lowing, 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 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 the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. Department of State This edition of the Constitution of amendments has been critically compared with the originals in this Department & found to be covred, in Text letter & functuation. It may, therefore, be relied upon as a stand -ard edition. (The small figures designating the clauses are not in the original & are added merely gfor convenien co of reference.) James Buchanan By the Secretary Tri Chief Clerk. :: DEPARTMENT O STATE. The following is prefixed to the first ten* of the preceding amendments: CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, Begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine. The Conventions of a number of the States, havang at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution; Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz. * It may be proper here to state that 12 articles of amendment were proposed by the first Congress, of which but 10 were ratified by the States-the first and second in order not having been ratified by the requisite number of States. These two were as follows: Article the first.... After the first enumeration required by the first Article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which, the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons. Article the second.... No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. Articles in addition to, and Amendment 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 fo the original Constitution. The first ten amendments of the Constituiion were ratified by the States as follows, viz : By New Jersey, 20th November, 1789. By Virginia, 15 December, 1791 |