after the ratification of this amendment to the Constitution
the President and Vice-President shall hold their
offices, respectively, for the term of six years,
and that no President or Vice-President shall be eligible
for reelection to a second term.”
Sec. 2. And be it further resolved,
That Article II, section I,
paragraph 6, of the Constitution of the
United States shall be amended
so as to read as follows:
“In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and in the case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice-President, the powers and duties of said office shall devolve on the Secretary of State for the time being, and after this officer, in case of vacancy in that or other Department, and in the order in which they are named, on the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Secretary of War, on the Secretary of the Navy, on the Secretary of the Interior, on the Postmaster-General, and on the Attorney-General; and such officer, on whom the powers and duties of President shall devolve in accordance with the foregoing provisions, shall then act as President until the disability shall be removed or a President shall be elected, as is or may be provided for by law.”
Sec. 3. And be it further resolved, That Article I, section 3, be amended by striking out the word “legislature,” and inserting in lieu thereof the following words, viz: “Persons qualified to vote for members of the most numerous branch of the legislature,” so as to make the third section of said article, when ratified by three-fourths of the States, read as follows, to wit:
“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the persons qualified to vote for the members of the most numerous branch of the legislature thereof, for six years, and each Senator shall have one vote.”
Sec. 4. And be it further resolved, That Article III, section I, be amended by striking out the words “good behavior,” and inserting the following words, viz: “the term of twelve years.” And further, that said article and section be amended by adding the following thereto, viz: “And it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, within twelve months after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths of all the States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States, to divide the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable, into three classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the fourth year from such classification, of the second class at the expiration of the eighth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may be chosen every fourth year thereafter.”
The article as amended will read as follows: