UNITED STATES BILL OF
RIGHTS
Congress
OF THE United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the Fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a
number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution,
expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its
powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And
as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best
insure the beneficent ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate
and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress
assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the
following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which
Articles, when ratified
by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all
intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.:
ARTICLES in addition
to, and Amendment of the 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.
Article the first
[Not Ratified]
After the first
enumeration required
by the first Article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative
for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after
which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress,
that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than
one Representative for every forty thousand persons,
until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which
the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be
less than two hundred
Representatives, nor
more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.
Article the second
[Amendment XXVII – Ratified 1992]
No law, varying the
compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take
effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Article the third
[Amendment I]
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article the fourth
[Amendment II]
A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the
people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.
Article the fifth
[Amendment III]
No Soldier shall, in
time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor
in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article the sixth
[Amendment IV]
The right of the
people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated,
and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Article the seventh
[Amendment V]
No person
shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
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 the eighth
[Amendment VI]
In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have
been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law,
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted
with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Article the ninth
[Amendment VII]
In Suits at common
law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the
rules of the common law.
Article the tenth
[Amendment VIII]
Excessive bail shall
not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
Article the
eleventh
[Amendment IX]
The enumeration in
the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people
.
Article the twelfth
[Amendment X]
The powers not
delegatedo
the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
ATTEST: Frederick
Augustus Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House of Representatives
ARTICLES in addition
to, and Amendment of, the 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
AMENDMENTS
[Article. XI.]
[Proposed 1794;
Ratified 1798]
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.
[Article. XII.]
[Proposed 1803;
Ratified 1804]
The Electors shall
meet in their respective states, and vote
by ballot for President
and Vice-President,
one of whom, at least, shall not be
an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall
name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person
voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons
voted for as
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number
of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate;—The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of
the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
certificates and the
votes shall then be counted;—The person having the greatest number of votes
for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the
whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then
from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of
those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the
votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of
March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in
the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President.—The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number
be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have
a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall
choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of
two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to
the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States.
[Contested Article.]
[Proposed 1810;
Probably Ratified 1819]
If any Citizen of the
United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain any Title of Nobility or
Honour, or shall, without the Consent of Congress,
accept and retain any present, Pension, Office or Emolument of any kind
whatever, from any Emperor, King, Prince or foreign Power, such Person shall
cease to be a Citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding
any Office of Trust or Profit under them, or either of them.
[Unratified Article.]
[Proposed 1861; Signed by President
Lincoln; Unratified]
Article Thirteen. No
amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to
Congress
the power to abolish
or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof,
including that of persons
held to labor or service by the laws of said State.
Article. XIII.
[Proposed 1865;
Ratified 1865]
Section. 1. Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.
Section. 2. Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Article. XIV.
[Proposed 1866; Ratified Under Duress 1868]
Section. 1. All
persons
born
or naturalized in
the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any
person
of life,
liberty,
or property, without due process
of law; nor 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, 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.
Article. XV.
[Proposed 1869;
Ratified 1870]
Section. 1. The right
of citizens
of the United States to vote shall
not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section. 2. The
Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Article. XVI.
[Proposed 1909;
Questionably Ratified 1913]
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.
[Article. XVII.]
[Proposed 1912;
Ratified 1913;
Possibly
Unconstitutional
(See Article V,
Clause 3 of the Constitution)]
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.
Article. [XVIII.]
[Proposed 1917;
Ratified 1919;
Repealed 1933 (See
Amendment XXI, Section 1)]
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 ratifieds
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.
Article. [XIX.]
[Proposed 1919;
Ratified 1920]
The right of citizens of
the United States to votehall
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.
[Unratified Article.]
[Proposed 1926;
Unratified]
Article—
Section. 1. The
Congress
shall have power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of
persons
under eighteen years of age.
Section. 2. The power
of the several States is unimpaired by this article except that the operation
of State laws shall be suspended to the extent necessary to give effect to
legislation enacted by the Congress.
Article. [XX.]
[Proposed 1932;
Ratified 1933]
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.
Article. [XXI.]
[Proposed 1933;
Ratified 1933]
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.
Article. [XXII.]
[Proposed 1947;
Ratified 1951]
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.
Article. [XXIII.]
[Proposed 1960;
Ratified 1961]
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.
Article. [XXIV.]
[Proposed 1962;
Ratified 1964]
Section. 1. The right
of citizens of the United States to vote
in any primary or other election for President
or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice
President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress,
shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any
poll tax or other tax.
Section. 2. The
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Article. [XXV.]
[Proposed 1965;
Ratified 1967]
Section. 1. In case of
the removal of the President
from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President
shall become President.
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.
Article. [XXVI.]
[Proposed 1971;
Ratified 1971]
Section. 1. The right
of citizens
of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older,
to vote
shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of age.
Section. 2. The
Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
[Inoperative Article.]
[Proposed 1972; Expired Unratified 1982]
Article—
Section. 1. Equality
of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of sex.
Section. 2. The
Congress
shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
the provisions of this article.
Section. 3. This
amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
[Inoperative Article.]
[Proposed 1978;
Expired Unratified 1985]
Article—
Section. 1. For
purposes of representation in the Congress
election of the President and
Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting
the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were
a State.
Section. 2. The
exercise of the rights and powers conferred under this article shall be by the
people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be
provided by the Congress.
Section. 3. The
twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is
hereby repealed.
Section. 4. 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.
Article. [XXVII].
[Proposed 1789;
Ratified 1992; Second of twelve Articles comprising the Bill of Rights]
No law, varying the
compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take
effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
