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AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
1 ART. 1. 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.
ART 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.
ART. 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.
ART. 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.
ART. 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.
ART. VI. In all criminal
prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public
trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in
his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defence.
ART. 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 reëxamined, in any court of the
United States, than according to the rules of the common
law.
ART.
VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
ART.
IX. The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
1
ART. 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.
2 ART. 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.
3 ART. 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,
1 The first ten amendments were proposed at the first session of the first Congress (1789), and declared adopted in 1791.
2 The eleventh amendment was proposed at the first session of the third Congress (1794), and declared adopted in 1798.
3 The twelfth amendment was proposed at the first session of the eighth Congress (1803), and declared adopted in 1804.
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directed to the president of the senate; the president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for president shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as president, the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president. But, in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the house of representatives shall not choose a president, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the vice-president shall act as president, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the president. The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-president, shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the senate shall choose the vice-president; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president, shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States.
1 ART. XIII. SEC.
I. 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.
SEC. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
2 ART. XIV. SEC. I. 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.
SEC. II. 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 or 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.
SEC. III. 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.
SEC. IV. 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 sup
1 The thirteenth amendment was proposed at the second session of the thirty-eighth Congress (1865(, and declared adopted in 1865.
2 The fourteenth amendment was proposed at the first session of the thirty-ninth Congress (1866), and declared adopted in 1868.
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pressing 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.
SEC. V. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
1 ART. XV. SEC. 1. The rights 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.
SEC. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
1 The fifteenth amendment was proposed at the third session of the fortieth Congress (1869), and declared adopted in 1870.
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© 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller