Author: Chi Song

Pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution may be proposed by Congress (with a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives) or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the states.  A proposed amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

On December 18, 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment, which was then ratified by the states on January 16, 1919.  The 18th Amendment established what is commonly referred to as Prohibition, which generally prohibited the manufacture, storage, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors.  Less than two decades later, on February 20, 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment.  State conventions ratified the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933.  Utah provided the 36th vote, which was the final vote necessary for ratification.  (Today, a successful amendment to the Constitution would require 38 states to ratify the amendment; however, in 1933, Hawaii and Alaska were not yet states, thus only 36 states were required in order to meet the three-fourths requirement.)  As a result, today, December 5, 2014, is celebrated as Repeal Day.

Are you interested in learning more about the U.S. Constitution and Constitutional Law?  Check out these resources!

– The official transcript of the Constitution of the United States is available through the National Archives website at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html.

– You can read the full-text of the Constitutional Amendments, including the 18th Amendment and 21st Amendment at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html.

– Information about the constitutional amendment process is available at http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/ and http://www.lexisnexis.com/constitution/amendments_howitsdone.asp.

– If you are interested in learning more about Prohibition, check out http://www.history.com/topics/prohibition.

As always, the Law Library is available to assist you with your research needs.  For example, the Law Library provides users with access to the LexisNexis and Westlaw databases, which include many constitutional law primary and secondary resources.

Did you know…

–  that former President George H. W. Bush approved a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1990 that designated November 1990 as National American Indian Heritage month (and similar proclamations were issued yearly since 1994)?

–  that the first American Indian Day was declared in 1916 in the state of New York?

–  that 184 Native American tribes throughout the United States support the establishment of a day honoring American Indian heritage?

–  that, according to the United States Census Bureau’s 2010 census, 0.4% of the total Maryland population is American Indian and/or Alaska Native?

–  that today is American Indian Heritage Day in Maryland?  As of October 1, 2008, pursuant to House Bill 83/Chapter 486, American Indian Heritage Day is a Maryland state holiday that falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day.

Are you interested in researching Native American law?  If so, then check out the Georgetown Law Library’s guide at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/nativeamericanlaw.cfm.

More information about Native American Heritage Month is available at http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/.

The Law Library is Closed today, November 27, 2014, as Thanksgiving is a Court Holiday.  The Law Library will be open tomorrow, Friday, November 28, 2014. A list of Court Holidays is available on the Circuit Court’s website.

The celebration of Thanksgiving as an official holiday in the United States has an interesting history.  In 1777, the first national Thanksgiving was declared by the Continental Congress.  The United States celebrated its first Thanksgiving holiday in 1789 pursuant to a proclamation issued by former President George Washington that established Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin”.

Subsequent presidents issued similar proclamations, but with varying dates for celebration. Former President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation established the last Thursday of November as the day of the celebration, but, in 1939, due to economic concerns deriving from a shortened Christmas shopping season as a result of Thanksgiving’s celebration date, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation moving Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November, which lengthened the Christmas shopping season.  Thirty-two states followed the federal government’s lead, but sixteen states did not.  Thus, Thanksgiving was celebrated on two different days throughout the country until 1941 when Roosevelt signed a joint resolution from Congress establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the federal holiday. More information, including featured documents, such as the 1941 Joint Resolution, is available at http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving/.