Title: Digital Pocket Constitution
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This Digital Pocket Constitution features the United States Constitution with a special foreword by Mark Meckler. It also includes all of the Amendments and the Declaration of Independence
Created: 2020-09-01 12:21:52
Updated: 2025-01-01 19:00:00
Published: 2020-08-31 23:00:00
Converted: 2025-04-14T19:57:59.718350550
The
Constitution
OF THE
UNITED STATES
OF
AMERICA
WITH THE
AMENDMENTS
AND THE
DECLARATION
OF
INDEPENDENCE
“The basis of our political systems is the
right of the people to make and to alter
their constitutions of government. But the
Constitution which at any time exists, till
changed by an explicit and authentic act
of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory
upon all. The very idea of the power and the
right of the people to establish government
presupposes the duty of every individual to
obey the established government.”
— President George Washington,
Farewell Address, 1796
3
FOREWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ARTICLE V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE . . . . . . 7
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES . . .15
PREAMBLE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ARTICLE I Legislative Branch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ARTICLE II Executive Branch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
ARTICLE III Judicial Branch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
ARTICLE IV The States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
ARTICLE V Processes for Amending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ARTICLE VI Establishment as Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
ARTICLE VII Ratification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Table
of
Contents
THE AMENDMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
I
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press (…). . . . . . . . . 38
II
Right to Keep & Bear Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
III
Restricts Quartering of Soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
IV
Prohibits Unreasonable Search & Seizure (…) . . . . 38
V
Indictment, Eminent Domain,
Due Process (…) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
VI
Trial by Jury, Right to Confront Accuser (…) . . . . . 39
VII
Right to Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
VIII
Prohibits Cruel & Unusual Punishment (…). . . . . . 40
IX
States’ Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
X
Limits to Federal Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
XI
States’ Sovereign Immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
XII
Revisions to Vice President Election . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
XIII
Abolishment of Slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
XIV
Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause(…) . 42
XV
Prohibits Denying the Right to Vote by Race. . . . . . 44
XVI
Permits Congress to Levy an Income Tax . . . . . . . 44
XVII
Direct Election of Senators by Popular Vote . . . . . . 44
XVIII
Prohibition of Alcohol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
XVIX
Prohibits Denying the Right to Vote by Sex. . . . . . . 46
XX
Changes Dates for President, Vice President,
and Congressional Terms (…) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
XXI
Repeals 18th Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
XXII
Presidential Term Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
XXIII
District of Columbia Granted Electors. . . . . . . . . . 49
XXIV
Prohibits Denying Voting Rights Due
to Non-Payment of Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
XXV
Presidential Succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
XXVI
Voting Rights to Citizens 18 Years or Older. . . . . . . 51
XXVII
Congressional Salary Adjustments Timeframe . . . . 51
CONVENTION OF STATES
PETITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4
Foreward
IN 1787, OUR FOREFATHERS crafted
a document which set forth a revolution-
ary structure of a government, inspired by
God, and informed by history. Inspired by the
Declaration of Independence, it further solid-
ifies the universal and unchanging principles
the United States was founded upon.
Across world history, the average constitution
survives just 17 years. Now over 232 years old,
the United States Constitution has stood the
test of time. It remains an unwavering testa-
ment to the divine wisdom bestowed upon our
Founding Fathers, principles that have created
a nation of unmatched prosperity, liberty, and
freedom for all.
We at Convention of States hope you will
carry this booklet with you and reference it
often. We hope you’ll pay special attention to
Article V. Because today, these foundational
documents and principles are at risk. The
Founders entrusted us with Article V as a
safeguard to protect our liberties from an
overreaching federal government.
May we have the courage to use it and
boldly preserve this great nation for future
generations. And may God continue to bless
these United States of America.
MARK MECKLER
Co-Founder and President, Convention of States Action
5
6
Article V
OF THE
U.S. CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION of the
United States reads as follows:
“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.”
The history of Article V from the 1787 Convention: “On
September 15, as the Convention was reviewing the
revision s made by the Committee of Style, George Mason
expressed opposition to the provisions limiting the power
to propose amendments to Congress. According to the
Convention records, Mason thought that ‘no Amendment
of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people,
if the Government should become oppressive, as he verily
believed would be the case.’ In response, Gouverneur
Morris and Elbridge Gerry made a motion to amend the
article to reintroduce language requiring that a convention
be called when two-thirds of the States applied for an
amendment.” [30 Harvard Journal of Law and Public
Policy 1005, 1007 (2007)]
Thank God that the Founders were wise enough to give
us the second clause of Article V. Their decision was
unanimous. The Framers had very little debate about
this—and they debated almost everything—because they
knew human nature and they had experienced the heavy
hand of a tyrannical government. They foresaw a time in
the future when such a mechanism would be necessary.
Now is that time.
7
The
Declaration
of Independence
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
8
The unanimous Declaration of the
thirteen united States of America,
When in the course of human
events, it becomes necessary
for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect
to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them
to the separation .
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness .—
That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed,—
That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness . Prudence, indeed, will dictate
that Governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient
causes; and accordingly all experience hath
shewn, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to
right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed . But when a long
9
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
invariably the same Object evinces a design
to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it
is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such
Government, and to provide new Guards for
their future security .—Such has been the
patient sufferance of these Colonies; and
such is now the necessity which constrains
them to alter their former Systems of
Government . The history of the present
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute
Tyranny over these States . To prove this, let
Facts be submitted to a candid world .
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most
wholesome and necessary for the public good .
He has forbidden his Governors to pass
Laws of immediate and pressing importance,
unless suspended in their operation till his
Assent should be obtained; and when so
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them .
He has refused to pass other Laws for the
accommodation of large districts of people,
unless those people would relinquish the
right of Representation in the Legislature, a
right inestimable to them and formidable to
tyrants only .
He has called together legislative bodies at
places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant
from the depository of their public Records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into
compliance with his measures .
10
He has dissolved Representative Houses
repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness
his invasions on the rights of the people .
He has refused for a long time, after such
dissolutions, to cause others to be elected;
whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at
large for their exercise; the State remaining in
the mean time exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within .
He has endeavoured to prevent the
population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization
of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to
encourage their migrations hither, and raising
the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands .
He has obstructed the Administration of
Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for
establishing Judiciary powers .
He has made Judges dependent on his Will
alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the
amount and payment of their salaries .
He has erected a multitude of New Offices,
and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass
our people, and eat out their substance .
He has kept among us, in times of peace,
Standing Armies without the Consent of our
legislatures .
He has affected to render the Military
independent of and superior to the Civil power .
He has combined with others to subject us
11
to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution,
and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his
Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed
troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from
punishment for any Murders which they should
commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of
the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our
Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the
benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried
for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English
Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing
therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging
its Boundaries so as to render it at once an
example and fit instrument for introducing the
same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our
most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally
the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and
declaring themselves invested with power to
legislate for us in all cases whatsoever .
He has abdicated Government here, by
12
declaring us out of his Protection and waging
War against us .
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our
Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the
lives of our people .
He is at this time transporting large
Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat
the works of death, desolation and tyranny,
already begun with circumstances of Cruelty
& perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the
Head of a civilized nation .
He has constrained our fellow Citizens
taken Captive on the high Seas to bear
Arms against their Country, to become the
executioners of their friends and Brethren, or
to fall themselves by their Hands .
He has excited domestic insurrections
amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on
the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless
Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare,
is an undistinguished destruction of all ages,
sexes and conditions .
In every stage of these Oppressions We have
Petitioned for Redress in the most humble
terms: Our repeated Petitions have been
answered only by repeated injury . A Prince
whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the
ruler of a free people .
Nor have We been wanting in attentions
to our Brittish brethren . We have warned
13
them from time to time of attempts by
their legislature to extend an unwarrantable
jurisdiction over us . We have reminded them
of the circumstances of our emigration and
settlement here . We have appealed to their
native justice and magnanimity, and we have
conjured them by the ties of our common
kindred to disavow these usurpations,
which, would inevitably interrupt our
connections and correspondence . They
too have been deaf to the voice of justice
and of consanguinity . We must, therefore,
acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces
our Separation, and hold them, as we hold
the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in
Peace Friends .
We, therefore, the Representatives of
the united States of America, in General
Congress, Assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude
of our intentions, do, in the Name, and
by Authority of the good People of these
Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
That these United Colonies are, and of
Right ought to be Free and Independent
States; that they are Absolved from all
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that
all political connection between them and
the State of Great Britain, is and ought to
be totally dissolved; and that as Free and
Independent States, they have full Power
to levy War, conclude Peace, contract
Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all
other Acts and Things which Independent
States may of right do . And for the support
of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on
the protection of divine Providence, we
14
GEORGIA
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
NORTH CAROLINA
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
SOUTH CAROLINA
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
MASSACHUSETTS
John Hancock
MARYLAND
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
VIRGINIA
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
PENNSYLVANIA
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
DELAWARE
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
NEW YORK
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
NEW JERSEY
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
MASSACHUSETTS
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
RHODE ISLAND
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
CONNECTICUT
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Matthew Thornton
mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
15
The
Constitution
OF THE
UNITED STATES
OF
AMERICA
16
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: Congress
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
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
17
free Persons, including those bound to Service
for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three fifths of all other Persons .]1 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
The Senate of the United States shall be
composed of two Senators from each State,
[chosen by the Legislature thereof,]2 for six
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote .
Immediately after they shall be assembled in
1 . Changed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment .
2 . Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment .
18
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 .]3
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 .
3 . Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment .
19
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: Elections
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,]4 unless they shall
by Law appoint a different Day .
Section 5: Powers and Duties of Congress
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 .
4 . Changed by Section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment .
20
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: Rights and
Disabilities of Members
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 .
21
Section 7: Legislative Process
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
22
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: Powers of Congress
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 a uniform Rule of
Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the
subject of Bankruptcies throughout the
United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,
and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of
Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counter-
feiting 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
23
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to
their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the
supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies
committed on the high Seas, and Offenses
against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque
and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning
Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no
Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be
for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and
Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to
execute the Laws of the Union, suppress
Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and
disciplining, the Militia, and for governing
such Part of them as may be employed in the
Service of the United States, reserving to the
States respectively, the Appointment of the
Officers, and the Authority of training the
Militia according to the discipline prescribed
by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten
24
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: Powers Denied Congress
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 .5
5 . See Sixteenth Amendment .
25
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: Powers Denied to the States
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
26
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
27
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 .]6
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 .
6 . Changed by the Twelfth Amendment .
28
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 .]7
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 .”
7 . Changed by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment .
29
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief
of the Army and Navy of the United States,
and of the Militia of the several States, when
called into the actual Service of the United
States; he may require the Opinion, in writing,
of the principal Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall
have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons
for Offenses against the United States, except
in Cases of Impeachment .
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties,
provided two thirds of the Senators present
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme
Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law: but the Congress may
by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior
Officers, as they think proper, in the President
alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads
of Departments .
The President shall have Power to fill up all
Vacancies that may happen during the Recess
of the Senate, by granting Commissions which
shall expire at the End of their next Session .
Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information of the State of the Union,
and recommend to their Consideration
30
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 Constitu-
tion, the Laws of the United States, and Trea-
ties made, or which shall be made, under their
Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
31
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;—]8 between Citizens of differ-
ent 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 .]9
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 .
8 . Changed by the Eleventh Amendment .
9 . Changed by the Eleventh Amendment .
32
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 judi-
cial Proceedings of every other State . And
the Congress may by general Laws pre-
scribe the Manner in which such Acts, Re-
cords 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 .]10
10 . Changed by the Thirteenth Amendment .
33
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
34
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
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 .
35
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 Twelfth In Witness whereof
We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
go . washington—presidt:
and
deputy From Virginia
Attest William Jackson Secretary
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
“Since the general civilization of
mankind, I believe there are more
instances of the abridgment of the
freedom of the people by gradual
and silent encroachments of those
in power, than by violent and
sudden usurpations.”
— James Madison
37
The
Amendments
TO THE
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
38
The first ten amendments to the
Constitution—the Bill of Rights
—were ratified effective
December 15, 1791.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people
to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered
in any house, without the consent of the
Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to
be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not
be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but
upon probable cause, supported by Oath
or affirmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
39
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for
a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of
a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the
land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when
in actual service in time of War or public
danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy
of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor
shall private property be taken for public
use, without just compensation .
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him;
to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence .
Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and
no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any Court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the
common law .
40
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted .
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people .
Amendment 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 .
Amendment XI
Ratified February 7, 1795
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 .
Amendment XII
Ratified June 15, 1804
The Electors shall meet in their respective
states and vote by ballot for President and
Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall
not be an inhabitant of the same state with
themselves; they shall name in their ballots
the person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-
President, and they shall make distinct lists
of all persons voted for as President, and
of all persons voted for as Vice-President,
and of the number of votes for each, which
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the seat of the government of the
41
United States, directed to the President of
the Senate;—The President of the Senate
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House
of Representatives, open all the certificates
and the votes shall then be counted; — The
person having the greatest number of votes
for President, shall be the President, if such
number be a majority of the whole number
of Electors appointed; and if no person have
such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding three
on the list of those voted for as President,
the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President . But
in choosing the President, the votes shall
be taken by states, the representation from
each state having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority
of all the states shall be necessary to a choice .
[And if the House of Representatives shall
not choose a President whenever the right of
choice shall devolve upon them, before the
fourth day of March next following, then
the Vice-President shall act as President, as
in case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President .]1—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
1 . Superseded by Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment .
42
no person constitutionally ineligible to the
office of President shall be eligible to that of
Vice-President of the United States .
Amendment XIII
Ratified December 6, 1865
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction .
Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation .
Amendment XIV
Ratified July 9, 1868
Section 1
All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside . No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any State deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws .
Section 2
Representatives shall be apportioned among
the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of
persons in each State, excluding Indians
not taxed . But when the right to vote at any
election for the choice of electors for President
and Vice-President of the United States,
43
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,2 and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except
for participation in rebellion, or other crime,
the basis of representation therein shall be
reduced in the proportion which the number
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of
age in such State .
Section 3
No person shall be a Senator or Representative
in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-
President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any State,
who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any State
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer
of any State, to support the Constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof .
But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability .
Section 4
The validity of the public debt of the United
States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties
for services in suppressing insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be questioned . But neither
the United States nor any State shall assume
or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid
2 . Changed by Section 1 of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment .
44
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 the power to enforce,
by appropriate legislation, the provisions of
this article .
Amendment XV
Ratified February 3, 1870
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States to
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude .
Section 2
The Congress shall have the power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation .
Amendment XVI
Ratified February 3, 1913
The Congress shall have power to lay and
collect taxes on incomes, from whatever
source derived, without apportionment
among the several States, and without regard
to any census or enumeration .
Amendment XVII
Ratified April 8, 1913
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 .
45
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 .
Amendment XVIII
Ratified January 16, 1919
Repealed by Amendment XXI
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 legislatures of the several
States, as provided in the Constitution, within
seven years from the date of the submission
hereof to the States by the Congress .
46
Amendment XIX
Ratified August 18, 1920
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 .
Amendment XX
Ratified January 23, 1933
Section 1
The terms of the President and the 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
47
case wherein neither a President elect nor a
Vice President 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 .
Amendment XXI
Ratified December 5, 1933
Section 1
The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed .
48
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 .
Amendment XXII
Ratified February 27, 1951
Section 1
No person shall be elected to the office
of the President more than twice, and no
person who has held the office of President,
or acted as President, for more than two
years of a term to which some other person
was elected President shall be elected to the
office of President more than once . But this
Article shall not apply to any person holding
the office of President when this Article
was proposed by Congress, and shall not
prevent any person who may be holding the
office of President, or acting as President,
during the term within which this Article
becomes operative from holding the office
of President or acting as President during
the remainder of such term .
Section 2
This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment
49
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 .
Amendment XXIII
Ratified March 29, 1961
Section 1
The District constituting the seat of
Government of the United States shall appoint
in such manner as Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice
President equal to the whole number of
Senators and Representatives in Congress to
which the District would be entitled if it were
a State, but in no event more than the least
populous State; they shall be in addition to
those appointed by the States, but they shall
be considered, for the purposes of the election
of President and Vice President, to be electors
appointed by a State; and they shall meet
in the District and perform such duties as
provided by the twelfth article of amendment .
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation .
Amendment XXIV
Ratified January 23, 1964
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States to vote
in any primary or other election for President
or Vice President, for electors for President or
Vice President, or for Senator or Representative
in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by
50
the United States or any State by reason of failure
to pay poll tax or other tax .
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation .
Amendment XXV
Ratified February 10, 1967
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from
office or of his death or resignation, the Vice
President shall become President .
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the
Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice
President who shall take office upon confirmation
by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress .
Section 3
Whenever the President transmits to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that he is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office,
and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and
duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
as Acting President .
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority
of either the principal officers of the executive
departments or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit to the
51
President pro tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that the President
is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, the Vice President shall
immediately assume the powers and duties
of the office as Acting President .
Thereafter, when the President transmits to
the President pro tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that no inability
exists, he shall resume the powers and duties
of his office unless the Vice President and a
majority of either the principal officers of
the executive department or of such other
body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit within four days to the President
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office . Thereupon Congress shall decide
the issue, assembling within forty-eight
hours for that purpose if not in session . If
the Congress, within twenty-one days after
receipt of the latter written declaration,
or, if Congress is not in session, within
twenty-one days after Congress is required
to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote
of both Houses that the President is unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the Vice President shall continue to
discharge the same as Acting President;
otherwise, the President shall resume the
powers and duties of his office .
52
Amendment XXVI
Ratified July 1, 1971
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States,
who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXVII
Ratified May 7, 1992
No law, varying the compensation for the
services of the Senators and Representatives,
shall take effect, until an election of
representatives shall have intervened.
“Only a Convention of
States will give us effective
solutions to the abuse of
power in Washington, D.C.
It is our moral obligation to
protect liberty for ourselves
and our posterity.”
— Michael Farris,
Convention of States
Co-Founder
“This is about more than
elections. Elections cannot
and will not solve the
problems of a broken system.
The only solution big enough
to fix our nation’s problems
is a Convention of States for
proposing constitutional
amendments to rein in
federal tyranny.”
— Mark Meckler,
Convention of States
President & Co-Founder
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