I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free."
Abraham LINCOLN
- State oF The UNION - 1858
Today is an important day in the United States of America in that it was on this day a set of principles was declared or postulated to the entire world 250 years ago.
It is also the Pax Romana day of Augustus Caesar and the 50th anniversary of the only non organisational movement to be exported successfully from America to promote WORLD PEACE- the Rainbow Family of Living Light .. and finally... it is my birthday !-
-and I am honored to have both been BORN on this day and to have dedicated my life to the work of peace in the world; and the betterment of humankind through the abilites and faculties at my disposal intellectually, emotionally and physically by this fortuitous birth on this day.
Thanks God.
So lets get into it...
Here is the first paragraph of the DECLARATION which is important for us to understand where we are today.
The entire declaration and the constitution will be offered here at the end of this blog.
( right at the end )
" 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."
Let us see where we are today in the State of the Union.
Bearing in mind that when this document ,and the other was written and ratified there were only 9 states present, and 13 colonies seeking independence. Now there are 52.
(if incl.Puerto Rico - Canada or Greenland and DC. ) - no theres only 50.
Today there are 50 states or 5 times the amount and the progress of humanity has moved on beyond what it was in the 18th century.
We have now more participation of minorities , non whites and women in both congress , senate and judiciary. All 3 separate arenas of power.
Since America is today the worlds most powerful and richest nation on Earth able to obliterate humanity with its nuclear weapons...
We think as Citizens of this common planet Earth that we live on it is necessary to take stock on where we have come from , and where we are going as the Human race breathing the same air.
Elon Musk , my fellow South African was born in a white priviledged family in apartheid South Africa.
And he used those WHITE privilidges to come to America and be educated and to create his dream.
He worked very hard but he also started hard. He wasnt alone. No man is an island.
(His father borrowed him his seed capital of 20 000 dollars to set up his own business and life with his brother. )
They today have done very good- with the star trek thinking and altruism of saving human consciousness, the new industry of the internet ...green energy... and the very documents that it made it possible...
YES...
The American Constitution in 1787 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
But could a group of scholars and philosophers have been infallible?
Could what they have done 250 years been SO perfect that the America we see today is the perfect world they would ahve imagined?..
A MORE PERFECT UNION ???
My answer is NO.
I too went to the USA in 1985 and could have stayed there. But I made my mind up not to.
For me true freedom is not having the highest population of prison inmates and homeless people on the street or warehoused in prison.
To me a truly sovereign and democratic country would offer representation to all its minorities including the indigenous peoples or first nations that were displaced.
The 4th of July declaration is an amazing document ... and describes the ability of anyone to be free and to make it good as a free man.
But the last 5 years as we have watched the world in turmoil and realised that the wealth of the world is over centralised and the information also is over filtered.. and we uncover some of the excesses of the USA war machine over the years in foreign countries and its complicities in changing or maintaining presidents in far flung nations from Cuba to Equador to the Congo... to Vietnam... to Angola...to Grenada
we think it isnt what the Framers imagined America WOULD become. No.
In fact it was the very reason that this document came about that the slave owner Thomas Jefferson helped write it...
-the ability to live ones life without the authority of a far away king telling them what to do... Peace and security.. freedom and family.
Most of the Framers of the constitution and the declaration despite having being influenced by great writers like Baron Montesquieu and Voltaire -Madison- Rosseau and others... most in fact were still in the backwards mindset of the slave owning racist entitled past.
Both documents may have been amended over the years... both may have a few things changed... or not... but laws and moralities have changed.
There is no doubt about that.
We of Earth are now ALL "Americans" in a post nationalist - glocalised world.
The 4th of July should mean something to every free thinking individual of the world - every human being in fact.
And for this we have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which came out just after the Second World War with a preamble written by another great American- Elemor Roosevelt...and we have the International Criminal Court which the USA is not a part of... and we have other organs of checks and balances that should be a part of a progressive- any progressive enlightened thinker and nation on the planet...and remember...
most of the foundations of this thinking were themselves white priviledged men who sparked the French Revolution which happened around the same time as the American Revolution.
Law of course was, and still is linked to all that has come before...but essentially... it is our collective conscience that dictates the morality of the collective superconscious mind that discerns RIGHT from WRONG.Conscience.
So it is with some REGRET...but also some HOPE ..that we all become Americans on this day and create a SECOND CONVENTION on the constitution...and I will say why...NOT because of the GREAT inequalities in the politcal and broken system of governance we are seeing today in America...
but because the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION needs an UPGRADE. Its time.
For humanity ...for Americans...and for the Earth.Not since the Cuban missile crisis has our planet been in a scenario of a possible Third world war situation as it is right now.
And the cause of FREEDOM is never more important and WORLD PEACE than it is today!
Here is what one of its architects had to say :
“Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,”
Benjamin Franklin said.
So in the worlds history of Great individuals that have furthered the cause of humanity and to whom both the declaration and the constitution have been inherently guiding lights...
(although in truth many holy scriptures and words of holy or saintly enlightened people have been a large part of what we read in these two documents)...
-the prize of GREAT AMERICAN must also go to GREAT HUMAN BEING.
And many many non americans have that oscar.
Nelson Mandela... Albert Sweizer..Albert Einstein... Gandi... Tolstoy... Picasso... Dali...Ospensky- Shakespeare... Disraeli... Marie Curie... Mother Theresa.. and the list is endless- in ALL fields of human endevour...
Being American is not exceptional.
Being HUMAN is.
It belongs to everyone on this planet...being FULLY American is as important as the flag that liberates the oppressed from an oppressor...
-whether its JESUS of Nazareth who lived in the Middle East or Buddha Siddharta who lived in India... it matters not.
And that is why I believe it is high time for a second and possibly a THIRD convention 10 years after of an UPDATED- UPGRADED constititution..
because it affects us all... being a powerful polluting nation that rules the world in a technocracy from New York and Silicon Valey.. from Visa to Airbnb and UBER... it matters... that this enormous power is collectively shared by all human beings with the same ethical thinking as those who framed the FIRST constitution in those fallible days of the late 18th century.
-But lets look at the first paragraph of the American Constitution and see what it says...
should there be a Second convention ? - or one every 10 years ?
"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. "
In ORDER to form a MORE PERFECT UNION...
On September 17th , 1787 ... 9 states ratified this document with this preamble. When we created the South African constitution in the mid 90s... it was a process of consultation but there was a steering committee that essentially EXCLUDED most valid points.
Today the SA constitution isnt perfect but it has a constitutional court unlike the USA ...
- the USA has ruled on abortion as something that should be decided case by case in a state court... that abortion itself cannot be a constitutional right...
- whether that is right or wrong... is not important.
But what is important NOW is that the people of this "LARGER" Pan American state that has a great responsibility to rest of the world to ACT responsibly ... have a say!
- We talk about a STOLEN elections.. -we talk about a RACE WAR... and now we talk about the right of the BABY in the womb...Global warming and Armageddon...
- all valid points that should have INCLUSION in an updated version of the constitution that directs GOVERNANCE more so than rights...
- all of this should be included in an EXPANDED version of the constitution and what it means to BE and american today... is it a passport...? -or is it a way of thinking ? an OATH? a special responsibility?
- or is it as a CITIZEN OF EARTH?
OF HUMANITY AND HUMAN KIND?
ONE COLOUR amongst the spectrum of colours that fill the rainbow in the sky that represents all the genius of human beings in this small existence in this universe that is boundless and endless..
....
is it time then to hold a second convention on the American constitution in 2024?
Today is the 4 th of July and it is a day that should be a declaration of the freedom of all human beings on our EARTH...
But when some are still not free... we cannot all be free... we cannot all be true americans. It is time to look in the mirror and become a MORE perfect union and hold a SECOND constitutional convention to become more American and more human ….
'an insult to ONE is an injury to ALL!"
Bless you on this day Robin
- this is the key paragraph that even today gives the spirit of the entire document life...read it again...
" 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. "
Here is the rest of the document -
- which is OK- but not as brilliant as the first paragraph...the FIRST line is still a qualifty that resonates with all of us...
"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.
(We have a better way and we have proven it. )
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.
AND THAT IN SHORT IS THE TEXT of the document ...
- a document which later becomes the PREAMBLE for the scholars that created the american constitution which still today continues to create SEPARATION- POLARISATION AND DIVISION between humanists and creationists... and it doesnt matter which side of the fence you are on...because ... in a society where you have strong opinions one way or another... it is that diversity that gives strength to a UNION...
we found this out in the grassroots of the rainbow movement... in creating world peace we need to MANIFEST it in a circle with both friends and foes...
There is no such a thing in a true society as exlusion or cancel culture... all good and all ugliness exists within all humanity... because we all live in many dimensions and multi worlds with different parameters ... and this is our beauty... that we can look at it ... and accept that all of it... is part of us.
And is not.
But in a society that lives in light there cannot be light if there is no darkness to show what light is.
That doesn't justify it but attempts to explain it and in any more perfect union we will need a more perfect written thesis of postulates to connect the hidden dots.
This mystery of what is the progress of the human race on planet earth means that to move forwards we must have a bigger, brighter and greater vision of a potential future that is more inclusive to all opinions and more protective of the rights to have them.
and this is what we can best learn from the challenges of this day as we see it play out in the mass media EACH DAY.
Therefore , in truth AMERICA and AMERICANS need a SECOND convention to talk about the state of America. It’s streets. It’s prisons. It’s healthcare systems. It’s exorbitant prices on things. It’s opportunities to prosper. It’s homeless and so .. REWRITE the constitution to make America and ALL AMERICANS FIRST1
A SECOND CONVOCATION IS CALLED FOR NOT ONLY TO STAND UP AGAINST AUTHORITARIANISM BUT THE PHILOSOPHY MAKING THE WEAK WEAKER AND THE STRONG STRONGER. I HOPE ELON MUSK WILL READ THIS . IF HE WANTS A MANIFESTO HE NEEDS TO DEAL WITH THE MARGINALISED BY INNOVATION… Or how is it possible that California have so many people in tents on the street and its the 5 th richest country in the world… ? How is it possible that terrible violence and numbers in its prisons? To truly make America great read Oscar Wilde and the words of Churchill - “ how you treat the most vulnerable in your society says who you are as a country and a society!”
I CAN GO ON and on but if countries can do it and prosper … why can’t the USA? Things like lobbying is simple bribery… nothing more and nothing less. So many cracks in the system. This is why to look at the constitution every 250 years is a good thing and can make a better and stronger union. This is why I refused citizenship despite my great love for this country. We are not pigs. We are men. Let’s remember that. There is great charity and love in America..but there is also great stupidity. This must change today !
1. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION IS ARCHAIC AND NEEDS TO BE UPDATED BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN BY A BUNCH OF WHITE PRIVILEDGED SLAVE OWNING RACIST FREEMASONS.
2. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED IN TWO PARTS. FIRST TO INCLUDE ALL 50 STATES OF AMERICA... AND THEN TO INCLUDE ALL STATES OF THE FREEWORLD WHICH AMERICA IS PART OF..THE FREEWORLD. WHICH MAKES US ALL AMERICANS.
3. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION NEEDS TO BE RELOOKED AT BECAUSE IT NEEDS NOT ONLY TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE AND REFLECTING MODERN MORALITY, BUT ALSO BECAUSE MODERN CAPTIALISM DOESNT WORK EXCEPT FOR THE FEW. IT NEEDS TO BECOME A MORE JUST AND FAIR DOCUMENT THAT REPRESENTS ALL AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE. FROM THE BEGINNING....
4. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION NEEDS TO BE REFORMED BECAUSE THE WORLD IS IN AN EXISTENTIAL - ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CRISIS CAUSED BY A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE IN THE EVERY FOUNDATIONS OF DEMOCRACY ITSELF IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THAT RESULTED IN THE JANUARY 6TH EVENT.
5. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION HAS TO BE REWRITTEN BECAUSE THE MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 250 YEARS SINCE ITS INCEPTION. IT NEEDS TO BE REASSESSED. HISTORY NEEDS TO GIVE IT A STAMP OF APPROVAL NOT THE SUPREME COURT.
5. THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION NEEDS TO BE REVISITED BECAUSE WORLD WAR THREE IS NOT IN EVERYONES BEST INTEREST AND WHAT AFFECTS ONE NATION OF SUCH INFLUENCE AND POWER WILL AFFECT US ALL.
I could think of many more reasons ... of George Floyd and systemic racism... or the rights of families being violated by rampant feminism... of unborn children... of hegemonies of the elites ..of climate changes that threaten our very existence on this fragile planet... I could talk of these... but I will not -
BUT something needs to change... something needs to be upgraded...
A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND.
"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. "
JESUS
MARK 3. 25
HERE IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE CURRENT AMERICAN CONSTITIOTON WHICH NEEDS TO BE REFORMED IN 2022...
in my honest opinion.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
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TABLE OF
CONTENTS
02
ARTICLE I: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Section 1 : Congress
Section 2: The House of Representatives
Section
3: The Senate
Section 4: Elections
Section 5: Powers and Duties of Congress
Section 6: Rights and Disabilities of Members
Section 7: Powers of Congress
Section 8: Powers of Congress
Section 9: Powers Denied Congress
Section 10: Powers Denied to the States
05
ARTICLE II: EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
07 ARTICLE III: JUDICIAL BRANCH
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
08
ARTICLE IV: RELATIONS AMONG STATES
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
09 ARTICLE V:AMENDMENT PROCESS
09 ARTICLE VI: NATIONAL SUPREMACY 09 ARTICLE VII: RATIFICATION PROCESS 11 AMMENDMENTS
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.
01
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Published by Constitution US.com
ARTICLE I: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Section 1:Congress
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
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
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.
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.
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.
02
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Published by ConstitutionUS.com
Section 4: Elections
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: Powers and Duties ofCongress
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: Rights and Disabilities of Members
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: Legislative Process
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: Powers of Congress
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 a 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 Offenses 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.
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Section 9: Powers Denied Congress
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 Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the
Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
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: Powers Denied to the States
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.
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ARTICLE II: EXECUTIVE BRANCH 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 increased 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 Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
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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.
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ARTICLE III: JUDICIAL BRANCH
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.
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ARTICLE IV: RELATIONS AMONG STATES
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.
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.
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.
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ARTICLE V: AMENDMENT PROCESS
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.
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ARTICLE VI: NATIONAL SUPREMACY
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.
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ARTICLE VII: RATIFICATION PROCESS
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
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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 ofthe Independence ofthe United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
G°. Washington
President and Deputy from Virginia
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 Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
GEORGIA
William Few
Abr Baldwin
NEW HAMPSHIRE
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
MASSACHUSETTS
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
CONNETICUT
Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman
NEW YORK
Alexander Hamilton
NEW JERSEY
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. PatersonJona:
Dayton
PENNSYLVANIA
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv Morris
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AMENDMENTS
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 fortheUnited States ofAmerica.
FirstAmendment
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.
SecondAmendment
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.
ThirdAmendment
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.
FourthAmendment
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.
FifthAmendment
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.
SixthAmendment
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.
Seventh Amendment
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 reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
NinthAmendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth Amendment
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.
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Thirteenth 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.
Fourteenth 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.
Fifteenth Amendment
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.
Sixteenth Amendment
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.
Seventeenth 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.
EighteenthAmendment
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.
NineteenthAmendment
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.
TwentiethAmendment
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 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.
Twenty-firstAmendment
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.
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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.
Twenty-secondAmendment
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 President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by 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.
Twenty-thirdAmendment
SECTION 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as 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.
Twenty-fourthAmendment
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 poll tax or other tax.
SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Twenty-fifthAmendment
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.
Twenty-sixthAmendment
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.
Twenty-seventhAmendment
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.
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And now this day,the 4th of July we declare it so that ALL living beings in this multi world- this Omniverse require more consideration to exist and co-existi n true sentience and HARMONY with all within this biome and the cosmos ! AMEN. . amen
