WE, the PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES, in order to form a more perfect union, eſtabliſh juſtice, enſure domeſtic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and ſecure the bleſſings of liberty to ourſelves and our poſterity, do ordain and eſtabliſh this Conſtitution for the United States of America.
ARTICLE I.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Houſe of Repreſentatives ſhall be compoſed of Members choſen every ſecond year by the people of the ſeveral States, and the Electors in each State ſhall have the qualifications requiſite for Electors of the moſt numerous branch of the State Legiſlature.
No perſon ſhall be a Repreſentative who ſhall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been ſeven years a citizen of the United States, and who ſhall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he ſhall be choſen.
Repreſentatives and direct taxes ſhall be apportioned among the ſeveral States which may be included within this Union, according to their reſpective numbers, which ſhall be determined by adding to the whole number of free perſons, including thoſe bound to ſervice for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other perſons. The actual enumeration ſhall be made within three years after the firſt meeting of the Congreſs of the United States, and within every ſubſequent term of ten years, in ſuch manner as they ſhall by law direct. The number of Repreſentatives ſhall not exceed one for every thirty thouſand, but each State ſhall have at leaſt one Repreſentative; and until ſuch enumeration ſhall be made, the State of New-Hampſhire ſhall be entitled to chooſe 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 chooſe their Speaker and other officers, and ſhall have the ſole power of impeachment.
Sect. 3. The Senate of the United States ſhall be compoſed of two Senators from each State, choſen by the Legiſlature thereof, for ſix years; and each Senator ſhall have one vote.
Immediately after they ſhall be aſſembled in conſequence of the firſt election, they ſhall be divided as equally as may be into three claſſes. The ſeats of the Senators of the firſt claſs ſhall be vacated at the expiration of the ſecond year, of the ſecond claſs at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third claſs at the expiration of the ſixth year; ſo that one third may be choſen every ſecond year; and if vacancies happen, by reſignation or otherwiſe, during the receſs of the Legiſlature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legiſlature, which ſhall then fill ſuch vacancies.
No perſon ſhall be a Senator who ſhall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who ſhall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he ſhall be choſen.
The Vice-Preſident of the United States ſhall be Preſident of the Senate, but ſhall have no vote, unleſs they be equally divided.
The Senate ſhall chooſe their other officers, and alſo a Preſident pro tempore, in a 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 honour, 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.
Sect. 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 chooſing Senators.
The Congreſs ſhall aſſemble at leaſt once in every year, and ſuch meeting ſhall be on the firſt Monday in December, unleſs they ſhall by law appoint a different day.
Sect. 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 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 ſecreſy; 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.
Sect. 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 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.
Sect. 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 re-paſſed by two thirds of the Senate and Houſe of Repreſentatives, according to the rules and limitations preſcribed in the caſe of a bill.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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 ſenſus or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No tax or duty ſhall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference ſhall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over thoſe of another: Nor ſhall veſſels bound to or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another.
No money ſhall be drawn from the treaſury, but in conſequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular ſtatement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money ſhall be publiſhed from time to time.
No title of nobility ſhall be granted by the United States: And no perſon holding any office of profit or truſt under them ſhall, without the conſent of the Congreſs, accept of any preſent, emolument, office or title, or any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Sect. 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 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 controul of the Congreſs. No State ſhall, without the conſent of Congreſs, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ſhips of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unleſs actually invaded, or in ſuch imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
ARTICLE II.
Sect. 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 chooſe 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 chooſe a 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. 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 chooſe from them by ballot the Vice-Preſident.
The Congreſs may determine the time of chooſing 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:
