Corwin Amendment Pros And Cons

Throughout the existence of the United States Constitution the have been many additions of new amendments to it. While most of them have succeeded the process and entered the Constitution, there are a few that failed to do so. Thomas Corwin, an Ohio Representative, proposed the Slavery Amendment, otherwise known as the Corwin Amendment. This amendment failed however, as only two states had ratified it.º
The Corwin Amendment was proposed in 1960 when the Southern United States started to secede from the nation. After the election of that year, Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the next president. Southerners did not like that and wanted to be able to contain the secessionist style that they had. (The ‘Ghost Amendment’ That Haunts Linclon’s
Legacy) The current president of that time, James Buchanan, wanted the Constitution to acknowledge the right of owning slaves. He had wanted Congress to create an amendment that allows states to control the ability to have slaves. (A Proposed Thirteenth Amendment To Prevent Secession) Thomas Corwin then created a draft of that amendment.
This amendment would continue to give the Southerners the independent control that they wanted. The “domestics institutions” that occur in the borders of each state would be under control of that state. Doing this would allow those States to still allow slavery. This amendment would also remove Congress’ power to abolish or interfere in any way with slavery. Lastly, the Corwin Amendment would become impossible to amend. Once that amendment passed, there would be no way to undo it. (The ‘Ghost Amendment’ That Haunts Linclon’s Legacy) The Amendment was presented mere days before Lincoln’s inauguration.
While most members of the House of Representatives had voted in favor of the amendment, the amendment failed due to a parliamentary technicality. As president, Abraham Lincoln sent the amendment to the states to see what they wanted. However only Ohio and Maryland were the only two states to ratify it. (A Proposed Thirteenth Amendment To Prevent Secession, 1861) With how times have changed and slavery in the United States is only a thing of the past, it would be virtually impossible for this kind of amendment to pass. During the time when that amendment was being proposed, the Southern States still wanted to have more local governments instead of one big government. Slavery was also something that was very big during the time and was what allowed many people to become rich. Eventually however, these things went away and became more liberal. For an amendment of this nature to be proposed, society would need to take a step back and once again follow those
beliefs. The United States Constitution has had many amendments added to it over the course of time.
The last time an amendment was ratified was in May of 1992 with the 27th Amendment. (Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27) During this time however, there have been some amendments that never managed to succeed. The Corwin Amendment, which is another name for the original 13th Amendment, was a last ditch effort from what would become the Confederate States to keep allow each state to keep individual control over businesses that occur within the boarders. Doing so would basically allow them to keep slavery as an active thing. However, that amendment failed due to a technicality and only two states ratifying it. Due to the nature of it and how times have changed to a more free society, it would be highly impossible for this amendment to be passed
today.

Bibliography:

"A Proposed Thirteenth Amendment to Prevent Secession, 1861." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/failure-compromise/resources/proposed-thirteenth-amendment-prevent-secession-1861>.

"United States House of Representatives." Constitutional Amendments Not Ratified. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://web.archive.org/web/20120702135703/http://www.house.gov/house/Amendnotrat.shtml>.

"Abraham Lincoln and the Corwin Amendment." Abraham Lincoln and the Corwin Amendment. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.lib.niu.edu/2006/ih060934.html>.

"The Failed Amendments." The Failed Amendments - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.usconstitution.net/constamfail.html>.

"The ‘Ghost Amendment’ That Haunts Lincoln’s Legacy." Cognoscenti. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2013/02/18/the-other-13th-richard-albert>.

"The Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html>.