Page:United States Constitution broadside printed by John Carter Rhode Island Providence 1.jpg

 E, the E of the  S, in order to form a more perfect union, etablih jutice, enure dometic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and ecure the bleings of liberty to ourelves and our poterity, do ordain and etablih this Contitution for the United States of America.

Sect. 1. L legilative powers, herein granted, hall be veted in a Congres of the United States, which hall conit of a Senate and Houe of Repreentatives.

Sect. 2. The Houe of Repreentatives hall be compoed of Members choen every econd year by the people of the everal States, and the Electors in each State hall have the qualifications requiite for Electors of the mot numerous branch of the State Legilature.

No peron hall be a Repreentative who hall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been even years a citizen of the United States, and who hall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he hall be choen.

Repreentatives and direct taxes hall be apportioned among the everal States which may be included within this Union, according to their repective numbers, which hall be determined by adding to the whole number of free perons, including thoe bound to ervice for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other perons. The actual enumeration hall be made within three years after the firt meeting of the Congres of the United States, and within every ubequent term of ten years, in uch manner as they hall by law direct. The number of Repreentatives hall not exceed one for every thirty thouand, but each State hall have at leat one Repreentative; and until uch enumeration hall be made, the State of New-Hamphire hall be entitled to chooe three, Maachuetts eight, Rhode-Iland and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York ix, New-Jerey four, Pennylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland ix, Virginia ten, North-Carolina five, South-Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Repreentation from any State, the Executive authority thereof hall iue writs of election to fill uch vacancies.

The Houe of Repreentatives hall chooe their Speaker and other officers, and hall have the ole power of impeachment.

Sect. 3. The Senate of the United States hall be compoed of two Senators from each State, choen by the Legilature thereof, for ix years; and each Senator hall have one vote.

Immediately after they hall be aembled in conequence of the firt election, they hall be divided as equally as may be into three claes. The eats of the Senators of the firt clas hall be vacated at the expiration of the econd year, of the econd clas at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third clas at the expiration of the ixth year; o that one third may be choen every econd year; and if vacancies happen, by reignation or otherwie, during the reces of the Legilature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legilature, which hall then fill uch vacancies.

No peron hall be a Senator who hall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who hall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he hall be choen.

The Vice-Preident of the United States hall be Preident of the Senate, but hall have no vote, unles they be equally divided.

The Senate hall chooe their other officers, and alo a Preident pro tempore, in a the abence of the Vice-Preident, or when he hall exercie the office of Preident of the United States.

The Senate hall have the ole power to try all impeachments. When itting for that purpoe, they hall be on oath or affirmation. When the Preident of the United States is tried, the Chief Jutice hall preide; and no peron hall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members preent.

Judgment, in caes of impeachment, hall not extend further than to removal from office, and diqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour, trut or profit, under the United States; but the party convicted hall nevertheles be liable and ubject to indictment, trial, judgment and punihment, according to law.

Sect. 4. The times, places and manner, of holding elections for Senators and Repreentatives, hall be precribed in each State by the Legilature thereof; but the Congres may at any time, by law, make or alter uch regulations, except as to the places of chooing Senators.

The Congres hall aemble at leat once in every year, and uch meeting hall be on the firt Monday in December, unles they hall by law appoint a different day.

Sect. 5. Each Houe hall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications, of its own members, and a majority of each hall contitute a quorum to do buines; but a maller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of abent members, in uch manner, and under uch penalties, as each Houe may provide.

Each Houe may determine the rules of its proceedings, punih its members for diorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Each Houe hall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publih the ame, excepting uch parts as may in their judgment require ecrey; and the yeas and nays of the members of either Houe on any quetion hall, at the deire of one fifth of thoe preent, be entered on the journal.

Neither Houe, during the eion of Congres, hall, without the conent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houes hall be itting.

Sect. 6. The Senators and Repreentatives hall receive a compenation for their ervices, to be acertained by law, and paid out of the treaury of the United States. They hall in all caes, except treaon, felony and breach of peace, be privileged from arret during their attendance at the eion of their repective Houes, and in going to and returning from the ame; and for any peech or debate in either Houe, they hall not be quetioned in any other place.

No Senator or Repreentative hall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which hall have been created, or the emoluments whereof hall have been encreaed, during uch time; and no peron holding any office under the United States hall be a member of either Houe, during his continuance in office.

Sect. 7. All bills for raiing revenue hall originate in the Houe of Repreentatives; but the Senate may propoe or concur with amendments, as on other bills.

Every bill which hall have paed the Houe of Repreentatives and the Senate hall, before it become a law, be preented to the Preident of the United States; if he approve; he hall ign it; but if not, he hall return it, with his objections, to that Houe in which it hall have originated, who hall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconider it. If after uch reconideration two thirds of that Houe hall agree to pas the bill, it hall be ent, together with the objections, to the other Houe, by which it hall likewie be reconidered, and if approved by two thirds of that Houe, it hall become a law. But in all uch caes the votes of both Houes hall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the perons voting for and againt the bill hall be entered on the journal of each Houe repectively. If any bill hall not be returned by the Preident within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it hall have been preented to him, the ame hall be a law in like manner as if he had igned it, unles the Congres by their adjournment prevent its return, in which cae it hall not be a law.

Every order, reolution or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and Houe of Repreentatives may be neceary (except on a quetion of adjournment) hall be preented to the Preident of the United States; and, before the ame hall take effect, hall be approved by him, or being diapproved by him, hall be re-paed by two thirds of the Senate and Houe of Repreentatives, according to the rules and limitations precribed in the cae of a bill.

Sect. 8. The Congres hall have power

To lay and collect taxes, duties, impots and excies, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, impots and excies, hall 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 everal States, and with the Indian tribes;

To etablih an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the ubject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the tandard of weights and meaures;

To provide for the punihment of counterfeiting the ecurities and current coin of the United States;

To etablih pot-offices and pot-roads;

To promote the progres of cience and ueful arts, by ecuring for limited times to authors and inventors the excluive right to their repective writings and dicoveries;

To contitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punih piracies and felonies committed on the high eas and offences againt the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprial, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raie and upport armies, but no appropriation of money to that ue hall 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, uppres inurrections, and repel invaions;

To provide for organizing, arming and diciplining the militia, and for governing uch part of them as may be employed in the ervice of the United States, reerving to the States repectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the dicipline precribed by Congres;

To exercie excluive legilation, in all caes whatoever, over uch ditrict (not exceeding ten miles quare) as may, by ceion of particular States, and the acceptance of Congres, become the eat of the government of the United States, and to exercie like authority over all places purchaed by the conent of the Legilature of the State in which the ame hall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings;—and,

To make all laws which hall be neceary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers veted by this Contitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Sect. 9. The migration or importation of uch perons as any of the States now exiting hall think proper to admit, hall not be prohibited by the Congres prior to the year one thouand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be impoed on uch importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each peron.

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus hall not be upended, unles when in caes of rebellion or invaion the public afety may require it.

No bill of attainder, or ex pot facto law, hall be paed.

No capitation or other direct tax hall be laid, unles in proportion to the enus or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No tax or duty hall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference hall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over thoe of another: Nor hall veels bound to or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another.

No money hall be drawn from the treaury, but in conequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular tatement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money hall be publihed from time to time.

No title of nobility hall be granted by the United States: And no peron holding any office of profit or trut under them hall, without the conent of the Congres, accept of any preent, emolument, office or title, or any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Sect. 10. No State hall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprial; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and ilver coin a tender in payment of debts; pas any bill of attainder, ex pot facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

No State hall, without the conent of Congres, lay any impots or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abolutely neceary for executing its inpection laws; and the net produce of all duties and impots, laid by any State, on imports or exports, hall be for the ue of the treaury of the United States; and all uch laws hall be ubject to the reviion and controul of the Congres. No State hall, without the conent of Congres, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or hips of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unles actually invaded, or in uch imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

Sect. 1. The executive power hall be veted in a Preident of the United States of America. He hall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-Preident, choen for the ame term, be elected as follows:

Each State hall appoint, in uch manner as the Legilature thereof may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Repreentatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congres; but no Senator or Repreentative, or peron holding an office of trut or profit under the United States, hall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors hall meet in their repective States, and vote by ballot for two perons, of whom one at leat hall not be an inhabitant of the ame State with themelves. And they hall make a lit of all the perons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which lit they hall ign and certify, and tranmit ealed to the eat of the government of the United States, directed to the Preident of the Senate. The Preident of the Senate hall, in the preence of the Senate and Houe of Repreentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes hall then be counted. The peron having the greatet number of votes hall be the Preident, if uch number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have uch majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the Houe of Repreentatives hall immediately chooe by ballot one of them for Preident; and if no peron have a majority, then from the five highet on the lit the aid Houe hall in like manner chooe a Preident. But in chooing the Preident the votes hall be taken by States, the repreentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpoe hall conit of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States hall be neceary to a choice. In every cae, after the choice of the Preident, the peron having the greatet number of votes of the Electors, hall be the Vice-Preident. But if there hould remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate hall chooe from them by ballot the Vice-Preident.

The Congres may determine the time of chooing the Electors, and the day on which they hall give their votes; which day hall be the ame throughout the United States.

No peron, except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Contitution, hall be eligible to the office of Preident; neither hall any peron be eligible to that office, who hall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a reident within the United States.

In cae of the removal of the Preident from office, or of his death, reignation, or inability to dicharge the powers and duties of the aid office, the ame hall devolve on the Vice-Preident; and the Congres may by law provide for the cae of removal, death, reignation, or inability, both of the Preident and Vice-Preident, declaring what officer hall then act as Preident, and uch officer hall act accordingly, until the diability be removed, or a Preident hall be elected.

The Preident hall, at tated times, receive for his ervices a compenation, which hall neither be increaed nor diminihed during the period for which he hall have been elected, and he hall 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 hall take the following oath or affirmation: