Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11.

• 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.

Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment.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 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 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.

*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.

Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.

• Section 1. - Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
• Section 2. - Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment.

• Section 1. - All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
• Section 2. - Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
• Section 3. - No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
• Section 4. - The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
• Section 5 - The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.

• Section 1. - The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--
• Section 2 - The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
• AMENDMENT XVI - Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.

Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16.

• 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.

Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment.

• The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
• When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
• This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

• Section 2. - The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
• Section 3.
  This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

• The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
• Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.

• Section 1. - The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
• Section 2. - The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
• Section 3. - If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
• Section 4. - The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
• Section 5. - Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
• Section 6. - This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

• Section 1. - The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
• Section 2. - The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
• Section 3 - This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

• Section 1. - No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
• Section 2. - This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

• Section 1. - The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:
• A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
• Section 2. - The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

• Section 1. - The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax.
• Section 2. - The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment.

• Section 1. - In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
• Section 2. - Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
• Section 3. - Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
• Section 4. - Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
• Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th 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.

• Originally proposed Sept. 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.

1. Congress completed their count of electoral college votes early Thursday morning, January 7, 2021 affirming President-elect Joe Biden’s win. There are 147 members of the United States Congress who voted to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory by objecting to the results of the Pennsylvania election and/or the Arizona election to support President Donald Trump's false claim of a 'stolen 2020 presidential election,' and even after the president directed his supporters to assault the Congress on Wednesday, January 6, 2021
2. The constitutionally mandated presidential message has gone through a few name changes: it was formally known as the Annual Message from 1790 to 1946; it began to be informally called the "state of the Union" message/address from 1942 to 1946; and since 1947 it has officially been known as the State of the Union Address.
   • The longest: President James Earl (Jimmy) Carter 33,667 words in 1981 (written). President William J. (Bill) Clinton 9,190 words in 1995 (spoken).
   • The shortest: President George Washington, 1790, 1,089 words
   • First radio broadcast of Message: President Calvin Coolidge, 1923.
   • First television broadcast of Message: President Harry Truman, 1947.
   • First televised evening delivery of Message: President Lyndon Johnson, 1965.
   • First live webcast on Internet: President George W. Bush, 2002.
   • First high definition television broadcast of Message, President George W. Bush, 2004.
3. Heading into the 2018 elections of the U.S. governors, there are 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one Independent governor. Thirty-six states will hold elections for governor in 2018
4. Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, is the first US president who has never held elected office. He was 70 years, 6 months and 6 days old at the time of his inauguration, the oldest first-term President-elect to take office on January 20, 2017.
5. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was a movie actor before he was president, he was 74 years, 11 months and 14 days old, the oldest second-term President-elect to take office on January 20, 1985.
6. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was a peanut farmer before he was president; Andrew Johnson, the 17th president, was a tailor; Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, once worked chopping rails for fences; and William Henry Harrison, the 9th president, was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Army at the age 18.
7. As of 9/2015 there were 21,995,000 employed by federal, state and local government in the United States; by contrast, there were only 12,329,000 employed in the manufacturing sector. Of the 5,092,000 who worked for state governments in August, 2,446,300 (or 48 percent) worked in education. Of the 14,165,000 who worked for local governments, 7,852,500 (or 55.4 percent) worked in education.
8. As of 12/2014 the federal government employed 2,711,000 people (excluding non-civilian military), the fewest people since 1966
9. As of 3/2014 the federal government employed 2,700,468 people (excluding non-civilian military) with the total March payroll of $16,995,501,047.00, of which 2,475,780 people were full-time employees and 224,688 people worked part-time.
10. The Federal government and state governments are not allowed to: (1) grant titles of nobility, (2) permit slavery (13th Amendment), (3) deny citizens the right to vote due to race, color, or previous servitude (15th Amendment), and (4) deny citizens the right to vote because of gender (19th Amendment)
11. The Federal government is not allowed to: (1) violate the Bill of Rights, (2) impose export taxes among states, (3) use money from the Treasury without the passage and approval of an appropriations bill, and (4) change state boundaries.
12. The State governments are not allowed to: (1) enter into treaties with other countries, (2) print money, (2) make laws for tax imports or exports, (3) impair obligations of contracts, and (4) suspend a person's rights without due process.
13. Members of Congress don't need postage stamps for their official mail.
14. The youngest people working in Congress are pages; these high school juniors carry legislative documents between Congress members, help answer phones and deliver phone messages to members of Congress.
15. The Republican Party has been known as the G.O.P., or Grand Old Party, since around 1880.
16. As of 12/2015 in the House, there are 44 African Americans, 34 Hispanics, 10 Asian Americans and 2 Native Americans. The Senate has 2 African Americans, 3 Hispanics and 1 Asian American.
17. The gun industry and National Riffle Association used their financial powers that were able to successfully force the United States Congress to pass a 1996 law that has prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do research on gun violence and another 2003 law that has forbidden the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to release summary data from millions of crime-gun trace until Obama changed these policies by executive order in January 2013.
18. According Heritage Foundation Study, while 5,586 people were killed in terrorist attacks against the U.S. during the period of 1969 and 2009, about 30,000 people were killed by guns in the U.S. every year between 1986 and 2010. (Guns kill more people, why does terrorism get all the attention?)
19. National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the main funding election resources for numerous congressional members. In 2003 Congress passed the Tiagrt Amendment, which prohibits law enforcement from publicly releasing data showing where criminals brought their firearms. The ATF has successfully tried to limit the power of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The agency has fewer agents today than it did about 40 years ago, and the Justice Department has been unable to get an ATF director confirmed in 6 years. The agency currently only has an interim acting director.
20. Today there are at least 270 million guns in the U.S. and 60,000 retail gun dealers. During the past 18 years, there were 156 million people applied to buy guns, only 1 million applications were denied. In 2010 alone, U.S. companies manufactured more than 5 million guns and imported 3 million more. Of the 12,664 homicides in 2011, 8,583 were committed with a gun.
21. United States military casualties of major wars: American Revolutionary War (1775–1783): 25,000; American Civil War (1861–1865): 625,000; War of 1812 (1812–1815): 15,000; Mexican–American War (1846–1848): 13,283; World War I (1917–1918): 116,516; World War II (1941–1945): 405,399; Korean War (1950–1953): 36,516 ; Vietnam War (1955–1975): 58,209; and War on Terror, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, (2001–present): 6,717.
22. The U.S. dropped more bombs on Laos in the 1960s and 1970s than on Germany and Japan combined during World War II.
23. On 7 December (8 December in Asian time zones), 1941, Japan attacked British and American holdings with near-simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific. These included an attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, landings in Thailand and Malaya and the battle of Hong Kong.
24. World War II fatality statistics vary, with estimates of total dead ranging from 50 million to more than 80 million. World War II dead totals for the U.S. was estimated 418,000, including around 406,000 millitary deaths and estimated 12,000 civilian deaths.
25. The Transportation Security Administration employs about 62,000 people, of whom 47,000 are airport screeners.
26. A scandal in the mid-1980s involved secret arms sales to Iran in exchange for release of American hostages held by Iran's allies in Lebanon, was nearly destroyed the Reagan presidency. Money from the arms sales was then diverted to rebels, known as the contras, fighting the Marxist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua.
27. In the U.S. Congress is responsible for counting Electoral College ballots. If no presidential candidate gets 270 votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most Electoral votes. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most Electoral votes.
28. The Medal of Honor, which is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress, is the highest honor in recognition of conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty since 1861. As of today, there were 3,459 recipients of this Medal of Honor award.
29. The capital of the United States government was moved to many cities before it was permanently settled in Washington DC in 1890. They are
    • Philadelphia:1774-76, 1777, 1778-83
    • Baltimore: 1776-77
    • Lancaster: 1777
    • York: 1777-78
    • Princeton: 1783
    • Annapolis: 1783-84
    • Trenton: 1784
    and
    • New York: 1785-89.
30. Filibustering is when a senator give a a long speech in an effort to delay any measure, motion, or amendment before the Senate.
31. The Chief Justice of the United States and the Associate Justices are appointed for life (during good behavior) by the President of the United States, "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,"
32. The Secretary of State, on behalf of the President, may accord recognition of a government without the consent of Congress.
33. How a Bill Becomes a Law: a member of Congress introduces a bill; committees review and vote on the bill, the Senate and the House debate and vote on the bill, and the President signs the bill—or not.
34. In the U.S., the legislative branch introduces and votes on a bill. The bill then goes to the executive branch, where the President decides whether the bill is good for the country. If so, he/she signs the bill, and it becomes a law. If the President does not believe the bill is good, he/she does not sign it. This is called a veto. But the legislative, with enough votes, can override the executive branch's veto, and the bill becomes a law. Once a law is in place, the people of the country can test it through the court system, which is under the control of the judicial branch. If someone believes a law is unfair, a lawsuit can be filed.
35. On the Supreme Court there are nine justices, or judges: eight associate justices and one chief justice. The judges are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate. They have no term limits. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. Its decisions are final, and no other court can overrule those decisions. Decisions of the Supreme Court set precedents—new ways of interpreting the law.
36. The legislative branch is made up of the two houses of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives. The most important duty of the legislative branch is to make laws. Laws are written, discussed and voted on in Congress.
37. The President is the head of the executive branch, which makes laws official. The President is elected by the entire country and serves a four-year term. The President approves and carries out laws passed by the legislative branch. He appoints or removes cabinet members and officials. He negotiates treaties, and acts as head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces.
38. The judicial branch oversees the court system of the U.S. Through court cases, the judicial branch explains the meaning of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch. Unlike a criminal court, the Supreme Court rules whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional—whether or not it is permitted under the Constitution.
39. In 1787 leaders of the states gathered to write the U.S. Constitution, which provides principles how the new nation would be governed. In order to prevent the government from abusing its power, the Constitution set three separate branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial.
40. The Constitution has 4,543 words, including the signatures; and takes about half an hour to read. The Declaration of Independence has 1,458 words, with the signatures, but is slower reading, as it takes about ten minutes; the first known use of the formal term "United States of America" was in the Declaration of Independence. The Farewell Address has 7,641 words and it takes about forty-five minutes to read.
41. The amendments proposed by the first Congress were sent out as "Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America," and the term "article" is used in self-application in all the amendments since the Twelfth, except the Seventeenth, which uses the term "amendment.".
42. George Washington, was chosen unanimously
to preside over the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
43. George Washington, did not sign the Declaration of Independence because he had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army more than a year before and was at the time with the army in New York City.
44. James Madison, James Madison, of Virginia, was called the "Father of the Constitution" because in point of erudition and actual contributions to the formation of the Constitution he was preeminent.
45. Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, then 81; and Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, 26; were the oldest and youngest members of the Constitutional Convention.
46. Thomas Jefferson was not a member of the Constitutional Convention because he was American Minister to France at the time.
47. Fifty six delegates representing 13 States attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to draft the U.S. Constitution. In the Convention itself they were referred to as "deputies." Only thirty-nine signed. Fourteen deputies had departed for their homes, and three--Randolph and Mason, of Virginia, and Gerry, of Massachusetts--refused to sign. One of the signatures is that of an absent deputy, John Dickinson, of Delaware, added at his request by George Read, who also was from Delaware.
48. Jacob Shallus who, at the time, was assistant clerk of the Pennsylvania State Assembly, was the penman who, after the text of the Constitution had been agreed on, engrossed it prior to the signing. His office was in the same building in which the Convention was held.
49. There are 5 methods of electing the President of the United States were considered by the Constitutional Convention. These were by the Congress; by the people; by State legislatures; by State executives; and by electors.
50. Treason against the United States consists in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving the latter aid and comfort. No person can be convicted of treason except upon the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confession in open court.
51. In the U.S., the President, who is elected by the entire country and serves a four-year term, is the head of the executive branch, which makes laws official. The President appoints or removes cabinet members and high level officials.
52. Both parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives elect leaders. The leader of the party that controls the house is called the majority leader. The other party leader is called the minority leader. The Senate approves nominations made by the President to the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, federal courts and other posts. The Senate must ratify all treaties by a two-thirds vote.
53. In the U.S., Senate there are 100 senators (two from each state) elected by their states and serve six-year terms. The U.S. Vice President is considered the head of the Senate, but does not vote in the Senate unless there is a tie.
54. The Senate approves nominations made by the President to the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, federal courts and other important posts.
55. In the U.S., House of Representatives there are 435 representatives elected by their states and serve two-year terms. The number of representatives each state gets is based on its population. The Speaker of the House, elected by the representatives, is considered the head of the House.
56. If the U.S. President does not believe the bill is good for the country, he does not sign it; this is called a veto. However, with enough votes the legislative branch (U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives) can override the President's veto, and the bill becomes a law.