Constitution of United States of America

“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.”

The Constitution’s Preamble specifies the purpose of the document and indicates its democratic nature through the phrase “We the People.” This purpose includes securing peace for the nation, the welfare of its inhabitants, and liberty. However, anti-Federalist critics of the Constitution did not believe the document adequately guaranteed civil liberties, necessitating the passage of the Bill of Rights in 1789.

“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.”

Representation within the House is determined by a state’s population and is thus unfixed. Indentured servants are counted alongside free people while enslaved people are considered “three-fifths” of a full person, and Indigenous peoples not subject to taxation are uncounted. The 14th Amendment, passed after the Civil War, modified this clause by stating, “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.”

“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.”

Drawing on the English Parliamentary tradition, the Constitution specifies conditions under which officials, including the president, can be impeached and removed from office. The punishment accompanying an impeachment conviction may not go beyond removing the convicted from office and barring them from holding future office. This passage provides for a balance of power since Congress cannot act like a court of law.