The Constitution · Article IV
Article IV: Relations Among the States
About 15 min total: 5 min reading + 10 min for its 10 practice questions
Full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, extradition, new states, territories, and the guarantee of a republican form of government.
- Signed
- September 17, 1787
- In effect
- Ratified June 21, 1788 (9th state); government began March 4, 1789
What's in Article IV
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| § 1 | Full Faith and Credit: states honor each other's public acts, records, and court rulings. |
| § 2 | Privileges and Immunities; extradition of fugitives; the Fugitive Slave Clause (superseded by the 13th Amendment). |
| § 3 | Admission of new states; Congress governs federal territory and property. |
| § 4 | Guarantee of a republican form of government; protection against invasion and domestic violence. |
Key clauses
Full Faith and Credit (§1)
"Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State."
A driver's license, marriage, or court judgment from one state is recognized in the others.
Privileges and Immunities (§2)
"The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States."
A state may not discriminate against citizens of other states in basic rights.
Extradition (§2)
"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"
A fugitive must be returned to the state where the crime was charged.
New states (§3)
"New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union"
Congress admits new states; no state may be split or merged without the consent of its legislature and Congress.
Guarantee Clause (§4)
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government"
Every state must have a representative government, and the national government protects states from invasion.
Quotations: National Archives transcription of the Constitution (original spelling, such as "chuse" and "Defence").
Why it was written this way
Under the Articles, states often treated each other like foreign countries. Article IV aimed to make the states one nation: honoring each other's records and courts, treating each other's citizens fairly, returning fugitives, and providing an orderly way to add states, building on the Northwest Ordinance (1787). The Guarantee Clause reflected fears raised by Shays' Rebellion (1786–87) that states could fall into disorder.
What the FCLE tends to ask
- Full Faith and Credit is a common scenario question (licenses, marriages, court judgments).
- Article IV is about state-to-state relations; Article VI is about federal-state supremacy.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| Full Faith and Credit (Article IV) | Supremacy Clause (Article VI) |
| Privileges and Immunities (Article IV) | Privileges or Immunities (14th Amendment) |