The Constitution of the
Preamble
We
the People of the
Article I.
Sect.
1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
Sect.
2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every
second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous
branch of the state legislature.
No
person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of
twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the
Representative
and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be
included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall
be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed,
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within
three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the
When
vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the Executive authority
thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.
The
House of Representatives shall choose the Speaker and other officers; and shall
have the sole power of impeachment.
Sect.
3. The Senate of the
Immediately
after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they hall
be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators
of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of
the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class
at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every
second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise during the
recess of the legislature of any state, the Executive thereof may make
temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall
then fill such vacancies.
No
person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years,
and been nine years a citizen of the United States, who shall not, when
elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.
The
Vice-President of the
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
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
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.
Sect.
4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and
representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof:
but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except
as to the places of choosing Senators.
The
Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be
on the first Monday in December, unless they shall be law appoint a different
day.
Sect.
5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications
of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do
business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be
authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and
under such penalties as each house may provide.
Each
house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for
disorderly 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 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.
Sect.
6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their
services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the
No
senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which
shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased
during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States,
shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office.
Sect.
7. All bill for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representative;
but the senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.
Every
bill which shall have passed the house of representatives and the senate,
shall, before it become a law, be presented to the president of the United
States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his
objections to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the
objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after
such reconsideration two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it
shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which is shall
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall
become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be
determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and
against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law,
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment
prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every
order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of
Representative may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be
presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take
effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be
repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to
the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Sect.
8. The Congress shall have power:
To
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and
provide for the common defence and general welfare of the
To
borrow money on the credit of the
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
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
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 states in which the same shall be, for the erection of
forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; And
To
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution
the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by the Constitution in the
government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Sect.
9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may
be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
The
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in
cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety require it.
No
bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No
capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the
census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No
tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No preference
shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one
state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be
obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
No
money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations
made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and
expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
No
title of nobility shall be granted by the United States:--And no person holding
any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the
Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Sect.
10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant
letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any
thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of
attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or
grant any title of nobility.
No
state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on
imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its
inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any
state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United
States; all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the
Congress. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of
tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in
war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of
delay.
Article II.
Sect.
1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the
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
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
The
Congress may determine the time of the choosing the electors, and the day on
which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the
No
person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the
time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the office of
president; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a
resident within the United States.
In
case of the removal of the president from office, or his death, resignation, or
inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall
devolve on the vice-president, and the Congress may by law provide for the case
of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the president and
vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a president
be elected.
The
president shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation,
which shall neither be 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.
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."
Sect.
2. The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United
States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual
service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing of the
principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to
grant reprieves and pardons for 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 session.
Sect.
3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of
the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both
houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he
shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all
the officers of the United States.
Sect.
4. The president, vice-president and all civil officers of the
Article III.
Sect.
1. The judicial power of the
Sect.
2.
1.
The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under
this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which
shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to
controversies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of
another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the
same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State
or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
2.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and
those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original
jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and
under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
3.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and
such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within any State the trial shall be at such
place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Sect.
3.
1.
Treason against the
2.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no
attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except
during the life of the person attained.
Article IV
Sect.
1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public act,
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may,
by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Sect.
2.
1.
The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities
of citizens in the several States.
2.
A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall
flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the
executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.
3.
No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof,
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein,
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of
the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Sect.
3.
1.
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State, nor any
State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States,
without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
2.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and
regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the
Sect.
4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican
form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on
application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature
cannot be convened), against domestic violence.
Article V.
The
Congress, whenever two-thirds of both House shall deem it necessary, shall
propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the
legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for
proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and
purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths
thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; provided [that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first Article;] and that no State,
without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI.
Sect.
1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of
this Constitution, shall be as valid against the
Sect.
2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in
pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges
in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of
any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
Sect.
3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the
several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound, by oath or
affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be
required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United
States.
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
Attest:
William Jackson, Secretary
George Washington
PRESIDENT
AND DEPUTY FROM
NEW
VIRGINIA John Blair James Madison, Jr.
GEORGIA William Few Abraham Baldwin
Congress of the
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 ensure
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
of America
States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
AMENDMENTS
1st Amendment
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.
2nd Amendment
A
well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a
3rd Amendment
No
soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent
of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
4th Amendment
The
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no
warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the
persons or things to be seized.
5th Amendment
No
person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time
of war, or public danger; nor shall any person be subject, for the same
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.
6th Amendment
In
all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained
by law; and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defence.
7th Amendment
In
suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact, tried by a
jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the
8th Amendment
Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishment inflicted.
9th Amendment
The
enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people.
10th Amendment
The
powers not delegated to the
11th Amendment
The
judicial power of the
12th Amendment
The
Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant
of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice
President; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of
votes for each, which lists they shall sign, and certify, and transmit, sealed,
to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the resident of
the Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate
and the House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes
shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for
President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such a majority, then, from
the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of
those voted for a President, the House of Representative shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes
shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of
the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice.
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the
right of choice shall devolve upon them, [before the fourth day of March next
following] the Vice President shall act as President, as in case of death, or
other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the
greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if
such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no
person have a majority, then, form the two highest numbers on the list, the
Senate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist
of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators; a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to
the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
13th Amendment
Sect.
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime,
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the
Sect.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
14th Amendment
Sect.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the
Sect.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to
their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or
other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Sect.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of
President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support
the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Sect.
4. The validity of the public debt of the
Sect.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
15th Amendment
Sect.
1. The right of citizens of the
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
16th Amendment
The
Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever
source derived, without apportionment among the several States and without
regard to any census or enumeration.
17th Amendment
The
Senate of the
When
vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the
executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the
executive thereof to make temporary appointment until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This
amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any
Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
18th Amendment
Sect.
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale
or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,
or the exportation thereof from the
Sect.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
Sect.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years of the date of the submission
hereof to the States by Congress.
19th Amendment
The
right of citizens of the
Congress
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
20th Amendment
Sect.
1. The terms of the President and Vice President ]shall end at
Sect.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every years, and such meeting
shall begin at
Sect.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the
President-elect shall have died, the Vice President-elect shall become
President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for
the beginning of his term, or if the President-elect shall have failed to
qualify, then the Vice President-elect shall act as President until a President
shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein
neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to
act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President
or Vice President shall have qualified.
Sect.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the
persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever
the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the
death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Sect.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the
ratification of this article.
Sect.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by three-fourths of the several States within
seven years from the date of its submission.
21st Amendment
Sect.
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
Sect.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession
of the
Sect.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided
in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof
to the States by the Congress.
22nd Amendment
Sect.
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,
and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for
more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President
shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this
Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this
Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may
be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of
President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Sect.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the States
by the Congress.
23rd Amendment
Sect.
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the
A
number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of
Senators and Representative in Congress to which the District would be entitled
if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they
shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice
President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the
District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of
amendment.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
24th Amendment
Sect.
1. The right of citizens of the
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
25th Amendment
Sect.
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or
resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Sect.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Sect.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speakers of the House of Representatives his written declaration that
he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Sect.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers
of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President
shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting
President.
Thereafter,
when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no
inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless
the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,
the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President;
otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
26th Amendment
Sect.
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of age.
Sect.
2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.