UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
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. 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 [Modified by Amendment
XIV]. 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 chuse 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 [Modified by Amendment XVII], for six Years; and each
Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The
Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of
the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and
of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may
be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or
otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive
thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the
Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies [Modified by Amendment
XVII].
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 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.
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 chusing Senators.
The Congress
shall assemble at least once in every
Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December [Modified by
Amendment XX], 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 Behaviour, 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
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. 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 Defence 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 an 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
Offences 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, dock-Yards, 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 the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to
time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person
holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent
of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument,
Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign
State.
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 any Thing but gold and silver Coin a
Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or
Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or
Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing 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.
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. 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 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
[Modified by Amendment XII].
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.
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
[Modified by Amendment XXV].
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 Offences
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.
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. 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 [Modified by Amendment
XI];--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.
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. 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 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
[Modified by Amendment XIII].
Section. 3. 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.
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 [Possibly abrogated by Amendment
XVII].
Article. VI.
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, any Thing 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.
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.
The Word, “the,” being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the
first Page, The Word “Thirty” being partly written on an Erazure in the
fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words “is tried” being interlined
between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the
Word “the” being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of
the second Page.
Attest William
Jackson
Secretary
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
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
BREARLEY
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
J. RUTLEDGE
South Carolina {
CHARLES
COTESWORTH PINCKNEY
CHARLES PINCKNEY
PIERCE BUTLER
Georgia {
WILLIAM
FEW
ABR BALDWIN
In Convention
Monday, September 17th, 1787.
Present
The States of
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, MR. Hamilton from New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Georgia.
Resolved,
That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United States in Congress
assembled, and that it is the Opinion of
this Convention, that it should afterwards be
submitted to a Convention of Delegates, chosen in each State by the People
thereof, under the Recommendation of its Legislature, for their Assent and
Ratification; and that each Convention assenting to, and ratifying the Same,
should give Notice thereof to the United States in Congress assembled.
Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the
Conventions of nine States shall have ratified
this Constitution, the United States in
Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors
should be appointed by the States which have
ratified the same, and a Day on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the President, and the Time and Place for commencing
Proceedings under this Constitution. That after such Publication the Electors
should be appointed, and the Senators and Representatives elected: That the
Electors should meet on the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and
should transmit their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the
Constitution requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress
assembled, that the Senators and Representatives should convene
at the Time and Place assigned; that the
Senators should appoint a President of the Senate, for the sole purpose of
receiving, opening and counting the Votes for President; and, that after he
shall be chosen, the Congress, together with the President, should, without
Delay, proceed to execute this Constitution.
By the Unanimous
Order of the Convention
Go. WASHINGTON—Presidt.
W. JACKSON Secretary.
