Section 1: Each state is required to honor all other states and shall respect and honor "public Acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state."
Section 2: Citizens of one state are entitled to the privileges and protection of other states. Any criminal fleeing one state is required to return the criminal to the proper state of jurisdiction. The final clause of section 2 deals with the return of runaway slaves and was nullified by the 13th amendment to the Constitution.
Section 3: New states may be admitted to the Union. States cannot be created from parts of other states, nor can two states join together to form one state without the consent of the involved states' legislatures and Congress. Congress has authority over U.S. territories and U.S. property. The Constitution does not in any way give preference to one state over another.Section 4: Each state is guaranteed a republican form of government; that is, each state is guaranteed elected officials. Each state will be protected against invasion from foreigh powers or from another state.
Analysis of the United States Constitution, Article IV:
The Constitution sought to unify the individual states without destroying their power. The Founding Fathers had discovered that many of the state governments had been abusing their power and abridging citizens' rights. They sought to curtail these abuses and limit government through article IV of the Constitution. The issue of slavery rears its ugly head once again. Although the Founding Fathers found slavery irreconcilable with the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they understood the need to "look the other way" in order to ensure ratification by southern states.