We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Section 1. All legislative powers herein
granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall
consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
Section 2. The House of Representatives
shall
be composed of members chosen every second year by the people
of the several states, and the electors in
each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the
most
numerous branch of the state legislature.
No person shall be a Representative who
shall
not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven
years a citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he
shall
be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be
apportioned
among the several states which may be included within this
union, according to their respective numbers,
which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free
persons, including those bound to service
for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of
all
other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall
be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of
the United States, and within every subsequent
term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The
number of Representatives shall not exceed
one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one
Representative; and until such enumeration
shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina
five,
and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation
from any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of
election to fill such vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose
their
speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of
impeachment.
Section 3. The Senate of the United States
shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the
legislature thereof, for six years; and each
Senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled
in
consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as
may be into three classes. The seats of the
Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the
second year, of the second class at the
expiration
of the fourth year, and the third class at the expiration of the sixth
year, so that one third may be chosen every
second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise,
during the recess of the legislature of any
state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the
next meeting of the legislature, which shall
then fill such vacancies.
No person shall be a Senator who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen
of
the United States and who shall not, when
elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States
shall
be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be
equally divided.
The Senate shall choose their other
officers,
and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice
President, or when he shall exercise the
office
of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try
all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath
or affirmation. When the President of the
United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no person
shall
be convicted without the concurrence of two
thirds of the members present.
Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not
extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to
hold
and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit
under the United States: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to indictment, trial,
judgment
and punishment, according to law.
Section 4. The times, places and manner of
holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed
in each state by the legislature thereof;
but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations,
except as to the places of choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once
in
every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in
December, unless they shall by law appoint
a different day.
Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of
the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a
majority of each shall constitute a quorum
to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and
may be authorized to compel the attendance
of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each
House may provide.
Each House may determine the rules of its
proceedings,
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the
concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall keep a journal of its
proceedings,
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts
as may in their judgment require secrecy;
and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question
shall, at the desire of one fifth of those
present, be entered on the journal.
Neither House, during the session of
Congress,
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three
days, nor to any other place than that in
which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section 6. The Senators and Representatives
shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by
law, and paid out of the treasury of the
United
States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of
the peace, be privileged from arrest during
their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in
going
to and returning from the same; and for any
speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any
other place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during
the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office
under the authority of the United States,
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have
been
increased during such time: and no person
holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either
House during his continuance in office.
Section 7. All bills for raising revenue
shall
originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose
or concur with amendments as on other Bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the
House
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be
presented to the President of the United
States;
if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his
objections to that House in which it shall
have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their
journal,
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill,
it
shall be sent, together with the objections,
to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if
approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall
be determined by yeas and nays, and the names
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on
the journal of each House respectively. If
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days
(Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented
to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it,
unless the Congress by their adjournment
prevent
its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which
the
concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be
necessary (except on a question of
adjournment)
shall be presented to the President of the United States; and
before the same shall take effect, shall be
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by
two thirds of the Senate and House of
Representatives,
according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case
of a bill.
Section 8. The Congress shall have power to
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts
and provide for the common defense and general
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;
To establish a uniform rule of
naturalization,
and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;
To establish post offices and post roads;
To promote the progress of science and
useful
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the
exclusive right to their respective writings
and discoveries;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
To provide and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and
disciplining,
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be
employed in the service of the United States,
reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers,
and the authority of training the militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all
cases
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as
may, by cession of particular states, and
the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the
United States, and to exercise like authority
over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the
state
in which the same shall be, for the erection
of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful
buildings;--And
To make all laws which shall be necessary
and
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all
other powers vested by this Constitution in
the government of the United States, or in any department or officer
thereof.
Section 9. The migration or importation of
such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to
admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or
duty may be imposed on such importation, not
exceeding ten dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion
the
public safety may require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, tax shall
be
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before
directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
No preference shall be given by any
regulation
of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of
another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from,
one state, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury,
but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular
statement and account of receipts and
expenditures
of all public money shall be published from time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by
the
United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust
under
them, shall, without the consent of the
Congress,
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign
state.
Section 10. No state shall enter into any
treaty,
alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin
money; emit bills of credit; make anything
but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of
attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing
the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the
Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what
may be absolutely necessary for executing
it's inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts,
laid
by any state on imports or exports, shall
be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws
shall
be subject to the revision and control of
the Congress.
No state shall, without the consent of
Congress,
lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of
peace, enter into any agreement or compact
with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger
as will not admit of delay.
Section 1. The executive power shall be
vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold
his
office during the term of four years, and,
together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected,
as
follows:
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as
the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the
whole number of Senators and Representatives
to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator
or Representative, or person holding an office
of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an
elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective
states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall
not
be an inhabitant of the same state with
themselves.
And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of
the number of votes for each; which list they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in
the
presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted.
The person having the greatest number of votes
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of electors appointed; and if there
be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of
votes, then the House of Representatives shall
immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no
person have a majority, then from the five
highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the
President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state
having one vote; A quorum for this purpose
shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states,
and a majority of all the states shall be
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the
President,
the
person having the greatest number of votes
of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain
two or more who have equal votes, the Senate
shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the time of
choosing
the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes;
which day shall be the same throughout the
United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or
a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the office
of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who
shall
not have attained to the age of thirty five
years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President
from
office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the
powers
and duties of the said office, the same shall
devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide
for the case of removal, death, resignation
or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
officer shall then act as President, and such
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a
President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times,
receive
for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor
diminished during the period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period
any
other emolument from the United States, or
any of them.
Before he enter on the execution of his
office,
he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will faithfully execute
the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of
my
ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States."
Section 2. The President shall be commander
in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia
of the several states, when called into the
actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in
writing,
of the principal officer in each of the
executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their
respective offices, and he shall have power
to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,
except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of
the Senators present concur; and he shall
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers
and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the
United States, whose appointments are not
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law:
but the Congress may by law vest the
appointment
of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads
of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up
all
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting
commissions which shall expire at the end
of their next session.
Section 3. He shall from time to time give
to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to
their consideration such measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions,
convene both Houses, or either of them, and
in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time
as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other
public ministers; he shall take care that
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers
of the
United States.
Section 4. The President, Vice President
and
all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office
on
impeachment for, and conviction of, treason,
bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Section 1. The judicial power of the United
States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior
courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior
courts, shall hold their offices during good
behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a
compensation, which shall not be diminished
during their continuance in office.
Section 2. The judicial power shall extend
to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the
laws
of
the United States, and treaties made, or which
shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and
consuls;--to
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to
controversies to which the United States shall
be a party;--to controversies between two or more states;--between
a state and citizens of another state;--
between
citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state
claiming lands under grants of different
states,
and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states,
citizens or subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other
public
ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the
Supreme Court shall have original
jurisdiction.
In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law
and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the
Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall
be by jury; and such trial shall be held in
the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not
committed within any state, the trial shall
be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section 3. Treason against the United
States,
shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their
enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No
person
shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two
witnesses to the same overt act, or on
confession
in open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare
the
punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work
corruption of blood, or forfeiture except
during the life of the person attainted.
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall
be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial
proceedings
of
every other state. And the Congress may by
general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect
thereof.
Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason,
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in
another state, shall on demand of the
executive
authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the state having jurisdiction of
the crime.
No person held to service or labor in one
state,
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
consequence of any law or regulation therein,
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up
on claim of the party to whom such service
or labor may be due.
Section 3. New states may be admitted by
the
Congress into this union; but no new states shall be formed or
erected within the jurisdiction of any other
state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states,
or
parts of states, without the consent of the
legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of
and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or
other property belonging to the United States;
and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice
any claims of the United States, or of any
particular state.
Section 4. The United States shall
guarantee
to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall
protect each of them against invasion; and
on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the
legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
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.
All debts contracted and engagements entered
into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid
against the United States under this
Constitution,
as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the
United
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties
made, or which shall be made, under the
authority
of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and
the judges in every state shall be bound
thereby,
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before
mentioned,
and the members of the several state legislatures, and all
executive and judicial officers, both of the
United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or
affirmation, to support this Constitution;
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any
office or
public trust under the United States.
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,
G. Washington-Presidt. and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut: Wm: Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York: Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey: Wil: Livingston, David Brearly, Wm. Paterson, Jona: Dayton
Pennsylvania: B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin,
Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James
Wilson, Gouv Morris
Delaware: Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom
Maryland: James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll
Virginia: John Blair--, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina: Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson
South Carolina: J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia: William Few, Abr Baldwin
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