The Constitution of the United States of America

Subject: The Constitution of the United States of America
With preceding comments, quotes from the Founding Fathers, and Supreme Court
rulings...

"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the
republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as
finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American
People."
-George Washington
First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim
the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of
human happiness -- these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens."
-George Washington Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

Immediately after creating the Declaration of
Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000
copies of Scripture for the people of this nation.
Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the
American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or
give me death"; but in current textbooks, the context of these words is
omitted.
Here is what he actually said:"An appeal to arms and the
God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle
alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The
battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet
as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty
God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty,
or give me death."
These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was
Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this:"It
cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was
founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have
been afforded freedom of worship here."

On July 4, 1821, President Adams said, "The highest
glory of the American Revolution was this: "It connected in one indissoluble
bond the principles of civil government with the principles of
Christianity."

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States
reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, "The foundations of our society and our
government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be
difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be
practically universal in our country."

In 1782, the United States Congress voted this
resolution: " The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the
Holy Bible for use in all schools."

William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey
Reader, which was used for over 100 years in our public schools, with over
125 million copies sold, until it was stopped in 1963.

President Lincoln called him the "Schoolmaster of the
Nation." Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey:"The Christian religion is
the religion of our country. From it are derived our nation, on the
character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its
doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free Institutions. From no
source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred
Scriptures. For all these extracts from the Bible, I make no apology."

Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106
were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard University,
chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1
was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they
could study the Scriptures: "Let every student be plainly instructed and
earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies,
is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life,! John 17:3; and
therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to
follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of
the United States, said this:"We have staked the whole future of all our
political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern
ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
Most of what you read in this article has been erased
from our textbooks. Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the truth
about our country's Christian roots. You are encouraged to share this with
others, so that the truth of our nation's history will be told.To find out
more,look up government and the T.E.A.
Galatians 2:20 <><
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"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion
of the day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished
period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers
(adminstrators) too plainly proves a deliberate, systematic plan
of reducing us to slavery."
-- Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence,
3rd US President "Bear in mind this sacred principle,
that though the will of the majority
is in all cases to prevail,
that will to be rightful must be reasonable;
that the minority possess their equal rights,
which equal law must protect,
and to violate would be oppression."
-- Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence,
3rd US President
Source: First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1801
It being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their
supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for His gracious
assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to
give Him praise for His goodness in general, and especially for great and
signal interpositions of His providence in their behalf. They do further
recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for His
goodness, by a cheerful obedience of His laws, and by promoting, each in His
station, and by His influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion,
which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.
--George Washington, 1782 It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by
men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot
be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.--James
Madison/Alexander Hamilton, Federalist#62

All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void. Marbury
vs. madison, 5 U.S. (2Cranch) 137, 174, 176, (1803)

"On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry
ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the
spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be
squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable
one in which it was passed."
Thomas Jefferson

The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed
to exercise will instead of judgement, the consequences would be the
substitution of their pleasure for that of the legislative body." ~ The
Federalist No. 78 Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The
Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good
intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean
to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. -
Daniel Webster

http://usiap.org/ActionItems/PatriotBill/PatriotBillIntro.html
The Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia in the hot summer of 1787
to rewrite the Articles of Confederation which had been so ineffective. The
quarrels between the States were deep and divisive; each state lowered or
raised its own tariffs and coined its own money. There was no Union. The
delegates began to realize that they needed to do something more than patch
up the Articles of Confederation. It was a stormy convention. The northern
states insisted upon representation according to population; the southern
states claimed representation should be based upon land under cultivation.
The small states feared they would be overwhelmed by the large states. It
was only the strength of George Washington's personality which held the
Convention together. The debate over representation grew more bitter and
hopelessly deadlocked. At this crucial moment, Ben Franklin, 81 years of
age, rose and spoke quietly:
"In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of
danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our
prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were answered. All of us who were engaged
in the struggle have observed frequent instances of superintending
Providence in our favor. . . . And have we now forgotten this powerful
Friend? Or, do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing I
see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow
cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire
can rise without his Aid?
We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build
the house, they labour in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also
believe that, without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political
building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our
little, partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we
shall become a reproach and a byword to future ages. And what is worse,
mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of
establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or
conquest.
I therefore beg to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance
of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly
every morning before we proceed to business."
-Ben Franklin

"The claim and exercise of a constitutional right cannot be converted
into a crime. Miller v. U.S. 230 F 486 at 489"
"Where rights as secured by the Constitution are involved, there
can be no rule making or legislation which will abrogate them.
Miranda v. Ariz., 384 U.S. 436 at 491 (1966)."
An individual cannot become guilty of a crime for exercising his
right to avoid self-incrimination. Counselman v Hitchcock, 142 US
547 (1892); Miranda v Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966).
"Since an unconstitutional law is void, the general principles
follow that it imposes no duties, confers no rights, creates no
office, bestows no power or authority on anyone, affords no protection
and justifies no acts performed under it ;;; No one is bound to
obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce
it." 16 Am Jur 2nd Section 177
"All laws, rules and practices which are repugnant to the Constitution
are null and void. Marbury v. Madison, 5th US (2 Cranch) 137, 180"
"The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having
the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void,
and ineffective for any purpose; since unconstitutionality dates
from the time of it's enactment, and not merely from the date of
the decision so branding it... No one is bound to obey an
unconstitutional law, and no courts are bound to enforce it."-
Sixteenth American Jurisprudence, Second Edition, Section 256
If the exercise of a constitutional right can become the cause for
imprisonment, the constitution has been nullified and there is no
security from omnipotent government; the constitution has become
a worthless scrap of paper. Marchetti v US, 390 US 39, 57 (1968).
A law that "impinges upon a fundamental right explicitly or implicitly
secured by the constitution is presumptively unconstitutional."
Mobile v Bolden, 446 US 55, 76 (1980); Harris v McRae, 448 US 297,
312 (1980).
A law that improperly infringes on constitutional rights is void
from its inception and no person can be obligated to obey such a
law. 16A AmJur2d Constitutional Law, §203 (1998).
A person has no responsibility to make contributions to government
in the form of taxes if government has no right to them. Gregory
v Helvering, 293 US 465 (1934). And again, "(an individual) is
entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power
to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the state or to his
neighbors to divulge his business..." Hale v Henkel, 201 US 43, 74
(1906).
"A judgment rendered in violation of due process is void." World
Wide Volkswagen v Woodsen, 444 US 286, 291 (1980); National Bank
v Wiley, 195 US 257 (1904); Pennoyer v Neff, 95 US 714 (1878).
One cannot be disciplined for refusing to allow a sworn peace
officer to violate one's rights. A refusal to succumb to a violation
of a constitutional right is not a legitimate basis for any police
action, and it may not serve as a basis for imposition of any
discipline by a sworn peace officer. Los Angeles v. Gates (9th
Cir. 1990) 907 F.2d 879, 886
"The right to defy an unconstitutional statute is basic in our
scheme. Even when an ordinance requires a permit to make a speech,
to deliver a sermon, to picket, to parade, or to assemble, it need
not be honored when it's invalid on its face." -- Justice Potter
Stewart (1915-1985), U. S. Supreme Court Justice Walker v. Birmingham,
1967 "On every question of construction carry ourselves back to the time
when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in
the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of
the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which
it was passed." --Thomas Jefferson
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
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(See Note 1)
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen
every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in
each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most
numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to
the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in
which he shall be chosen.
Clause 3: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the
several States which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number
of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (See Note 2)
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first
Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent
Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of
Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each
State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three,
Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one,
Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South
Carolina five, and Georgia three.
Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such
Vacancies.
Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other
Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators
from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, (See Note 3) for six
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the
first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three
Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at
the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of
the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year,
so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen
by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any
State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next
Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. (See Note
4)
Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the
Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he
shall be chosen.
Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
Clause 5: The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President
pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise
the Office of President of the United States.
Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside:
And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of
the Members present.
Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of
honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and
Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4.
Clause 1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
Clause 2: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, (See Note 5) unless they
shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.
Clause 1: Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a
Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and
may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such
Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds,
expel a Member.
Clause 3: Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time
to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any
question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on
the Journal.
Clause 4: Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for
their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of
the United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason,
Felony and Breach of the Peace, beprivileged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they
shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Clause 2: No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he
was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof
shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office
under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his
Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
Clause 1: All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on
other Bills.
Clause 2: Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives
and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President
of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall
return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that
House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the
Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered,
and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in
all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and
Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be
entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be
returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall
have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he
had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return,
in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Clause 3: Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question
of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States;
and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House
of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the
Case of a Bill.
Section. 8.
Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and
general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws
on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin,
and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing
for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high
Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to
that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and
naval Forces;
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of
the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia,
and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the
United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the
Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress;
Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over
such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession of
particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the
Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all
Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the
Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards,
and other needful Buildings;--And
Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.
Section. 9.
Clause 1: The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States
now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax
or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for
each Person.
Clause 2: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require
it.
Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
(See Note 7)
Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
Clause 6: No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels
bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in
another.
Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time
to time.
Clause 8: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the
Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title,
of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
Clause 1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation;
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make
any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any
Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of
Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
Clause 2: No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all
Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for
the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be
subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
Clause 3: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage
in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not
admit of delay.
Article. II.
Section. 1.
Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United
States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years,
and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected,
as follows
Clause 2: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of
Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the
Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of
Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
Clause 3: The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by
Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of
the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the
Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of
the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be
counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the
President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an
equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner
chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken
by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the
greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if
there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse
from them by Ballot the Vice President. (See Note 8)
Clause 4: The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and
the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to
that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and
been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the
said Office, (See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the VicePresident, and
the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation
or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly,
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
Clause 7: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within
that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Clause 8: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will
faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to
the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States."
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of
the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called
into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in
writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon
any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall
have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United
States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Clause 2: He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States,
whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such
inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the
Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
Clause 3: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may
happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall
expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of
the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene
both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them,
with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as
he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public
Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and
shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article. III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts,
shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times,
receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished
during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity,
arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties
made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty
and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States
shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a
State and Citizens of another State; (See Note 10)--between Citizens of
different States, --between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under
Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof,
and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
Clause 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall
have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the
supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact,
with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
Clause 3: The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be
by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the
Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have
directed.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying
War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and
Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of
two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or
Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts,
Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may
by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and
Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Clause 2: A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on
Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be
delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
Clause 3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or
Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be
delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be
due. (See Note 11)
Section. 3.
Clause 1: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no
new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other
State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or
Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the Congress.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful
Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging
to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican
Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on
Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary,
shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the
Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention
for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all
Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the
Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in
three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be
proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior
to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect
the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and
that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage
in the Senate.
Article. VI.
Clause 1: All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the
Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States
under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall
be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the
Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the
Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Clause 3: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members
of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath
or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall
ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the
United States.
Article. VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for
the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the
Same.
done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the
Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of
America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our
Names,
GO WASHINGTON--Presidt. and deputy from Virginia
[Signed also by the deputies of twelve States.]
Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: BroomMaryland
James MCHenry
Dan of ST ThoS. Jenifer
DanL Carroll.Virginia
John Blair--
James Madison Jr.North Carolina
WM Blount
RichD. Dobbs Spaight.
Hu WilliamsonSouth Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles 1ACotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler.Georgia
William Few
Abr BaldwinNew Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas GilmanMassachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus KingConnecticut
WM. SamL. Johnson
Roger ShermanNew York
Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley.
WM. Paterson.
Jona: DaytonPennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
RobT Morris
Geo. Clymer
ThoS. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson.
Gouv MorrisAttest William Jackson Secretary
NOTES
Note 1: This text of the Constitution follows the engrossed copy signed by
Gen. Washington and the deputies from 12 States. The small superior figures
preceding the paragraphs designate Clauses, and were not in the original and
have no reference to footnotes.
The Constitution was adopted by a convention of the States on September 17,
1787, and was subsequently ratified by the several States, on the following
dates: Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New
Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9,
1788; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South
Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788.
Ratification was completed on June 21, 1788.
The Constitution was subsequently ratified by Virginia, June 25, 1788; New
York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1789; Rhode Island, May
29, 1790; and Vermont, January 10, 1791.
In May 1785, a committee of Congress made a report recommending an
alteration in the Articles of Confederation, but no action was taken on it,
and it was left to the State Legislatures to proceed in the matter. In
January 1786, the Legislature of Virginia passed a resolution providing for
the appointment of five commissioners, who, or any three of them, should
meet such commissioners as might be appointed in the other States of the
Union, at a time and place to be agreed upon, to take into consideration the
trade of the United States; to consider how far a uniform system in their
commercial regulations may be necessary to their common interest and their
permanent harmony; and to report to the several States such an act, relative
to this great object, as, when ratified by them, will enable the United
States in Congress effectually to provide for the same. The Virginia
commissioners, after some correspondence, fixed the first Monday in
September as the time, and the city of Annapolis as the place for the
meeting, but only four other States were represented, viz: Delaware, New
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the commissioners appointed by
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Rhode Island failed to
attend. Under the circumstances of so partial a representation, the
commissioners present agreed upon a report, (drawn by Mr. Hamilton, of New
York,) expressing their unanimous conviction that it might essentially tend
to advance the interests of the Union if the States by which they were
respectively delegated would concur, and use their endeavors to procure the
concurrence of the other States, in the appointment of commissioners to meet
at Philadelphia on the Second Monday of May following, to take into
consideration the situation of the United States; to devise such further
provisions as should appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of
the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union; and to
report such an act for that purpose to the United States in Congress
assembled as, when agreed to by them and afterwards confirmed by the
Legislatures of every State, would effectually provide for the same.
Congress, on the 21st of February, 1787, adopted a resolution in favor of a
convention, and the Legislatures of those States which had not already done
so (with the exception of Rhode Island) promptly appointed delegates. On the
25th of May, seven States having convened, George Washington, of Virginia,
was unanimously elected President, and the consideration of the proposed
constitution was commenced. On the 17th of September, 1787, the Constitution
as engrossed and agreed upon was signed by all the members present, except
Mr. Gerry of Massachusetts, and Messrs. Mason and Randolph, of Virginia. The
president of the convention transmitted it to Congress, with a resolution
stating how the proposed Federal Government should be put in operation, and
an explanatory letter. Congress, on the 28th of September, 1787, directed
the Constitution so framed, with the resolutions and letter concerning the
same, to "be transmitted to the several Legislatures in order to be
submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each State by the people
thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the convention."
On the 4th of March, 1789, the day which had been fixed for commencing the
operations of Government under the new Constitution, it had been ratified by
the conventions chosen in each State to consider it, as follows: Delaware,
December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18,
1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts,
February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788;
New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 25, 1788; and New York, July
26, 1788.
The President informed Congress, on the 28th of January, 1790, that North
Carolina had ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789; and he informed
Congress on the 1st of June, 1790, that Rhode Island had ratified the
Constitution May 29, 1790. Vermont, in convention, ratified the Constitution
January 10, 1791, and was, by an act of Congress approved February 18, 1791,
"received and admitted into this Union as a new and entire member of the
United States."
Note 2: The part of this Clause relating to the mode of apportionment of
representatives among the several States has been affected by Section 2 of
amendment XIV, and as to taxes on incomes without apportionment by amendment
XVI.
Note 3: This Clause has been affected by Clause 1 of amendment XVII.
Note 4: This Clause has been affected by Clause 2 of amendment XVIII.
Note 5: This Clause has been affected by amendment XX.
Note 6: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXVII.
Note 7: This Clause has been affected by amendment XVI.
Note 8: This Clause has been superseded by amendment XII.
Note 9: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXV.
Note 10: This Clause has been affected by amendment XI.
Note 11: This Clause has been affected by amendment XIII.
Note 12: The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States
(and two others, one of which failed of ratification and the other which
later became the 27th amendment) were proposed to the legislatures of the
several States by the First Congress on September 25, 1789. The first ten
amendments were ratified by the following States, and the notifications of
ratification by the Governors thereof were successively communicated by the
President to Congress: New Jersey, November 20, 1789; Maryland, December 19,
1789; North Carolina, December 22, 1789; South Carolina, January 19, 1790;
New Hampshire, January 25, 1790; Delaware, January 28, 1790; New York,
February 24, 1790; Pennsylvania, March 10, 1790; Rhode Island, June 7, 1790;
Vermont, November 3, 1791; and Virginia, December 15, 1791.
Ratification was completed on December 15, 1791.
The amendments were subsequently ratified by the legislatures of
Massachusetts, March 2, 1939; Georgia, March 18, 1939; and Connecticut,
April 19, 1939.
Note 13: Only the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th articles of amendment had
numbers assigned to them at the time of ratification.
Note 14: This sentence has been superseded by section 3 of amendment XX.
Note 15: See amendment XIX and section 1 of amendment XXVI.
Note 16: Repealed by section 1 of amendment XXI.

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Amendments to the Constitution
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ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENTS OF, THE
Amendments to the Constitution
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND
RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH
ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION (See Note 12)
Article [I.] (See Note 13)
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.
Article [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.
Article [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.
Article [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.
Article [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 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.
Article [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 defence.
Article [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 re-examined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common law.
Article [VIII.]
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article [IX.]
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article [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.
[Article XI.]
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.
Proposal and Ratification
The eleventh amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed
to the legislatures of the several States by the Third Congress, on the 4th
of March 1794; and was declared in a message from the President to Congress,
dated the 8th of January, 1798, to have been ratified by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the States. The dates of ratification were: New York, March
27, 1794; Rhode Island, March 31, 1794; Connecticut, May 8, 1794; New
Hampshire, June 16, 1794; Massachusetts, June 26, 1794; Vermont, between
October 9, 1794 and November 9, 1794; Virginia, November 18, 1794; Georgia,
November 29, 1794; Kentucky, December 7, 1794; Maryland, December 26, 1794;
Delaware, January 23, 1795; North Carolina, February 7, 1795.
Ratification was completed on February 7, 1795.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by South Carolina on December 4,
1797. New Jersey and Pennsylvania did not take action on the amendment.
[Article XII.]
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. (See Note 14)--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.
Proposal and Ratification The twelfth amendment to the Constitution of the
United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the
Eighth Congress, on the 9th of December, 1803, in lieu of the original third
paragraph of the first section of the second article; and was declared in a
proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated the 25th of September, 1804,
to have been ratified by the legislatures of 13 of the 17 States. The dates
of ratification were: North Carolina, December 21, 1803; Maryland, December
24, 1803; Kentucky, December 27, 1803; Ohio, December 30, 1803;
Pennsylvania, January 5, 1804; Vermont, January 30, 1804; Virginia, February
3, 1804; New York, February 10, 1804; New Jersey, February 22, 1804; Rhode
Island, March 12, 1804; South Carolina, May 15, 1804; Georgia, May 19, 1804;
New Hampshire, June 15, 1804.
Ratification was completed on June 15, 1804.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Tennessee, July 27, 1804.
The amendment was rejected by Delaware, January 18, 1804; Massachusetts,
February 3, 1804; Connecticut, at its session begun May 10, 1804.
Article XIII.
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.
Proposal and Ratification
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Thirty-eighth
Congress, on the 31st day of January, 1865, and was declared, in a
proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated the 18th of December, 1865, to
have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-seven of the thirty-six
States. The dates of ratification were: Illinois, February 1, 1865; Rhode
Island, February 2, 1865; Michigan, February 2, 1865; Maryland, February 3,
1865; New York, February 3, 1865; Pennsylvania, February 3, 1865; West
Virginia, February 3, 1865; Missouri, February 6, 1865; Maine, February 7,
1865; Kansas, February 7, 1865; Massachusetts, February 7, 1865; Virginia,
February 9, 1865; Ohio, February 10, 1865; Indiana, February 13, 1865;
Nevada, February 16, 1865; Louisiana, February 17, 1865; Minnesota, February
23, 1865; Wisconsin, February 24, 1865; Vermont, March 9, 1865; Tennessee,
April 7, 1865; Arkansas, April 14, 1865; Connecticut, May 4, 1865; New
Hampshire, July 1, 1865; South Carolina, November 13, 1865; Alabama,
December 2, 1865; North Carolina, December 4, 1865; Georgia, December 6,
1865.
Ratification was completed on December 6, 1865.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Oregon, December 8, 1865;
California, December 19, 1865; Florida, December 28, 1865 (Florida again
ratified on June 9, 1868, upon its adoption of a new constitution); Iowa,
January 15, 1866; New Jersey, January 23, 1866 (after having rejected the
amendment on March 16, 1865); Texas, February 18, 1870; Delaware, February
12, 1901 (after having rejected the amendment on February 8, 1865);
Kentucky, March 18, 1976 (after having rejected it on February 24, 1865).
The amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Mississippi,
December 4, 1865.
Article XIV.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons
in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at
any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of
the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial
officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to
any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of
age,(See Note 15) and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged,
except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Proposal and Ratification
The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Thirty-ninth
Congress, on the 13th of June, 1866. It was declared, in a certificate of
the Secretary of State dated July 28, 1868 to have been ratified by the
legislatures of 28 of the 37 States. The dates of ratification were:
Connecticut, June 25, 1866; New Hampshire, July 6, 1866; Tennessee, July 19,
1866; New Jersey, September 11, 1866 (subsequently the legislature rescinded
its ratification, and on March 24, 1868, readopted its resolution of
rescission over the Governor's veto, and on Nov. 12, 1980, expressed support
for the amendment); Oregon, September 19, 1866 (and rescinded its
ratification on October 15, 1868); Vermont, October 30, 1866; Ohio, January
4, 1867 (and rescinded its ratification on January 15, 1868); New York,
January 10, 1867; Kansas, January 11, 1867; Illinois, January 15, 1867; West
Virginia, January 16, 1867; Michigan, January 16, 1867; Minnesota, January
16, 1867; Maine, January 19, 1867; Nevada, January 22, 1867; Indiana,
January 23, 1867; Missouri, January 25, 1867; Rhode Island, February 7,
1867; Wisconsin, February 7, 1867; Pennsylvania, February 12, 1867;
Massachusetts, March 20, 1867; Nebraska, June 15, 1867; Iowa, March 16,
1868; Arkansas, April 6, 1868; Florida, June 9, 1868; North Carolina, July
4, 1868 (after having rejected it on December 14, 1866); Louisiana, July 9,
1868 (after having rejected it on February 6, 1867); South Carolina, July 9,
1868 (after having rejected it on December 20, 1866).
Ratification was completed on July 9, 1868.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Alabama, July 13, 1868; Georgia,
July 21, 1868 (after having rejected it on November 9, 1866); Virginia,
October 8, 1869 (after having rejected it on January 9, 1867); Mississippi,
January 17, 1870; Texas, February 18, 1870 (after having rejected it on
October 27, 1866); Delaware, February 12, 1901 (after having rejected it on
February 8, 1867); Maryland, April 4, 1959 (after having rejected it on
March 23, 1867); California, May 6, 1959; Kentucky, March 18, 1976 (after
having rejected it on January 8, 1867).
Article XV.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Proposal and Ratification
The fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Fortieth Congress,
on the 26th of February, 1869, and was declared, in a proclamation of the
Secretary of State, dated March 30, 1870, to have been ratified by the
legislatures of twenty-nine of the thirty-seven States. The dates of
ratification were: Nevada, March 1, 1869; West Virginia, March 3, 1869;
Illinois, March 5, 1869; Louisiana, March 5, 1869; North Carolina, March 5,
1869; Michigan, March 8, 1869; Wisconsin, March 9, 1869; Maine, March 11,
1869; Massachusetts, March 12, 1869; Arkansas, March 15, 1869; South
Carolina, March 15, 1869; Pennsylvania, March 25, 1869; New York, April 14,
1869 (and the legislature of the same State passed a resolution January 5,
1870, to withdraw its consent to it, which action it rescinded on March 30,
1970); Indiana, May 14, 1869; Connecticut, May 19, 1869; Florida, June 14,
1869; New Hampshire, July 1, 1869; Virginia, October 8, 1869; Vermont,
October 20, 1869; Missouri, January 7, 1870; Minnesota, January 13, 1870;
Mississippi, January 17, 1870; Rhode Island, January 18, 1870; Kansas,
January 19, 1870; Ohio, January 27, 1870 (after having rejected it on April
30, 1869); Georgia, February 2, 1870; Iowa, February 3, 1870.
Ratification was completed on February 3, 1870, unless the withdrawal of
ratification by New York was effective; in which event ratification was
completed on February 17, 1870, when Nebraska ratified.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Texas, February 18, 1870; New
Jersey, February 15, 1871 (after having rejected it on February 7, 1870);
Delaware, February 12, 1901 (after having rejected it on March 18, 1869);
Oregon, February 24, 1959; California, April 3, 1962 (after having rejected
it on January 28, 1870); Kentucky, March 18, 1976 (after having rejected it
on March 12, 1869).
The amendment was approved by the Governor of Maryland, May 7, 1973;
Maryland having previously rejected it on February 26, 1870.
The amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Tennessee,
November 16, 1869.
Article XVI.
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.
Proposal and Ratification
The sixteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-first
Congress on the 12th of July, 1909, and was declared, in a proclamation of
the Secretary of State, dated the 25th of February, 1913, to have been
ratified by 36 of the 48 States. The dates of ratification were: Alabama,
August 10, 1909; Kentucky, February 8, 1910; South Carolina, February 19,
1910; Illinois, March 1, 1910; Mississippi, March 7, 1910; Oklahoma, March
10, 1910; Maryland, April 8, 1910; Georgia, August 3, 1910; Texas, August
16, 1910; Ohio, January 19, 1911; Idaho, January 20, 1911; Oregon, January
23, 1911; Washington, January 26, 1911; Montana, January 30, 1911; Indiana,
January 30, 1911; California, January 31, 1911; Nevada, January 31, 1911;
South Dakota, February 3, 1911; Nebraska, February 9, 1911; North Carolina,
February 11, 1911; Colorado, February 15, 1911; North Dakota, February 17,
1911; Kansas, February 18, 1911; Michigan, February 23, 1911; Iowa, February
24, 1911; Missouri, March 16, 1911; Maine, March 31, 1911; Tennessee, April
7, 1911; Arkansas, April 22, 1911 (after having rejected it earlier);
Wisconsin, May 26, 1911; New York, July 12, 1911; Arizona, April 6, 1912;
Minnesota, June 11, 1912; Louisiana, June 28, 1912; West Virginia, January
31, 1913; New Mexico, February 3, 1913.
Ratification was completed on February 3, 1913.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Massachusetts, March 4, 1913; New
Hampshire, March 7, 1913 (after having rejected it on March 2, 1911).
The amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Connecticut,
Rhode Island, and Utah.
[Article XVII.]
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.
Proposal and Ratification
The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-second
Congress on the 13th of May, 1912, and was declared, in a proclamation of
the Secretary of State, dated the 31st of May, 1913, to have been ratified
by the legislatures of 36 of the 48 States. The dates of ratification were:
Massachusetts, May 22, 1912; Arizona, June 3, 1912; Minnesota, June 10,
1912; New York, January 15, 1913; Kansas, January 17, 1913; Oregon, January
23, 1913; North Carolina, January 25, 1913; California, January 28, 1913;
Michigan, January 28, 1913; Iowa, January 30, 1913; Montana, January 30,
1913; Idaho, January 31, 1913; West Virginia, February 4, 1913; Colorado,
February 5, 1913; Nevada, February 6, 1913; Texas, February 7, 1913;
Washington, February 7, 1913; Wyoming, February 8, 1913; Arkansas, February
11, 1913; Maine, February 11, 1913; Illinois, February 13, 1913; North
Dakota, February 14, 1913; Wisconsin, February 18, 1913; Indiana, February
19, 1913; New Hampshire, February 19, 1913; Vermont, February 19, 1913;
South Dakota, February 19, 1913; Oklahoma, February 24, 1913; Ohio, February
25, 1913; Missouri, March 7, 1913; New Mexico, March 13, 1913; Nebraska,
March 14, 1913; New Jersey, March 17, 1913; Tennessee, April 1, 1913;
Pennsylvania, April 2, 1913; Connecticut, April 8, 1913.
Ratification was completed on April 8, 1913.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Louisiana, June 11, 1914.
The amendment was rejected by Utah (and not subsequently ratified) on
February 26, 1913.
Article [XVIII].(See Note 16)
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States
and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes
is hereby prohibited.
Section. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the
several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the
date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Proposal and Ratification
The eighteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-fifth
Congress, on the 18th of December, 1917, and was declared, in a proclamation
of the Secretary of State, dated the 29th of January, 1919, to have been
ratified by the legislatures of 36 of the 48 States. The dates of
ratification were: Mississippi, January 8, 1918; Virginia, January 11, 1918;
Kentucky, January 14, 1918; North Dakota, January 25, 1918; South Carolina,
January 29, 1918; Maryland, February 13, 1918; Montana, February 19, 1918;
Texas, March 4, 1918; Delaware, March 18, 1918; South Dakota, March 20,
1918; Massachusetts, April 2, 1918; Arizona, May 24, 1918; Georgia, June 26,
1918; Louisiana, August 3, 1918; Florida, December 3, 1918; Michigan,
January 2, 1919; Ohio, January 7, 1919; Oklahoma, January 7, 1919; Idaho,
January 8, 1919; Maine, January 8, 1919; West Virginia, January 9, 1919;
California, January 13, 1919; Tennessee, January 13, 1919; Washington,
January 13, 1919; Arkansas, January 14, 1919; Kansas, January 14, 1919;
Alabama, January 15, 1919; Colorado, January 15, 1919; Iowa, January 15,
1919; New Hampshire, January 15, 1919; Oregon, January 15, 1919; Nebraska,
January 16, 1919; North Carolina, January 16, 1919; Utah, January 16, 1919;
Missouri, January 16, 1919; Wyoming, January 16, 1919.
Ratification was completed on January 16, 1919. See Dillon v. Gloss, 256
U.S. 368, 376 (1921).
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Minnesota on January 17, 1919;
Wisconsin, January 17, 1919; New Mexico, January 20, 1919; Nevada, January
21, 1919; New York, January 29, 1919; Vermont, January 29, 1919;
Pennsylvania, February 25, 1919; Connecticut, May 6, 1919; and New Jersey,
March 9, 1922.
The amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Rhode Island.
Article [XIX].
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.
Proposal and Ratification
The nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-sixth
Congress, on the 4th of June, 1919, and was declared, in a proclamation of
the Secretary of State, dated the 26th of August, 1920, to have been
ratified by the legislatures of 36 of the 48 States. The dates of
ratification were: Illinois, June 10, 1919 (and that State readopted its
resolution of ratification June 17, 1919); Michigan, June 10, 1919;
Wisconsin, June 10, 1919; Kansas, June 16, 1919; New York, June 16, 1919;
Ohio, June 16, 1919; Pennsylvania, June 24, 1919; Massachusetts, June 25,
1919; Texas, June 28, 1919; Iowa, July 2, 1919; Missouri, July 3, 1919;
Arkansas, July 28, 1919; Montana, August 2, 1919; Nebraska, August 2, 1919;
Minnesota, September 8, 1919; New Hampshire, September 10, 1919; Utah,
October 2, 1919; California, November 1, 1919; Maine, November 5, 1919;
North Dakota, December 1, 1919; South Dakota, December 4, 1919; Colorado,
December 15, 1919; Kentucky, January 6, 1920; Rhode Island, January 6, 1920;
Oregon, January 13, 1920; Indiana, January 16, 1920; Wyoming, January 27,
1920; Nevada, February 7, 1920; New Jersey, February 9, 1920; Idaho,
February 11, 1920; Arizona, February 12, 1920; New Mexico, February 21,
1920; Oklahoma, February 28, 1920; West Virginia, March 10, 1920;
Washington, March 22, 1920; Tennessee, August 18, 1920.
Ratification was completed on August 18, 1920.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Connecticut on September 14, 1920
(and that State reaffirmed on September 21, 1920); Vermont, February 8,
1921; Delaware, March 6, 1923 (after having rejected it on June 2, 1920);
Maryland, March 29, 1941 (after having rejected it on February 24, 1920,
ratification certified on February 25, 1958); Virginia, February 21, 1952
(after having rejected it on February 12, 1920); Alabama, September 8, 1953
(after having rejected it on September 22, 1919); Florida, May 13, 1969;
South Carolina, July 1, 1969 (after having rejected it on January 28, 1920,
ratification certified on August 22, 1973); Georgia, February 20, 1970
(after having rejected it on July 24, 1919); Louisiana, June 11, 1970 (after
having rejected it on July 1, 1920); North Carolina, May 6, 1971;
Mississippi, March 22, 1984 (after having rejected it on March 29, 1920).
Article [XX.]
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon
on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at
noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have
ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their
successors shall then begin.
Section. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall
by law appoint a different day.
Section. 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect
shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the
time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall
have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President
until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide
for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect
shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the
manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall
act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section. 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any
of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case
of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice
President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section. 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
Section. 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
Proposal and Ratification
The twentieth amendment to the Constitution was proposed to the legislatures
of the several states by the Seventy-Second Congress, on the 2d day of
March, 1932, and was declared, in a proclamation by the Secretary of State,
dated on the 6th day of February, 1933, to have been ratified by the
legislatures of 36 of the 48 States. The dates of ratification were:
Virginia, March 4, 1932; New York, March 11, 1932; Mississippi, March 16,
1932; Arkansas, March 17, 1932; Kentucky, March 17, 1932; New Jersey, March
21, 1932; South Carolina, March 25, 1932; Michigan, March 31, 1932; Maine,
April 1, 1932; Rhode Island, April 14, 1932; Illinois, April 21, 1932;
Louisiana, June 22, 1932; West Virginia, July 30, 1932; Pennsylvania, August
11, 1932; Indiana, August 15, 1932; Texas, September 7, 1932; Alabama,
September 13, 1932; California, January 4, 1933; North Carolina, January 5,
1933; North Dakota, January 9, 1933; Minnesota, January 12, 1933; Arizona,
January 13, 1933; Montana, January 13, 1933; Nebraska, January 13, 1933;
Oklahoma, January 13, 1933; Kansas, January 16, 1933; Oregon, January 16,
1933; Delaware, January 19, 1933; Washington, January 19, 1933; Wyoming,
January 19, 1933; Iowa, January 20, 1933; South Dakota, January 20, 1933;
Tennessee, January 20, 1933; Idaho, January 21, 1933; New Mexico, January
21, 1933; Georgia, January 23, 1933; Missouri, January 23, 1933; Ohio,
January 23, 1933; Utah, January 23, 1933.
Ratification was completed on January 23, 1933.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Massachusetts on January 24,
1933; Wisconsin, January 24, 1933; Colorado, January 24, 1933; Nevada,
January 26, 1933; Connecticut, January 27, 1933; New Hampshire, January 31,
1933; Vermont, February 2, 1933; Maryland, March 24, 1933; Florida, April
26, 1933.
Article [XXI.]
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or
possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating
liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several
States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of
the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Proposal and Ratification
The twenty-first amendment to the Constitution was proposed to the several
states by the Seventy-Second Congress, on the 20th day of February, 1933,
and was declared, in a proclamation by the Secretary of State, dated on the
5th day of December, 1933, to have been ratified by 36 of the 48 States. The
dates of ratification were: Michigan, April 10, 1933; Wisconsin, April 25,
1933; Rhode Island, May 8, 1933; Wyoming, May 25, 1933; New Jersey, June 1,
1933; Delaware, June 24, 1933; Indiana, June 26, 1933; Massachusetts, June
26, 1933; New York, June 27, 1933; Illinois, July 10, 1933; Iowa, July
Amendment XXII
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more
than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as
President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was
elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than
once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of
President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not
prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as
President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from
holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder
of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its
submission to the states by the Congress.
Amendment XXIII
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United
States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole
number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District
would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least
populous state; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states,
but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President
and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet
in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article
of amendment.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXIV
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary
or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for
President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress,
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason
of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXV
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President,
the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the
contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
as Acting President.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties
of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and
duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties
of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling
within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the
Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both
Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and
duties of his office.
Amendment XXVI
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of
age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
or any state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXVII
No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.NOTES
Note 1: This text of the Constitution follows the engrossed copy signed by
Gen. Washington and the deputies from 12 States. The small superior figures
preceding the paragraphs designate Clauses, and were not in the original and
have no reference to footnotes.
The Constitution was adopted by a convention of the States on September 17,
1787, and was subsequently ratified by the several States, on the following
dates: Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New
Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9,
1788; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South
Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788.
Ratification was completed on June 21, 1788.
The Constitution was subsequently ratified by Virginia, June 25, 1788; New
York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1789; Rhode Island, May
29, 1790; and Vermont, January 10, 1791.
In May 1785, a committee of Congress made a report recommending an
alteration in the Articles of Confederation, but no action was taken on it,
and it was left to the State Legislatures to proceed in the matter. In
January 1786, the Legislature of Virginia passed a resolution providing for
the appointment of five commissioners, who, or any three of them, should
meet such commissioners as might be appointed in the other States of the
Union, at a time and place to be agreed upon, to take into consideration the
trade of the United States; to consider how far a uniform system in their
commercial regulations may be necessary to their common interest and their
permanent harmony; and to report to the several States such an act, relative
to this great object, as, when ratified by them, will enable the United
States in Congress effectually to provide for the same. The Virginia
commissioners, after some correspondence, fixed the first Monday in
September as the time, and the city of Annapolis as the place for the
meeting, but only four other States were represented, viz: Delaware, New
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the commissioners appointed by
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Rhode Island failed to
attend. Under the circumstances of so partial a representation, the
commissioners present agreed upon a report, (drawn by Mr. Hamilton, of New
York,) expressing their unanimous conviction that it might essentially tend
to advance the interests of the Union if the States by which they were
respectively delegated would concur, and use their endeavors to procure the
concurrence of the other States, in the appointment of commissioners to meet
at Philadelphia on the Second Monday of May following, to take into
consideration the situation of the United States; to devise such further
provisions as should appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of
the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union; and to
report such an act for that purpose to the United States in Congress
assembled as, when agreed to by them and afterwards confirmed by the
Legislatures of every State, would effectually provide for the same.
Congress, on the 21st of February, 1787, adopted a resolution in favor of a
convention, and the Legislatures of those States which had not already done
so (with the exception of Rhode Island) promptly appointed delegates. On the
25th of May, seven States having convened, George Washington, of Virginia,
was unanimously elected President, and the consideration of the proposed
constitution was commenced. On the 17th of September, 1787, the Constitution
as engrossed and agreed upon was signed by all the members present, except
Mr. Gerry of Massachusetts, and Messrs. Mason and Randolph, of Virginia. The
president of the convention transmitted it to Congress, with a resolution
stating how the proposed Federal Government should be put in operation, and
an explanatory letter. Congress, on the 28th of September, 1787, directed
the Constitution so framed, with the resolutions and letter concerning the
same, to "be transmitted to the several Legislatures in order to be
submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each State by the people
thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the convention."
On the 4th of March, 1789, the day which had been fixed for commencing the
operations of Government under the new Constitution, it had been ratified by
the conventions chosen in each State to consider it, as follows: Delaware,
December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18,
1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts,
February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788;
New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 25, 1788; and New York, July
26, 1788.
The President informed Congress, on the 28th of January, 1790, that North
Carolina had ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789; and he informed
Congress on the 1st of June, 1790, that Rhode Island had ratified the
Constitution May 29, 1790. Vermont, in convention, ratified the Constitution
January 10, 1791, and was, by an act of Congress approved February 18, 1791,
"received and admitted into this Union as a new and entire member of the
United States."
Note 2: The part of this Clause relating to the mode of apportionment of
representatives among the several States has been affected by Section 2 of
amendment XIV, and as to taxes on incomes without apportionment by amendment
XVI.
Note 3: This Clause has been affected by Clause 1 of amendment XVII.
Note 4: This Clause has been affected by Clause 2 of amendment XVIII.
Note 5: This Clause has been affected by amendment XX.
Note 6: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXVII.
Note 7: This Clause has been affected by amendment XVI.
Note 8: This Clause has been superseded by amendment XII.
Note 9: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXV.
Note 10: This Clause has been affected by amendment XI.
Note 11: This Clause has been affected by amendment XIII.
Note 12: The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States
(and two others, one of which failed of ratification and the other which
later became the 27th amendment) were proposed to the legislatures of the
several States by the First Congress on September 25, 1789. The first ten
amendments were ratified by the following States, and the notifications of
ratification by the Governors thereof were successively communicated by the
President to Congress: New Jersey, November 20, 1789; Maryland, December 19,
1789; North Carolina, December 22, 1789; South Carolina, January 19, 1790;
New Hampshire, January 25, 1790; Delaware, January 28, 1790; New York,
February 24, 1790; Pennsylvania, March 10, 1790; Rhode Island, June 7, 1790;
Vermont, November 3, 1791; and Virginia, December 15, 1791.
Ratification was completed on December 15, 1791.
The amendments were subsequently ratified by the legislatures of
Massachusetts, March 2, 1939; Georgia, March 18, 1939; and Connecticut,
April 19, 1939.
Note 13: Only the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th articles of amendment had
numbers assigned to them at the time of ratification.
Note 14: This sentence has been superseded by section 3 of amendment XX.
Note 15: See amendment XIX and section 1 of amendment XXVI.
Note 16: Repealed by section 1 of amendment XXI.