Article I
Sections:
1. Legislative powers
2. House of Representatives; how constituted;
power of impeachment
3. The Senate; how constituted; impeachment trials
4. Election of Senators and Representatives
5. Quorum; journals: meetings; adjournments
6. Compensation; privileges; disabilities
7. Procedure in passing bills and resolutions
8. Powers of Congress
9. Limitations upon powers of Congress
10. Restrictions upon powers of states
1. President and Vice President
2. Powers of the President
3. Messages to Congress: additional powers and duties
4. Impeachment
Article III
1. Judicial power; tenure of office
2. Jurisdiction
3. Treason; proof and punishment
Article IV
1. Full faith and credit among states
2. Privileges and immunities; fugitives
3. Admission of new states: power over territory
and other property
4. Guarantee of republican form of government
Article V
Amendment of the Constitution
Article VI
Debts; supremacy; oath
Article VII
Ratification and establishment
Footnotes to the US. Constitution are numbered throughout the text and
are located at the end of the
Constitution.
Amendments
Sections;
1. Freedom of religion, speech and press:
peaceful assemblage; petition of grievances
2. Right to bear arms
3. Soldiers denied quarters in homes
4. Searches and seizures
5. Capital crimes; double jeopardy;
self-incrimination; due process: just compensation for property
6. Jury trial for crimes, and procedural rights
7. Civil trials
8. Excessive bail, fines, punishments
9. Construction of enumerated rights
10. Reserved powers to states
11. Suits against states
12. Presidential electors
13.
§ 1. Slavery abolished
§ 2.
Enforcement
14. § 1. Citizenship rights not to be abridged by
states
§ 2. Apportionment
of Representatives in Congress
§ 3. Persons disqualified from holding office
§ 4. What public debts are void
§ 5.
Power to enforce article
15. § 1. Right to vote not to be abridged §
2. Power to enforce article
16. Income tax
17. Popular election of Senators
18. Liquor prohibition
19. Woman suffrage
20. § 1. Terms of office
§ 2. Time of convening Congress
§ 3.
Death of President elect
§ 4. Election of the President
§ 5. Effective date of sections 1 and 2
§ 6. Ratification within seven years
21. § 1. National liquor prohibition repealed § 2.
Transportation of liquor into “dry” state
§ 3. Ratification within seven years
22. § 1. Limitation on presidential terms § 2. Ratification within seven
years
Sections:
23. § 1. Electors for District of Columbia § 2.
Enforcement of article
24. § 1. No franchise denied by nonpayment of poll
tax
§ 2. Enforcement of article
25. § 1. Succession of Vice President
§ 2.
Nomination of Vice President; confirmation
§ 3.
Determination by President of inability to act; Vice President as Acting
President
§ 4.
Determination by Vice President and others as to President’s ability to act;
Vice President as Acting President
26. § 1. Extension of right to vote
to citizens eighteen years of age or older
§ 2. Enforcement of article
Publisher's
Note: Headings for the articles, sections and amendments of
the Constitution have been provided by the publisher and are of no legal effect.
We the people of the United
States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquillity, 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.
§
1. Legislative powers.
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.
§ 2. House of
Representatives; how constituted; power of impeachment.
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.
¹Representatives 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 chose 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.
§ 3. The
Senate; how constituted; impeachment trials.
2The
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.
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.
§
4. Election of Senators and Representatives.
The Times, Places and Manner
of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in
each State by the Legislature thereof: but the Congress may at any time by Law
make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.
3The
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.
§
5. Quorum; journals; meetings: adjournments.
Each House shall be the Judge
of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a
Majority of each shall constitute a Quroum 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 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.
§
6. Compensation; privileges; disabilities.
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 increased during such time: and no
Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either
House during his Continuance in Office.
§
7. Procedure in passing bills and resolutions.
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 approves 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.
§ 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 counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States:
To establish Post
Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress
of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and
Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries:
To constitute Tribunals
inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies
and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Laws of
Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters
of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies,
but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two
Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make rules for the
Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth
the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union. suppress Insurrections and
repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing,
arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as
may be employed in the Service of the United States. reserving to the States
respectively, the Appointment of the Officers and the Authority of training the
Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive
Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten
Miles square) as may. by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of
Congress become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to
exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the
Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts,
Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; — And
To make all Laws which shall
be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and
all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United-States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
§ 9
Limitations upon powers of 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 here in
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.
§
10. Restrictions upon powers of 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 its inspection Laws: and
the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or
Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all
such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Control of the Congress.
No State shall, without the
Consent of Congress lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in
time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State or with a
foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent
Danger as will not admit of delay.
§
1. President and Vice President.
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.
5The 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 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.
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.”
§ 2. Powers of the
President.
The President shall be
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the
Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the
United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal
Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves
and Pardons for Offences against the United States except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties provided two thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls. Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of
the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for,
and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the
Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President
alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power
to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate by
granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
§ 3. Messages
to Congress; additional powers and duties.
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.
§
4. Impeachment.
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.
§
1. Judicial power: tenure of office.
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 Behavior,
and shall at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which
shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
§
2. Jurisdiction.
6The
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 or Places as the
Congress may by Law have directed.
§
3. Treason; proof and punishment.
Treason against the United
States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to
their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of
Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power
to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work
Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
§
1. Full faith and credit among states.
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.
§
2. Privileges and immunities: fugitives.
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 on
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.
§ 3. Admission
of new states; power over territory and other property.
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.
§ 4. Guarantee
of republican form of government.
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.
Amendment of the Constitution
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 Pursuance thereof: and all
Treaties made, or which shall be made. under the Authority of the United
States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State
shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to
the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and
Representatives before mentioned and the Members of the several State
Legislatures and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States
and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation. to support
this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article VII
The Ratification of the
Conventions of nine States. shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this
Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
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,
G.o
WASHINGTON — Presid.t
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 Wm. Paterson
David Brearley Jona.
Dayton
Pennsylvania
B. Franklin Thos.
FitzSimons
Thomas Mifflin Jared
Ingersoll
Robt. Morris James
Wilson
Geo. Clymer Gouv.
Morris
Delaware
Geo. Read Jaco.
Broom
Gunning Bedford jun Richard Bassett
John Dickinson
Maryland
James McHenry Danl.
Carroll
Dan of St. Thos. Jenifer
Virginia
John Blair John
Madison Jr.
North
Carolina
Win. Blount Hu.
Williamson
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
South
Carolina
J. Rutledge Charles
Pinckney
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Pierce
Butler
Georgia
William Few Abr.
Baldwin
7ARTICLES
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.
Freedom of religion, speech
and press; peaceful assemblage; petition of grievances 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.
Right
to bear arms
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.
Third Amendment
Soldiers
denied quarters in homes
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.
Searches
and seizures
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.
Capital
crimes; double jeopardy; self-incrimination; due process; just compensation for
property
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 offense 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.
Jury
trial for crimes, and procedural rights
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.
Civil
trials
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.
Excessive
bail. fines, punishments
Excessive bail shall not be
required. nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
Construction
of enumerated rights
The enumeration in the
Constitution. of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage
others retained by the people.
Reserved
powers to states
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.
Suits against states
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.
Presidential
electors
The Electors shall meet in
their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President,
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with
themselves: they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President,
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President and they shall
make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons
voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; — The President
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be
counted; — The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall
be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed: and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall chuse 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 chuse 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
chuse 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.
Thirteenth Amendment
§ 1. Slavery
abolished
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.
§ 2.
Enforcement
Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Fourteenth Amendment
§ 1. Citizenship
rights not to be abridged by states
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.
§ 2. Apportionment
of Representatives in Congress
Representatives shall be
apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not
taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in
Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State,
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State.
§ 3.
Persons disqualified from holding office
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.
§ 4.
What public debts are void
The validity of the public
debts 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.
§ 5. Power to enforce article
The Congress shall have power
to enforce, by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article.
Case
Notes:
High Court holds that
territory of American Samoa is not a state” within 14th amendment, thereby
precluding application in territory of federal civil rights laws intended to
remedy deprivations of rights under the amendment. Ferstie v. A.S.G., 4 A.S.R.
2d 160 (1987) (mem).
Fifteenth
Amendment
§ 1. Right to vote not to be abridged
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.
§ 2. Power to enforce article
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Sixteenth
Amendment
Income
tax
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.
Seventeenth
Amendment
Popular
election of Senators
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.
8Eighteenth Amendment
Liquor
prohibition
§ 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.
§ 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
§ 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.
Woman
suffrage
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.
Twentieth Amendment
§ 1. Terms of office
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.
§ 2.
Time of convening Congress
The Congress shall assemble at
least once in every year, and such meetings shall begin at noon on the 3d day
of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
§ 3. Death of President elect
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 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.
§ 4.
Election of the President
The Congress may by law
provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may chuse 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 chuse a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall
have devolved upon them.
§ 5.
Effective date of sections 1 and 2
Sections 1 and 2 shall take
effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
§ 6.
Ratification within seven years
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.
Twenty-first Amendment
§ 1. National liquor prohibition repealed
The eighteenth article of
amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
§ 2.
Transportation of liquor into “dry” state
The transaction 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.
§ 3. Ratification within seven years
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.
§ 1.
Limitation on presidential terms
No person shall be elected to
the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the
office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term
to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office
of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person
holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress.
and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President. or
acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes
operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during
the remainder of such term.
§ 2. Ratification within seven years
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.
Twenty-third Amendment
§ 1.
Electors for District of Columbia
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 Senator 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.
§ 2.
Enforcement of article
The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
History
Ratification. The 36th
Congress proposed this amendment on June 16, 1960, and on April 3, 1961, the
Administrator of General Services declared it to have been ratified. The certifying statement of the
Administrator of General Services that the amendment had become valid was
published on April 3, 1961 (F.R. Doc. 61-3017. 26 P.R. 2808).
The ratification by States was
as follows: Hawaii, June 23, 1960; Massachusetts, Aug. 22, 1960; New Jersey,
Dec. 19, 1960; New York, Jan. 17, 1961; California, Jan. 19,1961; Oregon, Jan.
27, 1961. Maryland, Jan. 30, 1961; Idaho, Jan. 31, 1961; Maine, Jan. 31, 1961;
Minnesota, Jan. 31, 1961, New Mexico, Feb. 1, 1961; Nevada, Feb. 2, 1961;
Montana, Feb. 6, 1961; Colorado, Feb. 8, 1961; Washington, Feb. 9, 1961; West
Virginia, Feb. 9, 1961; Alaska, Feb. 10, 1961; Wyoming, Feb. 13, 1961; South
Dakota, Feb. 14, 1961; Delaware, Feb. 20, 1961; Utah, Feb. 21, 1961; Wisconsin,
Feb. 21, 1961; Pennsylvania, Feb. 28, 1961; Indiana, Mar. 3, 1961; North
Dakota, Mar. 3, 1961; Tennessee, Mar. 6, 1961; Michigan, Mar. 8, 1961;
Connecticut, Mar. 9, 1961; Arizona, Mar. 10, 1961; Illinois, Mar. 14, 1961;
Nebraska, Mar. 15, 1961; Vermont, Mar. 15, 1961; Iowa, Mar. 6, 1961; Missouri,
Mar. 20, 1961; Oklahoma, Mar. 21, 1961; Rhode Island, Mar. 22, 1961; Kansas,
Mar. 29, 1961; Ohio, Mar. 29, 1961; and New Hampshire, Mar. 30, 1961.
Twenty-fourth
Amendment
§ 1. No
franchise denied by nonpayment of poll tax
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.
§ 2.
Enforcement of article
The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
History
Ratification. This amendment
was proposed by the 87th Congress on August 27, 1962 (Sen. Jt. Res. No. 29),
and was declared by the Administrator of General Services on February 4, 1964,
to have been ratified. The certifying statement of the Administrator of General
Services that the amendment had become valid was published on February 5, 1964
(F.R. Doc. 64-1229,29 F.R. 1715).
The ratification by Slates was
as follows: Illinois, Nov. 14, 1962; New Jersey, Dec. 3, 1962; Oregon, Jan. 25,
1963; Montana, Jan. 28, 1963; West Virginia, Feb. 1, 1963; New York. Feb. 4,
1963; Maryland, Feb. 6, 1963; California, Feb. 7, 1963; Alaska, Feb 11, 1963; Rhode
Island, Feb. 14, 1963; Indiana, Feb. 19, 1963; Utah, Feb. 20, 1963; Michigan,
Feb. 20, 1963; Colorado, Feb. 21, 1963; Ohio, Feb. 27, 1963; Minnesota, Feb 27,
1963; New Mexico, Mar. 5, 1963; Hawaii, Mar. 6, 1963; North Dakota, Mar. 7,
1963; Idaho, Mar. 8, 1963; Washington, Mar 14, 1963; Vermont, Mar. 15, 1963;
Nevada; Mar. 19, 1963;
Connecticut, Mar. 20, 1963; Tennessee. Mar. 21,
1963,Pennsylvania. Mar. 25. 1963, Wisconsin. Mar. 26, 1963; Kansas. Mar. 28,
1963; Massachusetts. Mar. 28, 1963; Nebraska, Apr. 4, 1963; Florida; Apr. 18,
1963; Iowa, Apr. 24, 1963; Delaware, May 1, 1963; Missouri, May 13, 1963; New
Hampshire, June 12, 1963; Kentucky, June 27, 1963; Maine, Jan. 16, 1964; South
Dakota, Jan. 23, 1964.
Twenty-fifth Amendment
§ 1.
Succession of Vice President
In case of the removal of the
President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall
become President.
§ 2. Nomination
of Vice President; confirmation
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.
§ 3.
Determination by President of inability to act; Vice President as Acting
President
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.
§ 4.
Determination by Vice President and others as to President’s ability to act;
Vice
President as Acting President
Whenever the Vice President
and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or
of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers
and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President
transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he
shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and
a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of
such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to
the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue,
assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the
Congress within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after
Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,
the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President:
otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
History
Ratification. The 89th
Congress proposed this amendment on Jan. 4, 1965, it was declared by the
Administrator of General Services to have been ratified on Feb. 23, 1967 The
certifying statement of the Administrator of General Services that the
Amendment had become valid was published on Feb. 23, 1967 (F.R. Doc 61-2208, 32
F.R. 3287).
This amendment has been
ratified by the Legislatures of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Twenty-sixth Amendment
§ 1. Extension
of right to vote to citizens eighteen years of age or older
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.
§ 2.
Enforcement of article
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
History
Proposal
and ratification. This amendment was proposed by the Ninety-second Congress by
Senate Joint Resolution No 7, which was approved by the Senate on March 10,
1971, and by the House of Representatives on March 23, 1911. It was declared by
the Administrator of General Services on July 5, 1971 to have been ratified.
This
amendment has been ratified by the Legislatures of the States of Alabama,
Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois. Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Compensation of Senators and Representatives
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.
HISTORICAL NOTES
Proposal and Ratification
The Twenty-seventh Amendment was proposed on September 25, 1789. The State legislatures ratified this
Amendment on the following dates:
Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware, Vermont, Virginia,
1789-1791; Ohio, May 6, 1873; Wyoming,
March 6, 1978; Maine, April 27, 1983;
Colorado, April 22, 1984; South Dakota, February 1985; New Hampshire, March 7, 1985; Arizona, April 3, 1985; Tennessee, May 28, 1985; Oklahoma, July 10, 1985; New Mexico, February 14, 1986; Indiana, February 24, 1986; Utah, February 25, 1986; Arkansas, March 13,1987; Montana, March 17, 1987; Connecticut, May 13, 1987; Wisconsin, July 15, 1987; Georgia, February 2, 1988; West Virginia, March 10, 1988; Louisiana, July 7, 1988; Iowa, February 9, 1989; Idaho, March 23, 1989; Nevada, April 26, 1989; Alaska, May 6, 1989; Oregon, May 19, 1989; Minnesota, May 22, 1989; Texas, May 25, 1989; Kansas, April 5, 1990; Florida, May 31, 1990; North Dakota, March 25, 1991; Alabama, May 5, 1992; Missouri, May 5, 1992; Michigan, May 7, 1992. The State of New Jersey later ratified this
amendment on May 7, 1992.
Certification of Validity
Publication of the certifying statement of the Archivist of the United
States, pursuant to 1U.S.C.A. § 106b, that the amendment has become valid was
made on May 19, 1992, F.R. Doc. 92-11951, 57 F.R. 21187.
LIBRARY REFERENCES
Law Review and Journal
Commentaries
Do we have enough ethics in government yet? An answer from fiduciary theory.
Kathleen Clark, 1996 U.Ill.L.Rev.57.
General theory of Article V:
the constitutional lessons of the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Michael Stoke Paulsen, 103 Yale L.J. 677
(1993).
The sleeper wakes: The history
and legacy of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
Richard B. Bernstein, 61 Fordham L. Rev.497 (1992)
NOTES OF DECISIONS
Ethics Reform Act 1
1. Ethics Reform
Act
Cost of living adjustment (COLA) provision of Ethics Reform Act did not
cause any adjustment to congressional compensation until after election and
seating of new Congress, and thus was constitutional, even if Twenty-Seventh
Amendment applied to it. Boehner v.
Anderson, C.A.D.C.1994, 30 F.3d 156, 308 U.S.App.D.C. 94.
Any congressional pay raises stemming from Ethics Reform Act of 1989
meet requirements of 27th Amendment, which provides that no law
bearing on congressional compensation shall take effect until election of
representatives has intervened; Act
became law in November, 1989, election was held in November, 1990, first cost
of living adjustment became effective in January, 1991 and, during 1990
elections, and again in 1992, voters had opportunity to approve or disapprove
legislation. Boehner v. Anderson,
D.D.C.1992, 809 F.Supp. 138, appeal dismissed in part, affirmed 30 F.3d 156,
308 U.S.App.D.C. 94.
1 This clause was affected by the 14th and 16th
amendments.
2. This section was affected by the 17th
amendment.
3. This paragraph was affected by the 20th
amendment.
4. This paragraph was affected by the 16th
amendment.
5. This paragraph was affected by the l2tn
amendment.
6. This section was affected by the 11th
amendment.
7. The first ten amendments to the
Constitution of the United States were proposed to the legislatures of the
several States by the First Congress, on the 25th of September, 1789. They were
ratified by the following States, and the notifications of ratification by the
governors thereof were successively communicated by the President of Congress:
New Jersey, November 20, 1789; Maryland, December 19, 1789; North Carolina,
December 22, 1789; South Carolina, January 19, 1790, New Hampshire, January 25,
1790; Delaware. January 28, 1790: Pennsylvania, March 10, 1790; New York, March
27, 1190; Rhode island. June
15. 1790; Vermont, November 3, 1791; and Virginia, December 15, 1791. The
legislatures of Connecticut. Georgia and Massachusetts ratified them on April
19, 1939, March 25, 1939 and March 2, 1939, respectively.
The
remaining amendments were proclaimed on the following dates to have been
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States:
11th
amendment: January 8,1798.
12th
amendment: September 25, 1804
13th
amendment: December 18, 1865.
14th
amendment: July 28, 1868.
15th
amendment: March 30, 1870.
16th
amendment: February 25. 1913.
17th
amendment: May 31, 1913.
18th
amendment: January 29, 1919.
19th
amendment August 26, 1920.
20th
amendment: February 6, 1933.
21st
amendment: December 5 1933
22d
amendment: March 1. 1951.
23rdamendment:
April 3, 1961.
24th
amendment: February 5, 1964.
8. The 18th amendment was repealed by the 21st amendment.
Section
1. Adoption of Code.
(1) The American Samoa Code
Annotated, attached hereto, together with the laws of the 4th Regular Session
and any Special Session not now codified in American Samoa Code Annotated, all
as recodified and published by the Legislative Reference Bureau under the
authority of PL 13-4, as amended by PL 15-30 and PL 15-38, is adopted as prima
facie the law of American Samoa.
(2) The American Samoa Code
Annotated is enacted as a reenactment of the American Samoa Code (1973), and
the supplements thereto.
(3) The enactment of the
American Samoa Code Annotated may not:
(a) revive a law repealed or
superseded before. the effective date of the American Samoa Code Annotated;
(b) affect an act done. right
accrued, or obligation incurred or imposed by law prior to the effective date
of the American Samoa Code Annotated;
(c) affect any action. suit,
or proceeding pending on such effective date;
(d) repeal statutes of a
nongeneral, nonpermanent nature such as severability, construction,
validating, repealing, or similar statutes omitted from the American Samoa Code
Annotated;
(4) The American Samoa Code
Annotated shall be given effect as a continuation of the American Samoa Code
(1973) and not as a new enactment.
(5) No implication or
presumption of legislative construction is to be drawn from the classification
or arrangement of the American Samoa Code Annotated.
(6) Unless specifically
adopted as such by the Legislature, comments, notes, catchlines, or other
editorial material included in the American Samoa Code Annotated may not be
construed as part of the legislative text but are only for the purpose of
convenience, orderly arrangement, and information.
(7) After enactment, the
American Samoa Code Annotated, including all subsequent replacement volumes, is
the official law of American Samoa, except in case of an inconsistency in
meaning arising through omission or otherwise between the provisions of the
American Samoa Code Annotated and the corresponding portion of the official
enrolled bill on file with the secretary of territory, effect shall be given to
the official enrolled bill.
History: 1980, PL 16-83 § 1.
Section
3. This act is effective on 1 January 1981.
History: 1980, PL 16-83 § 3.