Motions A-D Proposing Amendments to the Constitution that Failed
9/7/1789
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These motions suggest additional amendments during debate over a Bill of Rights in the Senate during the 1st Congress. As noted on each of the four amendments, they failed. They came from state ratifying conventions, as did most of the amendments proposed by James Madison in the House of Representatives. Motion C was proposed again by Congress in 1810, but wasn’t ratified. It would have denied public office to anyone who accepted a "title of nobility" from a king.
Transcript
M Dalton A
[crossed out: That] Congress shall not exercise the powers vested in them by the 4th Section of the first article, but in cases when a State shall neglect or refuse to make regulations therein mentioned, or shall make regulations subversive of the rights of the people, to a free and equal representation in Congress, agreeably to the Constitution.
Negatived
[crossed out: That] Congress shall not exercise the powers vested in them by the 4th Section of the first article, but in cases when a State shall neglect or refuse to make regulations therein mentioned, or shall make regulations subversive of the rights of the people, to a free and equal representation in Congress, agreeably to the Constitution.
Negatived
1st Sess. & 1st Con. Motions on Amendment to the Consti of the U. S.
B
[crossed out: That] Congress shall not erect any Company of Merchants with exclusive advantages of Commerce
Negatived
C
Congress shall, at no time, consent that any person, holding an office of trust or profit, under the United States, shall accept of a title of Nobility, or any other title or office, from any king, prince, or foreign State.
Negatived
No person indebted to the United States shall be entitled to a seat in either Branch of the Legislature.
Negatived
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.
National Archives Identifier: 24824270
Full Citation: Motions A-D Proposing Amendments to the Constitution that Failed; 9/7/1789; Bills and Resolutions Originating in the House and Considered in the Senate during the 1st Congress; (SEN1A-C2); Bills and Resolutions Originating in the House and Considered in the Senate, 1789 - 2002; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/motions-proposing-failed-amendments, April 21, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
