The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation: Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952
History
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation: Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952
Constitutional law -- United States; Constitutions -- United States
[d] The 12th Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803,
when it passed the House [13 Ann. Cong. (8th Cong., 1st sess.) 775,
776], having previously passed the Senate on December 2 [_Id._, 209]. It
was not signed by the presiding officers of the House and Senate until
December 12. It appears officially in 2 Stat. 306. Ratification was
probably completed on June 15, 1804, when the legislature of the
thirteenth State (New Hampshire) approved the amendment, there being
then 17 States in the Union. The Governor of New Hampshire, however,
vetoed this act of the legislature on June 20, and the act failed to
pass again by two-thirds vote then required by the State constitution.
Inasmuch as art. V of the Federal Constitution specifies that amendments
shall become effective "when ratified by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States or by conventions in three-fourths
thereof," it has been generally believed that an approval or veto by a
governor is without significance. If the ratification by New Hampshire
be deemed ineffective, then the amendment became operative by
Tennessee's ratification on July 27, 1804. On September 25, 1804, in a
circular letter to the Governors of the several States, Secretary of
State Madison declared the amendment ratified by three-fourths of the
States.
The several State legislatures ratified the 12th Amendment on the
following dates: North Carolina, December 22, 1803; Maryland, December
24, 1803; Kentucky, December 27, 1803; Ohio, between December 5 and
December 30, 1803; Virginia, between December 20, 1803 and February 3,
1804; Pennsylvania, January 5, 1804; Vermont, January 30, 1804; New
York, February 10, 1804; New Jersey, February 22, 1804; Rhode Island,
between February 27 and March 12, 1804; South Carolina, May 15, 1804;
Georgia, May 19, 1804; New Hampshire, June 15, 1804; and Tennessee, July
27, 1804. The amendment was rejected by Delaware on January 18, 1804,
and by Connecticut at its session begun May 10, 1804.
[e] The 13th Amendment was proposed by Congress on January 31, 1865,
when it passed the House [Cong. Globe (38th Cong., 2d sess.) 531],
having previously passed the Senate on April 8, 1864 [_Id._ (38th Cong.,
1st sess.) 1490]. It appears officially in 13 Stat. 567 under the date
of February 1, 1865. Ratification was completed on December 6, 1865,
when the legislature of the twenty-seventh State (Georgia) approved the
amendment, there being then 36 States in the Union. On December 18,
1865, Secretary of State Seward certified that the 13th Amendment had
become a part of the Constitution [13 Stat. 774].
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