13th Amendment to thet U.S. Consitution

"Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Secretary of State William H. Seward issued this Proclamation announcing the ratification on December 18, 1865..."
13th Amendment 

The Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and Enforcement

"Article I, Section 7, clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution is known as the Origination Clause because it provides that “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” The meaning and application of this clause has evolved through practice and precedent since the Constitution was drafted. 

The Constitution does not provide specific guidelines as to what constitutes a “bill for raising revenue.” This report analyzes congressional and court precedents regarding what constitutes such a bill. The precedents and practices of the House apply a broad standard and construe the House’s prerogatives broadly to include any “meaningful revenue proposal.” This standard is based on a provision-by-provision review of whether the measure in question has revenue-affecting potential and not simply whether it would raise or lower revenues directly. As a result, the House includes within the definition of revenue legislation not only direct changes in the tax code but any fees not intended as payment for a specific government service, as well as any change in import restrictions because of their potential impact on tariff revenues. The precedents of the Senate reflect a similar understanding. The Supreme Court has occasionally ruled on Origination Clause matters, adopting an independentunderstanding of what constitutes a revenue bill that is based on two central principles: (1) raising money must be the primary purpose of the measure rather than an incidental effect and (2) the resulting funds must be for the expenses or obligations of the government generally rather than a single, specific purpose..."
Origination clause 

Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues

"Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the President “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The power has its roots in the king’s prerogative to grant mercy under early English law, which later traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. The Supreme Court has recognized that the authority vested by the Constitution in the President is quite broad, describing it as “plenary,” discretionary, and largely not subject to legislative modification. Nonetheless, there are two textual limitations on the pardon power’s exercise: first, the President may grant pardons only for federal criminal offenses, and second, impeachment convictions are not pardonable. The Court has also recognized some other narrow restraints, including that a pardon cannot be issued to cover crimes prior to commission.

The pardon power authorizes the President to grant several forms of relief from criminal punishment. The most common forms of relief are full pardons (for individuals) and amnesties (for groups of people), which completely obviate the punishment for a committed or charged federal criminal offense, and commutations, which reduce the penalties associated with convictions. An administrative process has been established through the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney for submitting and evaluating requests for these and other forms of clemency, though the process and regulations governing it are merely advisory and do not affect the President’s ultimate authority to grant relief..."
Presidential pardons

U.S. Constitution Annotated

"This edition of the Congressional Research Service's U.S. Constitution Annotated is a hypertext interpretation of the CRS text, updated to the currently published version. It links to Supreme Court opinions, the U.S. Code, and the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as enhancing navigation through search, breadcrumbs, linked footnotes and tables of contents..."
U.S. Constitution

15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights

"Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the 15th amendment granted African American men the right to vote...."
15th Amendment