Democracy In America, Volume 2
by
Alexis de Toqueville
Part 8 out of 8
result would be a regular, clear, exact, and absolute system of
government; the people would become the reflection of the army,
and the community be drilled like a garrison.
Appendix Z
It cannot be absolutely or generally affirmed that the
greatest danger of the present age is license or tyranny, anarchy
or despotism. Both are equally to be feared; and the one may as
easily proceed as the other from the selfsame cause, namely, that
"general apathy," which is the consequence of what I have termed
"individualism": it is because this apathy exists, that the
executive government, having mustered a few troops, is able to
commit acts of oppression one day, and the next day a party,
which has mustered some thirty men in its ranks, can also commit
acts of oppression. Neither one nor the other can found anything
to last; and the causes which enable them to succeed easily,
prevent them from succeeding long: they rise because nothing
opposes them, and they sink because nothing supports them. The
proper object therefore of our most strenuous resistance, is far
less either anarchy or despotism than the apathy which may almost
indifferently beget either the one or the other.
Constitution Of The United States Of America
We The People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity,
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 of chosen every second Year by the People of the several
States, and the Electors in each States 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 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. 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.
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 choose 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.
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.
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 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.
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 choosing 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.
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 a
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 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. 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 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.
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 Offences 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 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, Dock-Yards, 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.
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 or 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 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.
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 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.]*d
[Footnote *d : This clause is superseded by Article XII,
Amendments. See page 396.]
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.
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.
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 Offences 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 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 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.
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.
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 its 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,
Go: Washington
Presidt. and deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut
Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman
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
Peirce Butler.
Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin
Attest William Jackson, Secretary
The Word 'the,' being interlined between the seventh and
eighth Lines of the first Page, The word 'Thirty' being partly
written on an Erasure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page,
The Words 'is tried' being interlined between the thirty-second
and thirty-third Lines of the first Page, and the Word 'the'
being interlined between the forty-third and forty-fourth Lines
of the second page.
[Note by the Department of State. - The foregoing
explanation in the original instrument is placed on the left of
the paragraph beginning with the words, 'Done in Convention,' and
therefore precedes the signatures. The interlined and rewritten
words, mentioned in it, are in this edition printed in their
proper places in the text.]
Bill Of Rights
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
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 pe
ple 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
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any Criminal Case to be a witness against himself,
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public
use, without just compensation.
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 favour, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
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 re-
examined 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
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.
Article XII
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 ofhose 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 a 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.
Article XIII
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
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
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, colour, or previous condition of
servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
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