The seven articles of the Constitution set up the federal government and the rules it runs on. Article I creates Congress and lists what it can and cannot do. Article II creates the presidency. Article III creates the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary. Article IV governs how the states deal with each other and with the union. Article V explains how the Constitution itself can be changed. Article VI makes federal law supreme over conflicting state law. Article VII set the terms for the original ratification in 1788.1U.S. Senate. Constitution of the United States
A short opening called the Preamble sits in front of Article I. It is not itself an article and grants no specific legal power, but it names the document’s purpose and locates its authority in “We the People.” Courts treat it as an interpretive guide to the articles that follow.2Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – The Preamble
Article I — Congress and the Lawmaking Power
Article I is the longest article in the Constitution, and the length is deliberate. The framers thought lawmaking was the most consequential federal power, so they described it in detail. Article I creates Congress and splits it into two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.3Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – Article I
House members must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens for at least seven years, and residents of the state they represent. They serve two-year terms, and each state’s share of representatives is based on its population. Senators must be at least 30, citizens for nine years, and residents of their state. Each state gets exactly two senators, serving six-year terms. That gives smaller states equal footing in one chamber even when they are outnumbered in the other.3Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – Article I
What Congress Can Do
Section 8 lists the specific powers Congress is authorized to exercise. The major ones include collecting taxes, borrowing money, regulating commerce with foreign nations and among the states, coining money, establishing post offices, declaring war, and raising and funding the military. The last clause of Section 8, often called the Necessary and Proper Clause, lets Congress pass any laws needed to carry out those listed powers. That single clause has supported everything from the creation of a national bank to the modern federal regulatory agencies.4Constitution Annotated. Article I Section 8 – Enumerated Powers
How a Bill Becomes Law
Section 7 lays out the process. After both chambers pass a bill, it goes to the President. A signature makes it law. A veto sends it back to the chamber where it originated, along with the President’s objections; Congress can override the veto only if two-thirds of each chamber votes to do so. If the President neither signs nor vetoes the bill within ten days (Sundays excluded) while Congress is in session, it becomes law without a signature. If Congress adjourns during that ten-day window and the President does nothing, the bill dies. That last move is called a pocket veto and cannot be overridden.5Congress.gov. Veto Power
What Congress and the States Cannot Do
Section 9 restricts the federal government. Congress cannot suspend habeas corpus except during rebellion or invasion. It cannot pass bills of attainder (laws singling out individuals for punishment without a trial) or ex post facto laws (laws that retroactively criminalize past conduct). It cannot tax exports from any state, and it cannot grant titles of nobility. Federal officeholders need congressional consent to accept gifts or titles from foreign governments.6Library of Congress. Article I Section 9
Section 10 restricts the states. No state can enter into a treaty, coin its own money, or pass retroactive criminal laws. Without congressional approval, states cannot tax imports or exports, keep their own military forces during peacetime, or enter into agreements with foreign governments or other states.7Congress.gov. Article I Section 10 – Powers Denied States
Article II — The Presidency
Article II places all executive power in a single President serving a four-year term. A candidate must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. The President is chosen through the Electoral College rather than by direct national popular vote.8Constitution of the United States. Article II
The President is Commander in Chief of the military, keeping the armed forces under civilian control. The pardon power covers federal offenses, with one carved-out exception: pardons cannot undo an impeachment. The President negotiates treaties, but they take effect only if two-thirds of the senators present vote to approve. Federal judges, ambassadors, and other senior officials are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.9Congress.gov. Article II Section 2
Section 3 covers the ongoing duties: delivering the State of the Union address, recommending legislation, receiving foreign ambassadors, and ensuring that federal laws are faithfully carried out.10Library of Congress. Article II Section 3 Section 4 provides the removal mechanism. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States can be impeached and removed for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.11Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution Article II Section 4 – Impeachment
Article III — The Federal Courts
Article III creates the Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to establish lower federal courts. Federal judges hold their positions “during good behaviour,” which in practice means they serve for life unless they resign, retire, or are impeached. Their pay cannot be reduced while they are in office, a protection designed to insulate judges from political pressure by the other branches.12Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, meaning it hears a case first rather than on appeal, in disputes involving ambassadors and cases where a state is a party. For everything else, the Court acts as an appellate body reviewing decisions of lower courts.13Congress.gov. Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction
Section 3 defines treason narrowly: waging war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to its enemies. A conviction requires either the testimony of two witnesses to the same act or a confession in open court. Congress can set the punishment, but it cannot extend to the convicted person’s family, a deliberate break from European traditions that punished entire bloodlines.14Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution Article III Section 3
Article III does not explicitly say that courts may strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court claimed that power in 1803 in Marbury v. Madison, holding that any law conflicting with the Constitution is void.15Federal Judicial Center. Marbury v. Madison (1803) Judicial review is not written into Article III, but it has become one of the most consequential features of the American system.
Article IV — The States and the Union
Article IV governs how the states interact with each other and with the federal government. The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires every state to recognize the laws, records, and court judgments of every other state; a divorce decree or contract valid in one state does not lose its force at the state line.16Constitution Annotated. Overview of Full Faith and Credit Clause The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents states from treating out-of-state citizens as second-class residents.17Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article IV
Section 2 also includes an extradition requirement: a person charged with a crime in one state who flees to another must be returned on the demand of the state where the crime occurred.18Constitution Annotated. Article IV Section 2
Congress admits new states. No new state can be carved out of an existing state without the consent of that state’s legislature and Congress.19Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution Article IV Section 3 The federal government also guarantees every state a republican form of government and promises protection against invasion and, on request, against domestic unrest.20Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution Article IV Section 4
Article V — How the Constitution Is Amended
Article V makes the Constitution hard to change, but not impossible. An amendment can be proposed two ways: a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate, or a national convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Every amendment to date has come through the congressional route; a convention has never been called.21Constitution Annotated. Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution
After proposal, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (currently 38 of 50), either through their legislatures or through specially called state conventions. Congress decides which method applies.22National Archives. Constitutional Amendment Process One provision inside Article V is itself unamendable: no state can lose its equal representation in the Senate without its own consent.21Constitution Annotated. Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution
Article VI — National Supremacy and Oaths
Article VI contains the Supremacy Clause. It declares the Constitution, federal statutes, and treaties to be “the supreme Law of the Land.” When state law conflicts with federal law, the federal rule wins, and judges in every state are bound by that principle regardless of anything in their own state constitutions.23Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article VI This clause supports federal preemption: sometimes Congress states outright that a federal law overrides state law, and other times preemption is implied because federal regulation is so thorough that no room is left for state rules, or because compliance with both is impossible.
Article VI also requires all federal and state officials to take an oath to support the Constitution. It forbids any religious test for holding public office, meaning a person’s faith, or lack of one, cannot be a qualification or disqualification for government service.24Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated Article VI Clause 3 – Oaths of Office
Article VII — Ratification of the Original Constitution
Article VII was a one-time provision. It stated that approval by conventions in nine of the original thirteen states would be enough to establish the Constitution among those ratifying states.25Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article VII New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788, making the document officially operative. The new government did not fully begin functioning until the first Wednesday of March 1789, after elections were held and the new Congress convened.26Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution Annotated – Ratification Clause By requiring state conventions rather than state legislatures, the framers ensured the Constitution drew its authority directly from the people.
Where the Amendments Fit
The Bill of Rights and the other later amendments are not part of the seven articles. They sit after Article VII as separate additions to the document. Twenty-seven amendments have been added since ratification, beginning with the Bill of Rights in 1791, and they modify or supplement the framework the seven articles established rather than replacing any of it.1U.S. Senate. Constitution of the United States