We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
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.
Section 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of
the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the
most numerous branch of the state legislature.
No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been
seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state
in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included
within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the
first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such
manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty
thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made,
the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue
writs of election to fill such vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power
of impeachment.
Section 3.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the
legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. revised by Amendment XVII to say:
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.
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 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 choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice
President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be
on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside:
And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.
Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according
to law.
Section 4.
The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in
each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such
regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in
December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 5.
Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a
majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such
penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly 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.
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 increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall
be a member of either House during his continuance in office.
Section 7.
All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or
concur with amendments as on other Bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a
law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall
return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections
at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that
House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law.
But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the
persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any
bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been
presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by
their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives
may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United
States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall
be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Section 8.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and
provide for the common defense 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 a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout
the United States;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and
measures;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;
To establish post offices and post roads;
To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors
the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of
nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and
water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two
years;
To provide and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel
invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as
may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment
of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles
square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the
government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of
the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
dockyards, and other needful buildings;--And
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers,
and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any
department or officer thereof.
Section 9.
The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit,
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or
duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or
invasion the public safety may require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein
before directed to be taken. Revised by Amendment XVI (the income tax)
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 receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from
time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States:
and no person holding any office of profit or trust
under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title,
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Section 10.
No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin
money; emit bills of credit; make anything 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 control 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.
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 choose 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 choose 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. 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 choose from them by ballot the Vice
President. Revised by Amendment XXII
The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their
votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of
this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that
office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within
the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge
the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice
President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be
increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do
solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and
will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2.
The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia
of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion,
in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the
duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two
thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court,
and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and
which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior
officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by
granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.
Section 3.
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.
The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of
the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to
controversies to which the United States shall be a party;--to controversies between two or more
states;--between a state and citizens of another state;-- between citizens of different states;--between
citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the
citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be
party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under
such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the
state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial
shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section 3.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their
enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of
two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall
work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
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.
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 labor 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 labor, but shall be
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Section 3.
New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new states shall be formed or erected
within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or
parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the
territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.
Section 4.
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
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, anything 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
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,
George Washington
- President and deputy from Virginia
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 Brearly, Wm. Paterson, Jona. Dayton
Pennsylvania:
B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons,
Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris
Delaware:
Geo. Read, Gunning Bedford jr, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco. Broom
Maryland:
James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia:
John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina:
Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson
South Carolina:
J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia:
William Few, Abr Baldwin
Amendment I (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 II (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 III (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 IV (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 V (1791)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI (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 defense.
Amendment VII (1791)
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined
in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the
common law.
Amendment VIII (1791)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX (1791)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Amendment X (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 XI (1798)
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 XII (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 XIII (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 XIV (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 (revised by Amendment XIX) inhabitants of such
state, being twenty-one (revised to eighteen by Amendment XXVI) 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 (eighteen) 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 XV (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 XVI (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 of enumeration.
Amendment XVII (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 XVIII (1919) Repealed in 1933 by Amendment XXI
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 XIX (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 XX (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 XXI (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 XXII (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 XXIII (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 XXIV (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 XXV (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 XXVI (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 XXVII (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.