USA > Missouri > Ray County > History of Ray county, Mo. > Part 14
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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.
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 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, res- ignation, 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
*This clause between brackets has been superseded and annulled by the twelfth amend- ment.
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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 compen- sation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period . for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive during that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enters upon the execution of his office he shall take the fol- lowing 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, pre- serve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States."
SEC. 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 depart- ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses again'st 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 of the senate, shall appoint embassadors, 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.
SEC. 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 extraor- dinary 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 embassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.
SEC. 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 office during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
SEC. 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
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embassadors, 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 embassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a 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.
SEC. 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, 1 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.
SEC. 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 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.
SEC. 3. New states may be admitted by 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.
SEC. 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 can not be convened), against domestic violence.
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CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
ARTICLE V.
The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it neces- sary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states shall call a conven- tion for proposing amendments, which, in either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this constitution, when ratified by the leg- islatures 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 pro- posed 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, anything 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.
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.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, President, and Deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire.
Delaware. Pennsylvania.
GEORGE REED,
B. FRANKLIN, ROBT. MORRIS,
JOHN DICKINSON,
JACOB BROOM,
THOS. FITZSIMONS,
Massachusetts.
GUNNING BEDFORD, JR.,
JAMES WILSON,
THOS. MIFFLIN,
RICHARD BASSETT. Maryland.
GEORGE CLYMER,
JAMES M'HENRY,
JARED INGERSOLL,
DANL. CARROLL,
DAN. OF ST. THOS. JENIFER. Virginia.
South Carolina.
JOHN BLAIR,
J. RUTLEDGE, CHARLES PINCKNEY, CHAS. COTESWORTH PINCKNEY
JAMES MADISON, JR. North Carolina.
PIERCE BUTLER. Georgia.
WM. BLOUNT.
HU. WILLIAMSON,
WM. FEW,
RICHARD DOBBS SPAIGHT.
ABR. BALDWIN.
WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
JOHN LANGDON, NICHOLAS GILMAN.
NATHANIEL GORHAM, RUFUS KING. Connecticut.
GOUV. MORRIS.
WM. SAMUEL JOHNSON, ROGER SHERMAN. New York. ALEXANDER HAMILTON. Nero Jersey. WIL. LIVINGSTON, WM. PATTERSON, DAVID BREARLEY, JONA. DAYTON.
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AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO AND AMENDATORY 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.
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 pre- scribed 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 vio- lated, 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 com- pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assist- ance 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 re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law.
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AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
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 con- strued 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 XI.
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 XII.
SEC. 1. 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 inhab- itant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person to be 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 presence of the senate and house of representatives, open all the certifi- cates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the great- est 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 representa- tives from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall con- ยท sist 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 rep- resentatives 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 the 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 pur- pose 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. .
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AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE XIII.
SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun- ishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris- diction.
SEC. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropri- ate legislation.
ARTICLE XIV.
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 law.
SEC. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states. according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- sons 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 judi- cial 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States author- ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun- ties 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 the 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.
SEC. 5. The congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate. legislation, the provisions of this article.
ARTICLE XV.
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.
SEC. 2. The congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- priate legislation.
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Constitution of the State of Missouri,
ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, OCTOBER 30, 1875. WENT INTO OPERATION NOVEMBER 30, 1875.
PREAMBLE.
We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for his goodness, do, for the better government of the state, establish this constitution.
ARTICLE I .- BOUNDARIES.
SECTION 1. The boundaries of the state as heretofore established by law, are hereby ratified and confirmed. The state shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mississippi, and every other river bordering on the state, so far as the said rivers shall form a common boundary to this state and any other state or states; and the river Mississippi and the navigable rivers and waters leading to the same, shall be common highways, and forever free to the citizens of this state and of the United States, without any tax, duty, import or toll therefor, imposed by this state.
ARTICLE II .- BILL OF RIGHTS.
In order to assert our rights, acknowledge our duties, and proclaim the principles on which our government is founded, we declare:
SECTION 1. That all political power is vested in, and derived from the people ; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.
SEC. 2. That the people of this state have the inherent, sole and exclu- sive right to regulate the internal government and police thereof, and to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness: Provided, Such change be not repugnant to the constitution of the United States.
SEC. 3. That Missouri is a free and independent state, subject only to the constitution of the United States; and as the preservation of the states and the maintenance of their governments, are necessary to an indestructible Union, and were intended to co-exist with it, the legislature is not authorized to adopt, nor will the people of this state ever assent to any amendment or change of the constitution of the United States which may in any wise impair the right of local self-government belonging to the people of this state.
SEC. 4. That all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails of its chief design.
SEC. 5. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience; that no
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person can, on account of his religious opinions, be rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit under this state, nor be disqualified from testi- fying, or from serving as a juror; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no person ought, by any law, to be molested in his person or estate, on account of his religious persua- sion or profession; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, nor to justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of this state, or with the rights of others.
SEC. 6. That no person can be compelled to erect, support or attend any place or system of worship, or to maintain or support any priest, min- ister, preacher or teacher of any sect, church, creed or denomination of re- ligion; but if any person shall voluntarily make a contract for any such object, he shall be held to the performance of the same.
SEC. 7. That no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect or denomination of religion, or in aid of any priest, preacher, minister or teacher thereof, as such; and that no preference shall be given to, nor any discrimination made against any church, sect or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or wor- ship.
SEC. 8. That no religious corporation can be established in this state, except such as may be created under a general law for the purpose only of holding the title to such real estate as may be prescribed by law for church edifices, parsonages and cemeteries.
SEC. 9. That all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.
SEC. 10. The courts of justice shall be open to every person, and cer- tain remedy afforded for every injury to person, property or character, and that right and justice should be administered without sale, denial or delay.
SEC. 11. That the people shall be secure in their persons, papers, homes and effects, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no war- rant to search any place, or seize any person or thing, shall issue without describing the place to be searched, or the person or thing to be seized, as nearly as may be; nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affir- mation reduced to writing.
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