Year: 1862

engage IN war, unless actually invaded,
or in such imminent danger as will not
admit ofdelay,


ARTICLE II.


OF THE EXEcTIvE.


Sec. l, The executive power shall be
vested in President of the United States
of America He shall hold his office du-
ring 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 man
ner as the legislature thereof may direct,
a number OF electors, equal to the whole
number of senator's 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 res
pective states, and vote by ballot for two
persons, of whom one at least shall not be
an inhabitant Of the same state with them
selves. And they shall make 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 representative, 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 num-
Der 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 immediate
ly chuse by ballot one of them for presi-
dent; 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; 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
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 mole who have
equal votes, the senate shall chuse from
them by ballot the vice president.


+ This CLAUSE altogether altered and supplied by
the XII, amendment.


The Congress may determine the time
of chusing the electors, and the day on
which they shall give their votes; which
day shall be the same throughout the
United States.


No person except natural born citi-
zen, or a citizen OF the United States, at
the time of the adoption of this constitu-
tion, shall be eligible to the office of pres
idcnt; neither shall any person be eligible
to that office who shall not have attained
to the age of thirty-fvo years, and been
fourteen years a resident within the Uni
ted 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 tho said office, the same shall
devolve on tho vice president, and the
congress may ny ia" PioNiuo iol 'n' ."o'
J of removal, DEATH resignation, or inabil-
ity, both of the president and vice presi-
dent, declaring what officer shall then act
as president aud such officer shall act ac-
cordingly, until the disability be removed,
or a president shall be elected.
The president shall, at stated times, re-
ceive for his services, compensation,
: which shall neither be increased nor di-
| minished during the period for which he
r shall have been elected, and he shall not
receive within that period any other EN-
olument from the United States, or any
of them.


Before he enter on the execution of his
, office, he shall take the following oath OF
Affirmation
81 do solemnly swear or AFFIRM that