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The Constitution of the United States of America
Additional Amendments, Amendment XIV, Section 3
Introduction:
The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution addresses the disqualification from holding office for individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to its enemies. This section was particularly relevant in the post-Civil War era, as it aimed to prevent those who had supported the Confederacy from holding public office. It establishes that any person who has taken an oath to support the Constitution and then violates that oath by participating in insurrection is barred from serving in any capacity in the government. However, Congress has the authority to remove this disqualification by a two-thirds vote in both houses.
Actual Text:
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. ”
