***** I'm not certain why you think Dr. Cornelius should be commenting on this. The original 13th Amendment had nothing to do with President Lincoln, that I am aware of. For those unfamiliar with the amendment C Ray Jr speaks of, it stated, in essence, "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 person, 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." The proposed Constitutional amendment, introduced first in the Senate by Senator Philip Reed of Maryland, was passed on April 27, 1810, by a vote of 19-5 and sent to the House of Representatives for its consideration. It passed there on May 1, 1810, by a vote of 87-3. Having been approved by Congress, the proposed amendment was sent to the state legislatures for ratification. As the amendment had been passed by both houses of Congress, it could move on to the next step of the process - ratification by three quarters of the states, 13 of the 17 at the time. It is here that historical interpretations diverge. Everyone agrees that it was ratified by 12 states - Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont,Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It is also clear that it was rejected by three states - New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The debate is over whether the amendment was ratified by Virginia and South Carolina. If it was approved by either of them, that would make 13 states for ratification. Both of these states took action on the amendment. The South Carolina Senate voted to ratify it on November 28, 1811, but the House of Representatives rejected it years later, on December 21, 1814. Virginia’s House of Delegates voted for it on February 2, 1811, but the Senate rejected it on February 14. The War of 1812 interrupted the process, however, and as the Capital had been burned by British forces, much of the records of the first 38 years of the American government were lost. Most scholars agree it is only missing ratification of two states. There was speculation that the Commonwealth of Virginia had passed the measure, but no evidence is available to support the claim. No expiration date was specified when the bill was passed by Congress. If a total of 38 states ratify the amendment today, it would become part of the Constitution. Recent activity in New Hampshire has brought the subject back to life.