From: leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: U.S. Constitution/Declaration of Independence texts
Reply-To: 70465.203@compuserve.com
Organization: SCN Research/Qic Laboratories of Tigard, Oregon.
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 05:49:29 GMT

lando@cirrus.com (Dave Landis) writes:

>Bits and pieces of the U.S. Constitution appear have appeared in this
>newsgroup with commentary interspersed.  Does anyone have the text to
>the Constitution and/or the Declaration of Independence [without comments]?   I have
>a hard copy of the Constituion at home in my file cabinet, but it would be
>nice to have it on disk.

This copy doesn't have the 27th amendment... but the rest is there.

-----------------
     CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS AMENDED
 
Keyed and uploaded by :: Paul F. :: [73520,1454]. Please notify me of
any errors, and I will correct the file.
 
 
                    PREAMBLE
 
     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. [1] The House of Representatives shall be composed of
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite
for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
 
     [2] No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
 
     [3] Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union, according
to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to
the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for
a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other Persons. 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.
 
     [4] When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State,
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill
such Vacancies.
 
     [5] The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and
other Officers; and shall have the sole power of Impeachment.
 
     Section 3. [1] The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof,
for six years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
 
     [2] Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of
the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into
three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be
vacated at the Expiration of the Second Year, of the second Class at
the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the
Expiration of the Sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every
second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise,
during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive
thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the
Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
 
     [3] No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to
the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that
State for which he shall be chosen.
 
     [4] The Vice President of the United States shall be President of
the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
 
     [5] The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a
President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when
he shall execute Office of President of the United States.
 
     [6] The Senate shall have the sole power to try all Impeachments.
When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation.
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice
shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without the
Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
 
     [7] Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend any further
than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy
any Office of Honor, Trust, or Profit under the United States: but the
Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to
Indictment, Trial, Judgment, and Punishment, according to Law.
 
     Section 4. [1] The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by
the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make
or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing
Senators.
 
     [2] The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and
such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they
shall by Law appoint a different Day.
 
     Section 5. [1] Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections,
Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each
shall constitute a Quorum to do business; but a smaller Number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such penalties
as each House may provide.
 
     [2] Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish
its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two
thirds, expel a Member.
 
     [3] Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their
judgment require Secrecy, and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of
either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of
those Present, be entered on the Journal.
 
     [4] Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without
the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, not to any
other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
 
     Section 6. [1] The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid
out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any
Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any
other Place.
 
     [2] No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which
he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority
of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments
whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person
holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of
either House during his Continuance in Office.
 
     Section 7. [1] All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in
the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur
with Amendments as on other Bills.
 
     [2] Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be
presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he
shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to
the 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
Law.
 
     [3] Every Order, Resolution, or Vote, to Which the Concurrence of
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the
United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two
thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the
Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
 
     Section 8. [1] The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect
Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for
the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all
Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United
States;
 
     [2] To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
 
     [3] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
 
     [4] To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
 
     [5] To coin money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
 
     [6] To provide for the Punishment of counterfeit the Securities
and current Coin of the United States;
 
     [7] To Establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
 
     [8] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive
Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
 
     [9] To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
 
     [10] To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
 
     [11] To declare War, grant letters of Marque and Reprisal, and
make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
 
     [12] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money
to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
 
     [13] To provide and maintain a Navy;
 
     [14] To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and naval Forces;
 
     [15] To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
 
     [16] To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the
Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the
Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively,
the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the
Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
 
     [17] To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession
of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat
of the Government of the United States, and to exercise 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
 
     [18] To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other 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. [1] The Migration or Importation of Such Persons as
any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not
be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such
Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
 
     [2] The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when in cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public
Safety may require it.
 
     [3] No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
 
     [4] No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be
taken.
 
     [5] No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
State.
 
     [6] No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall
Vessels bound to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or
pay Duties in another.
 
     [7] No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence
of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of
the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published
from time to time.
 
     [8] No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States:
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall,
without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any Present, Emolument,
Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from and King, Prince, or
foreign State.
 
     Section 10. [1] 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.
 
     [2] No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing it's inspection Laws; and the net Produce of
all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports and 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.
 
     [3] No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay and Duty
of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into
any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power,
or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger
as will not admit of delay.
 
                    Article II
 
     Section 1. [1] The executive Power shall be vested in a President
of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for
the same Term, be elected, as follows:
 
     [2] Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of
Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in
Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an
Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed
an Elector.
 
     [3] 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 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 a 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.
 
     [4] 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.
 
     [5] 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.
 
     [6] 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.
 
     [7] The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his
Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased or
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.
 
     [8] Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take
the following Oath or Affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
 
     Section 2. [1] The President shall be Commander in Chief of the
Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he
may be require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in
each of the Executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except
in cases of Impeachment.
 
     [2] He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of
the Senate to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Minister and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law; but the
Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as
they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in
the Heads of Departments.
 
     [3] The President shall have power to fill up all Vacancies that
may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions
which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
 
     Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of
them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the
Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall
think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers;
he shall take Care that the Laws shall 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. [1] The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in
Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the
United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to
Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to
Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and
Citizens of another State;--between Citizens of different States;--
between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under the Grants of
different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and
foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
 
     [2] In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a Party, the supreme
Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before
mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both
as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations
as the Congress shall make.
 
     [3] The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment,
shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the
said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within
any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress
may by Law have directed.
 
     Section 3. [1] Treason against the United States, shall consist
only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies,
giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason
unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on
Confession in open Court.
 
     [2] The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood,
or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
 
                    Article IV
 
     Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to
the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other
State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in
which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the
Effect thereof.
 
     Section 2. [1] The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to
all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
 
     [2] A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State,
shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he
fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction
of the Crime.
 
     [3] No Person held to Service or 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 who such Service or
Labour may be due.
 
     Section 3. [1] New States may be admitted by the Congress into
this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the
Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the
Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
Congress.
 
     [2] The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other
Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the
United States, or of any particular State.
 
     Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in
this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of
them against invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of
the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against
domestic Violence.
 
                    Article V
 
     The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States,
shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which in either
Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of
the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the
one or other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first
and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that
no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage
in the Senate.
 
                    Article VI
 
     [1] All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the
Adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
 
     [2] This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which
shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which
shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the
supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound
thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the
Contrary notwithstanding.
 
     [3] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and
judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several
States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this
Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
 
                    Article VII
 
     The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be
sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the
States so ratifying the Same.
 
 
 
 
                    Amendment I [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 [1791]
 
     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 [1791]
 
     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 [1791]
 
     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 probably cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
 
                    Amendment V [1791]
 
     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.
 
                    Amendment VI [1791]
 
     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 [1791]
 
     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 jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
 
                    Amendment VIII [1791]
 
     Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
 
                    Amendment IX [1791]
 
     The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
 
                    Amendment X [1791]
 
     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 [1798]
 
     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 States, or by Citizens
or Subjects of any Foreign State.
 
                    Amendment XII [1804]
 
     The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by
ballot for President and Vice-President, on of whom, at least, shall
not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and
of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes
for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed
to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the
presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the
certificates and all the votes shall then be counted;--The person
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
Electors appointed; and if no person have such a majority, then from
the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from
each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of
a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of
all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of
choice shall devolve upon them before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the
President.--The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-
President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate
shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for this 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.
 
                    Amendment XIII [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 the power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.
 
                    Amendment XIV [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 Legislatures 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 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 [1870]
 
     Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
 
     Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.
 
                    Amendment XVI [1913]
 
     The Congress shall have the 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 [1913]
 
     [1] 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.
 
     [2] 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.
 
     [3] 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 [1919]
 
     Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article
the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from
the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction
thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
 
     Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
 
     Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the
Congress.
 
                    Amendment XIX [1920]
 
     [1] The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account
of sex.
 
     [2] Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
 
                    Amendment XX [1933]
 
     Section 1. The terms of the President and the Vice President
shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of
Senators and Representatives an 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 the 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.
 
     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 [1933]
 
     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 Constitutions 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.
 
                    Amendment XXII [1951]
 
     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 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 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 three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the
date of its submission to the States by Congress.
 
                    Amendment XXIII [1961]
 
     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 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 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 [1964]
 
     Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in
any primary or other election for President or Vice President, or for
Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States, or any States 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 [1967]
 
     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 of 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 Representative
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.
 
     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 [1971]
 
     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 the power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.

-- 
Leonard Erickson		      leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com
CIS: [70465,203]			 70465.203@compuserve.com
FIDO:   1:105/51	 Leonard.Erickson@f51.n105.z1.fidonet.org
(The CIS & Fido addresses are preferred)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.usa.constitution,alt.society.civil-liberty