U.S. Constitution · Article I, Section 1

Legislative Powers Vested in Congress

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Also known as: Vesting Clause

Live in the VFA record

Cited in 58 grades this month.

145 public items cite this provision · 58 in October 2026 (last month: 2)

Week of 2026-08-03: 1Week of 2026-08-10: 1Week of 2026-08-17: 0Week of 2026-08-24: 0Week of 2026-08-31: 0Week of 2026-09-07: 0Week of 2026-09-14: 2Week of 2026-09-21: 0Week of 2026-09-28: 0Week of 2026-10-05: 51Week of 2026-10-12: 7Week of 2026-10-19: 0

Citations per week, last 12 weeks

The text

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

National Archives transcription (public domain; original spelling and capitalization). archives.gov

SI explainer

An explainer for this provision is in the queue. It appears here once it passes the SI Editorial Standard’s automated checks. The text, founding-era sources and live citations below are complete.

In the founders’ words

  • “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” James Madison, The Federalist No. 47 (1788-02-01)
  • “The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity, and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex. The founders of our republics have so much merit for the wisdom which they have displayed, that no task can be less pleasing than that of pointing out the errors into which they have fallen.” James Madison, The Federalist No. 48 (1788-02-01)
  • “But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place.” James Madison, The Federalist No. 51 (1788-02-08)

Public-domain primary sources, quoted word for word and checked against the linked text.

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grades (58)

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roll-call votes (81)

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Roll-call votes are listed when the measure voted on has a current Constitution Index grade citing this provision. Counts include only published items.

Cite this page

Values for America Constitution Explorer, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution (text: National Archives transcription, public domain), Article I, Section 1, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution/article-1/section-1

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