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The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

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.  The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and wiothin every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by law direct.  The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be make, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, new Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.  

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.  

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.  

The members of the House of Representative will be elected every two years by the people of each state.  The voters in each state must meet the requirements they would have to meet to vote for their state lawmakers.

In order to be a representative, a person: must be at least 25 years old, must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and must be a legal resident of the state he or she is elected to represent.

The number of representatives a state has and the taxes it pays depend on the number of people it has.  (Each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person, but this is no longer in effect because of Amendments 13 and 14).  The people will be counted within three years of the first meeting of Congress.  They will be counted every 10 years after that.  Until a census is done, we assign the number of representatives for each state listed. (This census is still done.)  Each state gets at least one representative no matter how small it is. 

When a representative dies or resigns, the governor of the state must call an election so voters can pick a new representative.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House.  The House chooses the Speaker and any other officers it wants.  The House alone has the power to impeach a government official.  (Impeach means to accuse a public official of a serious crime.)

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1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

3. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

4. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

5.The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

6.The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

7. 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.

1. Each state will have two senators. Each senators will serve for six years. Each senator will have one vote in the Senate. (The Constitution at first said senate legislatures would elect senators. In 1913 Amendment 17 gave voters the right to elect senators directly.)

2. When the Senate meets for the first time, it will be divided into three groups. The first group of senators will serve for two years. The second groups will serve for four years, and the third group will serve for six years. Then in the future, the terms will be staggered so that one third of the senators will be elected every two years. (If a senator dies or resigns, at first the Constitution gave state lawmakers the power to choose a new senator. Amendment 17 changed that. Now the governor calls for an election, or state lawmakers may tell the governor to choose a senator until the next election.)

3. In order to be a senator, a person:

• must be at least 30 years old,

• must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and

• must be a legal resident of the state he or she is elected to represent

4. The Vice President of the United States will also be the president of the Senate. (This is the only job the Constitution assigns to the U.S. Vice President.) The Vice President will have a vote only when there is a tie.

5. The senators may elect any other officers they need. They will have a president pro tempore (for the time being), who will serve as chairman if the U.S. Vice President is absent.

6. If the House of Representatives impeaches a public official, the Senate is the jury for the trial. Senators are under oath during the trial. If the President of the United States is impeached, the judge will be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It takes a vote of two thirds of the senators at the trial for a person to be convicted (found guilty)

7. Officials who are convicted by the Senate are removed from government office. They cannot hold any other office. They will not be punished in any other way, but they may have no stand trial in the regular courts.

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1. Each state may decide when, where, and how its senators and representatives are elected. Congress can make laws to ensure the honesty and fairness of national elections.

2. Congress must meet at least once a year. (The Constitution set the opening day as the first Monday in December. Amendment 20 changed it to January 3.)

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1. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

2. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with theConcurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

3. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

4.Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

1. The House and the Senate may each decide if members are qualified and have been elected fairly. Move than half of the members (a quorum) be present for a vote. A smaller number of members may agree to adjourn (stop meeting) for the day. Each house should have a way of calling members to meetings and of punishing them if they do not come.

2. Each house may make its own rules for its meeting. Each house has the right to punish a member for not behaving properly. If at least two thirds of the members approve, a house may throw out a member.

3. Each house must keep a record of its business. It must publish the record, unless members agree that some parts of the record must be kept secret. (The records of both houses are published as the Congressional Record.) If one fifth of the members vote for it, each member's vote on an issue must also be published. (This is called a roll-call vote.)

4. Neither house can adjourn for more than three days unless the other house agrees. Both house must meet in the same city.

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1. Senators and representatives will be paid a salary. How much they are paid is decided by law. Their salaries are paid out of the U.S. Treasury. While senators and representatives are in a meeting of Congress, or going to or coming form one, they cannot be arrested expect for a felony, treason, or disturbing the peace. They have complete freedom of speech while talking in Congress. They cannot be arrested for what they say there.

2. While in Congress, senators and representatives may not hold any other government office. After leaving Congress, they may not take any government job that was created or received a pay raise while they were in Congress.

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1. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

2. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

3. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

1. Only the House of Representatives can start a tax bill. The Senate may suggest changes in it. It must approve the bill (by a majority vote).

2. When any bill is approved by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the President. There are four ways the President can deal with the bill:

• If the President likes the bill, he sign it. It becomes law.

• If the President does not like the bill, he may veto it and send it back to Congress. (Veto is a Latin word which means "I forbid.") If the members of Congress still like the bill, they can vote on it again. If two thirds of the members of both houses vote for the bill this times, it becomes law without the President's approval. (This is called overriding the veto.) When this happens, everyone's veto must be recorded.

• If, while Congress is meeting, the President keeps a bill for 10 days without signing it or vetoing it, the bill becomes law without his approval.

• If less than 10 days remain before Congress adjourns, the President may hold the bill without signing it until Congress adjourns. The bill does not become a law. (This is called a pocket veto.)

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1. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

2. To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

3. To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

4. To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

5. To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

6. To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

7. To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

8. To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

9. To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

10. To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

11. To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

12. To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than twoYears;

13. To provide and maintain a Navy;

14. To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

15. To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

17. To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And

18. To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

1. Congress has the power to make and collect taxes, to pay debts, and to use taxes to protect the people. All federal (national) taxes must be the same throughout the United States.

2. Congress has the right to borrow money for the United States.

3. Congress has the power to control trade with foreign nations, between the states, and with the Indians. (Trade covers goods, people, and information, and the things that move them. That gives Congress control over everything from trucks and trains to roads to telephone and television hookups.)

4. Congress can decide which people who were not born in the United States can become citizens. It can set the rules that say what a person must do to become a citizen. Congress can pass laws about bankruptcy throughout the United States.

5. Congress has the right to coin (make) money and say how much it is worth. Congress also decides standards for weights and measures. (This ensures that a dollar, an ounce, or a mile will be the same in every state.)

6. Congress decides how to punish counterfeiters (those who make or use fake money).

7. Congress can set up post offices and build roads.

8. Congress can give copyrights to authors and patents to inventors so that they will have income from their ideas.

9. Congress can create any federal courts we need below the level of the Supreme Court.

10. Congress decides what piracy is and how to punish it. It decides punishment for crimes on the high seas because those crimes do not happen in a particular state.

11. Congress has the right to declare war.

12. Congress has the right to organize and pay an army. Money spent on the armed services has to be voted on every two years. (This gives Congress the power to draft citizens. It gives Congress power to buy what the armed forces need. This way, Congress keeps control over the army.)

13. Congress can organize and pay a navy.

14. Congress makes the rules for the armed forces.

15. Congress can call out the National Guard to enforce laws, stop riots, or stop invasions. (The National guard is made up of the militia, or citizen soldiers, of the states.)

16. Congress may organize the National Guard, buy arms for it, and make rules on how it should be run. But the officers are appointed by each state. Training is conducted by each state, also.

17. Congress passes the laws for the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) because it is the headquarter of the national government. Congress passes laws for federal property such as army forts or national parks.

18. Congress can make any laws which are necessary and proper to carry out the powers given to the government of the United States. (This is called the elastic clause. It lets Congress stretch its power to meet the nation's changing needs.)

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1. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

2. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

3. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

4. No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

5. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

6. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

7. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

8. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

1. Congress may not interfere with the slave trade before 1808.

2. The government may not suspend the right of habeas corpus unless the country is under attack and public safety requires it. (A writ of habeas corpus is a legal order from a judge telling the police to bring a prisoner to court. There, they must either show evidence against him and charge him with a crime or let him go. In some countries, people can be put prison without being charged with a crime. The right of habeas corpus prevents this. The words habeas corpus mean "you may have the body." They begin a Latin sentence that says the prisoner must be brought to court.)

3. Congress may not pass a bill attainder. (This would be a law to punish a person without letting him have a trial.) Congress may not pass an ex post facto law. (Ex post facto means "after the fact." An ex post facto law is passed after an act is committed. It makes that act a crime and punishes people who committed the act before the law was passed. Under this clause, if a law is passed today, it may not be used to punish people for things they did earlier.)

4. Direct taxes have to be the same for each person taxed. People in one state cannot be taxed more than people in another state. (Congress has not ordered many direct taxes. One is the income tax. Amendment 16, added to the Constitution in 1913, has changed this clause somewhat.)

5. No taxes can be put on goods sent out of a state. (Congress cannot use taxes to help one state's trade or hurt another's trade.)

6. The government cannot use trade and tax laws to favor the ports of any state over the ports of another state. Also, ships going from one state to another cannot be taxed.

7. No one can spend money from U.S. Treasury unless a law says that the expense is proper. Accounts of money taken is and paid out muse be published from time to time. 

8. The government cannot give anyone a noble title. No government official can accept a job, a salary, or a title from another country unless Congress approves. 

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1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

2: No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

3: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay anyDuty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

1. No state can enter a treaty or a union with another state or country. No state can print money. No state can use a substitute.

2. Unless Congress agrees, no state may tax goods entering or leaving the state, expect what is needed to pay the costs of inspection. Any profits on such taxes go to the U.S. Treasury. All such tax laws may be controlled and changed by Congress.

3. No state can have its own army or navy unless Congress agrees. No state can enter into treaty with another state or another country, or fight a war, unless it has been attacked and cannot wait for help.