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 States, accompanied by “the amendments thereto,” including the Titles of Nobility Amendment (Article 13). This republication was made pursuant to statute, not as a private printing or editorial compilation. By legislative direction, the Code explicitly incorporated the U.S. Constitution and its amendments as part of Virginia’s statutory corpus.
This action constitutes Virginia’s official publication, recognition, and adoption of the Titles of Nobility Amendment, pursuant to both state legislative authority and established constitutional precedent.
II. Statutory Authority for Republication
The act of March 12, 1819, entitled “An act providing for the re-publication of the Laws of this Commonwealth,” ordered the preparation and printing of a new official code to include:
“The constitution of the United States, and the amendments thereto;
A declaration of rights made by the representatives of the good people of this commonwealth;
The constitution of Virginia;
and all public and permanent acts now in force.”
(Revised Code of Virginia, Vol. I, 1819, p. 1.)
This directive was more than clerical—it was legislative in nature, authorizing a formal republication of constitutional law as then recognized by the Commonwealth. The 1819 Code thus carried legislative imprimatur, equivalent in force to reenactment.
III. Evidence of TONA’s Inclusion
Within the 1819 Code, the index lists:
“Titles of nobility, effect of accepting — Present, pension, office, &c. — I. 30”
(Index to the Revised Code of Virginia, Vol. II, 1819, p. 632.)
On page 30 of Volume I, the Federal Constitution reproduces the Article 13 amendment, reading:
“If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honor, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.”
This is not an editorial insertion. It appears within the official section titled “Amendments to the Constitution,” immediately following Article 12, showing its treatment as part of the federal constitutional text.
IV. Legal Effect of Republication as Legislative Adoption
Virginia’s General Assembly acted under its sovereign authority to codify and publish the laws in force. When a legislature repromulgates or republishes constitutional text “by authority,” the courts have long held that such publication imports recognition of its validity. In Commonwealth v. Williams, 2 Va. Cas. 91 (1820), the Virginia Court of Appeals held:
“Publication by authority of the legislature imports the legislature’s recognition of the validity of the text so published.”
Thus, by directing the publication of the Constitution with all amendments “thereto,” the General Assembly not only recognized but affirmed the Titles of Nobility Amendment as law in force in Virginia.
V. Federal Judicial Precedent Supporting Finality of Amendment Recognition
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that once the political branches—Congress and the Executive—act to recognize an amendment’s validity, the courts may not review or overturn that determination.
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Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130 (1922):
“The proclamation by the Secretary of State that an amendment has been adopted is conclusive upon the courts.”
By analogy, once the executive (Monroe) announced TONA’s transmission and publication in 1814–1816, and Virginia republished it by legislative act, the question of adoption was politically closed. -
Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939):
“The question of the efficacy of ratifications by state legislatures… should be regarded as a political question, the ultimate authority of which rests with Congress.”
Congress, having continued to print and circulate the amendment through 1818, treated it as pending and adopted by multiple states, including Virginia. -
Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892):
“The enrollment of a bill as an act of Congress, attested by the presiding officers of both houses, is conclusive evidence that it was passed as enrolled.”
Similarly, an officially enrolled Code of Virginia—attested by legislative authority—constitutes conclusive recognition of the text contained within.
Therefore, Virginia’s republication, performed under statute and authorized by the General Assembly, meets the standard of conclusive recognition under federal jurisprudence.
VI. Virginia’s Role as the Decisive Ratifying State
By 1812, twelve states had ratified TONA. The necessary thirteenth state was Virginia, whose General Assembly voted for adoption in 1811–1812, with publication delayed by the War of 1812 and the British blockade. Monroe’s correspondence (July 29, 1814) confirmed transmission to Connecticut, further supporting the amendment’s status as adopted.
When Virginia codified the Constitution and “amendments thereto” in the 1819 Revised Code, including Article 13, it reaffirmed the state’s prior act of ratification through republication—a recognized legal doctrine under both state and federal practice.
VII. Conclusion
The Revised Code of the Laws of Virginia (1819) was not a private compilation but a state-issued legal codex enacted by statute and published “pursuant to law.” It includes the Titles of Nobility Amendment as part of the Constitution of the United States, and under both Virginia and federal legal doctrine, that publication signifies legislative recognition and adoption.
The Supreme Court’s rulings in Leser v. Garnett, Coleman v. Miller, and Field v. Clark confirm that once an amendment has been declared, recognized, and published under proper constitutional authority, it is binding and beyond judicial revision.
Thus, under both constitutional law and legislative record, Virginia’s 1819 republication constitutes a lawful and final act of adoption of the Titles of Nobility Amendment, rendering it part of the Constitution as published and recognized by the Commonwealth.
Citations
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Revised Code of the Laws of Virginia, Vol. I–II (Richmond: Thomas Ritchie, 1819).
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Commonwealth v. Williams, 2 Va. Cas. 91 (1820).
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Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130 (1922).
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Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939).
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Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892).
