Beißen Gedanken: The U.S. Constitution

Founding Fathers Home Page > Documents > The U.S. Constitution

Read this and know it forwards and backwards. If we lose this we are

toast and it is under heavy attack by enemies both foreign and domestic!

Sardar

The Constitution

of the United States of America

Note: The following text is a transcription

of the Constitution in its original form.

Items in hypertext have since been

amended or superseded.

----------------------------------------------------------

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect

Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the

common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of

Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this

Constitution for the United States of America.

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 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 chose 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 chose 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 chose 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 Behavior, 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 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 Defense 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 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.

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.

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.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines

of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure 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.

Attest William Jackson Secretary

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

Presidt and deputy from Virginia

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

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

Also see: The Bill of Rights, Amendments to the Constitution (11-27).

Tell a friend. Click here to e-mail a Founding Fathers "virtual

postcard."

Constitution-related books and items from Amazon

Americana posters and prints from AllPosters

http://www.foundingfathers.info/documents/constitution.html

This is the right way to transform the country.

All else is unConstitutional and non-binding

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.

**********

Looking for a break? I found one.

Sunday nights I tune in old-time radio (mostly the 1940's)

Twilight Zone, Johnny Dollar, Red Skelton,

Marshall Dillon (starring Robert Conrad aka Cannon)

Many others.

Sundays only starting around 7PM to Midnight

http://www.wlobradio.com/index.php

........................................................................................

Your 401K

Google --> Help you manage your 401K 19 trillion consumer investments office for older dodd frank

Your Gun