Virginia and TONA

Introduction In 1994, Acting General Counsel Christopher M. Runkel of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) issued a five-page opinion addressing whether the Acting Archivist could certify that the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA) became part of the U.S. Constitution in 1819. The opinion concluded that NARA lacked both the evidence and the authority … Read more

By Stanley Ivan Evans I. Introduction The 1819 Revised Code of the Laws of Virginia, printed by Thomas Ritchie under authority of an act of the General Assembly passed March 12, 1819, stands as a decisive legal act in the constitutional history of the United States. Within this publication appears the Constitution of the United … Read more

By Stanley I. Evans* Abstract In 1810, Congress proposed the Titles of Nobility and Honor Amendment (TONA), a measure intended to reinforce the republican principle that no American citizen should accept honors or offices from foreign powers without forfeiting citizenship. By 1812, twelve of the seventeen states had ratified the amendment. For over two centuries, … Read more