USA > Ohio > Ohio statesmen and annals of progress, from the year 1788 to the year 1900 > Part 2
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ARTICLE VI.
All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adapuns af this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the L'nited States which shall be made in for - suance 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 of laws of any State to the com. trary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members At 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 athrination to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification ta amo office, or public trust, under the United States.
ARTICLE VIL.
The ratifications of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estali- lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the one.
Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present. the Meyen teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven Imadre 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 Details from Virginia,
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OHIO STATESMEN.
New Hampshire-John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. Massachusetts-Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. Connecticut-William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. New York - Alexander Hamilton. New Jersey - William Livingston, David Brearley, William Patterson, Jonathan Dayton. Pennsylvania-Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Inger- soll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. Delaware-George Reed, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. Maryland-James M'Henry, Daniel of St. Tho. Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. Virginia-John Blair, James Madison, Jr. North Carolina-William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. South Carolina-John Rutledge, Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. Georgia-William Few, Abraham Baldwin. Attest. WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
| The first ten amendments were proposed by Congress at their first session, in 1789. The eleventh was proposed in 1794, and the twelfth in ISo3.]
ARTICLE I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohib- iting 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 con- sent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed 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 violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu- larly 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 offence to be put twice 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 compulsory process for obtaining wit- nesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.
ANNALS OF PROGRESS
ARTICLE VII.
In suits at common law, where the value In controversy shall exceed tachly dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried bir jury Sail be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States than ase riding the ile rules of the common law.
ARTICLE VILL.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive hines imposed, our eriet ard unusual punishments inflicted.
ARTICLE IN.
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construei! te deny or disparage others retained by the people.
ARTICLE X.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prolis- ited 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 tu any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States hy citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of another State, or by citizens er subjects of any foreign State.
ARTICLE XII.
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT.
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 Presi- dent, 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 list they shall ogn an ! certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government of the United States, di rected to the President of the Senate ; the President of the Senate shall, in the pre- ence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certifientes, 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 a majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for at President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately by ballet the Press- dent. But in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken by States, the repre- sentatives from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall censis: 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 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 a majority of the whole number of clecturs appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers in the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice- President ; a quorum for the purpne Sall 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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OHIO STATESMEN.
[Ratified in 1865.] ARTICLE XIII.
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.
SEC. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[Ratified in 1868.] 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 privi- leges and immunities of the 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.
SEC. 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 whenever the right to vote at any election for electors of President and Vice-President, or United States Representatives in Con- gress, executive and judicial officers, 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 crimes, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole num- ber of male citizens twenty-one years of age in that State.
SEC. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 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 Legisla- ture, 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 authorized by law, including debts incurred for the payment of pensions and bounties for service in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned ; but neither the United States nor any State shall assume to pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for loss or emancipation of any slave, but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be illegal and void.
SEC. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
[Ratified in 1870.] 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 appropriate legislation.
PART I VOL. 1.
The Territorial Era-1788-1803.
ORDINANCE OF 1757.
[THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS, JULY 13. 175;}
An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States wirthem of the river Chip.
SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled That the said territory for the purpose of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, iu the opinive of Congress, make it expedient.
SFC. 2 Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates both of sco ident and non-resident proprietors in the said territory, dying intestate, shall deacen ! to, and be distributed among their children and the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts, the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the ebare of their deceased parent in equal parts among them ; and where there shall be nochil- dren or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree, and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parent's share; and there shall, In no case, be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half bloed, saving in all cases to the widow of the intestate her third part of the real estate for life, andone. third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents anl dewer, sball remain in full force until altered by the Legislature of the district. And until the Governor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned, estates in the said terri- tory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and scaled by him or her in whom the estate may be (being of full age) and attested by three witnesses; and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and tale, signed. scaled and delivered by the person, being of full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed fer that pur pose: and personal property may be transferred by delivery, saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vin. cents, and the neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed themselves citi zens of Virginia, their laws and customers now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance of property.
SEC. 3. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed. from time to time, by Congress, a Governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Cor gress, he shall rede in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his office.
SEC. 4. There shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a Secretary, whose commission shall continne in force for four years, unless sooner revoked ; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the Legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings'of the Governor in his executive department, and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months to the Secretary of Congress.
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OHIO STATESMEN.
There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common law jurisdiction, and reside in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exer- cise of their offices ; and their commissions shall continue in force during good be- havior.
SEC. 5. The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and pub- lish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be nec- essary, and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Con- gress from time to time, which laws shall be in force in the district until the organi- zation of the General Assembly therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but af- terwards the Legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
SEC. 6. The Governor, for the time being, shall be Commander-in-Chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general officers ; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
SEC. 7. Previous to the organization of the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers, in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same. After the General Assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said Assembly ; but all magistrates and other civil officers not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the Governor.
SEC 8. For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal or civil, the governor shall make proper divisions thereof ; and he shall pro- ceed from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the dis- trict in which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and town- ships, subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the Legis- lature.
SEC. 9. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the Governor they shall receive authority, with time and place, to elect Representatives from their counties or townships, to rep- resent them in the General Assembly: Provided, That for every five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one Representative, and so on, progressively, with the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until the number of Representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number and proportion of Representatives shall be regulated by the Legislature : Provided, That no person eligible or qualified to act as a Representative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or un- less he shall have resided in the district three years ; and in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee-simple, two hundred acres of land within the same ; Pro- vided also, That a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a Representative.
SEC. 10. The Representatives thus elected shall serve the term of two years ; and in case of the death of a Representative, or removal from office, the Governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
SEC. 11. The General Assembly, or Legislature, shall consist of the Governor, Legislative council, and a House of Representatives. The Legislative council shall con- sist of five members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Con- gress ; any three of whom to be a quorum ; and the members of the council shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to-wit: As soon as Representa- tives shall be elected, the Governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together, and when met they shall nominate ten persons, resident in the district, and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to
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ANNALS OF PROGRESS.
Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission te serre as afervania and whenever a vacancy shall happen In the council, by death or remosel fremm ofse, the House of Representatives shall nominate two person , qualled as aforcesid, fy each vacancy, and return their names to Congres, one of whom Congress shall ap point and commission for the residue of the term; and every five years, four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of the omursfi, the said House shall nominate ten persons qualified as aforesaid ani return their hade. to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commielan to acne - mn bers of the council five years, unless sooner removed. And the Governor, Lagielative council, and House of Representatives shall have authority to make laws in all chers for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and artfiles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills having pasient ly a majority in the House, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the Goversur fer his assent ; but no bill, or legislative act whatever, shall be of any force withus his assent. The Governor shall have power to convene, prorogue, andI dissolve the General Assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
SEC. 12. The Governor, Judges, Legislative council, Secretary, and whether officers as Congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office ; the Governor before the President of Congress, and all other officers before the Governor. As soon as a Legisltaure shall be formed in the district. the council and House, assembled in one room, shall have authority, by joint labut, to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of Helt ing, but not of voting, during this temporary government.
SEC. 13. And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religions liberty, which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected ; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, con titution, and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory ; te pro- vide, also, for the establishment of States, and permanent government therein, and fer their admission to a share in the Federal councils on an equal footing with the ori; i nal States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest.
SEC. 14. It is hereby ordianed and declared by the authority aforesaid that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said territory, and forever remain ynaltera- ble, unless by common consent, to-wit :
ARTICLE I.
No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religions sentiments in the sald territory.
ARTICLE 11.
The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writs of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury; of a proportionate represents . tion of the people in the Legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences. where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great. All tines shall Le thed erate; and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land, and should the public exigencies make it necessary for the comman prefer- vation to take any person's property, or to demand his particular servire, full compensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation of rights and property, it is understood and declared that no law ought ever be made er have force in the said territory that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with er atfest private contracts or engagements, bona fide, and without fraud previously formed.
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OHIO STATESMEN.
ARTICLE III.
Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians ; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent ; and in their property, rights, and liberty they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress ; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
ARTICLE IV.
The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall-be Constitutionally . made ; and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be sub- ject to pay a part of the Federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, and a propor- tional part of the expenses of government to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be . laid and levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures of the district or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The Legislature of those districts, or new States, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States ; and in no case shall non-resident pro- prietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor.
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