Unratified amendments

Wikipedia lists six unratified amendments.

Some of them probably don't matter much.

There is one on how to apportion House representatives, but Congress has managed to function without its ratification. There was a proposed amendment that accepting titles of nobility would end US citizenship, but that doesn't come up that often. We can probably get by.

One would have been very bad. The Corwin Amendment attempted to protect slavery, so that Federal decisions would not have been able to overturn it on the state level. It was an attempt to draw back the seceding states - a reminder that many would have been willing to sacrifice human rights for peace. There was some strong support, but it is better that it didn't pass.

The D.C. Voting Rights one is interesting, because it would overturn the 23rd Amendment and bring the voting rights of residents of the District of Columbia more in line with the voting rights of those who reside in states. There is still progress to be made there, and perhaps it would make sense to look at the rights of other US possessions there.

That leaves two more, and they become interesting not merely in terms of what does and does not get supported, but also in what you can do with legislation that does not require amendment.

More on that next week.