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PURPOSES OF THE CONSTITUTION

The ofﬁcial charge to the delegates who met in Philadelphia in

1787 was to amend the Articles of Confederation. They soon made

a fateful decision, however, to ignore the Articles and to write an

entirely new constitution. These delegates—the “framers”—set

themselves ﬁve purposes to fulﬁll in their effort to create an effective

constitution.

1. ESTABLISH LEGITIMACY

First, the framers of the Constitution had to establish the new

government’s legitimacy—its right to rule. The patriots’ theory of

government was set out in the Declaration of Independence, which

explained why British rule over the colonies was illegitimate. Now

the framers had to demonstrate that their new government met the

standards of legitimacy referred to in the Declaration.

For the framers of the Constitution, legitimacy had to be based

on a compact or contract among those who are to be ruled. This is

why the Constitution starts with the words “We the people of the

United States . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

2. CREATE APPROPRIATE STRUCTURES

The framers’ second purpose was to create appropriate structures for

the new government. The framers were committed to the principles

of representative democracy. They also believed that any new gov-

ernment must include an important role for state governments and

ensure that the states retained some legitimacy to rule within their

borders.

To achieve their goals, the framers created the Congress, the

presidency, and the judiciary to share the powers of the national

government. They also created a system of division of powers

between the national government and the state governments.

“The Constitution was not made to ﬁt us like a

straightjacket. In its elasticity lies its chief greatness.”

President Woodrow Wilson

The Living Constitution

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOR THE

LIVING

CONSTITUTION

Preamble 154

Article 1 154

Article 2 160

Article 3 162

Article 4 164

Article 5 164

Article 6 165

Article 7 165

Bill of Rights 166

Amendments 11–27 168

Tracing Themes:

Voting Rights 174

Assessment 176

Projects for Citizenship 178

152 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

The original manuscript

of the Constitution is

now kept in the National

Archives in Washington, D.C.

▼

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3. DESCRIBE AND DISTRIBUTE POWER

The framers had as their third purpose to describe governmental

powers and to distribute them among the structures they created.

The powers of the legislative branch, which are those of Congress,

are listed in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. Many of the

executive powers belonging to the president are listed in Article 2,

Sections 2 and 3. The courts are given judicial powers in Article 3.

The words of Article 4 imply that the states retain authority over

many public matters.

4. L

IMIT G

OVERNMENT POWERS

The fourth purpose of the framers was to limit the powers of the

structures they created. Limits on the Congress’s powers are found

in Article 1, Section 9. Some of the limits on the powers of state

governments are found in Article 1, Section 10. There the framers

enumerate functions that are delegated to the national government

and so cannot be directed by the states.

5. ALLOW FOR CHANGE

The framers’ ﬁfth purpose was to include some means for changing

the Constitution. Here they faced a dilemma: they wanted to make

certain that the government endured by changing with the times,

but they did not want to expose the basic rules of government to

so many changes that the system would be unstable. So in Article 5

they created a difﬁcult but not impossible means for amending the

Constitution.

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

153

HOW TO READ

THE

CONSTITUTION

The Constitution, which appears on

pages 154–173, is printed on a beige

background, while the explanatory notes

next to each article, section, or clause

are printed on blue. Each article is divid-

ed into sections, and the sections are

subdivided into clauses. Headings have

been added and the spelling and punctu-

ation modernized for easier reading.

Portions of the Constitution no longer in

use have been crossed out. The

Constitutional Insight questions and

answers will help you understand signiﬁ-

cant issues related to the Constitution.

RESEARCHING A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

As you study the Constitution, think about

a constitutional question that interests you.

Here are some possible questions:

•How much, if at all, can the federal gov-

ernment or a state government restrict

the sale of ﬁrearms?

•Under what conditions does the president

have the power to order American troops

into battle without congressional

approval?

•

Under what conditions may a police ofﬁcer

conduct a search of the inside of an auto-

mobile?

Once you have chosen a constitutional

question, research that question in articles

and books on the Constitution. Also check

the indexes of well-known newspapers, such

as the New York Times, for articles that are

relevant.

Visit the Constitution links for more information.

RESEARCH LINKS CLASSZONE.COM

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PREAMBLE. Purpose of the Constitution

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect

Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the com-

mon defense, 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 1. The Legislature

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

1. ELECTIONS 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.

2. QUALIFICATIONS 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.

3. NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES Representatives and direct taxes

shall be apportioned among the several states which may be includ-

ed 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 enu-

meration 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 choose 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.

4. VACANCIES When vacancies happen in the

representation from any state, the executive

authority thereof shall issue writs of election

to ﬁll such vacancies.

5. OFFICERS AND IMPEACHMENT The House of

Representatives shall choose their Speaker

and other ofﬁcers; and shall have the sole

power of impeachment.

PREAMBLE

Constitutional Insight Preamble

Why does the Preamble say “We the people

of the United States . . . ordain and estab-

lish” the new government?

The Articles of

Confederation was an agreement among the

states. But the framers of the Constitution

wanted to be sure its legitimacy came from

the American people, not from the states,

which might decide to withdraw their support

at any time. This is a basic principle of the

Constitution.

ARTICLE 1

Constitutional Insight Section 1

Why does the ﬁrst article of the Constitution

focus on Congress rather than on the presi-

dency or the courts?

The framers were intent

on stressing the central role of the legislative

branch in the new government because it is

the branch that most directly represents the

people and is most responsive to them.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think Congress is still the branch of the

federal government that is most directly

responsible to the people? Why or why not?

Constitutional Insight Section 2.1

Why are members of the House of

Representatives elected every two years?

The House of Representatives was designed

to be a truly representative body, with mem-

bers who reﬂect the concerns and sentiments

of their constituents as closely as possible.

The framers achieved this timely representa-

tion by establishing two years as a reasonable

term for members of the House to serve.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think electing members of the House of

Representatives every two years is a good

idea? Why or why not?

154 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

The Constitution

Requirements for Holding Federal Office

Representative

Senator

President

Supreme Court

Justice

state in

which elected

state in

which elected

14 years in

the United

States

none

7 years

9 years

natural-born

none

POSITION

MINIMUM AGE RESIDENCY CITIZENSHIP

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Constitutional Insight Section 3.1

Why are members of the Senate elected

every six years?

The framers feared the

possibility of instability in the government. So

they decided that senators should have six-

year terms and be elected by the state

legislatures rather than directly by the people.

The Seventeenth Amendment, as you will see

later, changed this. The framers also

staggered the terms of the senators so that

only one-third of them are replaced at any one

time. This stabilizes the Senate still further.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think it is important today for the

Senate to have more stability than the House

of Representatives? If so, why?

Constitutional Insight Sections 3.6

and 3.7 Must an impeached president step

down from ofﬁce?

Not necessarily. An

impeachment is a formal accusation of crimi-

nal behavior or serious misbehavior. By

impeaching the president, the U.S. House of

Representatives is ofﬁcially accusing the

nation’s chief executive of one or more wrong-

doings that warrant possible removal from

ofﬁce. It is then the responsibility of the

Senate to conduct a trial to determine whether

the president is guilty or not guilty of the

charges—and thus whether or not the presi-

dent must step down. Conviction requires a

two-thirds vote of the Senate.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think a president should be put on trial

for a crime while he or she is still in ofﬁce?

Explain.

SECTION 3. THE SENATE

1. N

UMBERS

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.

2. CLASSIFYING TERMS 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 leg-

islature, which shall then ﬁll such vacancies.

3. Qualiﬁcations 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.

4. ROLE OF VICE-PRESIDENT The Vice-President of the United States

shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be

equally divided.

5. O

FFICERS

The Senate shall choose 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.

6. I

MPEACHMENT T

RIALS

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.

7. PUNISHMENT FOR IMPEACHMENT Judgment in cases of impeachment

shall not extend further than to removal from ofﬁce, and disqualiﬁca-

tion 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. CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

1. REGULATIONS 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 choosing Senators.

2. S

ESSIONS

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.

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

155

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Constitutional Insight Section 7.2

How often do presidents use the veto, and

how often is that action overridden?

The use

of the veto, which is the refusal to approve a

bill, depends on many factors, especially the

political conditions of the time. Until 1865, only

nine presidents exercised the veto for 36

pieces of legislation, including Andrew Jackson

who used it 12 times. Since 1865, every presi-

dent has used the veto power, some on rela-

tively few occasions, others as frequently as

over a hundred times. Usually, Congress is

unable to produce the votes (those of two-

thirds of the members present in each house)

needed to override presidential vetoes.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think it should be easier for Congress

to override a president’s veto? Why or why not?

SECTION 5. RULES AND PROCEDURES

1. Q

UORUM

Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and

qualiﬁcations of its own members, and a majority of each shall con-

stitute 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.

2. RULES AND CONDUCT Each house may determine the rules of its

proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with

the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

3. C

ONGRESSIONAL RECORDS

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.

4. ADJOURNMENT 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. PAYMENT AND PRIVILEGES

1. SALARY The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensa-

tion 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.

2. RESTRICTIONS 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 increased, 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. HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

1. T

AX BILLS

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.

2. L

AWMAKING

PROCESS

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 approves 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 objec-

tions 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

Constitutional Insight Section 5.2

What kinds of rules does Congress make for

itself?

The Constitution gives each house con-

trol over most of its rules of procedure and

membership. Rules are important, for they

help shape the kinds of laws and policies that

pass each body. Senate rules allow a ﬁli-

buster, whereby a senator holds the ﬂoor as

long as he or she likes in order to block con-

sideration of a bill he or she dislikes. In recent

years, a “cloture” rule has been used to end

debate if 60 or more members vote to do so.

In contrast, the House of Representatives

has rules to limit debate. A rules committee

has the primary task of determining how long a

bill on the ﬂoor of the House may be discussed

and whether any amendments can be offered

to the bill. In recent years, the power of the

Rules Committee has been limited, but being

able to shape the rules remains a powerful

tool of members of Congress.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why do you think the chair of the Rules

Committee is in a powerful position?

156 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

Constitutional Insight Section 7.1

Why must all bills to raise revenue originate

in the House?

Because its members all

stand for election every two years, the House

was expected to be more directly responsive

to the people. The tradition of restricting the

powers of taxation to the people’s representa-

tives dates prior to the English Bill of Rights

(1689), which granted to Parliament and with-

held from the king the right to raise taxes.

When colonists protesting the Stamp Act and

the Intolerable Acts protested “no taxation

without representation,” they were appealing

to a longstanding right codiﬁed in the English

Bill of Rights.

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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 adjourn-

ment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

3. ROLE OF THE

PRESIDENT

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.

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

157

Skillbuilder

Answer

Both the House and the Senate must pass

a common version of a bill which the pres-

ident may accept or reject (veto). If the

president rejects a bill, it still becomes a

law with a two-thirds vote in each house.

So, the House and Senate can check each

other and the president, while the presi-

dent can check the Congress.

How a Bill in Congress Becomes a Law

A bill is introduced in the House or

the Senate and referred to a

standing committee for

consideration.

Either house of Congress debates

the bill and may make revisions. If

passed, the bill is sent to the other

house.

A bill may be reported out of

committee with or without

changes—or it may be

shelved.

If both houses accept the compromise

version, the bill is sent to the

president to be signed.

The conference committee

submits a single version of the

bill to the House and the Senate.

If the House and the Senate pass

different versions of a bill, both versions

go to a conference committee to work

out the differences.

If the president vetoes the bill, the House and the Senate

may override the veto by a vote of two thirds of the members

present in each house, and then the bill becomes law.

If the president signs the

bill, it becomes law.

SKILLBUILDER

Interpreting Charts

How is the constitutional principle of checks and

balances reﬂected in the process of a bill’s

becoming a law?

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SECTION 8. POWERS GRANTED TO CONGRESS

1. TAXATION The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes,

duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the com-

mon defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties,

imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

2. CREDIT To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

3. COMMERCE To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among

the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

4. NATURALIZATION, BANKRUPTCY To establish a uniform rule of nat-

uralization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies

throughout the United States;

5. MONEY To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign

coin, and ﬁx the standard of weights and measures;

6. COUNTERFEITING To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting

the securities and current coin of the United States;

7. POST OFFICE To establish post ofﬁces and post roads;

8. P

ATENTS

, COPYRIGHTS

To promote the progress of science and use-

ful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the

exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

9. FEDERAL COURTS To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme

Court;

10. INTERNATIONAL LAW To deﬁne and punish piracies and felonies

committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

11. WAR To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make

rules concerning captures on land and water;

12. ARMY To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money

to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

13. N

AV Y

To provide and maintain a navy;

14. REGULATION OF ARMED FORCES To make rules for the government

and regulation of the land and naval forces;

15. M

ILITIA

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws

of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

16. REGULATIONS FOR MILITIA 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;

17. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 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, mag-

azines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;—and

18. ELASTIC CLAUSE 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.

Constitutional Insight Section 8

The

powers given to Congress are in Section 8 of

Article 1. The ﬁrst 17 clauses of Section 8 are

often called the enumerated powers because

they name individually Congress’s speciﬁc pow-

ers. These powers deal with issues ranging

from taxation and the national debt to calling

out the armed forces of the various states to

governing the nation’s capital district

(Washington, D.C.).

The 18th and ﬁnal clause is different. It gives

Congress the power to do what is “necessary

and proper” to carry out the enumurated pow-

ers. Thus, the enumerated powers of Congress

“to lay and collect taxes,” “to borrow money,”

“to regulate commerce,” and “to coin money”

imply the power to create a bank in order to

execute these powers. Early in the country’s

history, this Elastic Clause, as it has been

called, was used by Congress to establish the

controversial Bank of the United States in 1791

and the Second Bank of the United States in

1816.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why do you think the Elastic Clause is still

important today?

158 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

MODERN MONEY

Because of frequent counterfeit-

ing of U.S. currency, a new

design was released for the

$100 and $50 bills in 1996. To

make these bills more difﬁcult to

counterfeit, the new design

included enlarged, off-center por-

traits of Benjamin Franklin and

Ulysses S. Grant, a security

thread, ﬁne-line printing patterns,

color-shifting ink, and a water-

mark to the right of each portrait.

Since then, a $20 bill was intro-

duced in 1998, and a $10 and

$5 bill were introduced in 2000.

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Constitutional Insight Section 9

Why didn’t the framers include a bill of rights

in the original Constitution?

Actually, they did.

Article 1, Section 9, deﬁnes limits on the pow-

ers of Congress, just as the ﬁrst ten amend-

ments (which we call the Bill of Rights) do.

While some of the provisions focus on such

issues as slavery and taxation, there are three

explicit prohibitions dealing with citizens’ rights:

•Writ of habeas corpus. Section 9, Clause 2

says that, except in time of rebellion or

invasion, Congress cannot suspend people’s

right to a writ of habeas corpus. This means

that people cannot be held in prison or jail

without being formally charged with a crime.

•Bill of attainder. Clause 3 prohibits the pas-

sage of any law that convicts or punishes a

person directly and without a trial. Any leg-

islative action that would punish someone

without recourse to a court of law is called

a bill of attainder.

•Ex post facto law. The same clause pro-

hibits ex post facto laws. Such a law would

punish a person for an act that was legal

when it was performed.

The fact that these particular rights were pro-

tected by the original document issued by the

framers reﬂects both the framers’ experiences

during the Revolution and their fear of exces-

sive government power.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why are American citizens today so intent on

having protections against government

violations of their rights?

SECTION 9. POWERS DENIED CONGRESS

1. Slave Trade 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 hun-

dred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importa-

tion, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

2. HABEAS C

ORPUS

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.

3. ILLEGAL P

UNISHMENT

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall

be passed.

4. DIRECT TAXES No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless

in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to

be taken.

5. EXPORT TAXES No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from

any state.

6. N

O F

AVORITES

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.

7. PUBLIC MONEY 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.

8. T

ITLES OF

NOBILITY

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 THE STATES

1. RESTRICTIONS No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con-

federation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills

of credit; make anything 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.

2. IMPORT AND EXPORT TAXES 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 its 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 control of

the Congress.

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3. PEACETIME AND WAR RESTRAINTS No state shall, without the con-

sent 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 actu-

ally invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

ARTICLE 2. The Executive

SECTION 1. T

HE PRESIDENCY

1. TERMS OF OFFICE 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:

2. ELECTORAL COLLEGE 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.

3. Former Method of Electing President 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 elec-

tors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such major-

ity, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of

Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for

President; and if no person have a majority, then from the ﬁve high-

est on the list the said house shall in like manner choose the President.

But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the

representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this

purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of

the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a

choice. 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 choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.

4. ELECTION DAY The Congress may determine the time of choosing

the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which

day shall be the same throughout the United States.

ARTICLE 2

Constitutional Insight Section 1.1

What exactly is “executive power”?

We know

the president has it, but nowhere is it explicitly

deﬁned. It is most often deﬁned as the power

to carry out the laws of the land, but of course

no one person can handle such a chore alone.

A more appropriate deﬁnition is found in

Section 3 of this article, which empowers the

president to “take care that the laws be faith-

fully executed.” In this sense, the president is

the chief administrator.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is it important to have an executive who is

the chief administrator?

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HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

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Constitutional Insight Section 1.6

What happens when the vice-president suc-

ceeds a dead or incapacitated president?

Section 1.6 provides that the vice-president

shall assume the powers and duties of the

presidential ofﬁce. But until the Twenty-ﬁfth

Amendment was added to the Constitution in

1967, there was no explicit statement in the

document that the vice-president is to become

president. That procedure owes its origin to

John Tyler, the tenth president of the United

States, who in 1841 succeeded William Henry

Harrison—the ﬁrst president to die in ofﬁce.

Tyler decided to take the oath of ofﬁce and

assume the title of president of the United

States. Congress voted to go along with his

decision, and the practice was repeated after

Lincoln was assassinated. It would take anoth-

er century for the written provisions of the

Constitution to catch up with the practice.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is it important to know the order of

succession if a president dies in ofﬁce?

Constitutional Insight Section 2.1

Just how much authority does the president

have as “commander in chief” of the armed

forces?

The president has the power to give

orders to American military forces. There have

been several instances in U.S. history when

presidents have used that authority in spite of

congressional wishes.

President Harry Truman involved the armed

forces of the United States in the Korean War

from 1950 to 1953 without a congressional

declaration of war.

Reacting to criticism of the Vietnam War,

Congress in 1973 enacted the War Powers

Resolution, making the president more

accountable to Congress for any military

actions he or she might take. Every president

since Richard Nixon has called the resolution

unconstitutional. Nevertheless, every presi-

dent has reported to Congress within 48 hours

of sending troops into an international crisis,

as is required by the War Powers Resolution.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is it important that the commander in

chief of the armed forces of the United States

be a civilian (the president) rather than a

military general?

5. QUALIFICATIONS 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.

6. SUCCESSION 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, resig-

nation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declar-

ing what ofﬁcer shall then act as President, and such ofﬁcer shall act

accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be

elected.

7. S

ALARY

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a

compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished dur-

ing 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.

8. OATH OF OFFICE 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. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1. M

ILITARY

POWERS

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 par-

dons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of

impeachment.

2. TREATIES, APPOINTMENTS 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 ambas-

sadors, 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.

3. VACANCIES The President shall have power to ﬁll up all vacancies

that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commis-

sions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

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SECTION 3. PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES 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 expedi-

ent; 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. I

MPEACHMENT

The President, Vice-President and all civil

ofﬁcers of the United States shall be removed from ofﬁce on impeach-

ment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and

misdemeanors.

ARTICLE 3. The Judiciary

SECTION 1. FEDERAL COURTS AND JUDGES 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 behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services

a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance

in ofﬁce.

Constitutional Insight Section 3

Is it necessary for the president to deliver a

State of the Union address before a joint

session of Congress at the start of each leg-

islative year?

The Constitution requires only

that the president report to Congress on the

state of the Union from time to time, and

nowhere does it call for an annual address. In

1913, President Woodrow Wilson wanted to

inﬂuence Congress to take action without delay

on some legislation that he thought was impor-

tant. Wilson revived the tradition—which had

been discontinued by Jefferson—of delivering

the State of the Union address in person.

CRITICAL THINKING

How does the president use the State of the

Union address today?

Constitutional Insight Section 4

Have high-level public ofﬁcials ever been

impeached?

In all of American history, the

House has impeached two presidents, and nei-

ther had to leave ofﬁce. In 1868, the Senate

found President Andrew Johnson not guilty by

one vote after the House impeached him,

charging him with violating a Congressional

Act. In 1999, Senators acquitted President Bill

Clinton after the House impeached him with

charges of lying under oath and obstructing

justice in the attempted cover-up of a White

House scandal.

The only other president to come close to

impeachment was Richard Nixon. In 1974, the

House Judiciary Committee, in what is the ﬁrst

step of the impeachment process, recom-

mended three articles of impeachment against

Nixon for his role in the infamous Watergate

scandal. Before the full House could vote for

or against the articles of impeachment, howev-

er, Nixon resigned from ofﬁce.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why do you think the framers of the

Constitution created such an elaborate and

seemingly difﬁcult procedure for removing a

sitting president?

162 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

(above) Rep. Henry Hyde,

chairman of the House Judiciary

Committee, swears in

Independent Counsel Kenneth

Starr during the Committee’s

hearings on impeachment

charges against President Bill

Clinton in 1998; (right) President

Andrew Johnson is handed the

articles of impeachment before

his trial in 1868.

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ARTICLE 3

Constitutional Insight Section 2.1

What is judicial review? Is it the same as

judicial power?

Actually, they are not the

same. Judicial power is the authority to hear

cases involving disputes over the law or the

behavior of people. Judicial review, in contrast,

is a court’s passing judgment on the constitu-

tionality of a law or government action that is

being disputed. Interestingly, nowhere does

the Constitution mention judicial review. There

are places where it is implied (for example, in

Section 2 of Article 6), but the only explicit

description of the responsibility of the courts

is the reference to judicial power in Section 1

of Article 3. The Supreme Court’s power to

review laws passed by Congress was explicitly

afﬁrmed by the Court itself in Marbur y v.

Madison. (See page 206.)

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is judicial review, although not mentioned

in the Constitution, an important activity of the

Supreme Court?

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

163

SECTION 2. THE COURTS’ AUTHORITY

1. G

ENERAL

AUTHORITY

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 authori-

ty;—to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con-

suls;—to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;—to contro-

versies 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.

2. SUPREME COURT 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 jurisdic-

tion, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such

regulations, as the Congress shall make.

3. TRIAL BY JURY The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach-

ment, 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

1. D

EFINITION

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 confes-

sion in open court.

2. PUNISHMENT The Congress shall have power to declare the punish-

ment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of

blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.

The Supreme Court of the United States in

1994. In the front row (left to right) are

Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and John

Paul Stevens, Chief Justice William H.

Rehnquist, and Associate Justices Sandra Day

O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy. In the back

row are Associate Justices Ruth Bader

Ginsburg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, and

Stephen Breyer.

▼

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ARTICLE 4. Relations Among States

SECTION 1. STATE ACTS AND RECORDS 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. R

IGHTS OF CITIZENS

1. CITIZENSHIP The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privi-

leges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

2. EXTRADITION 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.

3. Fugitive Slaves No person held to service or labor 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

labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such

service or labor may be due.

SECTION 3. NEW STATES

1. ADMISSION New states may be admitted by the Congress into this

Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the juris-

diction 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 leg-

islatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.

2. C

ONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY

The Congress shall have power to dis-

pose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the ter-

ritory 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. GUARANTEES TO THE STATES The United States shall guar-

antee 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 con-

vened), against domestic violence.

ARTICLE 5. Amending the Constitution

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it neces-

sary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the applica-

tion of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a con-

vention 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 4

Constitutional Insight Section 2.1

Why do college students attending public

universities outside their state of residence

have to pay higher tuition fees?

The Supreme Court has interpreted the “privi-

leges and immunities” clause to allow higher

tuition fees (and fees for hunting permits, etc.)

for nonresidents when a state can give a “sub-

stantial reason” for the difference. Since state

colleges and universities receive some ﬁnan-

cial support from the states’ taxpayers, the

difference is regarded as justiﬁed in most

states. If a student establishes residency in

the state, he or she can pay in-state tuition

after one year.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think it is fair that a nonresident must

pay higher tuition fees at a state college than a

resident of the state must pay? Explain.

Constitutional Insight Section 3.1

Should there be a West Virginia?

The

Constitution states that “no new state shall be

formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any

other state” without the permission of the

legislature of the state involved and of the

Congress. Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, and

Maine were created from territory taken from

existing states, with the approval of the sitting

legislatures.

West Virginia, however, is a different stor y.

During the Civil War, the residents of the

westernmost counties of Virginia were angr y

with their state’s decision to secede from the

Union. They petitioned Congress to have their

counties declared a distinct state. Congress

agreed, and so the state of West Virginia was

created. After the Civil War, the legislature of

Virginia gave its formal approval, perhaps

because it was in no position to dispute the

matter.

CRITICAL THINKING

Suppose a section of Texas should decide to

become a new state today. Could it do this?

Why or why not?

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HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

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ARTICLE 6

Constitutional Insight Section 2 Just

how “supreme” is the “law of the land”?

The Constitution and all federal laws and

treaties are the highest law of the land. All

state constitutions and laws and all local laws

rank below national law and cannot be enforced

if they contradict national law. For example, if

the United States enters into a treaty protect-

ing migratory Canadian birds, the states must

change their laws to ﬁt the provisions of that

agreement. That was the decision of the

Supreme Court in the case of Missouri v.

Holland (1920). The state of Missouri argued

that the national government could not inter-

fere with its power to regulate hunting within

its borders, but the Supreme Court concluded

that the treaty was a valid exercise of national

power and therefore took priority over state

and local laws. The states had to adjust their

rules and regulations accordingly.

CRITICAL THINKING

What would happen if the national law were

not supreme?

ARTICLE 7

Constitutional Insight Why was ratiﬁca-

tion by only 9 states sufﬁcient to put the

Constitution into effect?

In taking such a

momentous step as replacing one constitution

(the Articles of Confederation) with another,

the framers might have been expected to

require the agreement of all 13 states. But the

framers were political realists. They knew that

they would have a difﬁcult time winning

approval from all 13 states. But they also

knew that they had a good chance of getting 9

or 10 of the states “on board” and that once

that happened, the rest would follow. Their

strategy worked, but just barely. Although they

had the approval of 9 states by the end of

June 1788, 2 of the most important states—

Virginia and New York—had not yet decided to

ratify. Without the approval of these inﬂuential

states, the new government would have had a

difﬁcult time sur viving. Finally, by the end of

July, both had given their blessing to the new

constitution, but not without intense debate.

And then there was the last holdout—Rhode

Island. Not only had Rhode Island refused to

send delegates to the Constitutional Convention

in 1787, but it turned down ratiﬁcation several

times before ﬁnally giving its approval in 1790

under a cloud of economic and even military

threats from neighboring states.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think all 50 states would ratify the

Constitution today? Why or why not?

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

165

ARTICLE 6. Supremacy of the

National Government

SECTION

1. VALID DEBTS

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.

SECTION 2. S

UPREME LAW

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, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the

contrary notwithstanding.

SECTION 3. LOYALTY TO CONSTITUTION 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 7. Ratiﬁcation

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 pres-

ent, the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thou-

sand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the independence of the

United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereun-

to subscribed our names.

George Washington—President and deputy from Virginia

Delaware: George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard

Bassett, Jacob Broom

Maryland: James McHenry, Dan of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll

Virginia: John Blair, James Madison, Jr.

North Carolina: William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson

South Carolina: John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles

Pinckney, Pierce Butler

Georgia: William Few, Abraham Baldwin

New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King

Connecticut: William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman

New York: Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey: William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan

Dayton

Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifﬂin, Robert Morris, George

Clymer, Thomas FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris

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BILL OF RIGHTS

Constitutional Insight Amendment 1

Do Americans have an absolute right to free

speech?

The right to free speech is not with-

out limits. In the case of Schenck v. United

States (1919), Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

wrote that this right does “not protect a man

in falsely shouting ﬁre in a theatre and causing

a panic.” Thus, there are some forms of

speech that are not protected by the First

Amendment, and Congress is allowed to make

laws regarding certain types of expression.

(See Schenck v. United States on page 602.)

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is there controversy over freedom of

speech today?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 4

Can the police search your car without a

court-issued search warrant when they stop

you for speeding?

The answer, according to

Supreme Court decisions, depends on whether

they have good reasons—called “probable

cause”—for doing so. If a state trooper

notices bloody clothing on the back seat of a

vehicle she stops for a trafﬁc violation, there

might be probable cause for her to insist on

searching the vehicle. There is probably not

sufﬁcient reason for a search if the trooper is

merely suspicious of the driver because of the

way he is acting. In such cases, the trooper

may make a casual request, such as “Do you

mind if I look inside your vehicle?” If the

answer is no, then according to the Court, the

driver has waived his or her constitutional right

against unreasonable searches.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why do you think the right against

unreasonable searches and seizures is highly

important to most people?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 5

Can you be tried twice for the same

offense?

The prohibition against “double

jeopardy” protects you from having the same

charge twice brought against you for the same

offense, but you can be tried on different

charges related to that offense.

CRITICAL THINKING

What do you think could happen if a person

could be tried twice for the same offense?

166 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

The Bill of Rights

and Amendments 11–27

Amendments 1–10

Proposed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratiﬁed December 15, 1791.

AMENDMENT

1. RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL FREEDOM (1791)

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 assem-

ble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

AMENDMENT 2. RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS (1791) A well-regulated

militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the

people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

AMENDMENT 3. QUARTERING TROOPS (1791) No soldier shall, in

time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the

owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

AMENDMENT 4. SEARCH AND SEIZURE (1791) The right of the

people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,

against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,

and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by

oath or afﬁrmation, and particularly describing the place to be

searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

AMENDMENT 5. RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS (1791) 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 ser-

vice in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject

for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor

shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against him-

self, 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.

Analyzing

“THE FEDERAL EDIFICE”

This 1778 cartoon celebrated the ratiﬁcation of the Constitution by New

York, the 11th state to ratify it. This left only North Carolina and Rhode

Island to complete all 13 pillars of the federal structure.

SKILLBUILDER

Analyzing Political Cartoons

What details in the cartoon convey the unity of the states who have

voted for ratiﬁcation?

How does the cartoonist contrast the states who have voted for

ratiﬁcation with those who have not? What message does this convey?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R24.

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Page 15 of 22

Constitutional Insight Amendment 6

What are the Miranda rights?

The term

comes from the Supreme Cour t’s decision in

Miranda v. Arizona (1966), in which the jus-

tices established basic rules that the police

must follow when questioning a suspect. If

suspected of a crime, you must be told that

you have a right to remain silent and that any-

thing you say “can and will” be used against

you. You also need to be informed that you

have a right to an attorney and that the attor-

ney may be present during questioning. (See

Miranda v. Arizona on page 900.)

CRITICAL THINKING

How do the Miranda rights protect you?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 7

What are the “rules of the common law”?

The common law is the body of legal practices

and decrees developed in England and English-

speaking America from

. 1066 through the

present. It includes Magna Carta (1215),

which acknowledges versions of rights

afﬁrmed in the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh

Amendments, as well as the English Bill of

Rights (1689), which codiﬁed rights asserted

in the First, Second, Seventh, and Eighth

Amendments. The common law also includes

the decisions and published opinions of state

and federal appeals courts, including the U.S.

Supreme Court.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 9

Do you have a right to privacy?

Until 1965,

no such right had ever been explicitly stated by

the courts. That year, in the case of Griswold

v. Connecticut, the Court said there is an

implied right of American citizens to make cer-

tain personal choices without interference

from the government; this case concerned the

right to use birth control. Years later, in Roe v.

Wade (1973), the same logic was used to

declare unconstitutional a Texas law restricting a

woman’s right to an abortion in the ﬁrst stages

of pregnancy. Since that decision, both the right

to privacy and abortion rights have become the

focus of major political controversies.

CRITICAL THINKING

How do you deﬁne the right to privacy?

AMENDMENT 6. R

IGHT TO A SPEEDY, PUBLIC TRIAL (1791)

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 wit-

nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining wit-

nesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his

defense.

AMENDMENT 7. TRIAL BY JURY IN CIVIL CASES (1791) 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.

AMENDMENT

8. LIMITS OF

FINES AND PUNISHMENTS (1791)

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive ﬁnes imposed, nor

cruel and unusual punishments inﬂicted.

AMENDMENT

9. RIGHTS OF

PEOPLE

(1791)

The enumeration in

the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or

disparage others retained by the people.

AMENDMENT

10. POWERS OF

STATES AND

PEOPLE (1791)

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.

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

167

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Page 16 of 22

Amendments 11–27

AMENDMENT 11.LAWSUITS AGAINST STATES (1795) Passed by

Congress March 4, 1794. Ratiﬁed February 7, 1795.

Note: Article 3, Section 2, of the Constitution was modified by the

Eleventh Amendment.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to

extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against

one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or

subjects of any foreign state.

AMENDMENT 12. E

LECTION OF EXECUTIVES (1804)

Passed by

Congress December 9, 1803. Ratiﬁed June 15, 1804.

Note: A portion of Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution was superseded

by the Twelfth Amendment.

The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for

President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabi-

tant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the

person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for

as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for

as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the

number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and trans-

mit 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 pres-

ence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certiﬁcates

and the votes shall then be counted;—the person having the greatest num-

ber of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a major-

ity of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such

majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceed-

ing three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of

Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in

choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representa-

tion from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall con-

sist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority

of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of

Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice

shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following,

then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or

other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the

greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if

such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed,

and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on

the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the pur-

pose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a

majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no per-

son constitutionally ineligible to the ofﬁce of President shall be eligible to

that of Vice-President of the United States.

AMENDMENT 13. SLAVERY ABOLISHED (1865) Passed by Congress

January 31, 1865. Ratiﬁed December 6, 1865.

Note: A portion of Article 4, Section 2, of the Constitution was super-

seded by the Thirteenth Amendment.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 12

How did the election of 1800 lead to the

Twelfth Amendment?

The election ended in a

tie vote between the Republican running

mates. The election was decided in Jefferson’s

favor on the House’s 36th ballot. Almost imme-

diately Alexander Hamilton and others designed

an amendment that established that the presi-

dential electors would vote for both a presiden-

tial and a vice-presidential candidate. This

amendment prevents a repeat of the problem

experienced in the 1800 election.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is the Twelfth Amendment important?

168 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

ELECTION REFORM

A new wave of electoral reform

efforts was triggered by the con-

troversial presidential election of

2000, in which George W. Bush’s

narrow victory over Al Gore left

many Americans questioning the

system in which a candidate can

lose the popular vote but win the

election.

Eliminating or reworking the

electoral college has been histori-

cally the most frequently proposed

constitutional amendment. Other

reform proposals have included

improving access to polling places

by allowing voting on weekend

hours or making Election Day a

national holiday. Still other propos-

als would modernize inaccurate

polling and counting machines or

replace them with computer sta-

tions or online voting.

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Page 17 of 22

Constitutional Insight Amendment 14,

Section 1 Which personal status takes pri-

ority—that of U.S. citizen or that of state citi-

zen?

The Fourteenth Amendment ﬁrmly notes

that Americans are citizens of both the nation

and the states but that no state can “abridge

the privileges or immunities” of U.S. citizens,

deprive them “of life, liberty, or property, with-

out due process of law,” or deny them “equal

protection of the laws.”

What does it mean to have “equal protection

of the laws”?

Equal protection means that

the laws are to be applied to all persons in the

same way. The legal system may discriminate

between persons—treat them differently, or

unequally—if there are relevant reasons to do

so. For example, a person’s income and num-

ber of dependants are relevant for how much

income tax the person should pay; a person’s

gender is not. The Supreme Court’s 1954

decision in Brown v. Board of Education of

Topeka (see page 914), which declared segre-

gated public schools unconstitutional, was

based on an Equal Protection claim; a child’s

race is not a relevant reason for the state to

assign that child to a particular school.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme

Court’s decision that separate educational

facilities are unequal? Explain your position.

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

169

SECTION 1 Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish-

ment 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 appropri-

ate legislation.

AMENDMENT 14. C

IVIL RIGHTS

(1868)

Passed by Congress June 13,

1866. Ratiﬁed July 9, 1868.

Note: Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution was modified by Section 2

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

SECTION 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and sub-

ject 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.

ECTION 2

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states

according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per-

sons 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 represen-

tation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of

such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twen-

ty-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 com-

fort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of

each house, remove such disability.

ECTION 4

The validity of the public debt of the United States, autho-

rized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun-

ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques-

tioned. 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.

ECTION 5

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate leg-

islation, the provisions of this article.

The lawyers who successfully challenged

segregation in the Brown v. Board of

Education case in 1954 included (left to right)

George E. C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and

James M. Nabrit, Jr.

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Page 18 of 22

AMENDMENT 15. RIGHT TO VOTE (1870) Passed by Congress

February 26, 1869. Ratiﬁed February 3, 1870.

SECTION 1 The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be

denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of

race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SECTION 2 The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by

appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT 16. INCOME TAX (1913) Passed by Congress July 12,

1909. Ratiﬁed February 3, 1913.

Note: Article 1, Section 9, of the Constitution was modified by the

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.

AMENDMENT 17. DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS (1913) Passed by

Congress May 13, 1912. Ratiﬁed April 8, 1913.

Note: Article 1, Section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the

Seventeenth Amendment.

CLAUSE 1 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.

LAUSE 2

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in

the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of elec-

tion 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.

CLAUSE 3 This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the

election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of

the Constitution.

AMENDMENT 18. PROHIBITION (1919) Passed by Congress December

18, 1917. Ratiﬁed January 16, 1919. Repealed by Amendment 21.

ECTION 1

After one year from the ratiﬁcation of this article the manu-

facture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the impor-

tation 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.

ECTION 3

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been rati-

ﬁed as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the sev-

eral states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the

date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 15

Can you be denied the right to vote?

The

Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the United

States or any state from keeping citizens from

voting because of race or color or because they

were once slaves. However, a person convicted

of a crime can be denied the right to vote, as

can someone found to be mentally incompetent.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why do you think so many people do not

exercise the right to vote?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 16

How has the ability of Congress to impose

taxes been amended?

The Sixteenth

Amendment permits a federal income tax and

in so doing changes Article 1, Section 9,

Clause 4, by stating that Congress has the

power to levy an income tax—which is a direct

tax—without apportioning such a tax among

the states according to their populations.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think Congress should have the power

to impose an income tax on the people of the

nation? Explain your answer.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 17

How has the way senators are elected been

changed?

The Seventeenth Amendment

changes Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1, by

stating that senators shall be elected by the

people of each state rather than by the state

legislatures.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is the direct election of senators by the

people of each state important?

170 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

Federal agents enforcing the Eighteenth

Amendment prepare to smash containers of

illegal whiskey.

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Page 19 of 22

Constitutional Insight Amendment 19

When did women ﬁrst get the right to vote in

the United States?

Women had the right to

vote in the state of New Jersey between 1776

and 1807. In the late 19th century, some

states and territories began to extend full or

limited suffrage to women. Then, in 1920, the

Nineteenth Amendment prohibited the United

States or any state from denying women the

right to vote.

CRITICAL THINKING

How does the right of women to vote affect

politics today?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 20

Why is the Twentieth Amendment usually

called the “Lame Duck” amendment?

A lame

duck is a person who continues to hold ofﬁce

after his or her replacement has been elected.

Such a person is called a lame duck because

he or she no longer has any strong political

inﬂuence. The Twentieth Amendment reduces

the time between the election of a new presi-

dent and vice-president in November and their

assumption of the ofﬁces, which it sets at

January 20 instead of March 4. It also reduces

the time new members of Congress must wait

to take their seats from 4 months to about 2

months. They are now seated on January 3 fol-

lowing the November election. As a result, the

lame duck period is now quite short.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why may the framers have speciﬁed a longer

lame duck period?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 21

What is unique about the Twenty-ﬁrst

Amendment?

Besides being the only amend-

ment that explicitly repeals another, it was the

ﬁrst, and is so far the only one, to have been

ratiﬁed by the state convention method out-

lined in Article 5. Congress, probably fearing

that state legislatures would not deal swiftly

with the issue of repeal, chose to have each

state call a special convention to consider the

amendment. The strategy worked well, for the

elected delegates to the conventions repre-

sented public opinion on the issue and ratiﬁed

the amendment without delay.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why is it necessary to pass another

amendment to revoke or remove an existing

amendment?

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

171

AMENDMENT 19. WOMAN SUFFRAGE (1920) Passed by Congress

June 4, 1919. Ratiﬁed August 18, 1920.

CLAUSE 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 sex.

CLAUSE 2 Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropri-

ate legislation.

AMENDMENT 20. “L

AME DUCK

” SESSIONS (1933)

Passed by Congress

March 2, 1932. Ratiﬁed January 23, 1933.

Note: Article 1, Section 4, of the Constitution was modified by Section 2

of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the Twelfth Amendment

was superseded by Section 3.

SECTION 1 The terms of the President and Vice-President shall end at

noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and

Representatives at noon on the 3rd 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.

ECTION 2

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and

such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd 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 pro-

vide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice-President

elect shall have qualiﬁed, declaring who shall then act as President, or the

manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall

act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualiﬁed.

SECTION 4 The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of

any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a

President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them,

and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate

may choose a Vice-President whenever the right of choice shall have

devolved upon them.

SECTION 5 Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October

following the ratiﬁcation of this article.

ECTION 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.

MENDMENT 21. R

EPEAL OF PROHIBITION (1933)

Passed by Congress

February 20, 1933. Ratiﬁed December 5, 1933.

SECTION 1 The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of

the United States is hereby repealed.

ECTION 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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Page 20 of 22

SECTION 3 This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been rati-

ﬁed as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several

states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date

of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

AMENDMENT 22. LIMIT ON PRESIDENTIAL TERMS (1951) Passed by

Congress March 21, 1947. Ratiﬁed February 27, 1951.

SECTION 1 No person shall be elected to the ofﬁce of the President more

than twice, and no person who has held the ofﬁce of President, or acted

as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other per-

son was elected President shall be elected to the ofﬁce of the President

more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding

the ofﬁce of President when this article was proposed by the Congress,

and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the ofﬁce of

President, or acting as President, during the term within which this arti-

cle 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 rati-

ﬁed as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three

fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its sub-

mission to the states by the Congress.

AMENDMENT 23. VOTING IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (1961) Passed

by Congress June 17, 1960. Ratiﬁed March 29, 1961.

ECTION 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.

ECTION 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by

appropriate legislation.

MENDMENT 24. ABOLITION OF POLL TAXES (1964)

Passed by

Congress August 27, 1962. Ratiﬁed January 23, 1964.

SECTION 1 The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any pri-

mary 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 rea-

son of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

ECTION 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by

appropriate legislation.

MENDMENT 25. PRESIDENTIAL DISABILITY, SUCCESSION (1967)

Passed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratiﬁed February 10, 1967.

Note: Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the

Twenty-fifth Amendment.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 23

Why were residents of the District of

Columbia without a vote in presidential elec-

tions?

First, the district was merely an idea at

the time the Constitution was written. Second,

no one expected the district to include many

residents. Third, the framers designed the

electoral college on a state framework. By

1960, however, the fact that nearly 800,000

Americans living in the nation’s capital could

not vote in presidential elections was an

embarrassment. The Twenty-third Amendment

gives Washington, D.C., residents the right to

vote in presidential elections by assigning

them electoral votes.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think the District of Columbia should

be made a separate state?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 24

Why was the poll tax an issue important

enough to require an amendment?

The poll

tax was used in some places to prevent

African-American voters—at least the many

who were too poor to pay the tax—from parti-

cipating in elections. As the civil rights

movement gained momentum, the abuse of the

poll tax became a major issue, but the national

government found it difﬁcult to change the

situation because the constitutional provisions

in Article 1, Section 4, leave the qualiﬁcations

of voters in the hands of the states. The Twenty-

fourth Amendment changed this by prohibiting

the United States or any state from including

payment of any tax as a requirement for voting.

CRITICAL THINKING

What impact do you think the Twenty-fourth

Amendment has had on elections?

172 T

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

CONGRESSIONAL TERM

LIMITS

In 1995, the Supreme Court

struck down all state laws limiting

congressional terms, stating that

they were unconstitutional. The

Court ruled that only a constitutional

amendment—such as the Twenty-

second, which limits the president

to two terms—could impose term

limits on members of Congress.

Proposed constitutional amend-

ments for Congressional term limits

were defeated in Congress in 1995

and in 1997.

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Page 21 of 22

HE LIVING CONSTITUTION

173

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 tem-

pore 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 con-

trary, 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 princi-

pal ofﬁcers of the executive department[s] 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 pow-

ers and duties of his ofﬁce. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue,

assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If

the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written

declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after

Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both

houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of

his ofﬁce, the Vice-President shall continue to discharge the same as

Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and

duties of his ofﬁce.

AMENDMENT 26. 18-YEAR-OLD VOTE (1971) Passed by Congress

March 23, 1971. Ratiﬁed July 1, 1971.

Note: Amendment 14, Section 2, of the Constitution was modified by

Section 1 of the Twenty-sixth Amendment.

SECTION 1 The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen

years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United

States or by any state on account of age.

SECTION 2 The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by

appropriate legislation.

MENDMENT 27. CONGRESSIONAL PAY (1992)

Proposed by Congress

September 25, 1789. Ratiﬁed May 7, 1992.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and

Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall

have intervened.

Constitutional Insight Amendment 26

Why was the Twenty-sixth Amendment

passed?

Granting 18-year-olds the right to

vote became an issue in the 1960s, during

the Vietnam War, when people questioned the

justice of requiring 18-year-old men to submit

to the military draft but refusing them the right

to vote. In 1970, Congress passed a voting

rights act giving 18-year-olds the right to vote

in elections. When the constitutionality of this

act was challenged, the Supreme Court decid-

ed that states had to honor the 18-year-old

vote for congressional and presidential elec-

tions but could retain higher age requirements

for state and local elections. To avoid confu-

sion at the polls, the Twenty-sixth Amendment

was passed. It guarantees 18-year-olds the

right to vote in national and state elections.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think 18-year-olds should have the

right to vote? Why or why not?

Constitutional Insight Amendment 27

How long did it take to ratify this amend-

ment?

Although the Twenty-seventh

Amendment was one of the 12 amendments

proposed in 1789 as part of the Bill of Rights,

it was not ratiﬁed until 1992. This amend-

ment, which deals with congressional compen-

sation, allows the members of Congress to

increase Congressional pay, but delays the

increase until after a new Congress is seated.

CRITICAL THINKING

Do you think members of Congress should be

able to vote themselves a pay increase?

Explain your answer.

(above) President Richard M. Nixon signs the

Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution,

adopted in 1971.

p0152-173aspe-0102lc 10/16/02 3:56 PM Page 173

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