US Constitution
Preamble and Legislative Vesting
The Preamble: The foundational goals for establishing the Constitution include:
Forming a "more perfect Union."
Establishing Justice.
Insuring domestic Tranquility.
Providing for the common defence.
Promoting the general Welfare.
Securing the "Blessings of Liberty" to the current generation and their "Posterity."
Article I, Section 1: Vesting of Legislative Power: All legislative powers granted in the Constitution are vested in a Congress of the United States, which is a bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives
Section 2: Composition and Selection:
Members are chosen every second (nd) year by the People of the several States.
Elector Qualifications: Electors in each State must meet the qualifications required for electors of the most numerous branch of that State's own legislature.
Qualifications for Representatives:
Age: Must have attained to the age of years.
Citizenship: Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least years.
Inhabitancy: Must be an inhabitant of the State in which they are chosen at the time of election.
Apportionment and Taxation:
Representatives and direct taxes are apportioned among the States according to their respective numbers.
The Formula: The population is determined by adding the whole number of free persons (including those bound to service for a term of years) and excluding Indians not taxed, plus "three fifths () of all other Persons."
Enumeration Schedule: The first "actual Enumeration" was required within years after the first meeting of Congress, and every subsequent years (the Decennial Census).
Size Limits: The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every people, but each State is guaranteed at least one Representative.
Initial Representation Allocation (Prior to Enumeration):
New Hampshire: members.
Massachusetts: members.
Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations: member.
Connecticut: members.
New-York: members.
New Jersey: members.
Pennsylvania: members.
Delaware: member.
Maryland: members.
Virginia: members.
North Carolina: members.
South Carolina: members.
Georgia: members.
Vacancies: When vacancies occur, the Executive Authority of the affected State shall issue Writs of Election to fill the vacancies.
Internal Powers: The House chooses its Speaker and other officers and holds the "sole Power of Impeachment."
The Senate
Section 3: Composition and Selection:
Composed of Senators from each State, chosen by the State Legislature (original format).
Term Length: Senators serve for a term of years, and each Senator has vote.
Classes and Staggered Elections:
Immediately after the first election, Senators were divided into classes.
Class 1: Seats vacated at the end of the nd year.
Class 2: Seats vacated at the end of the th year.
Class 3: Seats vacated at the end of the th year.
This ensures that one third () of the Senate is chosen every years.
Vacancies: If vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise during the recess of a State Legislature, the State's Executive may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature.
Qualifications for Senators:
Age: Must have attained to the age of years.
Citizenship: Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least years.
Inhabitancy: Must be an inhabitant of the State for which they are chosen.
Officers of the Senate:
The Vice President: Serves as the President of the Senate but has no vote unless the Senate is equally divided (tie-breaker).
President pro tempore: Chosen by the Senate to preside in the absence of the Vice President or when the VP is exercising the Office of President of the United States.
Impeachment Trials:
The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments.
Members must be on Oath or Affirmation during the trial.
Presidential Impeachment: When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside.
Conviction Threshold: No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds () of the members present.
Judgment Limits: Judgment extends only to removal from office and disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the U.S. However, the convicted party is still subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law.
Congressional Operations and Procedures
Section 4: Elections and Meetings:
Regulations: State legislatures prescribe the times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives. Congress may, however, alter these regulations by law at any time, except regarding the places of choosing Senators.
Meeting Frequency: Congress must assemble at least once every year, starting on the first Monday in December, unless a different day is appointed by law.
Section 5: Internal Rules and Quorums:
Judging Members: Each House is the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members.
Quorum: A majority of each House constitutes a quorum to do business; a smaller number may adjourn day-to-day and compel the attendance of absent members under penalties.
Rules and Discipline: Each House determines its own rules of proceedings, can punish members for "disorderly Behaviour," and can expel a member with a two thirds () concurrence.
Journals: Each House must keep and publish a Journal of its proceedings (excepting parts requiring secrecy). The "Yeas and Nays" of members on any question shall be entered in the Journal at the request of one fifth () of those present.
Adjournment: Neither House, during a session, may adjourn for more than days or to a different location without the consent of the other House.
Compensation, Privileges, and Restrictions
Section 6: Rights and Limitations of Members:
Compensation: Members receive compensation for services, determined by law and paid out of the U.S. Treasury.
Legislative Immunity: Members are privileged from arrest during sessions and travel to/from sessions, except in cases of Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace.
Speech and Debate: Members cannot be questioned in any other place for any speech or debate made in either House.
Restrictions on Office-Holding: No Member may be appointed to any civil office under the U.S. that was created or had its pay (emoluments) increased during their term. No person currently holding a federal office can simultaneously be a member of either House.
The Legislative Process: Revenue, Vetoes, and Overrides
Section 7: Procedures for Laws:
Revenue Bills: All bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives, though the Senate may propose amendments.
The Veto Process:
Every bill passed by both Houses must be presented to the President.
Approval: If the President signs it, it becomes law.
Veto: If the President objects, they return the bill with objections to the House of origin.
Reconsideration: The House records the objections and reconsiders the bill. If two thirds () of that House agree to pass it, it is sent to the other House.
Override: If two thirds () of the second House also approve, the bill becomes law.
Voting Record: All override votes must be determined by "Yeas and Nays" and recorded in the Journal.
The Ten-Day Rule: If the President does not return a bill within days (Sundays excepted), it becomes law as if signed, unless Congress prevents its return by adjournment (the "Pocket Veto").
Joint Resolutions: Every order, resolution, or vote requiring concurrence (except adjournment) follows the same presentation and veto rules as a bill.
Enumerated Powers of Congress
Section 8: Specific Authorities granted to Congress:
Fiscal Powers: To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises (uniform throughout the U.S.); to pay debts; to provide for common defense and general welfare; to borrow money.
Commerce: To regulate commerce with foreign nations, among States, and with Indian Tribes.
Naturalization and Bankruptcy: To establish uniform rules for naturalization and bankruptcy laws.
Monetary/Weights/Measures: To coin money, regulate its value (and foreign coin), fix the standard of weights and measures, and punish counterfeiting.
Infrastructure: To establish Post Offices and post Roads.
Intellectual Property: To promote science and arts by granting exclusive rights to authors and inventors (copyrights and patents) for limited times.
Judiciary: To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court.
International Law: To define and punish piracies/felonies on the high seas and offences against the Law of Nations.
War Powers: To declare war, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.
Military Funding: To raise and support armies (but no appropriation for this use shall exceed years); to provide and maintain a navy.
Military Regulation: To make rules for the government and regulation of land and naval forces.
Militia: To call forth the militia to execute laws, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; to provide for organizing and disciplining the militia (States retain authority to appoint officers and train according to Congressional discipline).
Federal District: To exercise exclusive legislation over a district (not exceeding miles square) serving as the seat of government (Washington D.C.), and over all places purchased for forts, magazines, arsenals, etc.
Necessary and Proper Clause: To make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested in the U.S. government.
Limitations on Federal and State Power
Section 9: Forbidden Federal Acts:
Migration/Importation: Prohibited from banning the "Migration or Importation of such Persons" (referencing the slave trade) prior to the year . A tax of up to dollars per person could be imposed on such importation.
Habeas Corpus: The Writ shall not be suspended except in cases of Rebellion or Invasion where public safety requires it.
Legal Protections: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Taxes: No capitation or direct tax unless in proportion to the census; no tax on exports from any State.
Port Preference: No preference given to the ports of one State over another; vessels bound to or from one State cannot be forced to pay duties in another.
Appropriations: No money drawn from Treasury except through law-based appropriations; regular statements of receipts/expenditures must be published.
Nobility: No titles of nobility granted; federal officers cannot accept presents, emoluments, offices, or titles from foreign states without Congressional consent.
Section 10: Forbidden State Acts:
Absolute Bans: States cannot enter treaties, grant Letters of Marque, coin money, emit bills of credit, make anything but gold/silver coin legal tender, pass bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, laws impairing contracts, or grant titles of nobility.
Conditional Bans (Require Congressional Consent): Laying duties on imports/exports (except for inspection laws, with profits going to the federal treasury); laying tonnage duties; keeping troops or warships in peace time; entering agreements with other states or foreign powers; engaging in war unless invaded or in imminent danger.
The Executive Branch: Terms, Selection, and Qualifications
Article II, Section 1: The Presidency:
Term: Executive power is vested in a President, serving a term of years alongside a Vice President.
The Electoral College System (Original Mechanism):
Selection of Electors: Each State appoints electors in a manner directed by its Legislature.
Number of Electors: Equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives the State has in Congress.
Eligibility to be an Elector: No Senator, Representative, or person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the U.S. can be appointed as an elector.
Voting Process: Electors meet in their States and vote by ballot for persons (one of whom must not be an inhabitant of their same State).
Counting: A list of votes is signed, certified, and sent to the President of the Senate, who opens them before both Houses.
Winning the Presidency: The person with the greatest number of votes becomes President, provided it is a majority of the whole number of electors appointed.
Tie/No Majority (House Procedure): If there is a tie between majorities, or no majority, the House of Representatives chooses the President by ballot from the top candidates. In this case, each State has only vote. A quorum for this is a member/members from two thirds () of the States, and a majority of all States is required for a choice.
Vice Presidency: After the President is chosen, the person with the next highest number of votes becomes Vice President. If there is a tie for second, the Senate chooses the Vice President by ballot.
Logistics:
Congress determines the time of choosing electors and the day they vote, which must be the same throughout the U.S.
Qualifications for President:
Status: Natural born Citizen, or a Citizen at the time of the Constitution's adoption.
Age: At least years of age.
Residency: At least years a resident within the United States.
Succession: In case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, duties devolve to the Vice President. Congress may by law provide for further succession (declaring which officer acts as President) until the disability is removed or a new election occurs.
Compensation: The President receives a fixed salary that cannot be increased or diminished during the term. They cannot receive any other emolument from the U.S. or any individual State.
Oath of Office: "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."
Presidential Duties and Powers
Section 2: Commander in Chief and Executive Powers:
Military: Commander in Chief of the Army, Navy, and State Militias when called into actual service.
Opinions: May require the written opinion of the principal officer in each executive department.
Clemency: Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the U.S., except in cases of impeachment.
Treaties and Appointments:
Treaties: Power to make treaties, provided two thirds () of the Senators present concur.
Nomination/Appointment: Nominates and (with Senate advice/consent) appoints Ambassadors, public Ministers, Consuls, Supreme Court Judges, and other officers. Congress may vest appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, the courts, or heads of departments.
Recess Appointments: The President can fill vacancies that occur during the Senate's recess, with commissions expiring at the end of the next session.
Section 3: State of the Union and Other Duties:
Shall give Congress information on the "State of the Union" and recommend measures.
May convene both Houses (or either) on extraordinary occasions.
May adjourn Congress if the Houses disagree on a time of adjournment.
Shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers.
Shall "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
Shall commission all Officers of the United States.
Section 4: Impeachment Grounds: The President, Vice President, and all civil officers shall be removed for "Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
The Judicial Branch
Article III, Section 1: Vesting of Power:
Judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress may establish.
Tenure: Judges hold their offices "during good Behaviour."
Compensation: They receive compensation that shall not be diminished during their time in office.
Section 2: Jurisdiction:
Scope: Extends to all cases in Law and Equity arising under the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties; cases involving Ambassadors/Ministers; maritime/admiralty jurisdiction; controversies where the U.S. is a party; disputes between states; between a state and citizens of another state; between citizens of different states; and involving foreign states/subjects.
Original Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving Ambassadors, public Ministers, and Consuls, or where a State is a party.
Appellate Jurisdiction: In all other cases, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction (as to law and fact), subject to exceptions and regulations made by Congress.
Trial Rights: Trials for all crimes (except impeachment) must be by Jury and held in the State where the crime was committed. Crimes not committed in a State are tried in places directed by Congress.
Section 3: Treason:
Definition: Consists only in levying war against the U.S. or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.
Conviction: Requires the testimony of witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
Punishment: Congress declares the punishment. No "Attainder of Treason" shall work "Corruption of Blood" or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
Relations Among States and the Federal Government
Article IV, Section 1: Full Faith and Credit: States must respect the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. Congress may prescribe the manner of proving such acts.
Section 2: Interstate Comity:
Citizenship: Citizens of each State are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the other states.
Extradition: Persons charged with treason, felony, or other crimes who flee a state must be delivered up on demand of the executive authority of the state from which they fled.
Fugitive Service/Labor: No person held to service or labour (slaves) escaping to another state is discharged from that service; they must be delivered up to the party to whom the service is due.
Section 3: New States and Territories:
New States: Admitted by Congress; cannot be formed within the jurisdiction of an existing state or by joining states without the consent of the involved Legislatures and Congress.
Territory: Congress has the power to dispose of and regulate territory or other property belonging to the U.S.
Section 4: Federal Protections for States: The U.S. guarantees every State a Republican Form of Government and protects them against invasion. On application of the Legislature (or Executive if Legislature is unavailable), the U.S. will protect against domestic violence.
Amendments, Supremacy, and Ratification
Article V: The Amendment Process:
Proposal: Two thirds () of both Houses deem it necessary, OR two thirds () of State Legislatures call a Convention.
Ratification: Valid when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths () of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths () thereof, as determined by Congress.
Provisos: No amendment made before could affect the first and fourth clauses of Article I Section 9; no State can be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate without its consent.
Article VI: National Obligations and Supremacy:
Prior Debts: All debts and engagements made under the Confederation remain valid against the U.S.
Supremacy Clause: This Constitution, the Laws of the U.S. made in pursuance of it, and all Treaties are the "supreme Law of the Land." State judges are bound by them regardless of contrary state laws.
Oaths: Senators, Representatives, State Legislators, and all Executive/Judicial officers (Federal and State) must be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.
No Religious Test: No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any U.S. office.
Article VII: Ratification: The ratification of the Conventions of nine () States shall be sufficient to establish the Constitution between those states.
Closing Data:
Convention Date: September , .
Signatories: Attested by William Jackson (Secretary) and G°. Washington (President and deputy from Virginia).