Come on a journey with me while we
search for the constitutional rights to kill your baby, call for the killing of
the president, have same sex marriage and special LGBTQ and gender based
protections.
There are those who, like
the progressives, don't appreciate the Constitution; especially the way it is "set
in stone". They want it to be a living document that is subject to change
with the times, and the wishes if men. There is a spiritual reason for this.
The Bible was the inspiration for our founding documents. It is the most quoted
source by the founders. This nations government was intended to be based on the
Bible. Many of the founders stated this fact. This is the true history; not revisionist history. The religion of
the progressives is Secular Humanism. To them, since there is no God, the
foundation of our country being the Bible is fundamentally unacceptable. This
is the spiritual battle being waged for the hearts and minds of the American
people. Be not deceived! Let God be true and every man a liar.
THE WORLD USED TO BE BASED AROUND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
BC meant, before Christ.
AD meant, in the year of the Lord
Today -
BCE means, before the common era
CE is supposed to mean common era
COMMON TO WHAT? CE stands for Conformité Européenne,
which is French for "European Conformity."
NOW DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR EDUCATION, AND YOUR CHILDREN'S?
"FORGETTING GOD!
Florida
textbooks and the transition from BC/AD to BCE/CE:
Our textbook in 94/95 used BC/AD.
In about 1998 our new textbook had transitioned to the use of BCE/CE. Even our
textbooks exemplify when America had begun its even further overt decline into
the post Christian Era of turning away from God, allowing the Globalist PC
Secular Humanism to rage rampant as the new world view religion.
"The simplest reason for using BCE/CE as opposed to AD/BC is to avoid
reference to Christianity and, in particular, to avoid naming Christ as Lord
(BC/AD: Before Christ/In the year of our Lord). Wikipedia, Anno Domini
article:"
As we turn away from God, mankind continues to prove that the Bible is true.
Thinking ourselves more wise than God, we become fools, and then blame God for
the increasing lawlessness and evil in the world. Apart from God, man condemns
himself to a Hell on earth eventually leading to an existence in eternal Hell
forever separated by God."
" In 1986, U.S. District Court Judge Frank
McGarr said - “The truth is that America’s origins are
Christian and that our founding fathers intended and achieved full religious
freedom for all within the context of a Christian nation in the first Amendment
as it was adopted rather than as we have rewritten it.”
John Jay,
the first chief justice of the Supreme Court said, “It
is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation you
select and prefer Christians for their rulers” and that “this is a Christian
nation”.
Patrick Henry said that “this country was not founded by religionists but by
Christians, not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
In 1911, Woodrow Wilson said, “America was born a Christian
Nation,” and he was the king of the progressives.
Charles Hodge,
who was the principal of the Princeton
Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878, said, “The proposition that
the United States of America
is a Christian and Protestant nation is not so much the assertion of a
principle, as the statement of a fact.”
After exhaustive
study and review of our history, in 1892,
the Supreme Court declared that we are a Christian Nation.
Calvin Coolidge
said, “If American democracy is to remain the greatest
hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible.”
John Hancock
said to pray, “that all nations
may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that the whole
earth may be filled with his glory and that the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be
continually increasing until the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.”
Benjamin Franklin said, “As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you
particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left
them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.”
Samuel Adams said, “I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by
humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world . . . that the confusions
that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by the promoting and
speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly
bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace.”
John Adams said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved
independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow
that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of
Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of
God.” “The Holy Ghost
carries on the whole Christian system in this earth. Not a baptism, not a
marriage, not a sacrament can be administered but by the Holy Ghost. . . .
There is no authority, civil or religious – there can be no legitimate
government but what is administered by this Holy Ghost. There can be no
salvation without it. All without it is rebellion and perdition, or in more
orthodox words damnation.”
John Quincy Adams said, “In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is
indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of
Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts
of Christianity.”
Elias
Boudinot, president of congress, first attorney admitted to
the Supreme Court, framer of the Bill of Rights and director of the U.S.
mint said, “Let us enter on this important business under the idea that we
are Christians on whom the eyes of the world are now turned…”
Congress,
1854 – “The great, vital,
and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure
doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Congress, U. S. House Judiciary Committee,
1854 – “Had the people,
during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against
Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle... In
this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity... That was the religion
of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of
their descendants.”
Daniel
Webster said, “The Christian
religion – its general principles – must ever be regarded among us as the
foundation of civil society. Whatever makes men good
Christian’s, makes them good citizens.”
Samuel
Huntington, signer of the Declaration of Independence and
president of congress said, “It becomes a
people publicly to acknowledge the over-ruling hand of Divine Providence and
their dependence upon the Supreme Being as their Creator and Merciful Preserver
. . . and with becoming humility and sincere repentance to supplicate the
pardon that we may obtain forgiveness through the merits and mediation of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”
Francis
Scott Key said, “May I always hear that you are following the guidance of
that blessed Spirit that will lead you into all truth, leaning on that Almighty
arm that has been extended to deliver you, trusting only in the only Savior,
and going on in your way to Him rejoicing.”
President
James Madison said, “I have sometimes
thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against
temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy
the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation
and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent
advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in
this way. “
Benjamin
Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence,
‘Father of American Medicine’, treasurer of the U.S. Mint and ‘Father of Public
Schools under the Constitution said, “The only means of
establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government is the
universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of
the Bible.
The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a
more effective means of limiting Christianity from the world than by persuading
mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools.”
Joseph
Story, the Father of American Jurisprudence and Supreme
Court justice said, “One of the
beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part
of the Common Law. There never has been a period in which the Common Law did
not recognize Christianity as lying at its foundations.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON; JUDGE; MEMBER OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS;
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY; PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION; FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; “FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY” said,
“You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of
life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a
greater and happier people than you are.” "
Declaration of Independence:
A Transcription
Note:
The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment
Declaration of Independence (the document on
display in the Rotunda at the National
Archives Museum.) The
spelling and punctuation reflects the original.
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The
unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it
becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have
connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the
separation.
We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these
ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute
new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety
and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established
should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils
are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they
are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government,
and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient
sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains
them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these
States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has
refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public
good.
He has
forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance,
unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has
refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people,
unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the
Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has
called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and
distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has
dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness
his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has
refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be
elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have
returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the
mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions
within.
He has
endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others
to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new
Appropriations of Lands.
He has
obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for
establishing Judiciary powers.
He has
made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and
the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has
erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to
harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has
kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our
legislatures.
He has
affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has
combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts
of pretended Legislation:
For
Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For
protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they
should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For
cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For
imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For
depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For
transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For
abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so
as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same
absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking
away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering
fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For
suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power
to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has
abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War
against us.
He has
plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the
lives of our people.
He is at
this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the
works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of
Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and
totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has
constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms
against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and
Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has
excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the
inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of
warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every
stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble
terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A
Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant,
is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have
We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them
from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our
emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to
disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections
and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces
our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War,
in Peace Friends.
We,
therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General
Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by
Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent
States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and
that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is
and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States,
they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of
right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The Constitution of the United States:
A Transcription
The
following text is a transcription of the Constitution as it was inscribed by
Jacob Shallus on parchment (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and
punctuation reflect the original.
We
the People of the United States, in Order to form a
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for
the common defence, 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.
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.
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.
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.
When
vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority
thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House
of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have
the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
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.
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.
The Vice
President of the United
States shall be President of the Senate, but
shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate
shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the
Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of
President of the United
States.
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.
Judgment
in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend 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.
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.
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.
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.
Each House
may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly
Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
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.
Neither
House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other,
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the
two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
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.
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 encreased 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.
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.
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 that 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 a Law.
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.
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;
To borrow
Money on the credit of the United
States;
To
regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with
the Indian Tribes;
To
establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of
Bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
To coin
Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of
Weights and Measures;
To provide
for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To
establish Post Offices and post Roads;
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;
To
constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define
and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences
against the Law of Nations;
To declare
War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures
on Land and Water;
To raise
and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a
longer Term than two Years;
To provide
and maintain a Navy;
To make
Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide
for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,
suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
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;
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 like 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
To make
all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the
foregoing 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.
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.
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.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law
shall be passed.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles
exported from any State.
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.
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.
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 any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
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.
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 or 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.
No State
shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any 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.
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
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
The
President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation,
which shall neither be encreased nor 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.
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.
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 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 Offences against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
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 Ministers 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.
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 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.
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 Grants of
different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign
States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all
Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in
which a State shall be 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.
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.
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.
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.
The
Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of
Citizens in the several States.
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.
Section. 3.
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 the Congress.
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 the 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.
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.
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.
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.
The Word,
"the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the
first Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in
the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being
interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page
and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty
fourth Lines of the second Page.
Attest
William Jackson Secretary
done in
Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day
of September in the Year of
our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of
America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
The Bill of Rights: A Transcription
The Preamble to The Bill of Rights
Congress
of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States,
having at the time of their 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 ensure 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; viz.
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.
Note: The following text is a transcription of
the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These
amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the
"Bill of Rights."
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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.
Amendment 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 the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to
deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 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
Constitution: Amendments 11-27
Constitutional
Amendments 1-10 make up what is known as The Bill of Rights. Amendments 11-27 are listed
below.
AMENDMENT XI
Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.
Note: Article III, section 2, of the
Constitution was modified by amendment 11. 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.
AMENDMENT XII
Passed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804.
Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the
Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment. 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 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 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.
*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.
AMENDMENT XIII
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the
Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.
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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution
was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment.
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 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 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 the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
AMENDMENT XV
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
AMENDMENT XVI
Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution
was modified by amendment 16.
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.
AMENDMENT XVII
Passed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution
was modified by the 17th amendment.
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 appointments 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.
AMENDMENT XVIII
Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919.
Repealed by amendment 21.
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
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 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.
AMENDMENT XX
Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.
Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution
was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th
amendment was superseded by section 3.
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 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.
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 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 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
Passed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 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 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.
AMENDMENT XXII
Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 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 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.
AMENDMENT XXIII
Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 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 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
Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.
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 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.
AMENDMENT XXV
Passed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967.
Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution
was affected by the 25th amendment.
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 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 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
Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971.
Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the
Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XXVII
Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992.
No law, varying
the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall
take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Even a cursory reading of the Federalist Papers will give
the reasoning behind the inclusion and exclusion of the contents of the
Constitution and the first ten amendments.
It is easily established that the founders of our nation
depended on their deep faith and belief in the Bible, in their everyday lives.
The Love of the Bible was paramount in the minds of almost all Americans, even
those who people say were deists. It is easy to see why the first amendment to
the Constitution concerned the Judeo/Christian religious freedom of the nation.
There shall be NO prohibition of the free exercise of
the Judeo/Christian religion, so critical to the understanding of our nation.
