Thesis: Connecticut’s move from an initial, pro-ratification posture on TONA to a formal “disagreement” in 1813–1814 wasn’t a clerical fluke. It was a political calculation forged in the heat of the War of 1812—specifically the British blockade that tightened in April 1814, the mobilization of New England Federalists culminating in the Connecticut/Hartford convention movement, and … Read more
In the late summer of 1814—weeks before British troops burned Washington—the State Department and the Governor of Connecticut exchanged a set of documents about the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA). Read side-by-side with the State Department’s own papers from 1814–1816, they tell a crisp story: A Monroe letter dated July 29, 1814—now missing from the … Read more
A close read of the committee paper, the overwritten resolution, and the “Theodore Dwight” signature TL;DR — The pages you supplied show (1) a committee draft whose struck-through text plainly recommends ratification of the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA); (2) a House/Senate resolution sheet whose body text originally read “do ratify … is ratified,” later … Read more
You uploaded two pages from Henry Potter’s A Justice of the Peace; A Guide to Sheriffs, Coroners, Clerks, Constables, and other Civil Officers (Raleigh: Joseph Gales, 1816). Potter—a sitting U.S. District Judge for North Carolina (as the title page itself declares)—included, in the book’s appendix, the Constitution of the United States, with the amendments thereto. … Read more
On January 12, 1814—amid the War of 1812 and four years into the life of the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA)—Secretary of State James Monroe sent a circular to foreign ministers that still puzzles researchers today. In a few poised lines, Monroe told the diplomatic corps that Congress had proposed an amendment designed to prevent … Read more
The three exhibits at a glance “Circular to the Foreign Ministers,” Department of State, Jan. 12, 1813 (signed by James Monroe). Says Congress proposed an amendment “to prevent citizens of the United States from accepting offices under foreign powers.” Adds that the amendment “having been adopted by a large majority of the states, the President … Read more
Quick refresher: what TONA says In 1810 Congress proposed a constitutional amendment that went far beyond the existing “foreign emoluments” ban. TONA’s core rule: If any U.S. citizen accepts or retains any title of nobility or honor, or—without the consent of Congress—any present, pension, office or emolument “from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power,” … Read more
Background and Submission to the States (May–Dec 1810) May 1, 1810 — Congress approved the amendment (Senate 19–5 on April 27; House 87–3 on May 1) and sent it to the states. With 17 states in the Union, 13 ratifications were required. Wikipedia Transmission — The proposal was distributed to governors for state legislative action … Read more
Introduction In the early years of the United States, the Founders were deeply concerned about foreign influence corrupting their new republic. They had just fought a revolution to escape the control of European monarchs, and they wanted to make sure that no American citizen—especially those in government—would ever owe allegiance to a king, prince, or … Read more