Constitution of the United States — 1787114
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common 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 I
Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.
2 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons.115 The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 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 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.
5 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Section 3. 1 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.116
2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof, may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.117
3 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which be shall be chosen.
4 The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
5 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 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 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.
Section 4. 1 The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.
2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide.
2 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 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 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. 1 The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. 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 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. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.
2 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
3 Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Section 8. 1 The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
2 To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes;
4 To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;
5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;
7 To establish post offices and post roads;
8 To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
10 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
11 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
12 To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
13 To provide and maintain a navy;
14 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
15 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
16 To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States,118 and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and
18 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Section 9. 1 The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.119
2 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
4 No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State.
6 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
7 No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State.
Section 10.120 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 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 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.
3 No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II
Section 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows
2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate, shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner 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.121
3 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.
4 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.
5 In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
6 The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.
7 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. 1 The President shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
2 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
3 The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.
Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.
Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article III
Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
Section 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;—to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls;—to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;—to controversies to which the United States shall be a party;—to controversies between two or more States;—between a State and citizens of another State;122—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 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section 3. 1 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
2 The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
Article IV
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Section 2. 1 The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.
2 A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.
3 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.123
Section 3. 1 New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
2 The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI
1 All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
2 This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
3 The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States, and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
Article VII
The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.
Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names,
Go: Washington—
Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia.
(Signed also by thirty-eight other delegates, from twelve states.)
Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legislatures of the several States pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
Articles I-X124
Article I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Article II. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Article III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Article VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Article VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reëxamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Article XI125
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.
Article XII126
The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate;—The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;—The person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in 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 purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.
Article XIII127
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Article XIV128
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Article XV129
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.
Article XVI130
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.
Article XVII131
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Article XVIII132
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of the several States, as provided by the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Article XIX133
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 sex.
Section 2. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, to enforce the provisions of this article.
Footnotes
1 Fairlie, “Local Government,” p. 147.
2 Hart, “Actual Government,” p. 172.
3 The corresponding division in Louisiana is called a parish.
4 In Vermont and Connecticut, however, they are appointed by the judges and hold during their pleasure, while in Rhode Island they are elected by the legislature annually.
5 Rhode Island is the only state in which there is no such official as the county treasurer, the custody of local funds being intrusted to the town treasurers.
6 The county court and the justices of the peace are discussed in the chapter on the state judiciary (chapter vi).
7 Goodnow, “Comparative Administrative Law,” Vol. I, p. 178.
8 The Census Bureau reported in 1916 that 155 of the 204 cities having populations in excess of 30,000 owned their water supply systems.
9 An ex post facto law is retroactive, making criminal an act that was not a crime when committed, or increasing the punishment for past crimes. A bill of attainder is a law convicting an accused person without a trial, and imposing on him the penalties of treason.
10 The inherent power of the state to take private property for public use is called the right of eminent domain.
11 The California house of representatives, consisting of eighty members, had in 1907 a total of 335 employees, with salaries ranging from $3 to $8 per day. The senate, composed of forty members, had 228 employees. Since then an amendment to the constitution of that state has been adopted, limiting to $500 per day the amount that may be expended by the legislature for clerical assistance. In some other states the number of employees of the legislature seems excessive, and restrictions similar to that now found in the constitution of California might not be out of place. Thus in 1903 there were 226 employees of the legislature of Illinois, 315 in Missouri, 299 in New York, and 225 in Oregon. The expense account of legislative employees in Illinois for the session of 1913 amounted to more than $95,000; the amount in New York was over $250,000; and in Wisconsin over $76,000. One of the arguments now being urged in some states in favor of a single-chamber legislature is that it would make possible a material reduction in the number of legislative employees and a corresponding diminution of expenses.
12 In Wisconsin and some other states, “legislative reference bureaus” furnish members with information regarding subjects of proposed legislation, and aid them in the drafting of bills.
13 The constitution of Illinois requires the governor to transmit a message to the legislature also at the end of his term, summing up the condition of affairs of the state at the time.
14 By an important act passed in Illinois in 1917 a large number of bureaus and commissions were consolidated and placed under the authority of departmental heads appointed by the governor, who has a large power of control over them. A number of other states have since done likewise.
15 In several states certain of the state officers, one of whom is the attorney-general, serve as the pardon board; in others, it is the senate; and in Massachusetts and Maine it is the executive council.
16 Baldwin, The American Judiciary, p. 133.
17 Trial court judges in certain districts receive $17,500 a year.
18 Baldwin, The American Judiciary, p. 227.
19 In several instances provision has recently been made for such an officer; for example, in Los Angeles.
20 These states are Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas.
21 Most states have laws allowing voters to leave work for a certain length of time on election day without deduction of wages. A few states provide means for taking the votes of those who are necessarily absent on business on election day. Many states provide for taking the votes of men serving as soldiers in time of war.
22 Fuller, “Government by the People,” p. 150.
23 Fuller, “Government by the People,” pp. 61-63.
24 Andrews, “Manual of the Constitution,” p. 38.
25 Each of the Territories is represented in Congress by a delegate who is allowed to serve on certain committees and to take part in debate but not to vote. The Philippine Islands are represented by two Resident Commissioners, and Porto Rico by one. By courtesy they are allowed seats in the house of representatives, like territorial delegates, and may serve on committees.
The numbers of representatives after each census have been as follows: 1790, 105; 1800, 141; 1810, 181; 1820, 212; 1830, 240; 1840, 223; 1850, 234; 1860, 241; 1870, 292; 1880, 325; 1890, 356; 1900, 386; 1910, 435.
26 By a subsequent act, those states whose constitutions provided a different day for choosing representatives were exempted from the provisions of this law. In pursuance of this act, elections for members of Congress in Maine are held in September.
27 In case the legislature neglects to redistrict the state when additional representatives have been assigned to it, the latter are chosen from the state at large. In 1916, for example, Pennsylvania elected four such representatives; Illinois, Texas, Montana, and Idaho, two each; Alabama and West Virginia, one each.
28 In 1897 the business of the legislature of Oregon was completely tied up for months because a sufficient number of members of the lower house, in order to prevent the election of a certain senator, absented themselves from the chamber and prevented a quorum. Not a bill could be passed or a dollar of money appropriated for meeting the current expenses of the state.
29 That members of Congress are not liable to impeachment was determined in the case of William Blount, a senator from Tennessee in 1797, the senate deciding that it had no jurisdiction of the case.
30 The first was that of Judge John Pickering of the United States District Court of New Hampshire, March, 1803. The second was that of Judge Samuel Chase, of the Supreme Court, March, 1804. James H. Peck, District Judge of Missouri, was impeached in April, 1830; West H. Humphreys, District Judge of Tennessee, May, 1862; Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, February, 1868; William W. Belknap, Secretary of War, March, 1876; Charles Swayne, Judge of the United States District Court for Florida, 1905; and Robert W. Archbald, Judge of the Court of Commerce, 1912. Of these, Pickering, Humphreys, and Archbald were convicted and removed from office, while Humphreys and Archbald were in addition disqualified from holding federal office in the future. Belknap resigned before impeachment charges were preferred, but the senate decided that it had jurisdiction, nevertheless, and the trial was proceeded with only to result in his acquittal.
31 The sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives has custody of the mace which is the symbol of the authority of the house. It is a representation of the Roman fasces in ebony, and is surmounted by a globe and an eagle in silver. During the session it is kept in the place provided for it near the speaker’s desk, but when disorder breaks out in the course of the debates, the sergeant-at-arms takes the mace from its accustomed place and proceeds, bearing it aloft, to the part of the house where the disorder prevails. He then commands order in the name of the house, and if the display of the mace is not sufficient to restore order, the house may order the disorderly member or members to be arrested.
32 Two large office buildings have been erected near the Capitol for the use of members of both houses.
33 There are obvious objections to a system in which legislation is necessarily framed to a large extent by committees. These objections are thus stated by Mr. Bryce in his “American Commonwealth”:
1. It destroys the unity of the house.
2. It prevents the capacity of the best members from being brought to bear on any one piece of legislation, however important.
3. It cramps debate.
4. It lessens the cohesion and harmony of legislation by allowing each committee to go its own way with its own bills just as though it were legislating for one planet and the other committees for others.
5. It gives facilities for the exercise of underhand and even corrupt influence, and encourages “log rolling.”
6. It reduces responsibility by dividing it among different committees.
7. It lowers the interest of the nation in the proceedings of Congress.
8. It throws power into the hands of the chairmen of committees, especially those which deal with finance and other great national interests. The chief advantage of such a system is that it enables the house to deal with a far greater number of subjects than could be otherwise dealt with, and thus makes possible the dispatch of a vast amount of work, especially in killing off worthless bills.
34 Private bills are delivered to the clerk instead of to the speaker. The distinction between a public bill and a private bill is that the former deals with matters of general interest to the public, while the latter deals with matters of interest to a single individual or a small class. An example of a public bill is one regulating commerce; an example of a private bill is one granting a pension to a particular individual, or settling a claim of a person against the government. A distinction is also made between a bill and a resolution. A bill deals with matters of a more fundamental and permanent character, while a resolution deals with matters of a more temporary and transient nature. Resolutions are of two kinds: joint and concurrent. A joint resolution is passed like a bill and requires the approval of the President but is cast in slightly different form and is used for making small appropriations, the creation of commissions, proposal of amendments to the Constitution, resolutions to admit new states, ordering of printing, and the like. A concurrent resolution is used for expressing the opinion of Congress on some question of interest to that body alone and is not submitted to the President for his approval.
35 But in 1916 a Democratic Congress laid a protective tariff on imported dyestuffs to encourage a home industry.
36 The senate, however, has the right to propose amendments. Thus the tariff bill of 1894 was amended by the senate in nearly a thousand particulars. Again, the tariff bill of 1909 was so altered by the senate that it was in many respects a new bill, and the differences between the two houses were settled by a conference committee.
37 If the importer for any reason does not desire to remove his goods immediately and pay the duty thereon, he may store them in a government warehouse by giving a bond for double the amount of their value. He may then withdraw them at any time within a year upon the payment of the duties. If they are reëxported the payment of duties is not required.
38 Later mints were established at Denver, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Assay offices for refining and determining the purity of bullion have been established at New York, St. Louis, Deadwood, Helena, Boise, Carson City, Salt Lake, Seattle, and Charlotte, North Carolina. To give strength and hardness to gold and silver coins an alloy of copper equal to one tenth of their weight is added.
39 In addition to the gold and silver coins mentioned above are the five cent piece (nickel) and the one cent piece (copper).
40 At the present time all gold coins and the silver dollar are legal tender for all sums. The smaller coins, however, are legal tender for small sums only, the amount ranging from twenty-five cents in the case of the nickel and copper pieces to $10 in the case of the silver coins.
41 The gold reserve is a sum of money set aside for the purpose of redeeming the old “greenbacks” or United States notes. An effort has always been made to keep the amount above $100,000,000.
42 According to the report of the commissioner general of immigration, 1,218,480 immigrants arrived in the United States during the year 1914. Of those who applied for admission into the country, more than 33,000 were turned back. In 1916 the number of arrivals dropped to 366,748; in 1920 it was 430,000.
43 Under the commerce power. Congress has also enacted the white slave law, and an act restricting the killing of birds that migrate from one state to another.
44 Early in 1919 the eighteenth amendment to the federal constitution was adopted, prohibiting the liquor traffic after one year.
45 The rate for other persons than publishers is four cents a pound.
46 Already in 1906 a system of postal savings banks had been established in the Philippine Islands, where it was giving entire satisfaction.
47 The United States has long had “parcels post” treaties with a number of foreign countries, however, by which parcels weighing as much as eleven pounds may be sent through the mails to those countries at the rate of twelve cents per pound.
48 The receipts of the New York post office are about $45,000,000 a year.
49 Notwithstanding the large number of employees in the patent office, the office is self-supporting by reason of the fees charged and the large number of applications, the annual receipts amounting to more than $2,000,000.
50 An inventor who needs more time in which to perfect his invention and to forestall the action of some one else may secure a caveat which gives him a year in which to complete his invention.
Trade-marks are also registered by the patent office provided they are to be used in interstate commerce. Trade-marks in other cases are usually protected by state registration.
51 In 1918 when the World War closed some 2,000,000 Americans were under arms in France and about 2,000,000 were in the training camps and schools in the United States.
52 The actual strength of the national guard in 1921 was about 113,600 men. But the plans for its development contemplate an ultimate strength of 425,000 men.
53 This was due to the fact that there was doubt as to whether the militia could be called out and sent abroad for the purpose of prosecuting a war against a foreign country, in view of the specification in the Constitution of the objects for which the militia may be called into the service of the United States. Under the Act of 1916, the organized militia may be drafted into the service of the United States for use anywhere if Congress declares that an emergency exists. They were so drafted in 1917 and sent to Europe, not as militia, but as a part of the regular army.
54 According to the report of the secretary of the navy for 1916, the naval militia of the states numbered 9,170 men and 636 officers.
55 Most of the ships of the navy have been constructed by contract with private ship-building companies, but several experiments have been made of government construction in the navy yards. Thus the battleship Louisiana and several others were constructed by the government in its own shipyards.
56 For further information concerning the naval academy, see p. 338.
57 The rank of commodore no longer exists except for its survival on the retired list. There are some twenty-five or thirty rear admirals. The act of 1899, under which Dewey was appointed admiral, provided that the office should cease to exist with his death, but in 1915 the rank of admiral and vice admiral was reëstablished and the former rank is now held by the commanders of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic fleets.
58 Or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. This exception was made out of respect to the distinguished men of foreign birth, such as Alexander Hamilton and James Wilson, who were members of the convention that framed the Constitution. As more than a hundred years have elapsed since the adoption of the Constitution, the exception, of course, no longer has any meaning.
59 Mr. Roosevelt became President by the death of President McKinley about half a year after the beginning of the latter’s second term. He served out the unexpired term of Mr. McKinley and was elected to the following full term of four years.
60 The first was made by ex-President Grant, who in 1880 was a candidate for the Republican nomination for a third term, but failed to secure it. The second was made by ex-President Roosevelt in 1912.
61 “This Country of Ours,” p. 77.
62 It sometimes happens that the electoral vote of a state is divided, though the instances are rare. This may be due to the personal unpopularity of one of the electoral candidates of the majority party, or it may be due to the mistake of many voters in casting their ballots for the candidate for elector at the head of the ticket only, believing that they are thereby voting for the whole ticket. As a result of the former cause, Harrison received one vote in California in 1892, while Cleveland had the other eight. As a result chiefly of the latter blunder, Taft received only two electoral votes in Maryland in 1908, and Bryan received the other six. In 1916 the vote of West Virginia was divided, Wilson receiving one vote and Hughes the other seven.
63 The day on which the electors assemble must be the same throughout the Union. The purpose of this requirement is to prevent deals or bargains among the electoral “colleges” of the different states. Moreover, meeting on the same day, the action of one state cannot be used to influence that of another. In 1857 the electors of Wisconsin were prevented by a snowstorm from assembling at the state capital on the day fixed by law. On the day following they met and cast the vote of the state for Frémont. But when the question of counting Wisconsin’s vote came up in Congress, objection was made that it had not been cast on the day prescribed by law. As the vote of the state was not decisive, the matter did not become serious.
64 Thus Jefferson as president of the senate in 1801, counted the vote which elected him President of the United States and declared himself duly elected. So did Adams in 1797. Suppose there had been a serious dispute in either of these cases, could the president of the senate have counted for himself the votes in dispute?
65 It was from the five highest before the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.
66 This would have happened in 1912; 22 state delegations were Republican, 22 were Democratic, and 4 were equally divided.
67 Apportionment of delegates among the states on the basis of their representation in Congress bears no relation to the party strength. For some years there has been a growing sentiment in the ranks of the Republican party in favor of reducing the representation in the national convention of the Southern states where the Republican party is practically nonexistent. In December, 1913, the Republican national committee adopted a resolution prescribing that representation in the national convention of 1916 should to a certain extent be based on the number of the voters of the party in each congressional district. The effect was to reduce the number of southern delegates by eighty-seven, and the number of northern delegates by seven. The basis of representation in the Democratic convention, however, remains unchanged.
68 The convention of 1912 excepted certain states from this rule.
69 In reality each state delegation names one of its own number as the national committeeman from the state, and the committee thus constituted is appointed by the convention.
70 In 1908, the Democratic national committee had a labor bureau to look after the labor vote, and a committee on college men’s clubs to look after the organization of college students into voters’ clubs.
71 In 1908, more than one million copies of Mr. Bryan’s speech “Shall the People Rule” were distributed, printed in all languages spoken in the United States. Another million copies of his speeches on the trusts, the tariff, guarantee of bank deposits, and injunctions were also circulated.
72 John C. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency to become a senator from South Carolina. The statutes provide that the President shall signify his resignation, in case he resigns, by a letter to the secretary of state.
73 From March 4 to October 10, 1881, there was no president of the senate, and from March 4 to December 15 of the same year there was no speaker, the new house not having met and organized. Had Vice President Arthur died before Mr. Garfield’s death there would have been no one to succeed to the vacancy until October 10, when a new president pro tempore of the senate was chosen.
74 The oath of office was administered to President Washington in New York city, then the temporary seat of government, by Chancellor Livingston of New York state. In 1917, the 4th of March falling on Sunday, President Wilson took the oath of office twice: on Sunday in his office at the Capitol, and on the following day publicly in connection with the inaugural ceremonies.
75 When Vice Presidents Tyler, Johnson, Arthur, and Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency, Congress was not in session and the oath of office was administered without formalities. Mr. Arthur took the oath in New York city before a local magistrate, and Mr. Roosevelt did the same in Buffalo, where Mr. McKinley died. Vice President Fillmore, however, took the oath of office as President in the presence of both houses of Congress, which happened to be in session at the time of the death of President Taylor.
76 The only officers appointed by the courts of law are clerks, reporters, and other minor ministerial officers; but there are a large number of inferior officers in the various departments who are appointed by the heads of departments.
77 While Congress was not in session, the President was to be allowed the right to “suspend” officers for good cause, but he was required to report all suspensions to the Senate at its next meeting and in case it refused to concur in the suspension, the suspended officer was to be allowed to resume his office.
78 The act organizing the treasury department requires the secretary of the treasury to make his annual report to Congress, while the other cabinet heads make their reports to the President. It was the evident intention of Congress to keep the secretary of the treasury more closely under the control of the representatives of the people.
79 By a law of 1907, employees in the classified service are forbidden to take active part in political campaigns, and this prohibition has been construed to forbid service on political committees, service as delegates to party conventions, publication of newspaper articles of a political nature, membership in political clubs, circulation of petitions of a political character, etc.
80 In 1915-1919, however, President Wilson wrote notes to the German government, and took part in framing the treaty of peace.
81 See further on this point, pp. 60-62.
82 A recent example is found in the regulations issued by President Taft for putting into effect the new law levying a tax on corporations. The meaning of the law in various particulars had to be interpreted, and the method and means of assessing and collecting the tax had to be prescribed. Another example was the regulations issued by President Wilson in 1913 for the collection of the income tax.
83 Ex-President Benjamin Harrison, in his book “This Country of Ours,” p. 138, thus describes the course which a bill takes after it has passed both houses: “When a bill has passed both houses of Congress and has been signed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house, it is taken, by the clerk of the committee on enrolled bills, to the Executive Mansion, where the date of its delivery is stamped upon it. The practice is then to send the bill to the head of the department to which its subject matter belongs—to the war department, if to army matters; to the interior, if to pensions, or public lands, or Indian affairs, etc.—for the examination of the secretary, and for a report from him as to any objections that may occur to him. As to the frame of the bill, and as to any constitutional questions involved, the attorney-general is often consulted, though the bill does not relate to his department. The President then takes up the bill, with the report from the department, and examines it, and if he approves writes thereon “Approved,” giving the date, and signs his name. The bill, now become a law, is then sent to the state department to be filed and published in the statutes at large.”
84 The distinction between bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions is discussed on p. 204.
85 Impeachment offenses were excepted for the purpose of preventing the President from granting pardons to his own appointees and thereby shielding them from the consequences of their acts.
For definition of pardon and reprieve, and further discussion of the nature and purpose of the pardoning power, see p. 102-103.
86 There is little resemblance between the American cabinet and a European ministry. In foreign countries where the parliamentary system prevails, cabinet ministers are chosen from the party having control of the Parliament; they are usually members of Parliament, but whether they are or not they are entitled to seats therein; and they prepare and introduce all important legislative measures, urge their adoption by the Parliament, and defend their political policies and acts whenever they are attacked. To one or both of the legislative chambers they are responsible for their political acts, and whenever they cease to command the support of the chamber to which they are responsible they must resign and make way for a new cabinet which does possess its confidence. It is thus impossible for the legislative and executive departments of the government to be antagonistic.
87 The following description of the procedure observed in drawing up, signing, and ratifying treaties is given by Mr. Van Dyne in his book entitled “Our Foreign Service,” pp. 9-10:
“When the terms of a treaty are agreed upon, two exact copies are engrossed at the Department of State, and signed by the Secretary and the foreign minister. Where the two countries have not a common language the texts in the two languages are engrossed in parallel columns. In drawing up treaties this government adheres to the ‘alternat,’ by which in the copy of the treaty to be retained by this government, the United States is named first, and our plenipotentiary signs first. In the copy to be retained by the foreign government that government is named first and its plenipotentiary signs first. The seal of each plenipotentiary is placed after his signature. Two narrow pieces of red, white and blue striped silk ribbon are laid across the page, some hot wax is dropped on the document at the place where the impression of the seal is to be made, and the seals are placed on this, the ribbon thus fastened to the seals being used to bind the pages of the instrument. When the treaty is ratified, a day is fixed and the plenipotentiaries meet and exchange ratifications. The ratification is attached to the instrument. When the ratification is completed, proclamation of the fact and publication of the text are made simultaneously at the capitals of each nation, upon a day agreed upon.”
88 In certain Oriental countries, notably China, Morocco, Persia, Siam, and Turkey, the United States consuls, by virtue of treaty arrangements, exercise jurisdiction over American citizens in both civil and criminal cases. They are empowered to try Americans for offenses committed within their districts and to determine all civil controversies between citizens of the United States residing therein. In more serious criminal cases and in civil cases involving large amounts, appeals may be taken to the American minister. The reason why Western powers refuse to permit their citizens to be tried by the courts of these countries is that their standards of law and procedure are repugnant to those of Western countries. Formerly consular jurisdiction existed in Japan also, but it was abolished by treaty in 1899.
89 For a list of the mints and assay offices, see pp. 228-229.
90 In addition, the secretary of the navy may appoint each year 100 midshipmen from the enlisted men of the navy less than twenty years old, the selection being based on competitive examinations.
91 The six states admitted between 1889 and 1890 were given 23,000,000 acres.
92 There are now 153 national forests, embracing 175,940,000 acres.
93 The Secretary of the Interior says the Osage Indians are probably the wealthiest people in the world, their average per capita wealth being over $9,500. Some families have an income of $12,000 a year.
94 This bureau in the department of commerce must not be confused with the bureau of navigation in the navy department, already described.
95 See also pp. 238-239. The increase in the number of immigrants by decades is shown by the following table:
| Decade | Population at Beginning | Total Number of |
| of Decade | Immigrants | |
| 1821-1830................ | 9,633,822 | 143,439 |
| 1831-1840................ | 12,866,020 | 599,125 |
| 1841-1850................ | 17,069,453 | 1,713,251 |
| 1851-1860................ | 23,191,876 | 2,598,224 |
| 1861-1870................ | 31,443,321 | 2,314,824 |
| 1871-1880................ | 38,558,371 | 2,812,191 |
| 1881-1890................ | 50,155,783 | 5,246,613 |
| 1891-1900................ | 62,622,250 | 3,687,564 |
| 1901-1910................ | 75,994,575 | 8,793,386 |
In 1916 naturalization certificates were issued to 93,911 persons and declarations of intention to become citizens were made by 207,935.
96 In two classes of these cases, namely, those in which ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls are parties and those in which a state is a party, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, that is, the right to hear and determine the case in the first instance. But that does not mean that the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction in such cases. Other federal courts may try such cases, and as a matter of fact few original suits have ever been brought in the Supreme Court. In the other classes of cases mentioned, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction (with such exceptions as Congress may make), that is, such cases must be commenced in the lower courts, from which they may be taken on appeal to the Supreme Court.
97 The justices of the Supreme Court wear black silk gowns when holding court. The Chief Justice sits in the middle of a row of chairs, his associates being arranged on his right and left in the order of seniority of service.
98 The first circuit embraces Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; the second, Connecticut, New York, and Vermont; the third, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the fourth, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; the fifth, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; the sixth Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee; the seventh, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; the eighth, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming; the ninth, Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.
99 Such suits may also be brought in the state courts but may at the option of the defendant be transferred to a federal court for trial. Many lawyers prefer to bring their suits in the state courts even when they have the privilege of suing in the federal courts, because of their greater familiarity with the procedure of these courts.
100 For a description of the comparative merits of the various methods of selecting judges, see pp. 113-114.
101 For a list of federal judges who have been impeached see p. 194.
102 Baldwin, “The American Judiciary,” p. 106.
103 In most of the countries of continental Europe there is a special class of tribunals called “administrative courts” to decide controversies between private individuals and the public authorities. There are no such courts in the United States, although the customs court, the court of claims, and the interstate commerce commission bear some resemblance to an administrative court. Many “administrative” questions are decided by such officials as the secretary of the treasury, the commissioner of immigration, and the commissioner of patents.
104 The purpose and meaning of these guarantees are discussed in chapter vi, pp. 118-119.
105 The Hawaiian Islands were annexed to the United States in July, 1898, by a joint resolution of Congress after a treaty of annexation had been rejected by the senate. The senate of Hawaii is composed of fifteen members, the house of thirty; ability to speak, read, and write the English or Hawaiian language is required of voters; the governor may veto special items in appropriation bills; and in case the legislature fails to pass appropriation bills to pay the necessary expenses for carrying on the government and meeting its obligations, the treasurer may, with the approval of the governor, make such payments, for which purpose the sums appropriated in the last appropriation bills shall be deemed to have been reappropriated; the purpose being to prevent the legislature from causing deadlocks.
106 For Porto Rico and the Philippines, see pages 374-379.
107 Other insular possessions of the United States are Wake Island, Midway or Brooks Island, Howland and Baker Islands, all in the Pacific Ocean. They are practically uninhabited and no provision for their government has been found necessary.
108 This is also true of the other territories and dependencies. The organized territories, however, have been allowed to send delegates to the national conventions for the nomination of the President and Vice President.
109 The census of New York of 1910 showed that of a total population of 9,000,000 inhabitants there were more than 2,000,000 aliens.
110 For some purposes, the residences of foreign diplomatic representatives are considered as if belonging to the foreign country represented. Thus a child of the French ambassador, if born in the ambassador’s residence at Washington, is born a citizen of France; likewise a child of the United States ambassador at Paris, if born at his residence in France, is nevertheless a natural-born citizen of the United States.
111 The United States government has uniformly refused to admit its liability in such cases, but it has in practice generally allowed an indemnity. This was done, for example, in the case of the Anti-Spanish riots in New Orleans and Key West in 1851; in the case of the Anti-Chinese riots at Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1885; and in the case of the Italian lynchings at New Orleans in 1891.
112 In 1915 the Federal Courts held unconstitutional a law of Arizona which forbade the employment of more than 20 per cent of aliens in any work.
113 Only ten States took action upon the Articles at this time. New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland did not ratify them until later.
114 This reprint of the Constitution exactly follows the text of that in the Department of State at Washington, save in the spelling of a few words.
115 The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 13th and 14th Amendments.
116 This paragraph was superseded by the 17th Amendment.
117 The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 17th Amendment.
118 The District of Columbia, which comes under these regulations, had not then been erected.
119 A temporary clause, no longer in force. See also Article V.
120 See also the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
121 This paragraph superseded by the 12th Amendment
122 See the 11th Amendment.
123 See the 13th Amendment.
124 The first ten Amendments were adopted in 1791.
125 Adopted in 1798.
126 Adopted in 1804.
127 Adopted in 1865.
128 Adopted in 1868.
129 Adopted in 1870.
130 Adopted in 1913.
131 Adopted in 1913.
132 Adopted in 1919.
133 Adopted in 1920.