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The Constitution of the United States
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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.
Section 1. Legislative powers; in whom vestedAll 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 and by whom chosen Qualifications of a Representative. Representatives and direct taxes, how apportioned. Enumeration. Vacancies to be filled. Power of choosing officers, and of impeachment.
Section 3. Senators, how and by whom chosen. How classified. State Executive, when to make temporary appointments, in case, etc. Qualifications of a Senator. President of the Senate, his right to vote. President pro tem., and other officers of the Senate, how chosen. Power to try impeachments. When President is tried, Chief Justice to preside. Sentence.
Section 4. Times, etc., of holding elections, how prescribed. One session in each year.
Section 5. Membership, Quorum, Adjournment, Rules, Power to punish or expel. Journal. Time of adjournment, how limited, etc.
Section 6. Compensation, Privileges, Disqualification in certain cases.
Section 7. House to originate all revenue bills. Veto. Bill may be passed by two-thirds of each House, notwithstanding, etc. Bill, not returned in ten days to become a law. Provisions as to orders, concurrent resolutions, etc.
Section 8. Powers of Congress
Section 9. Provision as to migration or importation of certain persons. Habeas Corpus, Bills of attainder, etc. Taxes, how apportioned. No export duty. No commercial preference. Money, how drawn from Treasury, etc. No titular nobility. Officers not top receive presents, etc.
Section 10. States prohibited from the exercise of certain powers.
Section 1. President: his term of office. Electors of President; number and how appointed. Electors to vote on same day. Qualification of President. On whom his duties devolve in case of his removal, death, etc. President's compensation. His oath of office.
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the 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. President to be Commander-in-Chief. He may require opinions of cabinet officers, etc., may pardon. Treaty-making power. Nomination of certain officers. When President may fill vacancies.
Section 3. President shall communicate to Congress. He may convene and adjourn Congress, in case of disagreement, etc. Shall receive ambassadors, execute laws, and commission officers.
Section 4. All civil offices forfeited for certain crimes.
Section 1. Judicial powers. Tenure. Compensation.
Section 2. Judicial power; to what cases it extends. Original jurisdiction of Supreme Court Appellate. Trial by Jury, etc. Trial, where
Section 3. Treason defined. Proof of. Punishment
Section 1. Each State to give credit to the public acts, etc. of every other State.
Section 2. Privileges of citizens of each State. Fugitives from Justice to be delivered up. Persons held to service having escaped, to be delivered up.
- 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. See the 14th Amendment
- 2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 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.
- 3. [No person held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labour may be due.] Altered by 13th Amendment
Section 3. Admission of new States. Power of Congress over territory and other property.
- 1. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the Congress.
- 2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.
Section 4. Republican form of government guaranteed. Each State to be protected.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
AmendmentsThe 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 1808, 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
- 1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this constitution, as under the confederation.
- 2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
- 3. The senators and representatives before-mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
ARTICLE VII
The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between the states so ratifying the same.
AMENDMENTS
The Ten Original Amendments: The Bill of Rights. Proposed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.
Bill of RightsAMENDMENT I
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.AMENDMENT IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.AMENDMENT X
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.End of the Bill of Rights
AMENDMENT XI
(Proposed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.)The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.AMENDMENT XII
(Proposed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified July 27, 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 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,] Altered by 20th Amendment then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in 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 numbers 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
(Proposed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.)Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XIV
(Proposed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868)Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
AMENDMENT XV
(Proposed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.)Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XVI
(Proposed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.)The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever sources derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.AMENDMENT XVII
(Proposed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913.)The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.
AMENDMENT XVIII
(Proposed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Altered by Amendment 21)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.The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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
(Proposed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920.)The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.AMENDMENT XX
Section 1. The terms of the President and the Vice-President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3rd 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 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article (October 1933).
AMENDMENT XXI
(Proposed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 1933.)Section 1. The Eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
AMENDMENT XXII
(Proposed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 1951.)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 that two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more that once.AMENDMENT XXIII
(Proposed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961.)Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XXIV
(Proposed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.)Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or any other tax.Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XXV
(Proposed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967.)Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
AMENDMENT XXVI
(Proposed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified June 30, 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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XXVII
(Proposed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified May 8, 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.
Introduction to The Constitution - The Confederation Period Top
Soon after the ratification of The Articles of Confederation, it became obvious that a stronger federal government was needed. The framers of 'The Articles' were so concerned with preserving the rights of the states, that they gave up only those powers that they believed absolutely necessary to maintain the confederation. Having just thrown off the chains of tyranny from a centralized government, many were reluctant to institute a new strong central government. The 'radical' movement, that believed in states rights most strongly, felt that the (continental or confederation) Congress had only been needed during the war to direct the army and navy, make alliances and binding treaties with foreign nations and conduct the war with Great Britain. Once the revolution was won, they felt little need for the continued existence of Congress.However, the confederation was in big trouble: The main problem was that 'The Articles' had no enforcement power. Congress was deeply in debt when the revolutionary war ended and the states didn't keep their end of the bargain to support Congress. The lack of enforcement power in 'The Articles' meant Congress had difficulty compelling the states to pay the debts from the war or the expenses of running the confederation. The continental paper money was a joke. There was no way to compel the states to recognize the very treaties they authorized Congress to make.
The problems went beyond the states' dealings with Congress: Despite the express provisions of the peace treaty, British creditors had little chance of being paid and Tories (British sympathizers) were being terrorized in the states. Those states with advantages over others, such as commodious harbors, didn't hesitate to assert those advantages. James Madison likened New Jersey, located between New York and Philadelphia, to a 'cask tapped at both ends'. There was no way to compel other countries to treat the confederation with respect, either. Our ministers in europe spent much of their time explaining that Americans didn't dress like savages. John Adams (later president) explained that as minister to Great Britain, he was as insignifiant as possible. Spain, controlling the mouth of the Mississippi, was unwilling to allow free navigation through her territory. The Barbary pirates of north Africa were seizing American merchantmen in the Mediterranean and holding them for ransom. The United States could do almost nothing.
Introduction to The Constitution
Throughout the confederation period, efforts to put some 'teeth' into Congress repeatedly failed. Finally, during 1786, various congressional committees enumerated the problems and condition of the confederation and predicted that it wouldn't survive in its present condition. A meeting of five states in the autumn of that year, now called the 'Annapolis Convention', called for a May, 1787 convention of the states to 'render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union...' In February, 1787, Congress agreed, although it would probably mean the death of the 'continental congress' if the 'constitutional congress' succeeded. Congress called for the convention to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May, 1787. Though some members of the 'continental congress' were also members of the 'constitutional congress', it was a separate body. It convened on May 26, two weeks later than planned because of bad weather.
The Convention, Creating the Document, Some ThoughtsTopAt the convention, the wrangling between the radicals, who wanted little part of a strong central government, and the unionists (a/k/a federalists and led by Alexander Hamilton) continued. There was also much haggling based on the interests of the large states versus those of the small states. After much debate in and out of various committees, the constitution was written. It was composed very much out of the 'Virginia Plan', from a large state, and the 'New Jersey Plan', a smaller state.
The Virginia Plan proposed the structure of the government much as it exists today: Three branches of government executive, judicial (with high court and inferior courts) and legislative. The legislature would consist of two houses with one house elected by state legislatures and the other elected by the people. Both house would have the states represented in proportion to their populations. The Virginia Plan proposed that the President be elected by the legislature and be ineligible for a second term. The Virginia Plan favored the larger states.
The New Jersey Plan treated the large and small states more uniformly. It would have created a single house legislature with the states being represented equally. Thus, it would have given the small states some favor that their smaller populations would have denied them in the 'Virginia Plan'. Much of the 'New Jersey' plan was incorporated into a number of the amendments. The full 'New Jersey' plan would also have preserved the individual sovereignty of the states to a greater extent. Another provision that would have allowed intervention with the slave trade after 20 years was not passed. But slavery wasn't the great issue it would become 40 or 50 years later.
If the delegates to the 'constitutional congress' followed their original mandate from the states, they would have only made suggestions for amendments to The Articles of Confederation. But, it is obvious that the Constitution is a totally different document than 'The Articles' and not just a series of amendments to the latter. The legislative issue was solved by creating two houses: a 'lower' house in proportion to the states' populations and an 'upper' house with equal representation from each state. The president was to be elected in a two election system. One election favored the smaller states and the other favored the larger states. The federal government was authorized to levy and collect taxes
Reminiscent of the Declaration of Independence, there was some coverage of basic human rights. But, there was no pleasing everyone at the convention and some refused to sign. George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the 'constitutional convention', refused to sign it because he felt that it didn't adequately oppose slavery or safeguard individual rights. These rights were later elaborated upon by the first U.S. Congress in the first ten amendments, the 'Bill of Rights'. It was highly influenced by the 'Declaration of Rights of Virginia', composed by George Mason in 1776. Submitted in 1789, the 'Bill of Rights' were in effect in 1790.
Of the 55 men who attended the convention, 39 actually signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787. The convention submitted the document to Congress and disbanded. Eleven days afterward, Congress submitted the Constitution, along with a letter from George Washington, to the states for their approval. The Constitution would go into effect upon the approval of the ninth state. The first state to approve was Delaware and the ninth, New Hampshire state signed it June 21, 1788. Congress declared the Constitution in effect on March 4, 1789. The last of the original 13 states to sign was Rhode Island, on May 29, 1790. Vermont approved it on January 10, 1791 and was admitted as the 14th state on March 4, 1791.
The Constitution has proved to be a remarkably durable document. While there have been a large number of amendments through the years, they have added to more than modifying the original writing. The biggest and longest debates have resulted from the fact that many concepts in the Constitution are named, but not defined, or, like the federal court system, only briefly outlined. Often the subject of Supreme Court cases is a determination of what the framers of the Constitution meant by a term in the document, such as 'Due Process'. The definition and implementation of those concepts has been a continuing and evolving challenge to the present day.
Search the Analyzed, Interpreted and Annotated U.S. Constitution
Analysis and Interpretation of Senate document, No. 103-6, "The Constitution of the United States of America," by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress with annotations of Supreme Court cases decided to June-29-1992 and served up by the Government Printing Office:You can retrieve portions of this analysis and interpretation with a search for keywords using the following table or by linking to CRS' Table of Contents,
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