Support and Defend: Article IV Section III

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.

We can admit new states to the Union. We are not allowed to divide states, nor are we allowed to combine them, unless both Congress and the legislatures of all the other states agree. So, let’s say Northern California wanted to be its own state. Congress and all the current state legislatures would have to agree.

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.

That being said, Congress gives itself jurisdiction over territories that are not states. Think Puerto Rico and Guam. Yes, Puerto Rico is an American territory and its people are US citizens. So Congress has the authority to establish a National Park in Puerto Rico. Indeed, the National Historic Site with the iconic fort in Puerto Rico is maintained by the National Park Service, as permitted by Consitution.

Support and Defend: Article IV Section II

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.

This means that if I live in New Hampshire, I am still allowed to own property or work in Vermont. I can’t be prevented from traveling to another state. If I decide to kill someone in Florida and then go to New Mexico, I can be sent back to Florida to stand trial for that murder.

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.

The Thirteenth Amendment got rid of this one. Basically, an enslaved person who escaped could be returned, even if they made it to a state that did not permit slavery. When slavery was abolished, this clause became irrelevant.

Support and Defend: Article IV Section I

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.

Let’s say Joe and Maurice get married in Vermont.  When they move across the river to New Hampshire, their marriage is still legal, even if their marriage wasn’t legal in New Hampshire.

Then they move to Nevada and live there awhile and they adopt a couple of children.  Those children are their legal responsibility in all states. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to adopt legally in another state.  That doesn’t matter.  Joe and Maurice are still legally the parents of those children.

Then they move to Louisiana and unfortunately, their relationship deteriorates.  They get divorced.  The divorce decree, including property division and parental responsibilities, are legal and enforceable in all the states, even if other states have other laws.

The idea behind this is that if you enter into a contract that is legal in the state in which you entered into it, it is enforceable in all the states.

Ultimately, the responsibility for how such inter-state differences are enforced are the responsibility of Congress.

To Support and Defend: Article III, Section III

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Treason isn’t flipping off the President or even hanging him in effigy. It is either an overt act of war, or aiding government who are directly in a state of war with the United States of America. Being against a war isn’t treason.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

If you are convicted of treason, Congress decides on your punishment. Historically, this has been anything from a prison sentence to execution. Some people who were convicted of treason have had Presidential pardons.

However, if you are convicted of treason, your children cannot be punished for your crime and conviction. It might sound strange, but in Tudor times, if you were convicted of treason and were a peer of the realm, your title died, your oldest son could not inherit and your estates were forfeit to the Crown.