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 power.
By early 1814, Secretary of State James Monroe had announced that the amendment had been adopted by a large majority of the states. His circular of January 12, 1814, declared the measure effective and directed that no exequaturs (foreign consular authorizations) be issued to U.S. citizens acting on behalf of foreign governments.
This was not symbolic rhetoric — it was policy. Monroe’s own Department of State enforced the rule, and by 1816, the record showed 13 ratifying states, making TONA part of the Constitution under Article V.
2. The Circular That Set the Standard (January 12, 1814)
In his 1814 circular to all foreign ministers, Monroe wrote:
“Congress having recommended to the several States an amendment to the Constitution… and this amendment having been adopted by a large majority of the States, the President is of opinion that it would be improper to grant Exequaturs to citizens of the United States authorizing them to act as Consuls or Vice Consuls in the states of the United States.”
This was the federal government’s first official enforcement action under TONA.
Between 1814 and 1816, Monroe consistently reaffirmed this stance in letters to foreign diplomats, revoking consular permissions and refusing new ones for U.S. citizens acting under foreign commissions.
3. The Turning Point — 1816 to 1817
But something changed after 1816.
By October 30, 1816, Monroe (still as Secretary of State) had written to Ralph B. Foster that “the requisite number of states” had adopted the amendment, confirming its validity.
Yet within just six months, by May 5, 1817, the Department of State — now under Monroe’s presidency — replied to William H. Winder that only twelve ratifications could be verified.
The missing thirteenth? Connecticut.
This bureaucratic alteration effectively erased the amendment’s constitutional standing.
And that same year, Monroe’s actions as President began to reflect this new “understanding.”
4. The Exequatur of November 6, 1817: The Smoking Gun
On November 6, 1817, President Monroe issued an exequatur to John F. Mansony, Consul of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, authorizing him to act for the foreign government across New England, including Connecticut.
This act is preserved in the U.S. Department of State’s historical records:
“John F. Mansony, Grand Duchy of Tuscany — Exequatur granted November 6, 1817, for the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut (residing at Boston).”
— U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, “Grand Duchy of Tuscany – United States Relations.”
This single exequatur contradicted everything Monroe had ordered three years earlier.
It effectively reversed federal enforcement of TONA, allowing U.S. citizens to represent foreign powers once again.
5. Why the Reversal Happened
A. Political Realignment
When Monroe became President in March 1817, the War of 1812 was over and the nation was desperate for reconciliation. The “Era of Good Feelings” demanded peace with both New England Federalists and European monarchies.
Reasserting TONA would have reignited bitter divisions — especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts, which had strong foreign trade ties.
B. Diplomatic Necessity
The amendment’s anti-foreign-office language had become an obstacle to diplomacy.
It prevented American citizens from acting as intermediaries or consuls for European powers — precisely the kind of soft diplomacy that Monroe’s administration wanted to restore.
C. Bureaucratic Reinterpretation
The arrival of John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State in September 1817 sealed the reversal.
Adams, a former minister to Britain and Russia, saw TONA as incompatible with international norms.
Under his oversight, the Department’s records were quietly “corrected,” and the May 1817 Winder letter became the official position: the amendment had not been adopted.
6. The Exequatur as Proof of Policy Shift
The November 6, 1817 exequatur wasn’t an isolated act — it was policy in action.
| Year | Action | Policy on TONA | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1814 | Monroe Circular bans exequaturs to U.S. citizens | TONA adopted and enforced | Constitutional enforcement |
| 1816 | Foster letter affirms requisite ratifications | TONA recognized as valid law | Legislative confirmation |
| May 1817 | Winder letter reduces ratifications to 12 | TONA declared unratified | Bureaucratic reversal |
| Nov. 1817 | Exequatur to John F. Mansony (Tuscany) | TONA ignored in practice | Political repudiation |
This chain of events demonstrates an unmistakable executive about-face — from constitutional enforcement to quiet abandonment — executed within a single year.
7. What the Reversal Achieved
By reauthorizing exequaturs, Monroe’s administration achieved several goals:
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Normalizing foreign relations after years of embargo and war.
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Restoring Federalist goodwill in New England.
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Avoiding constitutional confrontation over an amendment the government no longer wished to enforce.
But it also buried a constitutional truth: that by 1814, the Titles of Nobility Amendment had been ratified and recognized at the highest level of government — only to be politically nullified without repeal.
8. Conclusion
The November 6, 1817 exequatur stands as one of the clearest markers of the federal government’s reversal on the Titles of Nobility Amendment.
In 1814, Monroe enforced TONA as binding constitutional law.
In 1817, as President, he acted in defiance of it.
The shift reflected not a change in law, but a change in politics — a deliberate decision to suppress a wartime amendment that no longer served the interests of a nation seeking reconciliation and commerce.
It was, in every sense, the moment TONA disappeared from American memory — not because it was never law, but because it was no longer convenient to remember it.
