CONSTITUTION OF THE U. S. 129 CONSTITUTION OF THE TT. S. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. ARTICLE XIV. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State de- prive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pro- tection of the laws. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons In each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any elec- tion for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Repre- sentatives in Congress, the executive and ju- dicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male members of such State, being of 21 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 repre- .sentation therein shall be reduced In the pro- portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citi- zens 21 years of age in such State. 3. No peraon shall te a Senator or Repre- sentative 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 of- ficer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged In insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aifl and comfort to the enemies thereo*. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrec- tion and 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. The Congress shall have power to en- force by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article. ARTICLE XV. 1. The right of the 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. The Congress shall have iwwer to en- force the provisions of this article by appropri- ate legislation. Adoption. — On Sept, 28, 1787, in Con- stitutional Convention, in Philadelphia, the "Constitution of the United States" was adopted. The convention had given fou^ months to its consideration. In its final preparation it was assigned to a committee consisting of Governeur Mor- ris, of Pennsylvania; William S. John- son, of Connecticut; Alexander Hamil- ton, of New York; James Madison, of Virginia; and Rufus King, of Massa- chusetts. In this committee, by common consent, the work was intrusted mainly to Morris, who wrote out the entire doc- ument. With rome minor changes the work was adopted by the convention aa written, and sent out to the several States at the above date, for ratification. Ratification of Constitution. — The Constitution was ratified by the 13 orig' inal States in the following order: Delaware, Dec. 7, 1787, unanimously. Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 1787, vote 46 to 23. New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1787, unani- mously. Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788, unanimously. Connecticut, Jan. 9, 1788, vot ; 128 to 40. Massachusetts, Feb. 6, 1788, vote 187 to 168. Maryland, April 28, 1788, vote 63 to 12. South Carolina, May 28, 1788, vote 149 to 73. New Hampshire, June 21, 1788, vote 57 to 46. Virginia, June 25, 1788, vote 89 to 79. New York, July 26, 1788, vote 30 to 28. North Carolina, Nov. 21, 1789, vote 193 to 75. Rhode Island, May 29, 1790, vote 34 to 32. Ratification of Amendments. — I. to X. inclusive were declared in force Dec. 15, 1791. XI. was declared in force Jan. 8, 1798. XII., regulating elections, was rati- fied by all the States except Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which rejected it. It was declared in force Sept. 28, 1804. XIII. The emancipation amendment was ratified by 31 of the 36 States; re- jected by Delaware and Kentucky, not acted on by Texas; conditionally ratified by Alabama and Mississippi. Proclaimed Dec. 18, 1865. XIV. Reconstruction amendment was ratified by 23 Northern States; rejected by Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and 10 Southern States, and not acted on by California. The 10 Southern States sub- sequently ratified it. Proclaimed July 28, 1866. XV. Negro citizenship amendment was not acted on by Tennessee, rejected by California, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oregon ; rat- ified by the remaining 30 States. New York rescinded its ratification Jan. 5, 1870. Proclaimed March 30, 1870. XVI. A taxation amendment; _ its purpose being to obviate the require- ment of distributing direct taxes among States according to their respective pop- ulations. Passed both Houses in 1909. Declared in force Feb. 25, 1913. XVII. Providing for the direct elec*
