Key Takeaways
Every time you become oncable news , there ’s a proficient chance someone is yelling about the want for an amendment to the United States Constitution . You ’re credibly familiar with some of the more recent attempts , including proposals to require a balanced Union budget , delimit marriage as a matrimony between a serviceman and a womanhood , warrant adequate rights for cleaning woman , banish flag desecration and reform the Electoral College . What you might not know is there have really been more than 11,000 proposed constitutional amendments bring in in or commend to Congress since the country ’s institute document was enact in 1789 [ source : Bernstein and Agel ] . Like those listed above , many of them were politically controversial . Others , however , were just plain weird .
If it ’s been a while since your last civics class , here ’s a prompt refresher on the inbuilt amendment process . A two - third bulk in both the House of Representatives and the Senate , or a inherent convention called by two - thirds of the state legislatures , is command to formally propose an amendment . Then the amendment must be sign by three - twenty-five percent ( 38 ) of the 50 states [ source : National Archives ] . The found fathers designed the process to be difficult but not impossible , which is why , of the thousands of proposed amendments , only 27 became enshrined in the Constitution . study our list of some of the weird thing politicians and activists propose over the year , that ’s likely a good thing .
10: Titles of Nobility Amendment, 1810
In 1810 Maryland Sen. Philip Reed introduced the Titles of Nobility Amendment , which would have revoked citizenship from any American who accept a deed of conveyance of nobility from a extraneous country . You might be enquire , " What ’s the cock-a-hoop deal ? " — and you would n’t be alone .
For many year even historiographer could n’t figure out the motivations behind the amendment . We now recognize , however , that the proposal probably stem from the fact thatNapoleon Bonaparte ’s brother married an American : Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore , Maryland . Some members of Congress feared that Patterson and her son would claim aristocratic position from France , a country that had a bumpy relationship with the United States at the clock time .
Things looked good for the amendment on May 1 , 1810 , when the Senate approve it by a balloting of 19 to 5 and the House give it the nod by an 87 to 3 allowance . But it was never ratify by three - fourths of the states , so it stay on in limbo , unlikely to ever be approved [ source : Vile ] . That ’s good news for Americans like Steven Spielberg , George H.W. Bush and Kevin Spacey , who are all honorary Britishknights .
9: Amendment to Outlaw Dueling, 1828
To our New sensibilities , duelingseems ridiculous . Why would two otherwise sane adult sort out a disagreement by operate in combat with swords or guns ? There was a time , however , when dueling was such a problem that Congress considered meliorate the Constitution in parliamentary law to ban it .
Dueling has a amazingly extensive history in 18th and 19th century America . Even the most casual fans of history ( or musicals ) are probably aware of the 1804 duel in whichAaron Burrfamously shotAlexander Hamiltonover insults hurled during Burr ’s slipstream for New York regulator . But there were others .
President Andrew Jackson had participate in numerous duel before his election in 1828 , which , coincidentally , was the same twelvemonth an amendment was proposed to ban the practice . It failed , and political leader extend to duel with surprisingly few consequences . In 1838 Whig congresswoman William Graves killed Democratic foeman Jonathan Cilley in a affaire d’honneur , and though Congress officially scolded Graves , they deny to expel him .
Eventually , land law and common horse sense prevail , so now shooting someone over a disagreement is generally frowned upon [ reservoir : Vile ] .
8: Eliminating the Presidency, 1860
In 1860 , Virginia ’s Democratic Rep. Albert Jenkins introduced an amendment to carry off thepresidencyand instead elect two hoi polloi to share executive mogul . While that may seem unearthly to us now , the idea of a singular presidency was actually quite controversial even before the Constitution was put to paper . As you might imagine , Americancolonistswho’d just thrown off one king were n’t too excited about devote another a place in their new government . But thanks to shielder like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison , the melodic theme of a lone executive ended up in the Constitution and has stay the police force of the land ever since .
So why did Jenkins bring it up again some 80 years afterward ? Slavery . See , with the election of Abraham Lincoln , southerners started to worry that a northern Chief Executive might not have their best interests at heart , particularly when it came to thralldom . A dual executive , however , would almost certainly give someone from the South a voice in the nation ’s highest office .
The melodic theme bug out up again in 1878 , this time from a northerner . Ohio Rep. Milton Southard feel that the president was becoming too much like a mogul and , in reaction , he proposed a three - part executive council consisting of representatives from the eastern and middle , western , and southerly regions . His plan , of course , went nowhere , but that has n’t stopped hoi polloi from cry the president a Martin Luther King Jr. even to this day [ source : Vile ] .
7: Making Slavery Legal … Forever, 1861
The 13th Amendment to theUnited States Constitutionabolished bondage and unvoluntary servitude . But the amendment that ended forced labor very nearly became the amendment that made it legal everlastingly . How can this be ?
By the remainder of 1860 , the United States was barely curb together . issue of slaveholding and states ' right hand lead southern legislatures to discourse withdrawal , a threat South Carolina made good on in December of that year . That ’s when New York Sen. William Seward and his fellow in the House , Thomas Corwin of Ohio , insert what became have a go at it as the Corwin Amendment . Not only did it propose to give commonwealth the rightfulness to regulate " domesticated introduction " like bondage , but it anticipate to keep Congress from ever get rid of it . And if that was n’t enough , the Corwin Amendment also interdict the possibility that another constituent amendment could ever undo it .
The musical theme of the amendment was to give southern province , and border United States Department of State in the North , a reason to stay in the Union . It was a design that even enjoyed support from the Great Emancipator himself , Abraham Lincoln . That ’s right — the chairman known for freeing the slave almost ensured their thrall for generations . And frighteningly , it almost worked : The Corwin Amendment passed both the House and Senate and was sign by three states before the process was interrupt by the Civil War [ source : Albert ] .
6: Give “Spinsters and Widows” the Right to Vote, 1888
Our current political climate is flush with talk of women ’s right and what some call a " warfare on women . " But few legislative acts have ever been as descend to women as the amendment state by Illinois Rep. William E. Mason to giveproperty - owning"widows and spinsters " the right to vote [ source : U.S. House of Representatives ] .
To be reasonable , Mason may have thought he was helping . After all , it had been four decades since Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Lucretia Mott , and other suffragists garner at Seneca Falls , New York , to discuss charwoman ’s rights — include their desire for the rightfulness to vote — and little forward motion had been made on the issue . It would be an extra three decades before the 19th Amendment gave all woman the right field to vote , so at least this proposal would allow some adult female to vote , right ? [ author : History.com staff ]
Well , that ’s true , but the material problem with this amendment was the underlie logical system . In the all - male minds of Congress , only " widows and spinsters " take the right to vote because married women had their husbands to represent their interest ( insert eye roll here ) . That reasoning did n’t sit well with Stanton who half - jokingly testified before Congress that these single char were " up-and-coming , common - sense women … who love their land ( having no husband to love ) better than themselves . " The amendment never make much traction , perchance because the congressmen were afraid of what their wife would say [ source : U.S. National Archives ] .
5: Rename the United States of America to the United States of Earth, 1893
file away this amendment under " jumping the triggerman , " " place the cart before the horse " or " counting your volaille before they hatch . " In 1893 , Wisconsin Rep. Lucas Miller figure eventually every nation in the world would be admitted as part of the United States , so we might as well go forward and rename the country the " United States of Earth . " But how , you may ask , would legislative voice spread out across such a huge dominion conduct the business of political science ? Do n’t worry , he had the answer . They ’d " vote byelectricity , " of course ( whatever that means ) [ reference : exceptional to The New York Times ] .
astonishingly , that was only the beginning of the amendment ’s eldritch proposals . Among its other questionable ideas was to get rid of the Army and Navy and instead rely on state militia for defense . It also address for all laws to have the uninterrupted support of a absolute majority of the multitude they regard , which , while stately in theory , would be difficult in practice . In Miller ’s defense , the amendment was render " by request " ( on behalf of someone else ) , so he may not really be to charge for some of unknown proposals [ author : Musmanno ] .
4: Abolish the United States Senate, 1911
Sometimes , so as to get what you require , you have to act a little crazy . That ’s exactly the strategy hire by Wisconsin Rep. Victor Berger in April 1911 , when he introduced a result to abolish the Senate . Not only was it a radical proposal , but it seemed highly unconvincing to come after considering two - thirds of the very soundbox it seek to eliminate would have to vote for theamendmentin rules of order to institutionalize it to the states for ratification .
When Berger subject his zany estimation , Congress was in the midst of turn over another amendment that was pretty revolutionary in its own right wing . It was a proposal to change the way senator were elect . At that metre , state legislative body made this choice , but the young amendment would allow the American masses to settle through direct elections . This change , booster hoped , would remove the forces of corruption , money and influence from the Senate .
The Senate , however , was in no rush to formally endorse the mind of direct election , which they had oversee to disregard since it was first offer in 1826 . Berger figured a competing amendment to get rid of the sleeping accommodation altogether might be just the encouragement his colleagues needed to take action . Perhaps in part because of Berger ’s efforts , the Senate finally approved the lineal popular vote proposal in May 1912 , and it eventually became the 17th Amendment [ source : United States Senate , Vile ] .
3: Limit Wealth to $1 Million, 1933
It ’s hard to imagine it today , but in the former 20th century , proposals to cap personal wealth and income were fairly common — in particular among congressmen who consider themselvessocialists . With the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913 , however , these lawmakers had better tool for addressing income inequality . That amendment gave the Union government the right to levy anincome tax , so legislators could simply raise taxes on the loaded in an effort to even out incomes .
sake in wealth and income caps take back during the Great Depression , when unemployment skyrocketed and the gap between the rich and the wretched became alarmingly all-inclusive . That ’s when Washington Rep. Wesley Lloyd introduced an amendment to crest yearly incomes at $ 1 million . His colleague , Rep. John Snyder of Pennsylvania , conform to Lloyd ’s marriage offer with an amendment of his own that would limit investment income .
Those amendment never got enough support to move them out of Congress , but who know — given the widening col between the productive and hapless today , we could very well see similar proposals again [ rootage : Vile ] .
2: Outlaw Drunkenness, 1938
On Dec. 5 , 1933 , Americans stir a collective glass to the end ofProhibition , a menses in which the product , deportation and sale of alcohol were banned . It all started in 1919 with the passing of the 18th Amendment , a law write by Texas Sen. Morris Sheppard on behalf of those who opposed alcoholic beverage for reasons of wellness and ethics . While the amendment bring home the bacon in reducing alcohol use of goods and services , the disastrous marketplace it created led to a dramatic increase in organized criminal offense and furiousness . After 14 juiceless years , thirsty state legislatures countermand forbiddance with the 21st Amendment in 1933 . It was ratified in just 10 months , a record for the time .
Not everyone was feel the warm glow , though . Between 1935 and 1938 , Prohibition author Morris Sheppard , a Democratic senator from Texas , insert at least five resolution to rescind the 21st Amendment . Sheppard was n’t having any fortune , so his colleague , Oklahoma Rep. Gomer Smith , tried a dissimilar maneuver : outlawingdrunkenness[source : Vile ] .
The ridiculousness of this marriage offer , particularly give the late failure of prohibition era , led an unidentified author to add some extra sections to a potation located in the House Judiciary Committee ’s papers at the National Archives . With tongue unwaveringly planted in cheek , the anonymous jokester suggested Congress could be invest to transfer human nature or perhaps abolish Saturday night as well [ source : House Judiciary Committee ] .
1: Make Senators and Representatives Wait a Term Until They Get a Raise, 1992
Our inbuilt scholars out there are probably screaming at theircomputerscreens , " That ’s not a betray constituent amendment ! " And they would be right . The proposal to make Congress wait a term after they vote on apay raisebefore it takes effect was ratified by the requisite phone number of states in 1992 and shrine in the Constitution as the 27th Amendment . But it was a failed amendment for a very , very farseeing time , and the story about how it finally was sign makes it one of the uncanny proposals to move through the constitutional gauntlet .
The first fourth dimension this idea was purport was actually right smart back in 1789 , when James Madison included it in a package of 12 amendments intended to form the original Bill of Rights . It was only ratified by seven state , though , inadequate of the necessary three - one-fourth majority . sporadically over the next two centuries , Congress would give themselves a pay climb , prompting a representative to reintroduce the amendment and another state to sign it : Ohio in 1873 and Wyoming in 1978 . Still far short of the necessary states , the amendment got a boost from an unexpected advocate : An undergraduate student at the University of Texas .
The student , Gregory Wilson , write a paper about the amendment in 1982 , arguing that it could still be ratify . His professor called it " unrealistic " and pay him a C on his newspaper publisher , so Wilson set out to prove him wrong . He spent $ 5,000 of his own money to convince Department of State legislature to ratify the amendment , and , incredibly , he win . The 203 - twelvemonth confirmation timeline is by far the foresightful of any amendment [ source : Vile ] .
Frequently Asked Questions
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When citizenry give around an idea for a constitutional amendment for this or a constitutional amendment for that , they do n’t always realize what a high streak they have to clear up . It ’s really toilsome to get one passed — which is probably why only 27 have ever been tacked on to our constitute papers . But , after researching some of the 11,000 - plus amendments that have been proposed , think me when I state you that ’s probably a good thing .
