Article IV: Federal and State Governments

Article IV of the Constitution is focused on the relationship between the states and the federal government, or the Union.

A large mural inside the National Archives Museum shows the delegates standing outdoors by a building with large columns. George Washington appears in the middle with the men's attention focused on him. A few of the delegates hold large documents in hand.

A 1936 mural by Barry Faulkner depicting the Framers of the Constitution.

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.

The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires every state, as part of a single nation, to give a certain measure of respect to every other state’s laws and institutions.

Article IV, Section 2

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

Article IV, Section 2 (continued)

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.

Article IV, Section 2 (continued)

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 Privileges and Immunities Clause entitles a citizen of one state, while traveling to or visiting in other states, to equal treatment with local citizens. That is to say, the clause prohibits discrimination on the basis of a citizen’s state of residence.

The Extradition Clause provides for the return of anyone charged with a crime in one state who fled to another state.

Later nullified by the 13th Amendment, the Fugitive Slave Clause stated that an enslaved person who fled their state must be returned to their enslaver.

Article IV, 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.

Article IV, Section 3 (continued)

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.

Article IV, 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.

The Admissions Clause authorizes Congress to admit new states into the Union.

The Property Clause gives Congress the power to make laws and rules for the territories and other federal lands.

The Guarantee Clause requires the United States to guarantee to the states a republican form of government and provide protection from foreign invasion and domestic violence. At its core, the Guarantee Clause provides for majority rule.

Click on the Match It activity to pair clauses of the Constitution with examples of them in practice.

Match It!: Your answers have been submitted.
Click the 'View in My Work' link below to review your answers.

Full Faith and Credit Clause: If a couple is married under the laws of one state, such as Virginia, the marriage must be recognized in another state, such as Montana. This also means that court documents, such as a marriage license or a driver’s license, are recognized across state lines.

Privileges and Immunities Clause: A college student from Maine has the ability to work and rent an apartment in Texas.

Extradition Clause: If someone commits a crime in one state (for example, New York) and then flees to another state (example, Florida), the New York governor can request the Florida governor extradite the accused back to New York.

Admissions Clause: Congress has the power to admit new states into the Union. The last state to join the United States was Hawaii in 1959.

Property Clause: Congress has the authority to establish a national park within a state, such as Yosemite National Park in California.

Guarantee Clause: Each state elects its officials and has majority rule. For example, a state elects its governor and state legislators.

You have successfully submitted Match It!

How did you do? Check answers on the left

Correct
Incorrect