Post by Tommy Thompson on Nov 26, 2009 21:51:10 GMT -5
Has anybody ever heard of this missing 13th amendment to the Constitution? It was written and going through the process of ratificaton when the war of 1812 took place between Britain and the US. This amendment made it illegal for Lawyers to become polititians. (people of nobility...esquire...etc) The info I've been reading is from 1991 so it was well before Obama entered the picture so this is not nessasarily against him. I can post the entire article but it's quite long but it explains just why our forefathers didn't want attorneys messing with politics. Some say it was ratified by 12 states but they needed 13 to pass it. In the chaos of the war of 1812 the paperwork got shuffled and now they're not sure if it was ratified or not. Evidently some states considered that it WAS ratified and became law. Here's a little from the article:
"This Amendment would have restricted at least some lawyers from serving in government, and would prohibit legislators from passing any special interest legislation, tax breaks, or special immunities for anyone, not even themselves. It might have guaranteed a level of political equality in this nation that most people can't even imagine. Since 1983, researchers have uncovered evidence that:
1. The 13th Amendment prohibiting "titles of nobility" and "honors" appeared in at least 30 editions of the Constitution of the United States which were printed by at least 14 states or territories between 1819 and 1867; and
2. This amendment quietly disappeared from the Constitution near the end of the Civil War.
Either this Amendment was:
1. Unratified and mistakenly published for almost 50 years; or
2. Ratified in 1819, and then illegally removed from the Constitution by 1867.
If this 13th Amendment was unratified and mistakenly published, the story has remained unnoticed in American history for over a century. If so, it's at least a good story -- an extraordinary historical anecdote.
On the other hand, if Dodge is right and the Amendment was truly ratified, an Amendment has been subverted from our Constitution. If so, this "missing" Amendment would still be the Law, and this story could be one of the most important stories in American History. Whatever the answer, it's certain that something extraordinary happened to our Constitution between 1819 and 1867.
"This Amendment would have restricted at least some lawyers from serving in government, and would prohibit legislators from passing any special interest legislation, tax breaks, or special immunities for anyone, not even themselves. It might have guaranteed a level of political equality in this nation that most people can't even imagine. Since 1983, researchers have uncovered evidence that:
1. The 13th Amendment prohibiting "titles of nobility" and "honors" appeared in at least 30 editions of the Constitution of the United States which were printed by at least 14 states or territories between 1819 and 1867; and
2. This amendment quietly disappeared from the Constitution near the end of the Civil War.
Either this Amendment was:
1. Unratified and mistakenly published for almost 50 years; or
2. Ratified in 1819, and then illegally removed from the Constitution by 1867.
If this 13th Amendment was unratified and mistakenly published, the story has remained unnoticed in American history for over a century. If so, it's at least a good story -- an extraordinary historical anecdote.
On the other hand, if Dodge is right and the Amendment was truly ratified, an Amendment has been subverted from our Constitution. If so, this "missing" Amendment would still be the Law, and this story could be one of the most important stories in American History. Whatever the answer, it's certain that something extraordinary happened to our Constitution between 1819 and 1867.
