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The Constitution of the
United
States:
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Below is a Transcription from the National Archives [Archives.gov]
PDF copy of the transcription of
The
Constitution of the United States
Note: The following text is a transcription of the
Constitution in its original form.
Items that are italic have since been amended or superseded.
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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.
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Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested
in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Section. 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite
for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State
Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included within this
Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those
bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed,
three fifths of all other Persons. [
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 of the United States shall be composed of
two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature
[ 2 ] 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.[ 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.
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.
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.
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections,
Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each
shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties
as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,
punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence
of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings,
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in
their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of
either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one
fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall,
without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor
to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out
of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except
Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech
or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other
Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the
Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the
Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time;
and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a
Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be
presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall
sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that
House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections
at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill,
it shall be sent, together with the
Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the
Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal
of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the
President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been
presented to him, the Same shall be a Law,
in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their
Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the
Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary
(except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the
President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect,
shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be
repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives,
according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a
Bill.
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect
Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the 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 an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and
uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of
foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the
Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right
to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed
on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,
and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of
Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the
land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute
the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining,
the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in
the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively,
the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of
training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by
Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may,
by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become
the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to
exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the
Legislature of the 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.
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 ]
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from
any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of
Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another;
nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter,
clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in
Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and
Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be
published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United
States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them,
shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any
King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit
Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in
Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law,
or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of
Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress,
lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be
absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net
Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports
or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States;
and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the
Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay
any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace,
enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a
foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in
such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
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Article. II.
Section. 1.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term
of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the
same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the
Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the
whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or
Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an Elector.
The
Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for
two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the
same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the
Persons voted for,
and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and
certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the
United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President
of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes
shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole
Number of Electors appointed; and if there be
more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of
Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by
Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said
House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the
President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from
each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of
a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a
Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice
President. But if there should remain two or more
who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the
Vice President.[ 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.
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."
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 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.
Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the
Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think
proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he
shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully
executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers
of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for,
and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.
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Article III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States shall be
vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the
Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both
of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during
good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services
a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance
in Office.
Section. 2.
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law
and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United
States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to
Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to
Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State
and Citizens of another State[ 8
];--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.
Section. 3.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only
in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving
them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on
the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on
Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the
Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work
Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
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Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to
the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other
State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in
which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the
Effect thereof.
Section. 2.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or
other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another
State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having
Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one
State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such
Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom
such Service or Labour may be due.[
9 ]
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.
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Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall
deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or,
on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments,
which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as
Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three
fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths
thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no
Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight
hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that
no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage
in the Senate.
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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.
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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.
The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh
and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly
written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The
Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and
thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being
interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second
Page.
Attest William Jackson Secretary
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°. Washington
Presidt and deputy from Virginia
| Delaware |
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom |
New
Hampshire |
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman |
| Maryland |
James
McHenry
Dan of St Thos. Jenifer
Danl. Carroll |
Massachusetts |
Nathaniel
Gorham
Rufus King |
| Virginia |
John
Blair
James Madison Jr. |
Connecticut |
Wm.
Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman |
| North
Carolina |
Wm.
Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu Williamson |
New
York |
Alexander
Hamilton |
| South
Carolina |
J.
Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler |
New
Jersey |
Wil:
Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: Dayton |
| Georgia |
William
Few
Abr Baldwin |
Pennsylvania |
B
Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv Morris |
[ 1 ] Note: Article I,
section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th
amendment.
[ 2 ] Note: Article I,
section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment.
[ 3 ] Note: Article I,
section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment.
[ 4 ] Note: Article I,
section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 20th
amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded
by section 3.
[ 5 ] Note: Article I,
section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16.
[ 6 ] Note: A portion of
Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th
amendment.
[ 7 ] Note: Article II,
section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment.
[ 8 ] Note: Article III,
section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11.
[ 9 ] Note: A portion of
Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th
amendment.
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