more
States;—between a State and Citizens of
another State; —between Citizens of different States,
—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of
different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and
foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
[Clause 2] 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.
[Clause 3] The Trial of all
Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial
shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be
at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: Treason against
the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in
adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall
be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
Clause 2: The Congress shall
have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of
Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the
Life of the Person attainted.
Article. IV.
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.
[Clause 1] The Citizens of
each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of
Citizens in the several States.
[Clause 2] A Person charged
in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from
Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive
Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
[Clause 3]
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.
[Clause 1] New States may be
admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be
formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any
State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of
States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned
as well as of the Congress.
[Clause 2] The Congress
shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and
Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the
United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as
to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular
State.
Section. 4.
The United States shall
guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of
the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be
convened) against domestic Violence.
Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two
thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments
to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two
thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing
Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and
Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the
Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions
in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification
may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be
made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the
first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived
of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article. VI.
[Clause 1] All Debts
contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this
Constitution, as under the Confederation.
[Clause 2]
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made
in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of
the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any
Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary
notwithstanding.
[Clause 3]
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of
the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by
Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test
shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States.
Article. VII.
The Ratification of the
Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the establishment of
this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
done in Convention by the
Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September
in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and
of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In
witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
[Signatories]
GO WASHINGTON—Presidt. 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 1ACotesworth 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
Attest William Jackson
Secretary
{Amendments 1 - 10 are known as the Bill of Rights and were ratified on
December 15, 1791.}
From the Preamble to The Bill of Rights
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their
adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent
misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and
restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of
public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent
ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring,
that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the
several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States,
all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the
said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of
the said Constitution; viz.
Amendment 1
(Ratified December 15,
1791)
Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2
(Ratified December 15,
1791)
A well regulated Militia,
being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people
to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
No Soldier shall, in time of
peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor
in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
The right of the people to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
No person shall be held to
answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in
the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in
time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same 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 6
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public
trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
In Suits at common law,
where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according
to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
Amendment 9
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
The enumeration in the
Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10
(Ratified December 15, 1791)
The powers not delegated to
the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendment 11
(Ratified February 7, 1795)
The Judicial power of the
United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or
equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by
Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign
State.
Amendment 12
(Ratified June 15, 1804)
The Electors shall meet in
their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and
Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the
same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted
for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of
the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify,
and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States,
directed to the President of the Senate;—The President of the Senate
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open
all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;—The person
having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons
having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state
having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or
members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
—The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall
be the 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.
Amendment 13
(Ratified December 6,
1865)
Section 1. Neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14
(Ratified July 9, 1868)
Section 1. All persons born
or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they
reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny 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
twenty-one years of age
in such State.
Section 3. No person shall
be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and
Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United
States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a
member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall
have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid
or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of
the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But
neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave;
but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and
void.
Section 5. The Congress
shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions
of this article.
Amendment 15 (Ratified February 3,
1870)
Section 1. The right of
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16
(Ratified February 3, 1913)
The Congress shall have
power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived,
without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to
any census or enumeration.
Amendment 17
(Ratified April 8, 1913)
The Senate of the United
States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the
people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the
representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of
such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies:
Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive
thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be
so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen
before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Amendment
18
(Ratified January 16,
1919)
Section 1. After one year
from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or
transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof
into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all
territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is
hereby prohibited.
Section. 2. The Congress and
the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.
Section. 3. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment
to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 19
(Ratified August 18, 1920)
The right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 20
(Ratified January 23, 1933)
Section 1. The terms of the
President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of
January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d
day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if
this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors
shall then begin.
Section. 2. The Congress
shall assemble at least once in every 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 Vice President elect shall
become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the
time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect
shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as
President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may
by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice
President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as
President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected,
and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice
President shall have qualified.
Section. 4. The Congress may
by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom
the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right
of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death
of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section. 5. Sections 1 and 2
shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification
of this article.
Section. 6. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment
to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment 21
(Ratified December 5, 1933)
Section 1. The eighteenth
article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed.
Section 2. The
transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession
of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating
liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment
to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in
the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission
hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 22
(Ratified February 27, 1951)
Section 1. No person shall
be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person
who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more
than two years of a term to which some other person was elected
President shall be elected to the office of the President more than
once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office
of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall
not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or
acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes
operative from holding the office of President or acting as President
during the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment
to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states
by the Congress.
Amendment 23
(Ratified March 29, 1961)
Section 1. The District
constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint
in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of
President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and
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.
Amendment 24
(Ratified January 23, 1964)
Section 1. The right of
citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election
for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice
President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of
failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25
(Ratified February 10, 1967)
Section 1. In case of the
removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the
Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. Whenever there is
a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall
nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a
majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the
President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he
is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and
duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice
President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that
the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and
duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the
President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no
inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal
officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress
may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the
issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in
session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the
latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by
two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue
to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President
shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Amendment 26
(Ratified July 1, 1971)
Section 1. The right of
citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to
vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state
on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress
shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27
(Ratified May 7, 1992)
No law varying the
compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall
take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
The Constitution of
the United States. Signed
September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788.
Article VI, Clause 2:
Article VI, Clause 3:
The Senators and Representatives
before mentioned, and the Members of the several State
Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by
Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no
religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any
Office or public Trust under the United States."
Article II, Section 1, Clause 8:
"Before he enter on the
Execution of his Office, [the President] shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation…:–"I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the
United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The Federalist Papers. By Alexander
Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. October 27, 1787- May 28,
1788.
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/feder10a.txt
Federalist Paper 1, By Alexander
Hamilton. October 27, 1787:
AFTER an unequivocal experience
of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you
are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the
United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance;
comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the
existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of
which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the
most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked
that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this
country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important
question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of
establishing good government from reflection and choice, or
whether they are forever destined to depend for their political
constitutions on accident and force.
Federalist Paper 2, By John Jay,
Alexander Hamilton. October 31, 1787:
Article: "Sherman, Roger." Contributor: Jere
Daniell (Ph.D., Former Professor of History, Dartmouth College).
World Book Encyclopedia, 2007 Deluxe Edition.
[T]he only person who signed all
four of these great documents: the Articles of Association
(1774), the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of
Confederation (1777), and the Constitution of the United States
(1787). …
Book: The Debates in the Federal Convention of
1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States of
America, reported by James Madison, a delegate from the state of
Virginia. Edited by Gaillard Hund and James Brown Scott.
Oxford University Press, 1920.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm
June 6, 1787. Roger Sherman:
Book: The Bill of Rights and the States: The
Colonial and Revolutionary Origins of American Liberties.
Edited by Patrick T. Conley & John P. Kaminski. Madison House
Publishers, 1992. Pages 461-514: "The Bill of Rights: A
Bibliographic Essay." By Gaspare J. Saladino. Page 484:
The best historical treatments
of the legislative history of the Bill of Rights in the first
federal Congress are… [six works mentioned]. All agree that
James Madison, against considerable odds, took the lead in the
House of Representatives, and that without his efforts there
probably would have been no Bill of Rights. Madison's
amendments, a distillation of those from the state conventions
(especially Virginia's) were, for the most part, those that the
House eventually adopted.
Article: "Madison, James." Contributor: Robert J.
Brugger (Ph.D., Editor, Maryland Historical Magazine, Maryland
Historical Society). World Book Encyclopedia, 2007 Deluxe
Edition.
Book: The Debates in the Federal Convention of
1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States of
America, reported by James Madison, a delegate from the state of
Virginia. Edited by Gaillard Hund and James Brown Scott.
Oxford University Press, 1920.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm
June 6, 1787:
Book: The Debates in the Federal Convention of
1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States of
America, reported by James Madison, a delegate from the state of
Virginia. Edited by Gaillard Hund and James Brown Scott.
Oxford University Press, 1920.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm
June 6, 1787:
Book: The Debates in the Federal Convention of
1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States of
America, reported by James Madison, a delegate from the state of
Virginia. Edited by Gaillard Hund and James Brown Scott.
Oxford University Press, 1920.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm
{The objective of implementing
checks and balances to curtail government power pervades these
proceedings. For two examples of many:}
On May 31, 1787, Edmund Randolph
of Virginia
On September 12, 1787, James
Madison asserted:
It was an important principle in
this & in the State Constitutions to check legislative injustice
and encroachments. The Experience of the States had demonstrated
that their checks are insufficient.
The Constitution of
the United States. Signed
September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788.
Article V:
Book: The Debates in the Federal Convention of
1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States of
America, reported by James Madison, a delegate from the state of
Virginia. Edited by Gaillard Hund and James Brown Scott.
Oxford University Press, 1920.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm
May 25, 1787 (First day of the
Constitutional Convention):
The Constitution of
the United States. Signed
September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788.
Article VII:
The Constitution was signed by the framers and
sent to the states for ratification on September 17, 1787. The
states ratified the Constitution as such:
Delaware, December 7, 1787
Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787
New Jersey, December 18, 1787
Georgia, January 2, 1788
Connecticut, January 9, 1788
Massachusetts, February 6, 1788
Maryland, April 28, 1788
South Carolina, May 23, 1788
New Hampshire, June 21, 1788
The ratification of the nine
states above made the Constitution effective and binding upon
them only. The rest of the states ratified it on the following
dates:
Virginia, June 25, 1788
New York, July 26, 1788
North Carolina, November 21,
1789
Rhode Island, May 29, 1790
