Amendments Proposed, But Not Ratified

It is according to Article V within the Constitution that provides that there are two methods in which an amendment is proposed and two methods in which an amendment is ratified. An amendment may be proposed by two-thirds vote within the House of Representatives and the Senate or a national convention called by Congress. This national convention is called upon at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. The amendment then has the ability to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, which in lay-men’s terms is 38 states. It is within this process of ratification among the amendments that the power to decide which ratification process be utilized lies with Congress. The time limit placed within the ratification process of an amendment is seven years. This time limit was first utilized within the ratification of the 18th Amendment.

“Beginning with the proposed Eighteenth Amendment, Congress has customarily included a provision requiring ratification within seven years from the time of the submission to the States.The Supreme Court in Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433(1939), declared that the question of the reasonableness of the time within which a sufficient number of States must act is a political question to be determined by the Congress.” (Constitutional Amendments-Not Ratified)
Fewer than one percent of the more than 10,000 amendments proposed since 1789 have received enough support to officially go through the constitutional ratification process. (Jordan,57)

“Of the thirty-three amendments that have been proposed by Congress, six have failed by the required three-quarters of the state legislatures-four of those six are still technically pending before state lawmakers (see Coleman v. Miller). Starting with the 18th Amendment, each proposed amendment has specified a deadline for passage.” (Unratified Amendments,10)

Coleman V. Miller was that in which the “Supreme Court gave “exclusive”, ‘sole and complete control over the amending process’. It is important to note the court referred to the amendment process as opposed to an amendment proposal i.e., a proposal originated in Congress and thus, until voted out of Congress entirely within the “control” of Congress. The term “process” however includes all of Article V and as events would later show, the courts extended this “control” to include the convention process thus effectively rewriting the Constitution so as to create a single amendment process entirely controlled by Congress. It is worth repeating: the Constitution in no way gives the Supreme Court the authority to rewrite the Constitution.” (Coleman V. Miller)

There is no limited list of proposed amendments because there is such a vast majority, but there are roughly ten extremely interesting amendments that were not ratified. These ten can be viewed as exceedingly interesting because they hold an interest within the public’s eye for they are topics in which have been thoroughly debated throughout our country’s time. In chronological order the appearance of these amendments proposed, but not ratified are as follows:
1876: An attempt to abolish the United States Senate
1893: Renaming this nation the “United States of the Earth”
1893: Abolishing the United States Army and Navy
1894: Acknowledging that the Constitution recognize God and Jesus Christ as the supreme authorities in human affairs
1912: Making marriage between races illegal
1914: Finding divorce to be illegal
1916: All acts of war should be put to a national vote. Anyone voting yes had to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army
1933: An attempt to allow personal wealth to $1 million
1936: An attempt to allow the American people to vote on whether or not the United States should go to war
1938: The forbidding of drunkenness in the United States and all of its territories
1948: The right of citizens to segregate themselves from others
(Jordan,58)
In terms of reference, much is not found on the history of these non-ratified amendments, but they have occurred within our Constitution’s history. For many reasons these proposed amendments are obviously not established within our Constitution because they shadow and do not permit the allowance of freedom in a lawful manner that we, Americans, enjoy and live by within our Constitution today.

“The Congressional Apportionment Amendment”
This amendment was proposed by the 1st congress on September 25, 1789. This proposed amendment defined a process in which the number of members there would be in the United States House of representatives after each decennial census. This amendment has no established expiration date for ratification. This amendment fell into debate when the United States reached ten million. (Unratified Amendments)

“Titles of Nobility Amendment”
It was within the 2d session of the Eleventh Congress that Congress proposed the following article of amendment to the Constitution. This article related to the acceptance of citizens of the United States for titles of nobility from any foreign government and is also known as the thirteenth missing amendment. The amendment was proposed by the 11th Congress on May 1, 1810 and it was presented as follows:

“If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honor, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.” (Amendments Not Ratified)

This amendment would have ended the citizenship of any American who was accepting, from any foreign power, “Title of Nobility or Honor”. Two thirds of the Senate and House of representatives of the United States of America in Congress concurred that the previous section should be submitted to the legislatures of the several states. It was then that the several state legislatures of the states would ratify the proposed amendment, making it valid and binding within the Constitution of the United States. (Unratified Amendments)

“The Corwin Amendment”
The Corwin amendment was proposed by the 36th congress on March 2, 1861. This amendment had the intentions to forbid any attempt to “subsequently amend the Constitution to empower the Federal government to ‘abolish or interfere’ with the domestic institutions of the states”. (Unratified Amendments, 10) The Corwin amendment was ratified by the lawmakers within the states, Ohio and Maryland before the Civil War. Sitting as a state constitutional convention at the time, were Illinois lawmakers, who approved this proposal, but this action has been questioned multiple times upon its validity. The Corwin amendment holds no expiration date for ratification and may yet be ratified. If this amendment were ever to be ratified it would not be effective within the Constitution for the establishment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

“Child Labor Amendment”
The 68th Congress on June 2, 1924 proposed a child labor amendment, which stipulated: “The congress shall have power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under eighteen years of age.”This amendment is in debate for the reason that federal child labor laws have uniformly been upheld “as a valid exercise of Congress’ powers under the commerce clause”. The child labor amendment contains no expiration date upon ratification. (Unratified Amendments)

The following two amendments proposed by Congress-because of deadlines-are no longer subject to ratification.

“The Equal Rights Amendment”
The Equal Rights amendment was proposed by the 92nd Congress on March 22, 1972, ratified by the legislatures of thirty-five states, and expired on either the dates of March 22, 1979 or June 30, 1972 (the date ratified is not specific). The proposed amendment states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” (Unratified Amendments,11)

Four of the thirty-five states ratifying this proposal cancelled their ratifications before the extended ratification period which began on March 23, 1979. A fifth of the those states then adopted a resolution specifying that its approval “would not extend beyond March 22, 1979”. Diversity is the main theme throughout the opinions of this proposed amendment as to whether it is or was valid. There has been no court that has ruled on the question of its validity, including the Supreme Court. (Unratified Amendments)

“The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment”
Proposed by the 95th Congress on August 22, 1978, the District of Columbia Voting Rights amendment would have granted Washington, D.C., two Senators and at least one member of the House of Representatives as if the District of Columbia were a state, that is if it had been ratified. This proposal of this amendment was ratified by only 16 state legislatures, therefore it expired on August 22, 1985.

The impact of the amendments proposed, but not ratified within our nation is that in which is vital to our Constitution and our nation as a whole. To review these proposed amendments is to review the mistakes in which the country could have made if the states proceeded with the ratification process. If these multiple amendments had been ratified our country would be different as a whole within law, and reason, for the proposed amendments are not by any sufficient means strong enough to be established or in any way would they have provided our country with a stronger Constitution.

One article in particular referenced the issue of proposed amendments and ratification as follows: “There have been many amendments to which have been proposed by Congress, but not ratified by the states. The article also argues that, in hindsight, the previously proposed amendments were not necessary because state and federal legislatures and courts were able to address problems relating to marriage without amending the Constitution and without destabilizing the delicate balance of power between states and the federal government. Against this background, the article concludes that current proposals to amend the Constitution are similarly neither necessary nor wise.” (Stein)

Coleman V. Miller (307 U.S. 433) 1939. 21 Nov. 2007
http://www.article-5.org/file.php/1/Articles/Coleman.htm

Constitutional Amendments Not Ratified. U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 19 Nov. 2007< http://www.house.gov/house/Amendnotrat.shtml>

Jordan, Terry L. The U.S. Constitution And Fascinating Facts About It. United States of America: Oak Hill Publishing Company, 2002

Stein, Edward "Past and Present Proposed Amendments to the United States Constitution Regarding Marriage" Issues in Legal Scholarship, Single-Sex Marriage (2004): Article 1. http://www.bepress.com/ils/iss5/art1

The Constitution of the United States of America Proposed Amendments not Ratified by the States. United States Government Printing Office. 1 Nov. 1996. United States Senate. 19 Nov. 2007 http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/html/proamt.htm

United States Constitution: Unratified Amendments. 20 Nov. 2007 http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution

Which issues do you think should be at the forefront of the debate leading up to the 2008 Presidential election? Why?

The issues in which I feel should be at the forefront of the 2008 Presidential election are, border security, health care, and future plans or status of the war. These are three ideas in which I feel will hold great importance within the decisions of our country in the future, and are almost certain to be mentioned within the 2008 Presidential election. Each of these five ideas are "hot topics" within society for the American people and they want to be sure that whoever the candidates may be, they will know how to respond to these issues and come up with an efficient plan to solve and maintain these issues.

Border security will be an issue at the forefront debate of the 2008 Presidential election because the flow of illegal immigrants is getting too great for our country to handle. It has been since 9/11 that security whether it be from monitoring borders for terrorists or the Mexico border for Mexican illegal immigrants, has cracked down; border patrol is a vital necessity for the United States.

The battle over illegal immigration promises to rage on until Election Day and beyond, and the candidates have a variety of stances on the issues.

Health care is an issue that I believe will be discussed within the 2008 Presidential election because every American wants to make sure that their medical needs will be taken care of. They want to make sure that whoever will be running this country will ensure the care of the people and get the proper medicare finances and care they need.

I call my plan, the American Health Choices plan. ... If you have private insurance you like, nothing changes ... you can keep that insurance. ... If, however, you don't have health insurance or you don't like the insurance you have, you can choose from the same wide variety of private plans that members of Congress choose from. ... You will have access to a public plan that will provide a stable, competitive alternative to private insurance if that is your choice.

(Hillary Clinton)
Hillary Clinton's answer to the issue of health care was that it is all based upon choice, in short, the people's choice is everything. This is no to say that all Americans will agree with her, and for this reason health care will be an issue within the election.

The future plans or the future status of the war will be an issue discussed for the 2008 Presidential election because the war is a MAJOR topic right now. The country is concerned about where the war is going, when the troops will come home, why there is a war, and what is going to be the outcome of the Iraq war. I believe the American people want to hear what the answers are to these questions and depending on their answers, the people will decide who they will vote for. I believe the issue of the future for the war is the most controversial issue for the 2008 Presidential election because Bush declared the war and now there will be a new president, therefore the people want the new ideas of the new nominees for this upcoming election. I believe the people want to see change and want more answers for what exactly is going to happen for the future of the war.

McCain told Letterman "Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be. ... We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives.

The issues of border security, health care, and future plans or status of the war are vital to our society and running of our country. These are main topics that our country faces and people want answers to these questions and topics. The people want to know what lies ahead and who is going to make the right changes and and decisions for the country. Whether the issues be on the security of who comes into our country, what kind of health care the American receive and the benefits they receive, or the plans and status of the war, the people want to be secure in their leader of the country and they want to know that they will be prepared to address these issues head on with full confidence.

“How important is the office of President of the United States? “ Why?

"Whatever one's station in life, we are all president-watchers. Nobody needs fresh evidence to know that the presidency is the diagnostic point in American political life, and, therefore, that the doing of the individual presidents and First ladies provide the choicest grist for discussion and argument."(Graff,ix) This quote sums up the reason in which why the office of the President is important because it truly is the point of attention for the American people. The Presidential office is the key factor that produces all of America's opinions and the Presidential choices for the nation.

The office of the President is important because it is the foundation of the decisions made for the United States. The positions in which the President holds while in office are: Chief Executive, Chief Administrator, Chief Diplomat, Commander in Chief, Chief Legislator, Chief of Party, and Chief Citizen; all of these positions are done in a simultaneous manner while he enforces the law. Harry S. Truman once said, "Men make History and not the other way around" and I believe this quote hits the "nail right on the head" for as far as why the office of the President is important;it captures the idea that the President, while holding his duties in office, makes History in every one of his decisions, actions, and speeches. Without the Presidential office our country would have no foundation in which it was founded.

While holding residency within the White House, the President is able to utilize these different areas of staff: medical care, recreation, housekeeping, and security services. The President, while in office, is capable of declaring war and holds the responsibility for overlooking the country in establishing the fact that it runs efficiently. Though the president has no vote in Congress he holds the single largest source of legislative proposals that become law. While in office, he is the principal foreign policy maker,and for this title, the president of the United States has become the world’s most important leader in international affairs.

The President's role can be related as that of an office manager because he is tasked with the responsibility of directing government finances among other things.One of the most demanding roles in which the President must perform, is that of the chief administrator. Simply put, the President is in charge of the world's largest government with a work place of over three million employees. The president is responsible for ensuring that operations run smoothly. In this being the most important role of the president it is evident that the office of the president is important to the production of the country and the way in which the process of laws run and are established within the American society.

"The president of the United States at any given moment personifies to the world no less than to the American people the nation's power, purpose, and prestige. Taken together,the acts of the thirty-nine men who have occupied the presidency constitute the story of the national political leadership of the country during the nearly two centuries since the creation of the office. These men each emerged out of bewildering chaos and conflict of their day by some fortuitous or unexpected turn of the wheel of history; for despite youthful dreams of reaching the White House, no youth can lay out and follow a sure road to it."(Graff,xi) The President of the United States occupies one of the most powerful offices in the world and therefore it is important and vital that it be ran in an efficient manner that is beneficial to the country and the people as a whole.


Graff, Henry F. The Presidents A Reference History.New York:Simon&Shuster Macmillan, 1997

McPherson, James M. To the Best of My Ability.London:Dorling Kindersley,2001