xref: /plan9-contrib/lib/constitution (revision 0c9a076216e8b0aa90386ce0c6738b000cacf80d)

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.

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.] 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, 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.

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.

Judgement 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 Place of Chusing 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 it 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 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 Debt 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 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 Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grand Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and to
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 for 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
Building;--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.]

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 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 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.''

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 Reprives 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.

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;--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 and 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
attained.

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.

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.

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 Persuance 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.

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 Twelth.  In
witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.

						Go WASHINGTON
			     Presidt and deputy from Virginia


	New Hampshire.			Delaware.

John Langdan			Geo: Read
Nicholas Gilman			John Dickinson
				Jaco: Broom
				Gunning Bedford jun
	Massachusetts.		Richard Bassett

Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King				Maryland.

				James McHenry
	Connecticut.		Danl Carroll
				Dan: of St Thos Jenifer
Wm Saml Johnson
Roger Sherman
					Virginia.

	New York.		John Blair--
				James Madison Jr.
Alexander Hamilton

					North Carolina.
	New Jersey.
				Wm Blount
Wil: Livingston			Hu Williamson
David Brearley.			Richd Dobbs Spaight.
Wm Patterson
Jona: Dayton
					South Carolina.

	Pennsylvania.		J. Rutledge
				Charles Pinckney
B. Franklin			Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Robt. Morris			Pierce Butler
Thos. Fitzsimons
James Wilson
Thomas Mifflin				Georgia.
Geo. Clymer
Jared Ingersoll			William Few
Gouv Morris			Abr Baldwin
				Attest:
				    WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.

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 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 II.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of
a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,
shall not be infringed.

Article III.

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any
house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Article IV.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article V.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the
land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any
person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.

Article VI.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of
the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of
Counsel for his defense.

Article VII.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according
to the rules of the common law.

Article VIII.

Excessive bail shall not be required, or excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Article IX.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.

Article X.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Article XI.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced
or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens
of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign
State.

Article XII.

The Electors shall meet in their respective sates 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 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.

Article XIII.

Section 1.  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2.  Congress shall have power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.

Article XIV.

Section 1.  All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny
to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws.

Section 2.  Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed.  But when the right to vote at
any election for the choice of electors for President and
Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in
Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or
the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any
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.

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.

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.

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.

Section 1.  After one year from the ratification of this
article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of
intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,
or the exportation thereof from the United States and all
territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage
purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2.  The Congress and the several States shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.

Section 3.  This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
the legislature 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.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.

Article XX.

Section 1.  The terms of the President and Vice President
shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms
of Senators and representatives at noon on the 3d day of
January, of the years in which such terms would have ended
if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of
their successors shall then begin.

Section 2.  The congress shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d
day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different
day.

Section 3.  If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the
term of the President, the President elect shall have died,
the Vice President elect shall become President.  If a
President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed
for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect
shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect
shall act as President until a President shall have
qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case
wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect
shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as
President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be
selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a
President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4.  The Congress may by law provide for the case of
the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of
choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of
the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may
choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall
have devolved upon them.

Section 5.  Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th
day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6.  This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
within seven years from the date of its submission.

Article XXI.

Section 1.  The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2 The transportation or importation into any State,
Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery
or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the
laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.  This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
conventions in the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Article XXII.

Section 1.  No person shall be elected to the office of the
President more than twice, and no person who has held the
office of President, or acted as President, for more than
two years of a term to which some other person was elected
President shall be elected to the office of the President
more than once.  But this Article shall not apply to any
person holding the office of President when this Article was
proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person
who may be holding the office of President, or acting as
President, during the term within which this Article become
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.

Section I.  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 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 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.

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.

Section 1.  In the 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
Representative 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
power 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.

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.

Article XXVII.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an
election of representatives shall have intervened.