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AMENDMENTS TO THE (U.S.) CONSTITUTION



			AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

	Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the
Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the
original Constitution.



				ARTICLE I.

	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.



				ARTICLE 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.



			       ARTICLE III.

	No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any home
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to
be prescribed by law.



			       ARTICLE 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.



				ARTICLE 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 offense 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.



				ARTICLE 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
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 Assistance of Counsel for his defence.



			       ARTICLE 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 re-examined in any
Court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law.




			       ARTICLE VIII.

	Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.



				ARTICLE IX.

	The enumeration of the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.



				ARTICLE 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.



[The first ten amendments went into effect on 15 December 1791.]



				ARTICLE 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.  [8 January 1798.]



			       ARTICLE 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 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
House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the vote 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 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.  [25 September 1804.]



			       ARTICLE XIII.

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.  [18 December 1865.]



			       ARTICLE XIV.

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
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 a 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 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.

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 to 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.  [28 July 1868.]



				ARTICLE XV.

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. ----  [30 March 1870.]



			       ARTICLE XVI.

	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.
[25 February 1913.]



			       ARTICLE XVII.

	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 legislature.
	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.
	This amendment shall not be construed as to affect the election
or term of any senator chosen before it becomes a valid part of the
Constitution.  [31 May 1913.]



			      ARTICLE XVIII.

	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.
	The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
	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 thereof to the States by Congress.
[29 January 1919.]



			       ARTICLE XIX.

	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.
	The Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to enforce
the provisions of this article.  [26 August 1920.]



				ARTICLE XX.

Section 1.  The terms of the President and Vice-President shall end at
noon on the twentieth day of January, and the terms of Senators and
Representatives at noon on the third 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 every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the third day of January, unless
they shall 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 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.

Section 4.  The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death
of any 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.  [6 February 1933.]



			       ARTICLE XXI.

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 Constitution by convention in the
everal States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
from the date of the submission thereof to the States by the Congress.
[5 December 1933.]



			       ARTICLE XXII.

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
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 this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President
or acting as 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 the Congress.  [27 February 1951.]



			      ARTICLE XXIII.

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 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 in be 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 the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.  [29 March 1961.]



			       ARTICLE XXIV.

Section 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 by any
State 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.  [23 January 1964.]



			       ARTICLE XXV.

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 Vice President,
the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by 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 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.

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 departments 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 withing 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.  [10 February 1967.]



			       ARTICLE XXVI.

Section 1.  The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 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.  [circa 1970/1971.]















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