United States Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.

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.

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.

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. 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 chuse 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.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.

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.

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.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse 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.

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.

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.

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 chusing Senators.

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.

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.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

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.

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.

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.

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 encreased 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

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;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

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;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

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.

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.

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.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

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.

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.

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.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing 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.

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 it's 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 Controul of the Congress.

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.

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:

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 chuse 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 chuse the President. But in chusing 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 chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

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.

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 Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.

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,--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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

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.

No Person held to Service or Labour 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 Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

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.

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.

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.

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, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

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.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.

Attest William Jackson Secretary

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,

G°. Washington
Presidt and deputy from Virginia

Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom

Maryland
James McHenry
Dan of St Thos. Jenifer
Danl. Carroll

Virginia
John Blair
James Madison Jr.

North Carolina
Wm. Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu Williamson

South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler

Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin

New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King

Connecticut
Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman

New York
Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: Dayton

Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv Morris

Quotes & References

I will not bear the reproaches of my children. I will tell them that I studied and labored to procure a free Constitution of Government for them to solace them under, and if they do not prefer this to ample fortune, to ease, to elegance, they are not my children and I care not what becomes of them.

— John Adams; as quoted by Dr. John Coleman in The Committee of 300

In these days of abuse of power by certain departments of government, it is important to know that the three branches of government are not co-equal.

The Continental Congress created the Executive and Judicial branches and Congress never intended them to be coequal. Congress has superior powers, especially through its control of the purse strings. Technically, Congress could close down the Executive and the Judiciary by simply refusing to fund both branches.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The president does not assume the title of commander in chief of the armed forces simply by being elected to the office. [...] Article 11, Section 2, part 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that the only duties the president has are military duties, when called into actual service; and even then he has no role in planning or choosing reasons for taking America to war, or in ordering the mission of the troops. [...] The declaration of war involves a five-step process and is probably the most complicated part of the Constitution. [...] For a president to say he is the commander in chief, and for this absurdity to be echoed by the news media and most members of the legislature, is a horrible error, which is perpetuated to fool the American people.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

There is no such provision in the Constitution that would oblige the States to pay for legislation passed by star-gazing liberals and I could cite hundreds of examples of such pieces of legislation. The States are not obliged to fund any Federal laws. Yet here we have the State of California stuck with an annual bill of $3.6 billion dollars [...]

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

In law one cannot use cognates or synonyms, but the anti-constitutionalists in Congress are good at a play on words they learned from the Communist Manifesto of 1848, and they use the technique all the time, making many flexible, ordinary words, inflexible, which places an entirely different construction on them. [...] We cannot use synonyms or cognates. A law has to be clearly written with no ambiguity attached to it.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

I content that this so-called fifteenth amendment is not constitutional and legally a part of the Constitution of the United States anymore than the 13th and 14th are part of the Constitution:

FIRST: Because no amendment to the Constitution can be legitimately proposed and adopted unless all of the States shall at the time exercise the right to be represented in both Houses of Congress.

SECONDLY: That no amendment can be ratified unless all of the States ratifying them shall have a right to adopt or reject them without being subject to any condition but must be free and untrammeled.

THIRDLY: That no amendment can be valid unless all of the States that vote on it at the time of voting are equal in right, dignity, and honor.

FOURTHLY: That the fifteenth amendment received only 27 votes exclusive of New York and Indiana, 28 being necessary for ratification; New York having revoked her ratification and Indiana having ratified without a constitutional quorum of her legislature being present, and in open violation of her constitutional provision.

— Senator Vickers; Congressional Globe, May 16, 1870, pages 3470-3493

Judges are constantly trying to isolate amendments and clauses of the Constitution, but every part of the Constitution has to be read and interpreted in the light of the whole. It cannot be fragmented; otherwise the perfect equipoise of the Constitution is lost.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

One of the most dangerous developments of modern times is the presumption by the judiciary that somehow, along the way it acquired a power to legislate, even though the Constitution expressly forbids to the judiciary to make laws, their only function being to interpret laws made by the Congress.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

There is no such thing as "Federal Courts" or "Federal Judges" expressed in the Constitution. [...] Washington D.C. and the U.S. territories are the only locations where Federal Courts can operate if we obey the Constitution.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

A treaty is only a law. It is a temporary law at best and is subject to being constitutional and if it is not in pursuance of and in consonance with the Constitution, it must be rejected by the Congress. In reality, all treaties are no more than games, confidence tricks, to gain the ascendancy in one way or another and the history of the U.S. proves that it has been fooled and taken in by more treaties than any other country in the world.

— Senator Thurmond; as quoted by Dr. John Coleman in What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The U.S. Constitution is superior to all treaties, which are like any other law and can be abrogated by a variety of means, whereas the Constitution cannot be abrogated.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Clearly the Founding Fathers intended the States to be in full control of health, education, and police protection and not subject to Federal Government interference. In the clear and unmistakable language of the 10th amendment there is no such thing as a grant that would permit a "federal" police force interfering with law enforcement in the States. No Federal Health Department and Education Department can operate in the States. These "police powers" belong with the States and were never relinquished to the Central Government at the time of the Union.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the general principle of the Constitution; I mean an additional article taking from the federal government the power of borrowing. I now deny their power of making paper money or anything else a legal tender.

— Thomas Jefferson; Letter to John Taylor, November 26, 1789

The Tenth Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved tot he States respectively, or to the people." [...] if any power to issue fiat money legally exists at all, it is reserved for the people. In other words, individuals and private institutions, such as banks, have the right to issue IOUs and hope that the public will use them as money, but government, at any level, is clearly prohibited by the Constitution from doing so.

— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll Island

What was prohibited was to "emit bills of credit" which, according to the speeches and writings of those who drafted the document, meant the printing of paper IOUs which were intended to be circulated as money - in other words, the printing of fiat money not backed by gold or silver. [...] The crux of the problem is that, while the Constitution clearly prohibits the states from issuing fiat money, it does not specifically prevent the federal government from doing so. [...] they [the founding fathers] were adamant that it should never be tolerated again in America - at either the state or federal level.

— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll Island

These State powers are health, education, welfare, family affairs and police protection. They are always collectively referred to as "the police powers of the States."

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The Constitution itself never yields to a treaty or enactment. It neither changes with time nor does it in theory bend to the force of circumstances.

— Judge Cooley

Also, few of our current members of the House know how to draw up a constitutional declaration of war, which is a deliberately complicated procedure; a secretive procedure designed to curb hothead presidents like Bush from rushing the U.S. to war.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

In their final and deliberate judgment one of the most important features of the covenant (the U.S Constitution and the Bill of Rights) was that our country should be distinguished from other nations in its refusal to concentrate in one man exclusive power over foreign relations of the Government and especially over the issues of peace and war.

— Congressional Record, Senate, July 21, 1922, pages 2916-2920; as quoted by Dr. John Coleman in What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

What does the Constitution say about "instant citizenship" for the children of illegal aliens? As alwasy, scholars and students have to search and diligently study the Annals of Congress the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record on the subject:

"The child follows the condition of the parents."

[...]

Persons who are citizens of other countries and who cross into the U.S. illegally are outside of U.S. law.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Through Article I, Section 2, Part 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the House and the Senate has the power to reverse any U.S. Supreme Court decision by a simple majority vote of both Houses.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

When the U.S. Constitution is silent on a power, then the power sought cannot be taken.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

[...] the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments are not part of the Constitution and that all laws based upon them and are fraudulent.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

I have read thousands of debates in the Annals of Congress, the Congressional Globe and Congressional Record. I found, over and over again, the unwarranted assumption that the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were constitutionally ratified by the States, when this is entirely wrong. I also found proof in these records showing that the 13th, 14th and 15th are fraudulent, as is the Reconstruction legislation that went with them. As the debates at the time show, States rights and State sovereignty were trampled by these amendments.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

We, the People, are the only people on the face of the Earth who have a document that says we can get rid of government when it violates the Constitution which was written to protect the sovereignty of the people.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

In the case of the American people and their Constitution and the Bill of Rights, ignorance of it will eventually lead to their enslavement. What is most remarkable is that anyone can run for office at any level of government without knowing the first thing about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. [...] How is it that we elect people to the House and Senate who are constitutionally unqualified to make laws?

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Before 1937 the Supreme Court rejected all of Roosevelt's New Deal statutes, but after 1937, every single "New Deal" statute was ruled constitutional. Benjamin Wright, a noted authority on the Supreme Court, wrote in 1942:

No event or series of events has ever produced so many changes in constitutional doctrine within so short a time. In the four subsequent terms of the Court the reversals and distinctions have been so numerous and so sweeping that today much of the constitutional law of 1936 appears to belong in a different constitution.

[...] Bruce Ackerman held that, the Constitutional Revolution of 1937 fundamentally altered the character of the Court's business, the nature of its decisions and the alignment of its friends and foes.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

By now it is fairly common knowledge that the Federal Reserve Act; the Income Tax Act; the United Nations treaty/agreement, sending American troops to participate in wars outside of our national geographical boundaries; breaking down of morality and family values; opposition to Christianity; the introduction of homosexuality and lesbianism and their advent into the open public life of the nation are all unconstitutional.

Other notable examples of many unconstitutional "laws" are gun control, membership of the UN, NAFTA, GATT, the World Trade Agreement [...]

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Man has always sought to enslave and dominate his fellow men. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were specifically designed to prevent such a calamity.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The judiciary is not co-equal with the Congress, which can, if it wishes, refuse to fund either the executive or the judiciary. Congress can overturn any acts of the judiciary and the Constitution has made certain that the limited powers of granted the executive would never allow a president to "stand where kings stood."

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

We should realize from this that the Constitution was not written for government, but for the people as a means of preserving their sovereign integrity.

— Dr. John Coleman; What You Should Know About the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights

[...] when the state delegates assembled to draft the Constitution, the effects of fiat money were so fresh in their minds they decided to put an end to it once and for all.

— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll Island

There is also a legal point to made that if these amendments [13th, 14th, 15th] were and are illegal, having been enacted under martial law, all of the subsequent amendments to the Constitution are also invalid, since they not only are not numbered correctly, but they also must be considered as having been enacted according to the provisions of these three amendments, which changed the requirements for citizenship and voting rights.

— Eustace Mullins; The Curse of Canaan

The Constitution of North Carolina, 1776, required, "That no person who shall deny the Being of God or the truth of the Protestant religion...shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust for profit." This provision remained in force until 1830. The Constitution of Delaware, 1776, required that "Every officeholder had to declare faith in Jesus Christ."

— Eustace Mullins; The Curse of Canaan

The primary purpose of the Constitution of the United States was to protect the free citizens from any intrusion by an arbitrary, tyrannical, Canaanite government agency. The subsequent gradual erosion of these provisions of the Constitution and its subtle alteration to permit and encourage attacks on the free citizens of the United States by a demoniacal Canaanite centralized government, constitutes a most grievous racial and religious assault against the people of Shem.

— Eustace Mullins; The Curse of Canaan