[Senate Document 105-11]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
         The CONSTITUTION of the United States


           105th CONGRESS 1st SESSION/SENATE DOCUMENT 105-11

The Declaration of Independence was the promise; the Constitution was 
the fulfillment.




``The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old 
parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam in 
the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; 
and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.''

                                                  Alexander Hamilton, 1775


                            The CONSTITUTION
                          of the United States

                             with Index and
                    The Declaration of Independence



                            First Edition, 1986
                           Second Edition, 1987
                     Third Edition (with index), 1987
                           Fourth Edition, 1988
                            Fifth Edition, 1988
                            Sixth Edition, 1988
             Seventh (Special Limited Inaugural) Edition, 1989
                   Eighth (Special Military) Edition, 1989
                Ninth (Limited Eastern European) Edition, 1990
                  Tenth (Special Boy Scout) Edition, 1990
                 Eleventh (Special Girl Scout) Edition, 1990
           Twelfth Edition (with Declaration of Independence), 1990
                          Thirteenth Edition, 1991
           Fourteenth (HMS Rose/Bill of Rights Tour) Edition, 1991
                          Fifteenth Edition, 1991
                  Sixteenth (Seville Expo '92) Edition, 1992
                  Eighteenth (with Twenty-Seventh Amendment)
                                   Edition, 1992

                            Nineteenth (Reprint) 1997




                           CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED                       
                                     STATES

  We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect 
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the 
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings 
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America.

                                Article. I. 
  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. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members 
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the 
Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for 
Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. 
  No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the 
Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that 
State in which he shall be chosen.
  [Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which maybe included within this Union, according to 
their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a 
Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all 
other Persons.]* The actual Enumeration shall be made within three 
Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, 
and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they 
shall by Law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one 
for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one 
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of 
New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse 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. 

*Changed by section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

  When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the 
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill 
such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker 
and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. 
  Section. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, [chosen by the Legislature thereof,]* for six 
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. 

*Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment.

  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.]* 

*Changed by the Seventeenth Amendment. 

  No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age 
of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he 
shall be chosen. 
  The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. 
  The Senate shall chuse 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.
  The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When 
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When 
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall 
preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of 
two thirds of the Members present. 
  Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office 
of 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. 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 chusing Senators. 
  The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such 
Meeting shall be [on the first Monday in December,]* unless they shall 
by Law appoint a different Day. 

*Changed by section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment. 

  Section. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns 
and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall 
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of 
absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House 
may provide. 
  Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its 
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two 
thirds, expel a Member. 
  Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment 
require 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. 
  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. 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. 
  No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof 
shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any 
Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during 
his Continuance in Office. 
  Section. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House 
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments 
as on other Bills. 
  Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the 
President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if 
not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it 
shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their 
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration 
two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, 
it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses 
shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons 
voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each 
House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, 
unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which 
Case it shall not be a Law. 
  Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the 
United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be 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. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, 
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the 
common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all 
Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United 
States; 
  To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; 
  To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian Tribes;
  To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,  and uniform Laws 
on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
  To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and 
fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; 
  To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and 
current Coin of the United States; 
  To establish Post Offices and post Roads; 
  To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for 
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their 
respective Writings and Discoveries; 
  To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;  
  To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, 
and Offenses against the Law of Nations; 
  To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules 
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
  To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that 
Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; 
  To provide and maintain a Navy; 
  To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval 
Forces; 
  To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the 
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; 
  To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, 
and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service 
of the  United States, reserving to the States respectively, the 
Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; 
  To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such 
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of 
particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of 
the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority 
over an 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 
  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. 
  Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of 
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such 
Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.  
  The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may 
require it. 
  No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. 
  No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in 
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to 
be taken.*  

*See Sixteenth Amendment. 

  No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. 
  No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or 
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall 
Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay Duties in another. 
  No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of 
Appropriations made by Law, and a regular Statement and Account of 
the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published 
from time to time. 
  No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no 
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without 
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, 
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. 
  Section. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or 
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit 
Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in 
Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or 
Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of 
Nobility.  
  No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any 
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely 
necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of 
all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall 
be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws 
shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. 
  No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of 
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any 
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or 
engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as 
will not admit of delay. 

                          Article. II.
                                                                                                                     
  Section. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the 
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen 
for the same Term, be elected, as follows 
  Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof 
may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of 
Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in 
the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an 
Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed 
an Elector. 
  [The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an 
Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a 
List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for 
each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having 
the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number 
be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if 
there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal 
Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
chuse 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 chuse the President. But in chusing 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 chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.]*

*Changed lay the Twelfth Amendment. 

  The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and 
the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the 
same throughout the United States. 
  No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be 
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be 
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of 
thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the 
United States. 
  [In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his 
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties 
of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and 
the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, 
Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, 
declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer 
shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President 
shall be elected.]*

*Changed by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. 

  The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a 
Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, 
or any of them. 
  Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take 
the following Oath or Affirmation:--``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. 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. 
  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. 
  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 Adjoumment, 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 Behaviour, 
and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, 
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. 
  Section. 2. 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;--]* 
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.]* 

*Changed by the Eleventh Amendment. 
  
  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. 
  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. 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. 
  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. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. 
  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.  
  [No Person held to Service or Labour 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 Labour, but 
shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or 
Labour may be due.]* 

*Changed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

  Section. 3. 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. 
  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 it's equal Suffrage in the Senate. 

                          Article. VI. 

  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. 
  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, 
any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary 
notwithstanding. 
  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,

                           G . Washington--Presid . 
                          and deputy from Virginia 


                        New Hampshire  John Langdon 
                                       Nicholas Gilman

                        Massachusetts  Nathaniel Gorham 
                                       Rufus King 
                       
                          Connecticut  Wm. Saml. Johnson 
                                       Roger Sherman
ï¿½
                             New York  Alexander Hamilton 

                           New Jersey  Wil: Livingston 
                                            David Brearley 
                                            Wm. Paterson 
                                            Jona: Dayton 

                          Pennsylvania  B Franklin 
                                        Thomas Mifflin 
                                        Robt Morris 
                                        Geo. Clymer 
                                        Thos. FitzSimons 
                                        Jared Ingersoll 
                                        James Wilson 
                                        Gouv Morris 

                              Delaware  Geo: Read 
                                        Gunning Bedford jun 
                                        John Dickinson 
                                        Richard Bassett 
                                        Jaco: Broom 

                              Maryland  James McHenry 
                                        Dan of St Thos. Jenifer 
                                        Danl Carroll 

                              Virginia  John Blair-- 
                                        James Madison Jr. 

                        North Carolina  Wm. Blount 
                                        Richd. Dobbs Spaight 
                                        Hu Williamson 

                        South Carolina  J. Rutledge 
                                        Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
                                        Charles Pinckney 
                                        Pierce Butler 
                                        Georgia William Few 
                                        Abr Baldwin 

                                      Attest William Jackson Secretary 

                               In Convention Monday 
                                September 17th 1787. 

                                      Present 

                                    The States of


New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Mr. Hamilton from New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. 

Resolved, 
  That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United States 
in Congress assembled, and that it is the Opinion of this Convention, 
that it should afterwards be submitted to a Convention of Delegates, 
chosen in each State by the People thereof, under the Recommendation 
of its Legislature, for their Assent and Ratification; and that each 
Convention assenting to, and ratifying the Same, should give Notice 
thereof to the United States in Congress assembled. Resolved, That it 
is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the Conventions of
nine States shall have ratified this Constitution, the United States 
in Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors should be 
appointed by the States which shall have ratified the same, and a Day 
on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the President, and 
the Time and Place for commencing Proceedings under this Constitution. 
  That after such Publication the Electors should be appointed, and 
the Senators and Representatives elected: That the Electors should meet 
on the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and should transmit 
their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution 
requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled, 
that the Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and 
Place assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the 
Senate, for the sole Purpose of receiving, opening and counting the 
Votes for President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress, 
together with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute 
this Constitution.
                               By the unanimous Order of the Convention 

                                                 Go. WASHINGTON--Presidt.

W.  JACKSON Secretary.




                      *Congress OF THE United States 

                  begun and held at the City of New-York, 
                     on Wednesday the fourth of March, 
                 one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine 

  THE Conventions of a number of the States; having at the time of 
their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to 
prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further 
declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending 
the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure 
the beneficent ends of its institution: 

  RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses 
concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures 
of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of 
the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part 
of the said Constitution; viz.t. 

  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. . . . 

                         FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG 
                         Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
                         JOHN ADAMS, Vice-President of the United States, 
                                             and President of the Senate. 
ATTEST, 
  JOHN BECKLEY, Clerk of the House of Representatives. 
  SAM. A. OTIS Secretary of the Senate.

*On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the state legislatures 
 twelve proposed amendments, two of which, having to do with 
 Congressional representation and Congressional pay, were not adopted. 
 The remaining ten amendments became the Bill of Rights. 

                           AMENDMENTS 
                      TO THE CONSTITUTION 
                             OF THE 
                    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

                          Amendment I.* 

*The first ten Amendments (Bill of Rights) were ratified effective 
December 15, 1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom 
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably 
to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

                          Amendment II. 

  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be 
infringed. 
                
                          Amendment III. 

  No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner 
to be prescribed by law. 


                          Amendment IV. 

  The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

                          Amendment V. 

  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. 

                         Amendment 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 defence. 

                         Amendment 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 reexamined in any Court 
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

                         Amendment VIII. 

  Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

                         Amendment IX. 

  The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 


                         Amendment 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. 

                         Amendment XI.* 

*The Eleventh Amendment was ratified February 7,  1795.

  The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens 
or Subjects of any Foreign State.  

                         Amendment XII.* 

*The Twelfth Amendment was ratified June 15, 1804.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in 
their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make 
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes 
for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--The 
person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall 
be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of Electors appointed, and if no person have such majority, then 
from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on 
the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing 
the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation 
from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and 
a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if 
the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the 
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth PA 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. 

*Superseded by section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment. 
                                 

                          Amendment XIII.** 

**The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified December 6, 1865. 

  Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their 
jurisdiction. 

  Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

                           Amendment XIV.*** 

***The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified July 9, 1868. 

  Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce 
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens 
of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any 
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

  Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President 
and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, 
the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of 
the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of 
such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United 
States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, 
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in 
the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the 
whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

  Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil 
or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having 
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of 
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution 
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But 
Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such 
disability. 

  Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of 
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim 
for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, 
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

  Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

                             Amendment XV.* 

  Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

  Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

                             Amendment XVI.** 

  The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several 
States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

                            Amendment XVII.*** 

  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. 

  *The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified February 3, 1870. 
 **The Sixteenth Amendment was ratified February 3, 1913. 
***The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified April 8, 1913. 


  When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of 
election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments 
until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may 
direct. 

  This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or 
term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

                           Amendment XVIII.* 

  [Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, 
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the 
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof 
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 

  Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent 
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

  Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven 
years from the date of the submission here of to the States by the 
Congress.] 

*The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified January 16, 1914. It was 
repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment, December 5, 1933. 

                             Amendment XIX.* 

  The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of 
sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

                             Amendment XX.** 

  Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end 
at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and 
Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in 
which such terms would have ended if this article had not been 
ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. 

  Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, 
and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless 
they shall by law appoint a different day. 

  Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of 
the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President 
elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been 
chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the 
President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President 
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; 
and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a 
President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, 
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one 
who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly 
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified. 


*The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified August 18, 1920. 

The Twentieth Amendment was ratified January 23, 1933. 


  Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death 
of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose 
a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, 
and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate 
may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have 
devolved upon them. 

  Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of 
October following the ratification of this article. 

  Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the 
date of its submission. 

                             Amendment XXI.* 

  Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States is hereby repealed. 

  Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, 
Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use 
therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, 
is hereby prohibited. 

  Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in 
the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven 
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the 
Congress.

 *The Twenty-First Amendment was ratified December 5, 1933. 

                             Amendment XXII* 

  Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President 
more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, 
or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some 
other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of 
the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any 
person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed 
by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding 
the office of President, or acting as President, during the term 
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office 
of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. 

  Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of threefourths of the several States within seven years from the date 
of its submission to the States by the Congress. 

                            Amendment XXIII.** 

  Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the 
United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: 

  A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the 
whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which 
the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event 
more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those 
appointed by the 
 *The Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified February 27, 1951.
**The Twenty-Third Amendment was ratified March 29, 1961. 

  States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the 
election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed 
by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such 
duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. 

  Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation.

                            Amendment XXIV.* 

  Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in 
any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for 
electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or 
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the 
United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax 
or other tax. 

  Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

                             Amendment XXV.** 

  Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or 
of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. 

  Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice 
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall 
take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of 
Congress. 

  Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro 
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and 
duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written 
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged 
by the Vice President as Acting President. 

*The Twenty-Fourth Amendment was ratified January 23, 1964. 

**The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was ratified February 10, 1967. 


  Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the 
principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body 
as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore 
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their 
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the 
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately 
assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. 

  Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro 
tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume 
the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a 
majority of either the principal officers of the executive department 
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within 
four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the 
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. 
Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty- 
eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within 
twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, 
if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress 
is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses 
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his 
office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as 
Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers 
and duties of his office. 

                            Amendment XXVI* 

  Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. 

  Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

                           Amendment XXVII** 

  No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators 
and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of 
Representatives shall have intervened. 

 *The Twenty-Sixth Amendment was ratified July 1, 1971. 
**Congress submitted the text of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the 
  States as part of the proposed Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789. 
  The Amendment was not ratified together with the first ten Amendments, 
  which became effective on December 15, 1791. The Twenty-Seventh 
  Amendment was ratified on May 7, 1992, by the vote of Michigan. . 

                                Appendix 

                           THE DECLARATION OF 
                              INDEPENDENCE 

Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous 
Declaration of the thirteen United States of America 

  WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one 
People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them 
with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the 
separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of 
Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of 
Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the Separation. 

   WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created 
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of 
Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted 
among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the 
Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive 
of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish 
it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such 
Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall 
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, 
indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be 
changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience 
hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are 
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which 
they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, 
pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them 
under 

absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off 
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. 
Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is 
now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems 
of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a 
History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct 
Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. 
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World. 

  HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary 
for the public Good. 

  HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing 
Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should 
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend 
to them. 

  HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large 
Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right 
of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, 
and formidable to Tyrants only. 

  HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public 
Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance 
with his Measures. 

  HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with 
manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People. 

  HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of 
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; 
the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of 
Invasion from without, and Convulsions within. 

  HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for 
that Purpose obstructing 

the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to 
encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new 
 Appropriations of Lands. 

  HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his 
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. 

  HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of 
their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries. 

  HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms 
of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance. 

  HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace Standing Armies, without 
the consent of our Legislatures. 

  HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior 
to the Civil Power. 

  HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign 
to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his 
Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: 

  FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us: 

  FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any 
Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: 

  FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World: 

  FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 

  FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury: 

  FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences: 

  FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring 
Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging 
its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit 
Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies: 

  FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and 
altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: 

  FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever. 

  HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his 
Protection and waging War against us. 

 HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and 
destroyed the Lives of our People. 

  HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign 
Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, 
already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely 
paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head 
of a civilized Nation.

  HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high 
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners 
of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. 

  HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has 
endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the 
merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an 
undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions. 

  IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress 
in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered 
only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by 
every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a 
free People. 

  NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We 
have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to 
extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them 
of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have 
appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured 
them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, 
which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. 
They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. 
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which, denounces our 
Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in 
War, in Peace, Friends. 

  WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the 
World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by 
Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and 
Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, 
FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all 
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection 
between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be 
totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have 
full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish 
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES 
may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm 
Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge 
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. 

                           DATES TO REMEMBER
May 25, 1787: The Constitutional Convention opens with a quorum of 
seven states in Philadelphia to discuss revising the Articles of 
Confederation. Eventually all states but Rhode Island are represented. 

Sept. 17, 1787: All 12 state delegations approve the Constitution, 39 
delegates sign it of the 42 present, and the Convention formally 
adjourns.

June 21, 1788: The Constitution becomes effective for the ratifying 
states when New Hampshire is the ninth state to ratify it. 

March 4, 1789: The first Congress under the Constitution convenes in 
New York City. 

April 30, 1789: George Washington is inaugurated as the first President 
of the United States. 

June 8, 1789: James Madison introduces proposed Bill  of Rights in the 
House of Representatives. 

Sept. 24, 1789: Congress establishes a Supreme Court, 13 district 
courts, three ad hoc circuit courts, and the position of Attorney 
General.

Sept. 25, 1789: Congress approves 12 amendments and sends them to the 
states for ratification. 

Feb. 2, 1790: Supreme Court convenes for the first time after an 
unsuccessful attempt February 1. 


Dec. 15, 1791: Virginia ratifies the Bill of Rights, and 10 of the 12 
proposed amendments become part of the U.S. Constitution. 

                       INDEX TO CONSTITUTION AND 
                              AMENDMENTS 

                                    Article, Section               Page 

Admiralty & maritime cases           III,2                           13 
Advice and consent                   II,2                            11 
Age, as qualification for public 
  office 
 president                           II,1                            10 
 representatives                     I,2                              1 
 senators                            I,3                              3 
 voting                              A26                             34 
Ambassadors 
 Case controversies                  III,2                           13 
 President's power                   II,2-3                       11-12 
Amendment procedure                  V                               15 
Appellate jurisdiction               III,2                           13 
Appointment power                    II,2-3                       11-12 
Appointments, temporary              A17                             28 
Apportionment of 
  representatives                    I,2;A14,2                   1-2,26 
 Appropriations(s)                   I,8,9                          7,8 
Arms, right to bear                  A2                              21 
Army                                 II,2                            11 
Assembly, right of                   A1                              21 
Authors                              I,8                              6 
Bail, excessive                      A8                              23 
Bankruptcy, Congress' power          I,8                              6 
Bill of Rights (Amends. 1-10)        A1-A10                       21-23 
Bills                                I,7                            5-6 
Bills of attainder                   I,9-10                           8 
Borrowing, Congress' power           I,8                              6 
Cabinet officers' reports            II,2                            11 
Census                               I,2                            1-2 
Chief Justice, role in 
  impeachment trials                 I,3                              3 
Commander in Chief                   II,2                            11 
Commerce, Congress' power            I,8                              6 
Commission of officers               II,3                            12 
Compact                              I,10                             9   Congress
  annual meetings                    I,4;A20,2                   3-4,29 
  declaring war                      I,8                              6 
  legislative proceedings            I,5                              4 
  members' compensation and
    privileges                       I,6;A27                     4-5,34 
  organization                       I,1                              1 
  powers                             I,8;A12                  6-7,24-25 
  special sessions                   II,3                            12 
  Congressional Record (Journal)     I,5                              4 
  Constitution, purpose              Preamble                         1 

                                     Article, Section              Page 
Contracts, interference by states    I,10                             8 
Controversies, court cases           III,2                           13 
Conventions                          V;VII;A21                 15,16,30 
Copyrights & patents, 
  Congress' power                    I,8                              6 
Counsel, right to                    A6                              22 
Counterfeiting, Congress'
  power to punish                    I,8                              6 
Courts (see judiciary)
Criminal proceedings, rights of
  accused                            A5;A6                           22 
Currency, Congress' power            I,8                              6 
Defense, Congress' power             I,8                              6 
District of Columbia                 I,8;A23                       7,31 
Double jeopardy                      A5                              22 
Due process of law                   A5;A14,1                  22,25-16 
Electoral College                    II,1;A12;A23            9-11,24-25 
                                                                  31-32 
Equal protection of laws             A14,1                        25-26 
Equity                               III,2;A11                    13,23 
Ex post facto laws                   I,9-10                           8 
Extradition of fugitives by states   IV,2                            14 
Fines, excessive                     A8                              23 
Foreign affairs, President's 
  power                              II,2                         11-12 
Foreign commerce, Congress' 
  power                              I,8                              6 
``Full faith and credit'' clause     IV,1                            14 
General welfare, Congress' 
  power                              I,8                              6 
Grand jury indictments               A5                              22 
Grievances, redress of               A1                              21 
Habeas corpus                        I,9                              8 
House of Representatives 
  election to & eligibility for      I,2                              1 
  members' terms of office           I,2;I,6                        1,4 
  Speaker of                         I,2;A24;A25,3-4            2,32-33 
  special powers
   impeachment                       I,2                              2 
   Presidential elections            II,1;A12                9-10,24-25 
   revenue bills                     I,7                              5 
  states' representation in          I,2                            1-2 
  vacancles                          I,2                              2 
Immunities (see Privileges and 
   immunities)
Impeachment 
  officials subject to               II,4                            12 
  penalties                          I,3                              3 
  power of, lodged in House          I,2                              2 
  reasons                            II,4                            12 
  trials, Senate                     I,3                              3 

                                     Article, Section              Page 

Indians, commerce with, 
   Congress' power                   I,8                              6 
Inhabitant (see Resident)            I,2;I,3                        I,3 
International law, Congress' 
   power                             I,8                              6 
Inventors                            I,8                              6 
Judiciary 
 inferior courts                     I,8;III,1                     6,12 
 judicial review                     III,2                           13 
 jurisdiction                        III,2                           13 
 nomination & confirmation of 
  judges                             II,2                         11-12 
 Supreme Court                       III,1                           12 
 terms of office & 
  compensation                       III,1                           12 
Jury trials                          III,2;A6;A7               13,22,23 
``Lame duck'' amendment              A20                             29 
Liquor                               A18;A21                      28,30 
Marque and reprisal, letters of      I,8,10                         6,8 
Men (see Persons) 
Militia (Military)                   A2;A5                        21,22 
 congressional powers                I,8                              7 
 presidential powers                 II,2                         11-12 
Money                                I,8                              6 
National debt                        VI                           15-16 
Native Americans (see Indians) 
Naturalization                       I,8                              6 
Navy                                 I,8;II,2                      7,11 
``Necessary and proper'' clause      I,8                              7 
Nominate                             II,2;A25                     11,32 
Oath of office, federal and state    II,1;VI                      11,16 
Original Jurisdiction                III,2                           13 
Pardons and reprieves, 
  President's power                  II,2                            11 
People, powers reserved to           A10                             23 
Persons                              A14                          25-26 
Petition the government, 
  right to                           A1                              21 
``Pocket veto''                      I,7                              5 
Poll tax, prohibition                A24,1                           32 
Post offices & roads, Congress' 
  power                              I,8                              6 
Presidency, succession to            II,1;A20;A25           10-11,29-30 
President                                                         32-33 
 disability                          A25,3                        32-33 
 election                            II,1;A12;A22           9-10,24-25, 
                                     A23                       31,31-32 
 eligibility for office              II,1                            10 
 legislation, role in                I,7                              5

                                     Article, Section              Page 
President--Continued
 oath of office                      II,1                            11 
 powers & duties                     II,2-3                       11-12 
 term of office & compensation       II,1                          9-11 
Press, freedom of                    A1                              21 
Privileges and immunities (of 
  citizens)                          IV,2;A14,1                14,25-26 
Prohibition                          A18;A21                      28,30 
Property, taking for public use      A5                              22 
Punishments, cruel and 
  unusual                            A8                              23 
Race                                 A15                             27 
Ratification of Constitution         V;VII                        15,16 
Religion, freedom of                 A1                              21 
Religious oaths                      VI                              16 
Resident (see Inhabitant)            II,1                            10 
Search and seizure                   A4                              22 
Seas, Congress' power                I,8                              6 
Secrecy                              I,5                              4 
Self-incrimination                   A5                              22 
Senate
 election to & eligibility for       I,3                              3 
 equal representation of states      V                               15 
 officers                            I,3                              3 
 President of                        I,3;A12                    3,24-25 
 President of, pro tempore           I,3;A25,3-4                3,32-33 
 special powers 
  impeachment trials                 I,3                              3 
  Presidential appointments          II,2                         11-12 
  treaties                           II,2                         11-12 
 terms of office                     I,3;I,6                        2,4 
 vacancies                           A17                          27-28 
Slavery, prohibition                 A13;A14,4                 25,26-27 
Soldiers, quartering of              A3                              21 
Speech, freedom of                   A1                              21 
Spending, Congress' power            I,8                              6 
State of Union message               II,3                            12 
States 
  and federal elections              I,4                              3 
  formation & admission to 
    Union                            IV,3                            14 
  powers requiring consent of 
    Congress                         I,10                           8-9 
  powers reserved to                 A10                             23 
  protection against invasion, 
    violence                         IV,4                            15 
  republican form of 
    government guaranteed            IV,4                            15 
  suits against                      III,2;A11                 13,23-24 


                                     Articles, Section             Page 
Sundays                              I,7                              5 
Supreme law of the land 
   (Constitution)                    VI                            15-16 
Taxing power, in general             I,7-8                           5-6 
  direct taxes prohibited            I,9                               8 
  income taxes permitted             A16                              27 
Territories                          IV,3                          14-15 
Titles of nobility                   I,9                               8 
Treason                              III,3                            13 
Treaty(ies)                          I,10;II,2;                  8,11,13 
                                     III,2;VI                      15-16 
Trial                                I,3;III,2;               3,13,22,23 
                                     A6;A7 
Veto, President's power              I,7                               5 
Vice-Presidency, succession to       A20;A25                 29-30,32-33 
Vice-President 
  conditons for assuming 
    Presidency                       II,1;A20;A25               10,29-30 
                                                                   32-33 
  declaring President disabled, 
    role in                          A25,4                            33 
  Senate, role in                    I,3;A12                     3,24-25 
  term of office                     II,1                              9 
Voting rights                        A14;A24                    25-27,32 
  blacks, former slaves              A15,1                            27 
  eighteen-years-old                 A26                              34 
  women                              A19                              29 
War powers (see Congress, 
  declaring war powers; 
  President, powers & duties; 
  States, protection against 
  invasion) 
Warrants                             A4                               22 
Weights and measures 
   standards of                      I,8                               6 
Women (see Persons) 




``...a constitution, intended to endure for ages to come, and 
  consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.''
                                                           
                                                          John Marshall




At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin 
was asked, ``What have you wrought?'' He answered, 
      ``...a Republic, if you can keep it.''

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