United States Constitution Article IV

 
 

Article IV

Section 1

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section 3

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section 4

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.


United States Constitution Article 4 consists of several sections that address the relationship between the states, the responsibilities of the federal government to the states, and the procedure for admitting new states to the union. Section 1 outlines the full faith and credit clause, requiring states to recognize and respect the laws and judicial decisions of other states. Section 2 covers the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the extradition of fugitives between states. Section 3 focuses on the admission of new states and the management of federal property. Lastly, Section 4 guarantees a republican form of government for each state and protection against invasion or domestic violence. This article underscores the principles of unity and cooperation among the states while establishing the framework for their governance within the broader federal system.

Previous
Previous

United States Constitution Article V

Next
Next

United States Constitution Article III