Connecticut and TONA

From: Stanley I. EvansOakland, CA 94601Stan@StanleyEvans.com Date: November 1, 2025 To:The Honorable Stephanie ThomasSecretary of the State of Connecticut165 Capitol Avenue, Suite 1000Hartford, CT 06115 The Honorable Allen RamseyState Archivist231 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 The Honorable Deborah SchanderState Librarian231 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 Subject: Freedom of Information Request — Executive, Council, and Financial Records Concerning … Read more

From: Stanley I. EvansOakland, CA 94601Stan@StanleyEvans.com Date: November 1, 2025 To:The Honorable Stephanie ThomasSecretary of the State of Connecticut165 Capitol Avenue, Suite 1000Hartford, CT 06115 The Honorable Allen RamseyState Archivist231 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 The Honorable Deborah SchanderState Librarian231 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 Subject: Freedom of Information Request — Executive, Council, and Financial Records Concerning … Read more

  Stanley I. Evans Oakland, CA 94601 Stan@StanleyEvans.com Date: November 1, 2025 The Honorable Stephanie Thomas Office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut 165 Capitol Ave, Suite 1000, Hartford, CT 06115 The Honorable Allen Ramsey State Archives231 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 The Honorable Deborah Schander State Librarian 231 Capitol AvenueHartford, Connecticut 06106 DATE: October … Read more

By Stanley Ivan Evans (©2025, All Rights Reserved) Introduction In the closing months of 1814, as the War of 1812 raged and the British Navy blockaded New England ports, a group of Federalist delegates gathered in Hartford, Connecticut, to consider what many regarded as the ultimate act of political desperation — whether the New England … Read more

Overview Read together, three contemporaneous records establish the complete Article V chain for Connecticut’s action on the Titles of Nobility and Honor Amendment in 1813–1814: the House Journal entry from the May 1813 session (lower-house action), Governor John Cotton Smith’s transmittal letter of June 2, 1813 (“By direction of the Legislature…”, executive certification that both … Read more

Introduction In 1813, the Connecticut General Assembly accepted and approved a committee report concerning the Titles of Nobility Amendment to the United States Constitution. The handwritten journal entry for May 28, 1813, clearly shows ratification, while later copies of the committee report and subsequent correspondence were altered to state that the amendment was “not expedient.” … Read more

How Connecticut’s own handwritten journal proves that it ratified the Titles of Nobility Amendment—and how later alterations attempted to erase that act. I. The Journal’s Authority Among the surviving constitutional records in the Connecticut State Archives, few are as decisive as the House Journal for the May 1813 session.This document, preserved in the Records of … Read more

By Stanley Ivan Evans 1. The Amendment That Changed Everything In 1810, Congress proposed what became known as the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA) — a measure designed to preserve American independence from foreign entanglements by forbidding any citizen from accepting “any title of nobility or honor, present, pension, office, or emolument” from a foreign … Read more

Introduction Among the most revealing artifacts in the long and tangled history of the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA) is the Senate Journal entry dated June 8, 1813 — a record that, on its surface, appears to document Connecticut’s rejection of the amendment. But when that entry is analyzed linguistically, contextually, and physically, it becomes … Read more

The Fragile Integrity of Early State Records In 1814, the concept of “archival integrity” barely existed in the United States. States kept their legislative acts and resolutions as handwritten documents — copied, recopied, and certified by clerks working under the direction of the Governor and Secretary of State. There were no printed session journals for … Read more