THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
(See Note 1)
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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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. (See Note 2)
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.
Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the Representation from
any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature
thereof, (See Note 3) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in
Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as
equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators
of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second
Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year,
and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so
that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof
may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. (See Note 4)
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be
President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
Clause 5: 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.
Clause 6: 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every
Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,
(See Note 5) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 4: 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.
Clause 1: 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. (See Note 6)
They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the
Peace, beprivileged 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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 t
he United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and
among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and
uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,
and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting
the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Clause 8: 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;
Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed
on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,
and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of
Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and
Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to
execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Clause 16: 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;
Clause 17: 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
Clause 18: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid,
unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. (See Note 7)
Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
Clause 6: 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 8: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 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
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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. (See Note 8)
Clause 4: 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.
Clause 5: 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.
Clause 6: 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,
(See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the VicePresident, 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.
Clause 7: 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.
Clause 8: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
Clause 1: 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; (See Note 10)
--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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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. NOTE #
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges
and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under
the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of
any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from
such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on
Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. (See Note 11)
Section. 3.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 1: 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.
Clause 2: 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.
Clause 3: 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.
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 Independence of the United States of America the
Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
GO WASHINGTON--Presidt. and deputy from Virginia
[Signed also by the deputies of twelve States.]
Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom
Maryland
James MCHenry
Dan of ST ThoS. Jenifer
DanL Carroll.
Virginia
John Blair--
James Madison Jr.
North Carolina
WM Blount
RichD. Dobbs Spaight.
Hu Williamson
South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles 1ACotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler.
Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut
WM. SamL. Johnson
Roger Sherman
New York
Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley.
WM. Paterson.
Jona: Dayton
Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
RobT Morris
Geo. Clymer
ThoS. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson.
Gouv Morris
Attest William Jackson Secretary
NOTES
Note 1: This text of the Constitution follows the engrossed copy signed by Gen.
Washington and the deputies from 12 States. The small superior figures
preceding the paragraphs designate Clauses, and were not in
the original and have no reference to footnotes.
The Constitution was adopted by a convention of the States on
September 17, 1787, and was subsequently ratified by the several States,
on the following dates: Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania,
December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia,
January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts,
February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788;
New Hampshire, June 21, 1788.
Ratification was completed on June 21, 1788.
The Constitution was subsequently ratified by Virginia,
June 25, 1788; New York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina,
November 21, 1789; Rhode Island, May 29, 1790; and
Vermont, January 10, 1791.
In May 1785, a committee of Congress made a report recommending
an alteration in the Articles of Confederation, but no action was taken
on it, and it was left to the State Legislatures to proceed in the matter. In
January 1786, the Legislature of Virginia passed a resolution providing for
the appointment of five commissioners, who, or any three of them, should
meet such commissioners as might be appointed in the other States of the
Union, at a time and place to be agreed upon, to take into consideration
the trade of the United States; to consider how far a uniform system in
their commercial regulations may be necessary to their common interest
and their permanent harmony; and to report to the several States such
an act, relative to this great object, as, when ratified by them, will
enable the United States in Congress effectually to provide for the same.
The Virginia commissioners, after some correspondence, fixed the first
Monday in September as the time, and the city of Annapolis as the place
for the meeting, but only four other States were represented, viz:
Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the commissioners
appointed by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and
Rhode Island failed to attend. Under the circumstances of so partial
a representation, the commissioners present agreed upon a report,
(drawn by Mr. Hamilton, of New York,) expressing their unanimous
conviction that it might essentially tend to advance the interests
of the Union if the States by which they were respectively delegated
would concur, and use their endeavors to procure the concurrence of
the other States, in the appointment of commissioners to meet at
Philadelphia on the Second Monday of May following, to take into
consideration the situation of the United States; to devise such further
provisions as should appear to them necessary to render the
Constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies
of the Union; and to report such an act for that purpose to
the United States in Congress assembled as, when agreed to by
them and afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State,
would effectually provide for the same.
Congress, on the 21st of February, 1787, adopted a resolution in favor of
a convention, and the Legislatures of those States which had not already
done so (with the exception of Rhode Island) promptly appointed delegates.
On the 25th of May, seven States having convened, George Washington, of
Virginia, was unanimously elected President, and the consideration of the
proposed constitution was commenced. On the 17th of September, 1787,
the Constitution as engrossed and agreed upon was signed by all the
members present, except Mr. Gerry of Massachusetts, and Messrs.
Mason and Randolph, of Virginia. The president of the convention
transmitted it to Congress, with a resolution stating how the proposed
Federal Government should be put in operation, and an explanatory letter.
Congress, on the 28th of September, 1787, directed the
Constitution so framed, with the resolutions and letter concerning the same
to "be transmitted to the several Legislatures in order to be submitted
to a convention of delegates chosen in each State by the people thereof,
in conformity to the resolves of the convention."
On the 4th of March, 1789, the day which had been fixed for
commencing the operations of Government under the new Constitution,
it had been ratified by the conventions chosen in each State to consider
it, as follows: Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania,
December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia,
January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts,
February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina,
May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia,
June 25, 1788; and New York, July 26, 1788.
The President informed Congress, on the 28th of
January, 1790, that North Carolina had ratified the
Constitution November 21, 1789; and he informed Congress
on the 1st of June, 1790, that Rhode Island had ratified
the Constitution May 29, 1790. Vermont, in convention,
ratified the Constitution January 10, 1791, and was, by an act
of Congress approved February 18, 1791, "received and
admitted into this Union as a new and entire member of the United States."
Note 2: The part of this Clause relating to the mode of
apportionment of representatives among the several
States has been affected by Section 2 of amendment
XIV, and as to taxes on incomes without apportionment by amendment XVI.
Note 3: This Clause has been affected by Clause 1 of amendment XVII.
Note 4: This Clause has been affected by Clause 2 of amendment XVIII.
Note 5: This Clause has been affected by amendment XX.
Note 6: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXVII.
Note 7: This Clause has been affected by amendment XVI.
Note 8: This Clause has been superseded by amendment XII.
Note 9: This Clause has been affected by amendment XXV.
Note 10: This Clause has been affected by amendment XI.
Note 11: This Clause has been affected by amendment XIII.
This information has been compiled from the U.S. Code. The U.S. Code is published by
the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.