The missing thirteenth amendment
The missing thirteenth amendment was an amendment to the United States Constitution, proposed in 1810 by Republican Senator Philip Reed:
- If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, 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.
Most constitutional scholars consider the Titles of Nobility Amendment ("TONA") to have not been ratified by enough states to become a part of the Constitution, plus most people would consider it to have no real world effect even if it were part of the Constitution. Most "foreign titles" such as British knighthoods and peerages are already denied from Americans (as most nations that grant titles only do so for their own citizens). However, there exists groups of people who claim that it was properly ratified, and that it would have an effect. The claimed effects are:
- When someone in the United States becomes a lawyer, they receive the title of "Esquire", which is a British title of gentry. Hence, all lawyers in the United States are British gentry, and can't hold public office.
- That "honour" in the phrase "title of nobility or honour" shouldn't be interpreted as "title of honour", but rather as "obtaining or having an advantage or privilege over another", which include, among other things, immunities to lawsuits that various government officials hold. Thus, judges could be sued for the legal decisions that they make, and legislators could be sued for the laws they passed.
See also
External Links
- Pro-TONA page arguing that lawyers hold a title of nobility
- Pro-TONA page, arguing that the TONA would allow judges and other public officials to be sued
- Anti-TONA page, arguing that TONA was never made a part of the constitution, and that lawyers don't hold any titles of nobility
Referenced By
14th Amendment | 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution | Equal Protection Amendment | Esquire | Fourteenth Amendment | Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution | Thirteenth Amendment | Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution | Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution | United States Constitution/Amendment Fourteen | United States Constitution/Amendment Thirteen | United States Constitution/Amendment Twelve
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