CHAPTER XX_Government in the United States, National, State and Local

CITIZENSHIP

=Who are Citizens.=--The population of every country is composed of two

classes of persons: citizens and aliens. The larger portion of the

inhabitants are citizens, but the alien class is considerable in some

states of the Union, much more so than formerly, owing to the large

influx of immigrants from Europe in recent years.[109] A citizen is one

who has been admitted to full membership in the state, though he may not

have been given full political privileges, such as the privileges of

voting and holding public office. There is a large class of citizens in

every state who can neither vote nor hold public office, such, for

example, as minors, sometimes illiterate persons, those who have not

paid their taxes, those who have been convicted of serious crimes, and

others. On the other hand, aliens in some states are allowed to vote and

hold office, especially if they have formally declared their intention

of becoming citizens. The terms "citizen" and "voter," therefore, are

not identical, since there are some citizens who cannot vote and some

voters who are not citizens. (See page 125.)

[109] The census of New York of 1910 showed that of a total population

of 9,000,000 inhabitants there were more than 2,000,000 aliens.

=How Citizenship is Acquired.=--Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the

federal Constitution, all persons born in the United States[110] are

citizens of the United States, and also of the states in which they

reside. Persons who come here from abroad may become citizens only by

being naturalized.

[110] For some purposes, the residences of foreign diplomatic

representatives are considered as if belonging to the foreign country

represented. Thus a child of the French ambassador, if born in the

ambassador's residence at Washington, is born a citizen of France;

likewise a child of the United States ambassador at Paris, if born at

his residence in France, is nevertheless a natural-born citizen of the

United States.

_Naturalization Law._--To acquire citizenship in this way, they must

reside here for a period of five years, they must also be persons of

good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution and

well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same. Under the law

of 1906 they must also be able to write their own language and be able

to read and speak English. Two steps are necessary in the procedure of

naturalization: first the applicant must go before a federal court or a

court of record in some state and make oath that he is at least eighteen

years of age, and that it is his intention to become a citizen of the

United States. At the same time he must renounce all allegiance to the

foreign state of which he is a citizen or subject and must furnish the

court with a variety of information concerning his past life, including

the date of his arrival in the United States and the name of the ship on

which he arrived. He is then furnished with a certificate which is

popularly known as his "first papers." When he has resided in the United

States at least five years and possesses all the necessary

qualifications the court will issue him a certificate of naturalization

which makes him a citizen. Fees amounting to five dollars are now

charged for filing the petition and issuing the final certificate. In

order to prevent the wholesale naturalization of aliens in the large

cities for election purposes, the law provides that no certificate of

naturalization shall be granted within thirty days prior to any general

election. Any honorably discharged alien from the United States army may

be admitted to citizenship after a residence of one year, and the

preliminary declaration of intention is not required of aliens who have

served five years in the navy.

_Disqualifications._--In addition to the qualifications mentioned above,

there are certain disqualifications which serve to debar many foreigners

from acquiring American citizenship. Thus only white persons and persons

of African nativity are capable of being naturalized under our laws, so

that those belonging to the Mongolian or other races, such as Chinese,

Japanese, Burmese, and East Indians, cannot become citizens of the

United States unless born here. Other persons excluded for different

reasons are polygamists, anarchists, and certain other classes of

criminals who are not considered worthy to enjoy the high privileges of

citizenship.

The naturalization of a husband makes the wife and minor children

citizens, so that they do not have to go through the process of taking

out their "papers."

_Other Methods of Acquiring Citizenship._--Citizenship may be acquired

sometimes in other ways than the method described above. Thus a foreign

woman becomes a citizen by marriage to an American citizen, and the

inhabitants of foreign territory annexed to the United States become

citizens by virtue of their incorporation into the body politic. In this

way the inhabitants of the Louisiana territory, acquired from France,

became citizens. In the same way those of Florida, Texas, California,

Alaska, and Hawaii became citizens, but not those of Porto Rico and the

Philippines. Residents of Porto Rico, however, were made citizens of the

United States by act of Congress in 1917.

=How Citizenship may be Lost.=--As citizenship may be acquired in

various ways so it may be lost by different acts. An American woman

loses her citizenship by marriage to an alien. Acceptance of a

commission in the service of a foreign country; if it involves the

taking of an oath of allegiance to a foreign government, operates to

divest one of his American citizenship. The most common mode by which

citizenship is lost, however, is through voluntary removal from the

country and naturalization in a foreign state. The right of the citizen

to withdraw from the United States, renounce his allegiance, and acquire

the citizenship of a foreign state, is declared by our law to be an

inalienable right. Mere removal from the United States and the

establishment of a residence in a foreign country, however, does not of

itself operate to divest one of his citizenship. An American citizen may

reside abroad many years for the purposes of business, education, or

pleasure, and so long as he preserves an intention of returning to the

United States he is not held to have abandoned his American nationality.

In order to prevent foreigners from coming to the United States,

acquiring our citizenship, and returning to their native country for the

purpose of living there without being subject to the burdens and

obligations of military service, the law declares that a naturalized

American who returns to his native country and resides there for a

period of two years will be presumed to have abandoned his American

citizenship, and unless he can show an intention of returning to America

he will be considered as no longer being a citizen.

=Federal versus State Citizenship.=--In a country having the federal

form of government, the inhabitants have a dual citizenship, that is,

they are citizens of the country as a whole and of the particular state

in which they are residents. Thus our federal Constitution declares that

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

in which they reside. A person, however, may be a citizen of the United

States without at the same time being a citizen of any state, as is the

case with those inhabiting the territories, the District of Columbia,

and other places not forming a part of any state. On the contrary, it

seems to be generally admitted that one may be a citizen of a state

without necessarily being a citizen of the United States. Thus a state

may give an alien full political and civil rights and declare him to be

a citizen of the state before he has become a citizen of the United

States. Some states have in effect done this. It follows, therefore,

that federal and state citizenship are not necessarily identical and

coexistent, since there may be a class of state citizens upon whom the

United States has not conferred its own citizenship, and a class of

United States citizens who are not citizens of any state. The

citizenship of a particular state may be relinquished for that of

another by removal from the former state and the establishment of a

residence in the latter. No legal formality whatever is required to put

off the one and take on the other.

_Interstate Rights of Citizens._--There is a provision in the

Constitution of the United States which declares that the citizens of

each state shall enjoy all the privileges and immunities of the citizens

of the several states. The purpose of this provision is to prevent one

state from discriminating against the citizens of other states in favor

of its own citizens. Whatever rights and privileges it accords to its

own citizens must be accorded equally to citizens of other states who

may be within its borders or who may wish to carry on business therein.

The states are also forbidden by the federal Constitution to abridge the

privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, though the

Constitution does not specify or indicate what these privileges and

immunities are. They include, however, such privileges as the making and

enforcing of contracts, of suing in the courts, of inheriting, holding,

and conveying property, of receiving equal protection of the laws, and,

in general, of enjoying every right or privilege to which the citizen is

entitled under the Constitution and laws of the United States.

=Rights and Duties of Aliens.=--Aliens, though in a political sense

members of foreign states, are, nevertheless, fully subject to the

jurisdiction of the state in which they are domiciled, and owe it a

temporary allegiance. They are bound to obey the laws equally with

citizens, and may be punished for violations of them equally with

citizens. They must also share, to a certain extent, the public burdens,

and may be required to serve in the militia or police (though not in the

regular army) if the common defense and domestic safety require their

services.

_Right of Protection._--It is now universally admitted that they are

entitled to the protection of the government under which they are living

so long as they are within its jurisdiction, but not when they go

abroad. So far as the enjoyment of civil rights is concerned, the

tendency is to treat them on a footing of equality with citizens. Both

the federal and the state courts are open to them on the same terms as

to citizens, and if they suffer injuries in the course of riots and

other disturbances, because of their foreign nationality, especially if

the public authorities fail to use due diligence to prevent or punish

attacks upon them, the United States government will indemnify them or

their heirs for the injuries sustained.[111]

[111] The United States government has uniformly refused to admit its

liability in such cases, but it has in practice generally allowed an

indemnity. This was done, for example, in the case of the Anti-Spanish

riots in New Orleans and Key West in 1851; in the case of the

Anti-Chinese riots at Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1885; and in the case

of the Italian lynchings at New Orleans in 1891.

_Disabilities of Aliens._--Formerly aliens were subject to disabilities

much more commonly than now. Under the common law, for example, they

could not inherit land, but this disability has been abolished in most

of the states, though some still make a distinction between resident and

nonresident aliens in this respect, allowing the former class to take

land by inheritance as well as by purchase but excluding the latter

class. Some states do not allow them to be employed on the public works,

and a few subject them to other disabilities, but they are not important

or numerous.[112] With regard to political privileges, however, the

disabilities of aliens are still generally maintained.

[112] In 1915 the Federal Courts held unconstitutional a law of Arizona

which forbade the employment of more than 20 per cent of aliens in any

work.

=Rights and Obligations of Citizens.=--The chief privilege of

citizenship is that of protection by the government in all personal and

property rights. If the citizen goes abroad for the purpose of business

or pleasure, the government will protect him from wrongful treatment so

long as he obeys the law of the country to which he is, for the time

being, subject, and demeans himself peaceably. If he is injured or

discriminated against because of his foreign nationality, the government

which fails to protect him will be required to make a suitable indemnity

for the injury.

_Equality of Native and Naturalized Citizens._--When it comes to

protecting its citizens abroad, the United States government makes no

distinction between naturalized and native-born citizens. In the case of

a Russian, for example, who comes to America and is naturalized and goes

back to Russia for business or pleasure, our government will insist that

he be treated by the Russian authorities as if he were a native-born

American citizen. At home a naturalized citizen enjoys the same

privileges as a native-born except that he is not eligible to the office

of President or Vice President of the United States.

_Duties and Obligations of Citizens._--Rights and privileges seldom

exist without corresponding duties and obligations, and so citizenship

has its duties. One of these is to contribute to the bearing of the

burdens of the state. This includes the payment of taxes, service in the

militia or army for purposes of defense, and the discharge of such

public trusts as may be imposed. It is, of course, the duty of the

citizen, as it is of every one who lives in the state, to obey the laws

and do what he can to secure their enforcement. Finally, if the citizen

possesses political privileges, it is his duty to take an active part in

securing the election of competent and honest officials to the end that

the government which protects him may be efficient and well

administered.

=Obligations and Duties of Nations: International Law.=--Nations, like

individuals, are bound by rules of conduct in their relations with one

another. The rules governing nations constitute what is known as

international law, a subject of which we have heard much since the

outbreak of the great world war in 1914. The rules of international law,

unlike those of national or municipal law, are not enacted by a

legislative body, for as yet, unfortunately, there is no world

legislature. They consist partly of customary rules and usages, and

partly of international treaties. The most important of these treaties

are those negotiated to end the World War, and also the so-called

conventions, sixteen in number, recommended by the Peace Conferences at

the Hague in 1899 and 1907, and adopted, for the most part, by nearly

all the civilized nations of the world. These conventions contain a

large number of important rules prescribing the conduct to be observed

by nations both in time of war and in time of peace.

Unfortunately, however, international law has one great weakness which

national law does not have. National law has what the lawyers call a

sanction; that is to say, a penalty is prescribed for its violation, and

courts are established for punishing those who violate its rules. But in

the case of international law there is as yet no machinery for bringing

to the bar of justice and inflicting punishment upon a nation which

violates its international duties and obligations, except as the League

of Nations may succeed in performing this function. The only punishment

which has often followed such an act is the reprobation of public

opinion, which unhappily, as the World War has demonstrated, is not a

sufficient deterrent in the case of nations which regard lightly their

obligations of honor and good faith. Thinking men the world over realize

how important it is to make international law more effective, to compel

nations by force or otherwise to observe their international

obligations, and to prevent war, the world's greatest curse.

=References.=--ASHLEY, The American Federal State, ch. xxix; also pp.

212-217. BEARD, American Government and Politics, pp. 160-163.

FULLER, Government by the People, ch. ii. GARNER, Introduction to

Political Science, ch. xi. HART, Actual Government, chs. ii-iv.

HINSDALE, The American Government, ch. liv.

=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. Copy of the federal

citizenship law of 1907. 2. Copy of the naturalization act of 1906.

3. Copies of naturalization blanks and of naturalization

regulations (these may be secured from the bureau of immigration

and naturalization). 4. Copy of an application for a passport (this

may be secured from the department of state). 5. Copy of a

passport.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is a citizen? Distinguish between native-born and naturalized

citizens; between citizens and electors.

2. Is the citizenship of a child determined by the law of the place

where it is born or by the law of the place of which the parents are

citizens? Distinguish between the English and American practice in this

respect, on the one hand, and the continental European practice on the

other.

3. What would be the citizenship of a child born in the United States if

the father were the ambassador of a foreign country, temporarily

residing here? What would be the citizenship of a child born of American

parents on the high seas? of a child born abroad of American parents? of

a child born in the United States if the father were a foreign consul

here?

4. A child born in the United States of French parents would be a

citizen of the United States under our law; it would also be a citizen

of France, according to French law. Which citizenship would prevail?

5. Do you think our law should admit persons of African descent to

become citizens and yet deny the right to Japanese, Chinese, and natives

of India?

6. May one be a citizen of two different countries at the same time?

7. What would be the status of an American woman who lost her American

citizenship by marrying a foreigner, in case of the death of her

husband? How could she reacquire her original citizenship?

8. How long may an American reside abroad without losing his

citizenship?

9. Many Europeans, in order to escape military service in their country,

have emigrated to America, acquired our citizenship and returned to

their native country. Will the United States government protect such

persons against impressment into the military service?

10. Suppose a citizen of New York moves to Pennsylvania and establishes

a residence there. Does that act without any legal formality make him a

citizen of Pennsylvania?

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION BETWEEN THE STATES OF

NEW HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS BAY, RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE

PLANTATIONS, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA,

DELAWARE, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND

GEORGIA

ARTICLE I.--The style of this confederacy shall be, "The United States

of America."

ART. II.--Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence,

and every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not by this

confederation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress

assembled.

ART. III.--The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of

friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of

their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding

themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks

made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty,

trade, or any other pretense whatever.

ART. IV.--The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and

intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, the

free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and

fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and

immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of

each State shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other

State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce,

subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions, as the

inhabitants thereof respectively; provided that such restrictions shall

not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into

any State, to any other State of which the owner is an inhabitant;

provided, also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction, shall be

laid by any State on the property of the United States or either of

them.

If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high

misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any

of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the governor or executive

power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, and removed to

the State having jurisdiction of his offense.

Full faith and credit shall be given, in each of these States, to the

records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of

every other State.

ART. V.--For the more convenient management of the general interests of

the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner

as the legislature of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on

the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to

each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within

the year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the

year.

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more

than seven members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate

for more than three years, in any term of six years; nor shall any

person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the

United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any

salary, fees, or emolument of any kind.

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in any meeting of the States

and while they act as members of the committee of the States.

In determining questions in the United States in Congress assembled,

each State shall have one vote.

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or

questioned in any court or place out of Congress; and the members of

Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and

imprisonments during the time of their going to and from, and attendance

on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

ART. VI.--No State, without the consent of the United States, in

Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy

from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty, with

any king, prince, or state; nor shall any person holding any office of

profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of any

present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any

king, prince, or foreign state; nor shall the United States, in Congress

assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility.

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or

alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United

States, in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for

which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue.

No States shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with any

stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States, in Congress

assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties

already proposed by Congress to the courts of France and Spain.

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace, by any State,

except such number only as shall be deemed necessary, by the United

States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State or its

trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up, by any State, in time of

peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the United States,

in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts

necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall always

keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and

accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in

public stores, a due number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper

quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage.

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the United

States, in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by

enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being

formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger is

so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United States, in

Congress assembled, can be consulted; nor shall any State grant

commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or

reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the United States,

in Congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state, and

the subjects thereof against which war has been so declared, and under

such regulations as shall be established by the United States, in

Congress assembled, unless such State be infested by pirates, in which

case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so

long as the danger shall continue, or until the United States, in

Congress assembled, shall determine otherwise.

ART. VII.--When land forces are raised by any State for the common

defense, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be

appointed by the legislature of each State respectively by whom such

forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct,

and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the

appointment.

ART. VIII.--All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be

incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the

United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common

treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States, in proportion

to the value of all land within each State, granted to, or surveyed for,

any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon

shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States, in

Congress assembled, shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. The

taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the

authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States,

within the time agreed upon by the United States, in Congress assembled.

ART. IX.--The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have the sole

and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in

the cases mentioned in the sixth Article; of sending and receiving

ambassadors; entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no

treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the

respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and

duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from

prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or

commodities whatsoever; of establishing rules for deciding, in all

cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner

prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United

States, shall be divided or appropriated; of granting letters of marque

and reprisal in times of peace; appointing courts for the trial of

piracies and felonies committed on the high seas; and establishing

courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of

captures; provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge

of any of the said courts.

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also be the last resort

on appeal, in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that

hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning boundary,

jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always

be exercised in the manner following: Whenever the legislative or

executive authority, or lawful agent of any State in controversy with

another, shall present a petition to Congress, stating the matter in

question, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by

order of Congress, to the legislative or executive authority of the

other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the

parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint,

by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for

hearing and determining the matter in question; but if they can not

agree, Congress shall name three persons out of each of the United

States, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately

strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be

reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven nor more

than nine names, as Congress shall direct, shall, in the presence of

Congress, be drawn out by lot; and the persons whose names shall be so

drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear

and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the

judges, who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determination; and

if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without

showing reasons which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present,

shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three

persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in

behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence

of the court, to be appointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be

final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit

to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or

cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence or

judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment

or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to

Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security of the

parties concerned; provided, that every commissioner, before he sits in

judgment, shall take an oath, to be administered by one of the judges of

the supreme or superior court of the State where the cause shall be

tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question,

according to the best of his judgment, without favor, affection, or hope

of reward." Provided, also, that no State shall be deprived of territory

for the benefit of the United States.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under

different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions, as they may

respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are

adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time

claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of

jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party to the Congress of

the United States, be finally determined, as near as may be, in the same

manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting

territorial jurisdiction between different States.

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also have the sole and

exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin

struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective States;

fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the United

States; regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians

not members of any of the States; provided that the legislative right of

any State, within its own limits, be not infringed or violated;

establishing and regulating post offices from one State to another

throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage on the

papers passing through the same, as may be requisite to defray the

expenses of the said office; appointing all officers of the land forces

in the service of the United States, excepting regimental officers;

appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all

officers whatever in the service of the United States; making rules for

the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and

directing their operations.

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have authority to

appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated

"A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each

State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be

necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under

their direction; to appoint one of their number to preside, provided

that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than

one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of

money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to

appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses; to

borrow money or emit bills on the credit of the United States,

transmitting every half year to the respective States an account of the

sums of money so borrowed or emitted; to build and equip a navy; to

agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each

State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in

such State, which requisition shall be binding; and thereupon the

Legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise

the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier-like manner at the

expense of the United States; and the officers and men so clothed,

armed, and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the

time agreed on by the United States, in Congress assembled; but if the

United States, in Congress assembled, shall, on consideration of

circumstances, judge proper that any State should not raise men, or

should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other State

should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra

number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the

same manner as the quota of such State, unless the Legislature of such

State shall judge that such extra number can not be safely spared out of

the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and

equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared,

and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march to

the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States,

in Congress assembled.

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall never engage in a war,

nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter

into any treatise or alliances; nor coin money, nor regulate the value

thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense

and welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor

borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money,

nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or

the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a

commander-in-chief of the army or navy, unless nine States assent to the

same, nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning

from day to-day, be determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the

United States, in Congress assembled.

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any

time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that

no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six

months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly,

except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military

operations as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays

of the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be entered on the

journal when it is desired by any delegate; and the delegates of a

State, or any of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with

a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above

excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States.

ART. X.--The committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be

authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of

Congress as the United States, in Congress assembled, by the consent of

nine States, shall, from time to time, think expedient to vest them

with; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the

exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine

States, in the Congress of the United States assembled, is requisite.

ART. XI.--Canada, acceding to this confederation, and joining in the

measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to

all the advantages of this Union; but no other colony shall be admitted

into the same unless such admission be agreed to by nine States.

ART. XII.--All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts

contracted by or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling

of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall

be deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for

payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States and the public

faith are hereby solemnly pledged.

ART. XIII.--Every State shall abide by the determinations of the United

States, in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this

Confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this

Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union

shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be

made in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress

of the United States; and be afterward confirmed by the legislatures of

every State.

_And whereas_ it hath pleased the great Governor of the world to incline

the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to

approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of

Confederation and perpetual Union, Know ye, that we, the undersigned

delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that

purpose, do, by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our

respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and

every of the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, and all

and singular the matters and things therein contained. And we do further

solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents,

that they shall abide by the determinations of the United States, in

Congress assembled, on all questions which by the said Confederation are

submitted to them; and that the Articles thereof shall be inviolably

observed by the States we respectively represent, and that the Union

shall be perpetual. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands

in Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, the

ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 1778,[113] and in the third

year of the Independence of America.

[113] Only ten States took action upon the Articles at this time. New

Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland did not ratify them until later.

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES--1787[114]

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect

union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for

the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the

blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and

establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

[114] This reprint of the Constitution exactly follows the text of that

in the Department of State at Washington, save in the spelling of a few

words.

ARTICLE I

SECTION 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a

Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House

of Representatives.

SECTION 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall be composed of members

chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the

electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for

electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.

2 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the

age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United

States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State

in which he shall be chosen.

3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the

several States which may be included within this Union, according to

their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the

whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a

term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all

other persons.[115] The actual enumeration shall be made within three

years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and

within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall

by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for

every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one

representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of

New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight,

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York

six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,

Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia

three.

[115] The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 13th and

14th Amendments.

4 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the

executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such

vacancies.

5 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other

officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

SECTION 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two

senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for six

years; and each senator shall have one vote.[116]

[116] This paragraph was superseded by the 17th Amendment.

2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first

election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.

The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the

expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of

the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth

year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if

vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the

legislature of any State, the executive thereof, may make temporary

appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then

fill such vacancies.[117]

[117] The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 17th

Amendment.

3 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of

thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and

who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which be

shall be chosen.

4 The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the

Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

5 The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president

_pro tempore_, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall

exercise the office of President of the United States.

6 The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When

sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the

President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall

preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two

thirds of the members present.

7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to

removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office

of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party

convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial,

judgment and punishment, according to law.

SECTION 4. 1 The times, places, and manner of holding elections for

senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the

legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or

alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.

2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such

meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by

law appoint a different day.

SECTION 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and

qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall

constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn

from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of

absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House

may provide.

2 Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its

members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two

thirds, expel a member.

3 Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to

time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment

require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on

any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be

entered on the journal.

4 Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the

consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other

place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

SECTION 6. 1 The senators and representatives shall receive a

compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out

of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except

treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest

during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and

in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in

either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

2 No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was

elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the

United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof

shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any

office under the United States shall be a member of either House during

his continuance in office.

SECTION 7. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House

of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments

as on other bills.

2 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and

the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President

of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he

shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall

have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their

journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two

thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent,

together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall

likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House,

it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses

shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons

voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each

House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President

within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to

him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it,

unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which

case it shall not be a law.

3 Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the

Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a

question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the

United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved

by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of

the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and

limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

SECTION 8. 1 The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes,

duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common

defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties,

imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

2 To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several

States, and with the Indian tribes;

4 To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on

the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and

fix the standard of weights and measures;

6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and

current coin of the United States;

7 To establish post offices and post roads; 8 To promote the progress

of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and

inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and

discoveries;

9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

10 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high

seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

11 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules

concerning captures on land and water;

12 To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that

use shall be for a longer term than two years;

13 To provide and maintain a navy;

14 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval

forces;

15 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the

Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

16 To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and

for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the

United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of

the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the

discipline prescribed by Congress;

17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such

district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of

particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the

government of the United States,[118] and to exercise like authority over

all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in

which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,

dockyards, and other needful buildings; and

18 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying

into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this

Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any

department or officer thereof.

[118] The District of Columbia, which comes under these regulations,

had not then been erected.

SECTION 9. 1 The migration or importation of such persons as any of the

States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited

by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight,

but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten

dollars for each person.[119]

[119] A temporary clause, no longer in force. See also Article V.

2 The privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended,

unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may

require it.

3 No bill of attainder or _ex post facto_ law shall be passed.

4 No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in

proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be

taken.

5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State.

6 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue

to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound

to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in

another.

7 No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of

appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the

receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from

time to time.

8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no

person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without

the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office,

or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State.

SECTION 10.[120] 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or

confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit

bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in

payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, _ex post facto_ law, or

law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of

nobility.

[120] See also the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

2 No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts

or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary

for executing its inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and

imposts laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of

the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to

the revision and control of the Congress.

3 No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of

tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any

agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or

engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as

will not admit of delay.

ARTICLE II

SECTION 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested in a President of the

United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of

four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same

term, be elected, as follows

2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof

may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators

and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:

but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust

or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot

for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the

same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the

persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they

shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the

government of the United States, directed to the president of the

Senate. The president of the Senate, shall, in the presence of the

Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the

votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of

votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole

number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have

such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of

Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for

President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest

on the list the said house shall in like manner choose 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. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person

having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice

President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes,

the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.[121]

[121] This paragraph superseded by the 12th Amendment

3 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the

day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same

throughout the United States.

4 No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United

States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be

eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be

eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of

thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United

States.

5 In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,

resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said

office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress

may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or

inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what

officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act

accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be

elected.

6 The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a

compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the

period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive

within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of

them.

7 Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the

following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I

will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States,

and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the

Constitution of the United States."

SECTION 2. 1 The President shall be commander in chief of the army and

navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States,

when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require

the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the

executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their

respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and

pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of

impeachment.

2 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,

to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur;

and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the

Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,

judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United

States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and

which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the

appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the

President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

3 The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may

happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which

shall expire at the end of their next session.

SECTION 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information

of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such

measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on

extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in

case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of

adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper;

he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take

care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the

officers of the United States.

SECTION 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the

United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and

conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III

SECTION 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in

one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from

time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and

inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and

shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation which

shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

SECTION 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and

equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States,

and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to

all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls;--to

all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to controversies to

which the United States shall be a party;--to controversies between two

or more States;--between a State and citizens of another

State;[122]--between citizens of different States,--between citizens of

the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and

between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens

or subjects.

[122] See the 11th Amendment.

2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and

consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court

shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before

mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as

to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the

Congress shall make.

3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by

jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes

shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the

trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have

directed.

SECTION 3. 1 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in

levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them

aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the

testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in

open court.

2 The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason,

but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or

forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV

SECTION 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the

public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State.

And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such

acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

SECTION 2. 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.[123]

[123] See the 13th Amendment.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this

Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them

against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the

executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic

violence.

ARTICLE V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it

necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the

application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States,

shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case,

shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this

Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the

several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one

or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress;

Provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one

thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first

and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that

no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage

in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI

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.

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.

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,

Go: WASHINGTON--

Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia.

(Signed also by thirty-eight other delegates, from twelve states.)

Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the

United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the

legislatures of the several States pursuant to the fifth article of

the original Constitution.

ARTICLES I-X[124]

[124] The first ten Amendments were adopted in 1791.

ARTICLE I. 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.

ARTICLE II. 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.

ARTICLE III. 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.

ARTICLE IV. 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.

ARTICLE V. 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 offense 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.

ARTICLE VI. 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 defense.

ARTICLE VII. 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 reëxamined in

any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the

common law.

ARTICLE VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines

imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

ARTICLE IX. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall

not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

ARTICLE X. 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.

ARTICLE XI[125]

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.

[125] Adopted in 1798.

ARTICLE XII[126]

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.

[126] Adopted in 1804.

ARTICLE XIII[127]

[127] Adopted in 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 power to enforce this article by

appropriate legislation.

ARTICLE XIV[128]

[128] Adopted in 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.

ARTICLE XV[129]

[129] Adopted in 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.

ARTICLE XVI[130]

[130] Adopted in 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.

ARTICLE XVII[131]

[131] Adopted in 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.

ARTICLE XVIII[132]

[132] Adopted in 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 by the Constitution, within seven years from

the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

ARTICLE XIX[133]

[133] Adopted in 1920.

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

sex.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, to

enforce the provisions of this article.

INDEX

Adams, John, as President, 314.

Administrative courts in Europe, 364, _n._

Ad valorem duties, 218.

Agriculture, Department of, 345-346.

Alaska, acquisition, 374.

government, 372-374.

Aliens, disabilities of, 389.

rights and duties of, 388.