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Amendment
I.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment II.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment III.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment IV.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment V.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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 offence
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.
Amendment VI.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment VII.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment VIII.
Ratified December 15, 1791
Excessive bail
shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX.
Ratified December 15, 1791
The enumeration
in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X.
Ratified December 15, 1791
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.
Amendment XI.
Ratified February 7, 1795
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.
Amendment XII.
Ratified June 15, 1804
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 choose 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 choose 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 choose 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.
Amendment XIII.
Ratified December 6, 1865
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XIV.
Ratified July 9, 1868
Section 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 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.
Section 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 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.
Section 3.
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.
Section 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 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.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment XV.
Ratified February 3, 1870
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XVI.
Ratified February 3, 1913
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.
Amendment XVII.
Ratified April 8, 1913
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.
Amendment XVIII.
Ratified January 16, 1919
Section
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.
Section 2.
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section
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.
Amendment XIX.
Ratified August 18, 1920
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.
Amendment XX.
Ratified January 23, 1933
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3.
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
not 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.
Section 4.
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of
any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may
choose 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 choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
Section 6.
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.
Amendment XXI.
Ratified December 5, 1933
Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2.
The transportation 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.
Section 3.
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.
Amendment XXII.
Ratified February 27, 1951
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
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.
Amendment XXIII.
Ratified March 29, 1961
Section 1.
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 Senators 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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXIV.
Ratified January 23, 1964
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXV.
Ratified February 10, 1967
Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
Section 2.
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.
Section 3.
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.
Section 4.
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.
Amendment XXVI.
Ratified July 1, 1971
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXVII.
Ratified May 7, 1992
No law varying
the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives shall take effect, until an election of
Representatives shall have intervened.
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