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United
States Constitution
1787
Preamble
We
the People of the United States, in order to form
a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure
the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity, do ordain and establish the
Constitution of the United States of America.
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Article
I.
Sect.
1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate and a House of
Representatives.
Sect.
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.
Representative
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 choose 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 the Speaker
and other officers; and shall have the sole power
of impeachment.
Sect.
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. 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, 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.
Judgement
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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 in 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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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 is 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.
Sect.
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 states 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 the Constitution in the
government of the United States, or in
any department or officer thereof.
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Sect.
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 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.
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.
Sect.
10. 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 its 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; 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.
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Article
II.
Sect.
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
am equal 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.
The
Congress may determine the time of the 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 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 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."
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Sect.
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 session.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
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Article
III.
Sect.
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 behavior, and shall, at stated
time, receive for their services a compensation
which shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
Sect.
2.
1.
The judicial power shall extend to all
cases, in law and equity, arising under
this Constitution, the laws of the
United States, and treaties made, or
which shall be made, under their
authority; to all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers, and
consuls; to all cases of admiralty and
maritime jurisdiction; to controversies
to which the United States shall be a
party; to controversies between two or
more States, between a State and
citizens of another State, between
citizens of different States, between
citizens of the same State claiming
lands under grants of different States,
and between a State or the citizens
thereof, and foreign states, citizens,
or subjects.
2.
In all cases affecting ambassadors,
other public ministers and consuls, and
those in which a State shall be a 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.
3.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases
of impeachment, shall be by jury; and
such trial shall be held in the State
where the said crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within
any State the trial shall be at such
place or places as the Congress may by
law have directed.
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Sect.
3.
1.
Treason against the United States shall
consist only in levying war against
them, or in adhering to their enemies,
giving them aid and comfort. No person
shall be convicted of treason unless on
the testimony of two witnesses to the
same overt act, or on confession in open
court.
2.
The Congress shall have power to declare
the punishment of treason, but no
attainder of treason shall work
corruption of blood, or forfeiture
except during the life of the person
attained.
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Article
IV.
Sect.
1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each
State to the public act, 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.
Sect.
2.
1.
The citizens of each State shall be
entitled to all privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several
States.
2.
A person charged in any State with
treason, felony, or other crime, who
shall flee from justice, and be found in
another State, shall, on demand of the
executive authority of the State from
which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the State having jurisdiction
of the crime.
3.
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.
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Sect.
3.
1.
New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union; but no new
State shall be formed or erected within
the jurisdiction of any other State, nor
any State be formed by the junction of
two or more States, or parts of States,
without the consent of the legislatures
of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
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.
Sect.
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.
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Article
V.
The
Congress, whenever two-thirds of both House 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.
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Article
VI.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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, anything in
the constitution or laws of any State to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Sect.
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.
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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.
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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.
Attest:
William Jackson, Secretary
George Washington
PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY FROM VIRGINIA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
MASSACHUSETTS
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
NEW YORK
Alexander Hamilton
NEW JERSEY
William Livingston
David Brearley
William Paterson
Jonathan Dayton
PENNSYLVANIA
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robert Morris
George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris
DELAWARE
George Read
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jacob Broom
MARYLAND
James McHenry
Dan of St. Thomas Jennifer
Daniel Carroll
VIRGINIA
John Blair
James Madison, Jr.
NORTH CAROLINA
William Blount
Richard Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson
SOUTH CAROLINA
John Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
GEORGIA
William Few
Abraham Baldwin
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1st
Amendment:
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.
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2nd
Amendment: 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.
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3rd
Amendment: 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.
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4th
Amendment: 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.
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5th
Amendment: 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.
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6th
Amendment: 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.
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7th
Amendment: 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.
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8th
Amendment: Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment
inflicted.
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9th
Amendment: The
enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people.
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10th
Amendment: 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.
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11th
Amendment: 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.
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12th
Amendment: 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 the 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 a majority, then, from the
persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding
three, on the list of those voted for a President,
the House of Representative 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] the Vice President shall act as
President, as in case of 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, form 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; 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.
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13th
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
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14th
Amendment:
Sect.
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 any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
Sect.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in
each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when
the right to vote at any election for the choice
of electors for President and Vice President of
the United States, Representatives in Congress,
the executive and judicial officers of a State, or
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied
to any of the male inhabitants of such State,
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion or other crime, the
basis of representation therein shall be reduced
in the proportion which the number of such male
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male
citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by
appropriate legislation, the provisions of this
article.
-
15th
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
-
16th
Amendment: 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.
-
17th
Amendment: 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
appointment 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.
-
18th
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Sect.
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 of the date of the submission hereof
to the States by Congress.
-
19th
Amendment: 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.
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20th
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every years, and such meeting shall begin at noon
on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law
appoint a different day.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th
day of October following the ratification of this
article.
Sect.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the
Constitution by three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
-
21st
Amendment:
Sect.
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
-
22d
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
-
23rd
Amendment:
Sect.
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 Representative
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
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.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
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24th
Amendment:
Sect.
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.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
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25th
Amendment:
Sect.
1. In case of the removal of the President from
office or of his death or resignation, the Vice
President shall become President.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speakers 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.
Sect.
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 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.
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26th
Amendment:
Sect.
1. 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.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
-
27th
Amendment: No
law, varying the compensation for the services of
the Senators and Representatives, shall take
effect, until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.
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