Thirteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution - Earlier Proposed Thirteenth Amendments

Earlier Proposed Thirteenth Amendments

Each of two amendments proposed by the Congress would have become the Thirteenth Amendment if it had been ratified when originally proposed.

  • Titles of Nobility Amendment, proposed by the Congress in 1810 and ratified by twelve states, would have revoked the citizenship of anyone either (1) accepting a foreign title of nobility or (2) accepting any foreign payment without Congressional authorization.
  • The Corwin Amendment was passed by the House on March 1, 1861 and the Senate on March 3, 1861. President Buchanan signed it the same day, which was also his last full day in office; it was later ratified by three states: Ohio, Maryland and Illinois. This proposed amendment would have forbidden the adoption of any constitutional amendment that would have abolished or restricted slavery, or permitted the Congress to do so. This proposal was an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Southern states not to secede from the Union.

Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, specifically referenced the Corwin Amendment:

"I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitution . . . has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to service. I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable."

Read more about this topic:  Thirteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution

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    Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)

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    Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)