The pro-slavery constitutional amendment that technically remains open for ratification today

Cultures · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Proposed in 1861 to prevent the American Civil War, the Corwin Amendment sought to permanently shield slavery from federal interference. It failed to gain enough state support at the time, but because it lacks a ratification deadline, it remains a bizarre, dormant ghost in the United States Constitution.

The Corwin Amendment was a desperate legislative attempt to preserve the Union as the secession crisis deepened. Introduced by Representative Thomas Corwin and Senator William H. Seward, the measure aimed to forbid any future constitutional amendment that would grant Congress the power to abolish or interfere with the domestic institutions of states—a euphemism for slavery. It was approved by the House on February 28, 1861, and passed the Senate on March 2, 1861, with exactly the required two-thirds majority.

Outgoing President James Buchanan took the unusual step of signing the joint resolution, even though the executive branch has no formal role in the amendment process. Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, noted he had no objection to making such a provision express and irrevocable, as he believed it was already implied in existing constitutional law. Despite this high-level support, the amendment failed to gain traction, ultimately being ratified by only a handful of states, including Ohio, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Illinois.

Had it been adopted, the amendment would have created a legal paradox. By design, it would have made slavery immune to the standard amendment process, potentially blocking the later Reconstruction Amendments. Legal scholars debate whether such an entrenchment could truly stand; some argue that a subsequent amendment could simply repeal the Corwin provision, much like the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth. Today, the amendment serves as a historical curiosity, with states like Rhode Island and Illinois having moved to rescind their earlier ratifications, while others, such as Texas, saw failed attempts to revive it as late as 1963.

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