Failed Amendments
Failed Amendments Essay
The amendment that was proposed but never ratified was the second proposal which happened in 1810. The Titles of Nobility Amendment proposed that any citizen who accepted a title of nobility from a government that is overseen by a monarch would automatically renounce their sovereignty and be prohibited from ever maintain a Government office. A period where the United States was still hostile toward Great Britain (leading to the War of 1812) and also Emperor Napoleon's regime in France, hence, there was a vicious exertion of anti-nobility in the country.
Even with this, only twelve states ratified the document before 1812, and none have since. While the proposal still remains active, it would require another twenty-six states to ratify it. Since the political significance of royalty, the world ever essentially has declined. Many Americans hold titles from foreign governments while still being proud and productive Americans, this likely will never be ratified, nor does it need to be. Speculation of the Congress proposing the amendment in response to the marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother, Jerome, and Betsy Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland, who gave birth to a boy for whom she wanted aristocratic recognition from France. The child, was not born in the United States, but in Great Britain—nevertheless, he would have held U.S. citizenship through his mother. There is a theory that his mother desired a title of nobility for herself and, indeed is referred to as the “Duchess of Baltimore”.
"What You Need to Know About Proposed and Unratified Amendments." Proposed and Unratified Amendments. Laws.com Constitution, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.
(Print, Secondary)
The amendment that was proposed but never ratified was the second proposal which happened in 1810. The Titles of Nobility Amendment proposed that any citizen who accepted a title of nobility from a government that is overseen by a monarch would automatically renounce their sovereignty and be prohibited from ever maintain a Government office. A period where the United States was still hostile toward Great Britain (leading to the War of 1812) and also Emperor Napoleon's regime in France, hence, there was a vicious exertion of anti-nobility in the country.
Even with this, only twelve states ratified the document before 1812, and none have since. While the proposal still remains active, it would require another twenty-six states to ratify it. Since the political significance of royalty, the world ever essentially has declined. Many Americans hold titles from foreign governments while still being proud and productive Americans, this likely will never be ratified, nor does it need to be. Speculation of the Congress proposing the amendment in response to the marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother, Jerome, and Betsy Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland, who gave birth to a boy for whom she wanted aristocratic recognition from France. The child, was not born in the United States, but in Great Britain—nevertheless, he would have held U.S. citizenship through his mother. There is a theory that his mother desired a title of nobility for herself and, indeed is referred to as the “Duchess of Baltimore”.
"What You Need to Know About Proposed and Unratified Amendments." Proposed and Unratified Amendments. Laws.com Constitution, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.
(Print, Secondary)