ARTICLE X. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. ARTICLE XI. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. ARTICLE XII. 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. FREDERICK AUG. MUHLENBERG, Speaker of the House of Representatives. JOHN ADAMS, Vice President of the United States, and President of the Senate. ATTEST, JOHN BECKLEY, Clerk of the House of Representatives. Secretary of the Senate. N. B. By the returns made into the Secretary of State's Office, it appears that the first article of the above amendments is agreed to by only seven States-the second by only four-and therefore these are not obligatory. All the remainder, having been ratified by nine States, are of equal obligation with the Constitution itself. THIRD CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. At the second session, begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, on Monday the second of December, 1793, Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, shall be valid as part of the said Constitution, viz.: 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 any foreign State. of FREDERICK AUG. MUHLENBERG, Speaker of the House of Representatives. JOHN ADAMS, Vice President of the United States, and President of the Senate. ATTEST, JOHN BECKLEY, Clerk of the House of Representatives. SAMUEL A. OTIS, Secretary of the Senate. The above Article has been amended, by the vote of the Legislatures of three-fourths of the States. At the first session of the Eighth Congress of the United States, begun and holden at the city of Washington in the Territory of Columbia, on Monday the seventeenth of October, 1803, Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That in lieu of the third paragraph of the first section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States, the following be proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by threefourths of the Legislatures of the several States, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, to wit: 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 twothirds 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, then next following, then the VicePresident 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 that 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 of fice of President, shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. Clerk to the House of Representatives of the United States. Secretary to the Senate of the United States. This amendment has been ratified by the States of Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and thereby becomes a part of the Constitution of the United States. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. A Constitution, or Frame of Government, agreed upon by the Delegates of the People of the State of Massachusetts Bay, in Convention, begun and held at Cambridge, on the first of September, 1779, and continued by adjournments, to the second of March, 1780. PREAMBLE. THE end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of government, is to secure the existence of the body politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals, who compose it, with the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquility, their natural rights, and the blessings of life; and whenever these great objects are not obtained, the people have a right to alter the government, and to take measures, necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness. The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals. It is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good. It is the duty of the people, therefore, in framing a Constitution of Government, to provide for an equitable mode of making laws, as well as for an impartial interpretation, and a faithful execution of them; that every man may, at all times, find his security in them. |