It’s been more than 200 years since the Founding Fathers created the constitution. To date, there have been a total of 27 constitutional amendments, and thankfully, those are the only ones. In the two centuries since its creation, Americans have tried to pass some rather strange amendments.
Luckily, after a proposed amendment makes it through Congress, it needs to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, so none of these bizarre legal statutes have made it through. Here are just a few of the ones that almost did.
The Council of Three Amendment.
In 1878, there was a proposed constitutional amendment to replace the president with an executive council of three. Though the legislative intent isn’t clear, law research reveals that the proposed legal statute was likely meant to limit the president’s power even more so than it already was.
The United States of Earth Amendment.
In 1893, there was a proposed constitutional amendment to rename the country: The United States of Earth. Legislative history research indicates that Representative Lucas Miller, a Democrat from Wisconsin, proposed the legal statute, though it doesn’t reveal why. Perhaps he thought the U.S. would be the ideal entity to govern the entire planet, or maybe he just wanted to prepare for extraterrestrials. Whatever the case may be, his proposed legal statute fell on its face.
The Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Amendment.
In 1916, there was a proposed constitutional amendment to put all wars up to a national vote, and whosoever voted yes would be enlisted. The proposed legal statute would have literally made war hawks put their money where their mouth is. What’s interesting is that this legal statute was proposed right around the time of the United States’ entry into the First World War, when the country was debating its policy of isolationism.
Those aren’t the only proposed constitutional amendments to fail, either. If you know of any others, feel free to share in the comments.