1123 lines
49 KiB
Plaintext
1123 lines
49 KiB
Plaintext
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Preamble
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We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
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establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common
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defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty
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to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution
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of the United States of America.
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Article I.
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Sect. 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
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Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House
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of Representatives.
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Sect. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen
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every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in
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each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the
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most numerous branch of the state legislature.
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No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the
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age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United
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States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in
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which he shall be chosen.
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Representative and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several
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states which may be included within this Union, according to their
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respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
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number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of
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years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.
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The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first
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meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent
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term of ten years in such manner as they shall be law direct. The number
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of representative shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each
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state shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration
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shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose
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three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one,
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Connecticut five, New-York six, New-Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
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Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North-Carolina five, South-
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Carolina five, and Georgia three.
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When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the
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Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
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vacancies.
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The House of Representatives shall choose the Speaker and other
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officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
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Sect. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators
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from each state chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years and each
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senator shall have one vote.
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Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first
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election, they hall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.
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The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the
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expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of
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the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth
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year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies
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happen by resignation, or otherwise during the recess of the legislature
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of any state, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until
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the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
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Page 1
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No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of
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thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, who
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shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall
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be chosen.
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The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the
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Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.
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The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro
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tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
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the office of President of the United States.
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The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
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sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the
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President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside:
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And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of
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the members present.
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Judgement in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to
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removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
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honor, trust or profit under the United States; but the party convicted
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shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment
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and punishment, according to law.
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Sect. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators
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and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature
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thereof: but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such
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regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
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The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
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meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall be law
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appoint a different day.
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Sect. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and
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qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute
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a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day,
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and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such
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manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide.
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Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
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members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds,
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expel a member.
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Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to
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time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment
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require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members either house on any
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question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present be entered on
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the journal.
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Neither house, during the session of Congress shall, without the
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consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
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place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.
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Sect. 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for
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their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of
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the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and
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breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at
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the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from
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the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be
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questioned in any other place.
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Page 2
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No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was
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elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the
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United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof
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shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any
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office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during
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his continuance in office.
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Sect. 7. All bill for raising revenue shall originate in the house of
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representative; but the senate may propose or concur with amendments as on
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other bills.
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Every bill which shall have passed the house of representatives and
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the senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the president
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of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall
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return it, with his objections to that house in which it shall have
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originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and
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proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of
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that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with
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the objections, to the other house, by which is shall likewise be
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reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become
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a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined
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by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the
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bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any
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bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays
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excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a
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law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their
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adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
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Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the
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Senate and House of Representative may be necessary (except on a question
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of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States;
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and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being
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disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and
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House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations
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prescribed in the case of a bill.
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Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power
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To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the
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debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United
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States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout
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the United States.
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To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
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To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
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states, and with the Indian tribes;
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To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on
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the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;
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To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and
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fix the standard of weights and measures;
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To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and
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current coin of the United States;
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To establish post offices and post roads;
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Page 3
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To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
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limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
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respective writings and discoveries;
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To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court;
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To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas,
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and offenses against the law of nations;
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To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
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concerning captures on land and water;
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To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use
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shall be for a longer term than two years;
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To provide and maintain a navy;
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To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval
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forces;
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To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the
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union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.;
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To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and
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for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the
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United States, reserving to the States respectively, the appointment of
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the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the
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discipline prescribed by Congress;
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To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such
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district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular
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States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government
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of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places
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purchased by the consent of the legislature of the states in which the
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same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards,
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and other needful buildings; -And
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To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
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execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by the
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Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department
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or officer thereof.
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Sect. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states
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now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
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Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax
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or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for
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each person.
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The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
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unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety require
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it.
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No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
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No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in
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proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be
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taken.
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Page 4
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No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No
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preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the
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ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or
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from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
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No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of
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appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the
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receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time
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to time.
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No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States:--And no
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person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without
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the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or
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title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
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Sect. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or
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confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit
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bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in
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payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law
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impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
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No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts
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or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
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for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and
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imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of
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the Treasury of the United States; all such laws shall be subject to the
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revision and control of the Congress. No state shall, without the consent
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of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time
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of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with
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a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such
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imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
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Article II.
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Sect. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United
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States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four
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years, and, together with the vice-president, chosen for the same term, be
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elected as follows.
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Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof
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may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators
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and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress:
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but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or
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profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
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The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot
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for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the
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same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons
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voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign
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and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the
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United States, directed to the president of the senate. The president of
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the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of
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representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be
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counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the
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president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors
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appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have
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am equal number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who
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have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of
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representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for
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Page 5
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president; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on
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the list the said house shall in like manner choose the president. But in
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choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the
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representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose
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shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a
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majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case,
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after the choice of the president, the person having the greatest number
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of votes of the electors shall be the vice-president. But if there should
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remain two or more who have equal votes, the senate shall choose from them
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by ballot the vice-president.
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The Congress may determine the time of the choosing the electors, and
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the day on which they shall gi e their votes; which day shall be the same
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throughout the United States.
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No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United
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States, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be
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eligible to the office of president; neither shall any person be eligible
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to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five
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years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.
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In case of the removal of the president from office, or his death,
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resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said
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office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president, and the Congress may
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by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability,
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both of the president and vice-president, declaring what officer shall
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then act as president, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the
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disability be removed, or a president be elected.
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The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a
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compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
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period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
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within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of
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them.
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Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the
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following oath or affirmation:
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"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
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office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my
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ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United
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States."
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Sect. 2. The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of
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the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called
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into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion,
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in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments,
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upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and
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he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against
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the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
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He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate,
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to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and
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he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate,
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shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of
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the supreme court, and all other officers of the United States, whose
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appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
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established by law. But the Congress may by law vest the appointment of
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such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the president alone, in
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the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
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Page 6
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The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
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happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which
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shall expire at the end of their session.
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Sect. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of
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the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures
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as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary
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occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of
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disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may
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adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive
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ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws
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be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the
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United States.
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Sect. 4. The president, vice-president and all civil officers of the
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United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and
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conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
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Article III.
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Sect. 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
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Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time
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to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and
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inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall,
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at stated time, receive for their services a compensation which shall not
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be diminished during their continuance in office.
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Sect. 2.
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1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity,
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arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and
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treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases
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affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases
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of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the
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United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more
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States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of
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different States, between citizens of the same State claiming lands under
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grants of different States, and between a State or the citizens thereof,
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and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
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2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and
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consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court
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shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before
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mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to
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law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the
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Congress shall make.
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3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be
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by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes
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shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State the
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trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have
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directed.
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Sect. 3.
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1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying
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war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and
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comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony
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of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
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Page 7
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2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of
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treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or
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forfeiture except during the life of the person attained.
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Article IV
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Sect. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public
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act, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the
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Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts,
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records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
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||
|
||
Sect. 2.
|
||
|
||
1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and
|
||
immunities of citizens in the several States.
|
||
|
||
2. 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.
|
||
|
||
3. No person held to service or labor 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 labor, but shall be
|
||
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be
|
||
due.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 3.
|
||
|
||
1. 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.
|
||
|
||
2. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Article V.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both House 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
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 8
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
Article VI.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 1. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. 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,
|
||
anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
|
||
notwithstanding.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 3. 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.
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
|
||
|
||
|
||
George Washington
|
||
|
||
|
||
PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY FROM VIRGINIA
|
||
|
||
NEW HAMPSHIRE
|
||
John Langdon
|
||
Nicholas Gilman
|
||
|
||
MASSACHUSETTS
|
||
Nathaniel Gorham
|
||
Rufus King
|
||
|
||
NEW YORK
|
||
Alexander Hamilton
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 9
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
NEW JERSEY
|
||
William Livingston
|
||
David Brearley
|
||
William Paterson
|
||
Jonathan Dayton
|
||
|
||
PENNSYLVANIA
|
||
Benjamin Franklin
|
||
Thomas Mifflin
|
||
Robert Morris
|
||
George Clymer
|
||
Thomas Fitzsimons
|
||
Jared Ingersoll
|
||
James Wilson
|
||
Gouverneur Morris
|
||
|
||
DELAWARE
|
||
George Read
|
||
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
|
||
John Dickinson
|
||
Richard Bassett
|
||
Jacob Broom
|
||
|
||
MARYLAND
|
||
James McHenry
|
||
Dan of St. Thomas Jennifer
|
||
Daniel Carroll
|
||
|
||
VIRGINIA
|
||
John Blair
|
||
James Madison, Jr.
|
||
|
||
NORTH CAROLINA
|
||
William Blount
|
||
Richard Dobbs Spaight
|
||
Hugh Williamson
|
||
|
||
SOUTH CAROLINA
|
||
John Rutledge
|
||
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
|
||
Charles Pinckney
|
||
Pierce Butler
|
||
|
||
GEORGIA
|
||
William Few
|
||
Abraham Baldwin
|
||
|
||
AMENDMENTS
|
||
|
||
1st Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
2nd Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
Page 10
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
3rd Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
4th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
5th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
6th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
7th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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 re-examined in any court of the
|
||
United States than according to the rules of the common law.
|
||
|
||
8th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
|
||
cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
|
||
|
||
9th Amendment
|
||
|
||
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
|
||
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
|
||
|
||
10th Amendment
|
||
|
||
The powers not delegated to 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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 11
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
11th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
12th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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 the 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 a majority, then, from
|
||
the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list
|
||
of those voted for a President, the House of Representative 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] the Vice President shall
|
||
act as President, as in case of 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, form 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; 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.
|
||
|
||
13th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
|
||
appropriate legislation.
|
||
|
||
14th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 12
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
|
||
property, without due process of law, nor deny any person within its
|
||
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
|
||
legislation, the provisions of this article.
|
||
|
||
15th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
|
||
appropriate legislation.
|
||
|
||
16th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
17th Amendment
|
||
|
||
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
|
||
each State, elected by the people thereof, for sex 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.
|
||
Page 13
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
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 appointment
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
18th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
|
||
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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 of the
|
||
date of the submission hereof to the States by Congress.
|
||
|
||
19th Amendment
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
20th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every years, and
|
||
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they
|
||
shall by law appoint a different day.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 14
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
|
||
following the ratification of this article.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
|
||
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by three-fourths of the
|
||
several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
|
||
|
||
21st Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
|
||
the United States is hereby repealed.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
|
||
ratified aG an amendment to the Constitutin 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.
|
||
|
||
22d Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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 his
|
||
Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting
|
||
as President during the remainder of such term.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
23rd Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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 Representative 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 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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 15
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
|
||
appropriate legislation.
|
||
|
||
24th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 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.
|
||
|
||
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
|
||
appropriate legislation.
|
||
|
||
25th Amendment
|
||
|
||
Sect. 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his
|
||
death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
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Sect. 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
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President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take
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office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
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Sect. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore
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of the Senate and the Speakers of the House of Representatives his written
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||
declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
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||
office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the
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contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
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as Acting President.
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Sect. 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
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principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as
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||
Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the
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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
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powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
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Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore
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||
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
|
||
declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and
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||
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 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
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||
President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of
|
||
his office.
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26th Amendment
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Sect. 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen
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years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
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United States or by any State on account of age.
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Page 16
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Sect. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
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appropriate legislation.
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7574 words total
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