Corwin Amendment

[Steve]

Looking at the news coming out of Virginia today reminded me of the so-called "Corwin Amendment" (or Slavery Preservation Amendment), the proposed 1861 amendment which would've barred future constitutional amendments granting Congress the power to abolish or interfere with slavery in the states. Its text read:

No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.

It was passed on the last day of the Buchanan administration, and despite its name was the brainchild of Senator (and soon to be Secretary of State) William Seward.

One thing always seems to be missing when discussing the amendment. There were 36 states when it passed, with 26 state ratifications needed for the amendment to be ratified. By that time 7 southern states had already seceeded. Mathematically, (with only a one state margin) it could only have been ratified if those states returned to the Union.

This article claims that Lincoln was the man behind Seward in crafting the amendment:

http://philmagness.com/?page_id=398

So I'll ask everybody here what they think about Mr. Magness's belief about Lincoln's role? Do you agree with it?