GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



27 



resentatives, open all the certificates, and the 

 votes shall then be counted. The person having 

 the greatest number of votes shall be the Presi- 

 dent, if such number be a majority of the 

 whole number of electors appointed, and if 

 there be more than one who have such major- 

 ity, and have an equal number of votes, then 

 the House of Representatives shall immediately 

 choose 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 choose the President. But 

 in choosing the President, the vote 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 'Presi- 

 dent, the person having the greatest number 

 of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-Presi- 

 dent. But if there should remain two or more 

 who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose 

 from them by ballot the Vice-President.]* 



4. 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. 



5. 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 eli- 

 gible 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 with- 

 in the United States. 



6. 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, resig- 

 nation, 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. 



7. The President shall, at stated times, re- 

 ceive for his services a compensation, which 

 shall neither be increased nor diminished dur- 

 ing 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. 



8. Before he enter on the execution of his 

 office he shall take the following oath or affir- 

 mation : 



" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 



This clause is superseded by Article XII., Amend- 

 ments. 



faithfully execute the office of President of the 

 United States, and will, to the best of my 

 ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Con- 

 stitution of the United States." 



SKCTION II. 1. 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 ser- 

 vice 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 re- 

 prieves and pardons for offenses against the 

 United States except in cases of impeachment. 



2. 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 min- 

 isters 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 offi- 

 cers as they think proper in the President 

 alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 

 departments. 



3. The President shall have power to fill up 

 all vacancies that may happen during the re- 

 cess of the Senate by granting commissions, 

 which shall expire at the end of their next ses- 

 sion. 



SECTION III. He shall from time to time 

 give to the Congress information of the state 

 of the Union, and recommend to their consid- 

 eration such measures as he shall judge neces- 

 sary 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 IV. The President, Vice-Presi- 

 dent, 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 I. 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 



