We the
People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of
America.
ARTICLE.
I.
Section 1.
Legislative powers vested in Congress. All legislative
Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section
2. House of Representatives; how constituted; qualifications and election of
members; speaker; power of impeachment; census. The House of Representatives
shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the
several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications
requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State
Legislature.
No Person
shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five
Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not,
when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be
chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States
which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers,
which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made
within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States,
and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by
Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty
Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such
enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one,
Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and
Georgia three.
When
vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority
thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House
of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have
the sole Power of Impeachment.
Note: The part of
this section relating to mode of apportionment of Representatives among the
several states was changed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The part of this section
relating to apportionment of direct taxes was changed as to taxes on incomes by
the Sixteenth Amendment.
Section
3. Senate; how constituted; qualifications of members; officers; trial and
judgment in impeachment cases. The Senate of the United States shall be
composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for
six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election,
they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the
Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second
Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third
Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every
second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill
such Vacancies.
No Person
shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and
been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice
President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have
no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate
shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the
Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President
of the United States.
The Senate
shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that
Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United
States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be
convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members
present.
Judgment
in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office,
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit
under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable
and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to
Law.
Note: The part of
this section relating to the method of electing Senators and filling vacancies
in the Senate was changed by the Seventeenth Amendment.
Section 4.
Regulation of congressional elections. The Times,
Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall
be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at
any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of
chusing Senators.
The
Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be
on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different
Day.
Note: The part of
this section relating to meetings of Congress was superseded by the Twentieth
Amendment.
Section 5.
Judging qualifications of members; legislative proceedings. Each House
shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own
Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a
smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each
House may provide.
Each House
may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly
Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House
shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same,
excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and
Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one
fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither
House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other,
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the
two Houses shall be sitting.
Section
6. Compensation, privileges and disabilities of members; appointment to or
holding other federal office. The Senators and Representatives shall receive
a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony
and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at
the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the
same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned
in any other Place.
No Senator
or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed
to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have
been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such
time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a
Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section
7. Introduction of revenue bills; submission of bills, orders and resolutions to
President; approval or veto; passage over veto. All Bills for raising
Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may
propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill
which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall,
before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If
he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections
to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections
at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall
be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined
by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill
shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall
not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it
shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if
he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return,
in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every
Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of
Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be
presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take
Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed
by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules
and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8.
Powers of Congress. The Congress
shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay
the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United
States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the
United States;
To borrow
Money on the credit of the United States;
To
regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with
the Indian Tribes;
To
establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of
Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin
Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of
Weights and Measures;
To provide
for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the
United States;
To
establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote
the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
Discoveries;
To
constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define
and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences
against the Law of Nations;
To declare
War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on
Land and Water;
To raise
and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a
longer Term than two Years;
To provide
and maintain a Navy;
To make
Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide
for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress
Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide
for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such
Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving
to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority
of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by
Congress;
To
exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not
exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the
Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States,
and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the
Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts,
Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; —And
To make
all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the
foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the
Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer
thereof.
Section 9.
Restrictions on powers of Congress. The Migration
or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think
proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one
thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such
Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The
Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in
Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of
Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No
capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the
Census or Enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
No Tax or
Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No
Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports
of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one
State, be obliged to enter, clear or pay Duties in another.
No Money
shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by
Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all
public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title
of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any
Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the
Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind
whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section
10. Limitations upon powers of states. No State shall
enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and
Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver
Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto
Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of
Nobility.
No State
shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports
or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s
inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any
State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United
States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the
Congress.
No State
shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or
Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another
State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in
such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
ARTICLE.
II.
Section
1. Executive power; election of President and Vice-President; qualification;
succession; compensation; oath. The executive Power shall be vested in a
President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same
Term, be elected, as follows
Each State
shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of
Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the
State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or
Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an Elector.
The
Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two
Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with
themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the
Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of
the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the
Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall
immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like
Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum
for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should
remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by
Ballot the Vice President.
The
Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which
they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United
States.
No Person
except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;
neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained
to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the
United States.
In Case of
the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or
Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of said Office, the Same shall
devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case
of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice
President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer
shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be
elected.
The
President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation,
which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other
Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he
enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or
Affirmation:—”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Note: The third
paragraph of this section was superseded by the Twelfth Amendment. The sixth
paragraph of this section was affected by the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
Section 2.
Powers and duties of the President. The President
shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of
the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the
United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer
in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of
their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons
for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall
have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties,
provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise
provided for, and which shall be established by Law; but the Congress may by Law
vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of
Departments.
The
President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the
Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of
their next Session.
Section 3.
Further powers and duties of the President. He shall from
time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and
recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall
receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws
be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United
States.
Section 4.
Impeachment of President, Vice-President and civil officers. The President,
Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed
from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, treason, bribery, or other
high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
ARTICLE.
III.
Section 1.
Judicial power; term and compensation of judges. The judicial
Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such
inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The
Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during
good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a
Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in
Office.
Section 2.
Extent of judicial power; trial and places of trial of crimes. The judicial
Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall
be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to
Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies
between two or more States;—between a State and Citizens of another
State;—between Citizens of different States;—between Citizens of the same State
claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the
Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all
Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in
which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original
Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall
have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and
under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial
of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial
shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but
when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places
as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3.
Treason; definition, proof and punishment. Treason against
the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in
adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be
convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt
Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The
Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder
of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life
of the Person attainted.
ARTICLE.
IV.
Section
1. Full faith and credit to records and judicial proceedings of sister states;
proof and effect. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the
Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records
and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2.
Privileges and immunities of citizens; surrender of fugitives from other
states. The Citizens of
each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the
several States.
A Person
charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from
Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive
Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person
held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into
another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged
from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section
3. Admission and formation of new states; power of Congress as to United States
territory or property. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of
any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States,
or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the Congress.
The
Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and
Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United
States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice
any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section
4. Guaranty of republican form of government; protecting states against invasion
or domestic violence. The United States shall guarantee to every State in
this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them
against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive
(when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
ARTICLE.
V.
Amendments. The Congress,
whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose
Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of
two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing
Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes,
as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths
of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or
the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no
Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth
Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be
deprived of it’s equal Suffrage in the senate.
ARTICLE.
VI.
Constitution, federal laws and treaties control state constitutions and laws;
oath of federal and state officers to support constitution; religious tests as
qualification to office or trust. All Debts contracted and Engagements
entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid
against the United States under this Constitution, as under the
Confederation.
This
Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance
thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of
the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State
to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The
Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several
State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United
States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to
support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
ARTICLE.
VII.
Ratification. The
Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the
Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the
Same.
:INPAR.done in
Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of
September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty-seven
and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness
whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names. [Here followed names of
signers]
Articles in
addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution
of the United
States of America
AMENDMENT
I
Freedom of
religion, speech, and press; right to assemble and petition. Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
II
Right to
bear arms. A well
regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of
the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. [Proposed by Congress
in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
III
Quartering
soldiers in private houses. No Soldier
shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the
Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. [Proposed by
Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1791]
AMENDMENT
IV
Security
from unreasonable searches and seizures. The right of
the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of
states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
V
When
prosecution to be by presentment or indictment; double jeopardy;
self-incrimination; due process; compensation for property taken for public
use. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation. [Proposed by Congress in 1789
and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
VI
Rights of
accused in criminal prosecutions. In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by
an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to
be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his
favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. [Proposed by
Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1791]
AMENDMENT
VII
Trial by
jury in civil cases. In Suits at
common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the
rules of the common law. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
VIII
Bail,
fines and punishments. Excessive bail
shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the
necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
IX
Rights
retained by people. The enumeration
in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people. [Proposed by Congress in 1789 and
ratified by the necessary number of states in 1791]
AMENDMENT
X
Powers
reserved to states or people. The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [Proposed by
Congress in 1789 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1791]
AMENDMENT
XI
Judicial
power not to extend to certain suits against states. The Judicial
power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law
or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens
of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. [Proposed by
Congress in 1794 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1795]
AMENDMENT
XII
Election
of President and Vice President. The Electors
shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and
Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same
state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and
they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;—The
President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be
counted;—The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be
the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President,
the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.
But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of
all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the
Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other
constitutional disability of the President.—The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number
be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the
whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary
to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of
President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
[Proposed by Congress in 1803 and ratified by the necessary number of states in
1804]
AMENDMENT
XIII
Section 1.
Slavery and involuntary servitude abolished. Neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Enforcement. Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed by
Congress and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1865; Oregon ratified
on December 11, 1865, by S.J.R. 1 (1865 s.s.)]
AMENDMENT
XIV
Section 1.
Citizenship; privileges and immunities; due process; equal
protection. All persons
born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2.
Apportionment of representatives. Representatives
shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians
not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in
Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State,
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State.
Section 3.
Persons disqualified from holding office. No person shall
be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice
President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress,
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature,
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against
the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a
vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
Validity of public debt. The validity of
the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid
of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the
loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims
shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this
article. [Proposed by Congress in 1866 and ratified by the necessary number of
states in 1868; Oregon ratified on September 14, 1866, by S.J.R. 3 (1866), but
“rescinded” ratification on October 16, 1868, by S.J.R. 4 (1868); Oregon
ratified on May 21, 1973 by H.J.R. 13 (1973)]
AMENDMENT
XV
Section
1. Right of citizens to vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of
servitude. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2.
Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed
by Congress in 1869 and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1870;
Oregon rejected on October 26, 1870, by S.J.R. 30 (1870), but ratified on March
3, 1959, by S.J.R. 7 (1959)]
AMENDMENT
XVI
Income
tax. The Congress
shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source
derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to
any census or enumeration. [Proposed by Congress in 1909 and ratified by the
necessary number of States in 1913; Oregon ratified on January 23, 1911, by
S.J.R. 1 (1911)]
AMENDMENT
XVII
Popular
election of Senators. The Senate of
the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by
the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When
vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive
authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies:
Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive
thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by
election as the legislature may direct.
This
amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any
Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. [Proposed by
Congress in 1912 and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1913; Oregon
ratified on January 23, 1913, by S.J.R. 9 (1913)]
AMENDMENT
XVIII
Section 1.
Use of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes prohibited. After one year
from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation
of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation
thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction
thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2.
Enforcement. The Congress
and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Section 3.
Time for ratification. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the
States by the Congress. [Proposed by Congress in 1917, ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1919 and repealed in 1933 by Amendment XXI; Oregon ratified
on January 15, 1919, by H.J.R. 1 (1919)]
Note:
This section was
repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment.
AMENDMENT
XIX
Right of
citizens to vote regardless of sex. The right of
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed
by Congress in 1919 and ratified by the necessary number of states in 1920;
Oregon ratified on January 13, 1920, by H.J.R. 1 (1920)]
AMENDMENT
XX
Section
1. Commencement of terms of President, Vice President, Senators and
Representatives. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at
noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives
at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have
ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors
shall then begin.
Section 2.
Commencement of sessions of Congress. The Congress
shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon
on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different
day.
Section 3.
Death or disqualification of President elect. If, at the time
fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall
have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall
not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if
the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect
shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress
may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice
President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President,
or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person
shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have
qualified.
Section 4.
Death of possible successors to President or Vice President. The Congress
may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the
House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the
persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of
choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5.
Effective date. Sections 1 and
2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of
this article.
Section 6.
Time for ratification. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within
seven years from the date of its submission. [Proposed by Congress in 1932 and
ratified by the necessary number of states in 1933; Oregon ratified on January
16, 1933, by H.J.R. 5 (1933)]
AMENDMENT
XXI
Section 1.
Repeal of Amendment XVIII. The eighteenth
article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed.
Section
2. Transportation or importation of intoxicating liquors in violation of state
laws prohibited. The transportation or importation into any State,
Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of
intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby
prohibited.
Section 3.
Time for ratification. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the
States by the Congress. [Proposed by Congress and ratified by the necessary
number of states in 1933; Oregon ratified on August 7, 1933, by action of a
convention held under chapter 447, Oregon Laws 1933]
AMENDMENT
XXII
Section 1.
Limitation on presidential tenure. No person shall
be elected to the office of the president more than twice, and no person who has
held the office of president, or acted as president, for more than two years of
a term to which some other person was elected president shall be elected to the
office of the president more than once. But this article shall not apply to any
person holding the office of president when this article was proposed by the
congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of
president, or acting as president, during the term within which this article
becomes operative from holding the office of president or acting as president
during the remainder of such term.
Section 2.
Time for ratification. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within
seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the congress.
[Proposed by Congress in 1947 and adopted by the required number of states in
1951; Oregon ratified on April 3, 1947, by H.J.R. 25 (1947)]
AMENDMENT
XXIII
Section 1.
Presidential electors for District of Columbia. The District
constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such
manner as the Congress may direct:
A number
of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of
Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled
if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they
shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be
considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to
be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and
perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2.
Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed
by Congress in 1960 and adopted by the necessary number of states in 1961;
Oregon ratified on January 27, 1961, by S.J.R. 2 (1961)]
AMENDMENT
XXIV
Section 1.
Right to vote for federal office not to be qualified by payment of
tax. The right of
citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for
President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or
for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other
tax.
Section 2.
Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed
by Congress in 1962 and adopted by the required number of states in 1964; Oregon
ratified on January 25, 1963, by S.J.R. 1 (1963)]
AMENDMENT
XXV
Section 1.
Vice President succeeds President. In case of the
removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice
President shall become President.
Section 2.
Filling of vacancy in office of Vice President. Whenever there
is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a
Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of
both Houses of Congress.
Section 3.
Discharge of duties of President when he declares himself unable to
serve. Whenever the
President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a
written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged
by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Discharge of duties of President when he is found unable to
serve. Whenever the
Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive
departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to
the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall
immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting
President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt
of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds
vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of
his office. [Proposed by Congress in 1965 and adopted by the required number of
states in 1967; Oregon ratified on February 2, 1967, by H.J.R. 2
(1967)]
AMENDMENT
XXVI
Section 1.
Right of persons 18 years of age to vote. The right of
citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account
of age.
Section 2.
Enforcement. The Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. [Proposed
by Congress in 1971 and adopted by the required number of states in 1971; Oregon
ratified on June 4, 1971, by H.J.R. 47 (1971)]
AMENDMENT
XXVII
Compensation of members of Congress. No law, varying
the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall
take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
[Proposed by Congress in 1789 and adopted by the required number of states in
1992; Oregon ratified on June 6, 1989, by S.J.R. 26 (1989)]