Constitution of the Allied States

The Constitution of the Allied States of America is the supreme law of the Allied States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the Allied States of America and the federal government of the Allied States. It provides the framework for the organization of the Allied States government and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the Allied States. The Allied States Constitution is identical to that of the United States.

Preamble: Purpose
The Preamble states: "We the People of the Allied States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Allied States of America."

The Preamble does not grant any particular authority to the federal government and it does not prohibit any particular authority. It establishes the fact that the federal government has no authority outside of what follows the preamble, as amended. "We the people", is one of the most-quoted sections of the Constitution. It was thought by the Federalists during this time that there was no need for a bill of rights as they thought that the preamble explained the people's rights.

Article One: Legislative power
Article One describes the Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. The Allied States Congress is a bicameral body consisting of two co-equal houses: the House of Representatives to represent the people, and the Senate to represent the States. The article establishes the manner of election and the qualifications of members of each body. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a citizen of the Allied States for seven years, and live in the state they represent. Senators must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen for nine years, and live in the state they represent.

In Article I Section I reads, "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the Allied States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." This gives Congress more than simply the responsibility to establish the rules governing its proceedings and for the punishment of its members; it places the power of the government primarily in Congress. Article I Section 8 enumerates the legislative powers. The powers listed and all other powers are made the exclusive responsibility of the legislative branch:

The Congress shall have power... 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 Allied States, or in any department or officer thereof. Article I Section IX provides a list of eight specific limits on congressional power and Article I Section X limits the rights of the states. The Allied States Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article One to allow Congress to enact legislation that is neither expressly listed in the enumerated power nor expressly denied in the limitations on Congress.

Article Two: Executive power
Section 1 creates the presidency. The section states that the executive power is vested in a President. The presidential term is four years and the Vice-President serves the identical term. This section originally set the method of electing the President and Vice President, but this method has been superseded by the Twelfth Amendment.

Section 2 grants substantive powers to the president. Section 2 also grants and limits the president's appointment powers. Section 3 opens by describing the president's relations with Congress. Section 3 adds:
 * The president receives ambassadors.
 * The president sees that the laws are faithfully executed.
 * The president commissions all the offices of the federal government.

Section 4 provides for removal of the president and other federal officers. The president is removed on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Article Three: Judicial power
Article Three describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. The article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article Three also creates the right to trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it. This Article also sets the kinds of cases that may be heard by the federal judiciary, which cases the Supreme Court may hear first (called original jurisdiction), and that all other cases heard by the Supreme Court are by appeal under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

Article Four: States' powers and limits
Article Four describes the relationship between the states and the federal government and amongst the states. For instance, it requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts, records, and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records, or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of resident citizens. It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous and costly process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of federal property and governing non-state territories of the Allied States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the Allied States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion and violence.

Article Five: Amendments
An amendment may be ratified in three ways:
 * The new amendment may be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then sent to the states for approval.
 * Two-thirds of the state legislatures may apply to Congress for a constitutional convention to consider amendments, which are then sent to the states for approval.
 * Congress may require ratification by special convention.

Regardless of the method of proposing an amendment, final ratification requires approval by three-fourths of the states. Today Article Five places only one limit on the amending power: no amendment may deprive a state of equal representation in the Senate without that state's consent.

Article Six: Federal power
Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the Allied States made according to it, to be the supreme law of the land, and that "the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding." It also validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all federal and state legislators, officers, and judges take oaths or affirmations to support the Constitution. This means that the states' constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the federal constitution and that in case of a conflict, state judges are legally bound to honor the federal laws and constitution over those of any state. Article Six also states "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the Allied States."

Article Seven: Ratification
Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

 * First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congress from establishing a religion and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.
 * Second Amendment: guarantees the right of individuals to possess firearms.
 * Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners.
 * Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.
 * Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the Fifth" or "Pleading the Fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment, otherwise known as the Miranda rights after the Supreme Court case. It also prohibits government from taking private property for public use without "just compensation," the basis of eminent domain in the Allied States.
 * Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him.
 * Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases.
 * Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
 * Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained by the people.
 * Tenth Amendment: reserves to the states respectively, or to the people, any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the Allied States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.

Subsequent amendments

 * Eleventh Amendment: Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law.
 * Twelfth Amendment: Changes the method of presidential elections so that members of the Electoral College cast separate ballots for president and vice-president.
 * Thirteenth Amendment: Abolishes slavery and authorizes Congress to enforce abolition.
 * Fourteenth Amendment: Defines a set of guarantees for Allied States citizenship; prohibits states from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-fifths compromise; prohibits repudiation of the federal debt.
 * Fifteenth Amendment: Prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting.
 * Sixteenth Amendment: Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes on income.
 * Seventeenth Amendment: Converts state election of senators to popular election.
 * Eighteenth Amendment: Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages. Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment.
 * Nineteenth Amendment: Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen to vote due to their sex.
 * Twentieth Amendment: Changes details of congressional and presidential terms and of presidential succession.
 * Twenty-first Amendment: Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages.
 * Twenty-second Amendment: Limits president to two terms.
 * Twenty-third Amendment: Grants presidential electors to the District of Columbia. (Outdated)
 * Twenty-fourth Amendment: Prohibits the federal government and the states from requiring the payment of a tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials.
 * Twenty-fifth Amendment: Changes details of presidential succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice_president.
 * Twenty-sixth Amendment: Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote on account of their age.
 * Twenty-seventh Amendment: Limits congressional pay raises.