The Amendments

Bill of Rights
The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its
powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best insure the
beneficent ends of its institution; Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both
Houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all or any
of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution, namely:


1st Amendment (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.

2nd Amendment (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.

3rd Amendment (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.

4th Amendment (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
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons
or things to be seized.

5th Amendment (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.

6th Amendment (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.

7th Amendment (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 a jury, shall be otherwise re-
examined in any court of the United States than according to the
rules of the common law.

8th Amendment (1791)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.

9th Amendment (1791)
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

10th Amendment (1791)
The powers not delegated to 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.

End Bill of Rights

11th Amendment (1795)
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.

12th Amendment (1804)
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 the 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 a majority, then,
from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three,
on the list of those voted for a President, the House of
Representative 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] the Vice President shall act as President,
as in case of 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, form 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; 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.

13th Amendment (1865)
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.

14th Amendment (1868)
Sect. 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 any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.

15th Amendment (1870)
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.

16th Amendment (1913)
The Congress shall have 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.

17th Amendment (1913)
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.
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 appointment until the people fill the vacancies by
election as the legislature may direct.
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.

18th Amendment (1919)
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Sect. 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 of the date of the submission
hereof to the States by Congress.

19th Amendment (1920)
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.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.

20th Amendment (1933)
Sect. 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end
at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and
Representatives at 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.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 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 a 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.
Sect. 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. Sect. 5.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article. Sect. 6. This article
shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by three-fourths of the several
States within seven years from the date of its submission.

21st Amendment (1933)
Sect. 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution
of the United States is hereby repealed.
Sect. 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.
Sect. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution 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.

22d Amendment (1951)
Sect. 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 the 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
his Article becomes operative from holding the office of President
or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Sect. 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 the
Congress.

23rd Amendment (1961)
Sect. 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 Representative 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 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.

24th Amendment (1964)
Sect. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election for President or Vice President, for
electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll
tax or other tax.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.

25th Amendment (1967)
Sect. 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of
his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
Sect. 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 by a majority vote of both Houses of
Congress.
Sect. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro
tempore of the Senate and the Speakers of the House of
Representatives 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.
Sect. 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 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.

26th Amendment (1971)
Sect. 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.
Sect. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.

27th Amendment (1992)
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators
and Representatives shall take effect, until election of Representa-
tives shall have intervened.

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