| OCR Text |
Show 96 TilE FEDEltAL CONVENTION Madison, only seven days before, giving that power in expre 8 latwuagc, was rcj cclc<.l? rl'he subj ect·matt.er hcfo1•0 the Convention al the time was the p 1·operty of the United 'tales, and only with rcfereuce to that subject was tllis sec-tion adopted.] .August 31. From this date till the 12th of September the Co nYentiou was occupied iusettlingthedetails of the constitution , in the way of amendments and modifteo.tions to the various o.rticlcs. V cry 1ittlc debate occurred,-none that would come within the purpose of this book. On the latter day the commiticc on revision reported LllC following draft of a constitution, which with some slight amendments, on the 1Gth wo.s agreed to by Lhe unanimous vote of n11 the States. On lhc 17th the insti·ument, having been cngros eel, was signeu by lhe members, with two or three exceptions, and the Con venliou ad-journed sine die. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. WE, the People of the United Slates, in orucr to form a more perfect union, establish jnstice, insure domastic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to onrsel ves and our postcri ty, <lo ordui11 an<l c LtLblish this Conslilulion for Lhc United Slates of America. An:rroLE 1. SecUon 1. All legislative powers llerein gmnted shall be vested in a Congre ·s of ibe Uniled States, which shall consist of a Senutc and IIouse of H.cpresenta· tivcs. Section 2. 'l,he Ilousc of Iteprcscntativcs shall be com· posed of members chosen every second ycn.r by the people of the several StaLes, and the electo rs in each Stale shall have the qualifications req uisite for elcclors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. No person shull be a rcprcscntalive who shn.ll not havo {._J ,I.. . attained to the age of twcnly-ftvc years, nn cl been seven years a ciUzen of the United SLn.Lrf), a.ntl who Rha1l not, when eleclccl, be n.n inhabitant of that State in which he shall be cho en. H.eprcsentativcs a1Hl direct laxcs shall be apportioned among the several Stale. which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numberR, which shall be <.lelcrmiucd by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to ser vice for a term of yen.rs, auu excluding Indians not taxed, lh ree-fifths of all olher persons. rrltc actual en u mcra.tion shall bo made within three years after tl1e first meeting of lhc Cong1·css or the United States, nnd within every , ubscqucnt term of ten year, in such manner as they shall by law dirccl. The number of rcprescn tati ves shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each SL<Lle shall Lave at lea t one representative; and until such enumeration shall be made the I State of New IIump hire shall be cntil1cd to choose th ree, Mo.ssachu. eLLs eight, lthodc hlaud and Proviclrncc plnnta. tions one, Connecticut five, New York six, N cw tJ er::;ey four, P ennsyl vania eight, Delaware one, 1\[aryland six, Yirgiuia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina ftv(', :Jrl<l Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the representation fr olll <lilY SLate, the executive authority thereof shall issue "' ri ls of election to fill snch vacancic:. 'rhe House of Itcprcscn tali vcs shall choose their speaker and other officers ; and shall hn.vc the sole po,ver· of impeachment. Sedion 3. The Senate of the Unilcd Stn.t.cs shall ue composed of two senato rs from each Slate, chosen hy the legislalure thereof, for six years ; and each scuaior shall luwc one vote. Immediately after they shnll be nsscmblcd in consequence of the first election, they shn.ll be divided as equo.lly as mo.y ~ ''• "•i•l•,. '~ . ..;'i' ,l ."1, ::I:. 1 ' '•1 •1'1 |
