Corwin Amendment

Corwin Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was passed by the 37th United States Congress on March 2, 1861, but was never ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures. Named after its sponsor, Republican Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio, the amendment sought to shield "domestic institutions" of the states (which in 1861 included slavery) from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress.

Text

The text of the Corwin Amendment reads as follows:

"No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State."

Background

The Corwin Amendment was proposed as a last-ditch effort to avert the outbreak of the American Civil War. By 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The amendment was intended to appease the seceded states and prevent further secession by guaranteeing the perpetuity of slavery in the states where it already existed.

Ratification

The Corwin Amendment was ratified by Ohio and Maryland. Illinois lawmakers—sitting as a state constitutional convention at the time—also approved it, but that action is generally regarded by scholars as ineffectual. Thus, the amendment fell far short of being ratified by the requisite number of states and is technically still pending before the states for ratification.

Legacy

The Corwin Amendment is notable as the only unratified proposed amendment to the Constitution that does not include a ratification deadline within its proposing clause. It remains before the states, theoretically, for ratification. However, its practical political relevance ended with the abolition of slavery after the Civil War through the Thirteenth Amendment.

See also

• List of amendments to the United States Constitution
• Slavery in the United States
• Origins of the American Civil War