Proclamation

Formerly, official notice from a state legislature, duly authenticated, that it had ratified a proposed amendment went to the Secretary of State, upon whom it was binding, “being certified by his proclamation, [was] conclusive upon the courts” as against any objection which might be subsequently raised as to the regularity of the legislative procedure by which ratification was brought about.69 This function of the Secretary was first transferred to a functionary called the Administrator of General Services,70 and then to the Archivist of the United States.71 In Dillon v. Gloss,72 the Supreme Court held that the Eighteenth Amendment became operative on the date of ratification by the thirtysixth state, rather than on the later date of the proclamation issued by the Secretary of State, and doubtless the same rule holds as to a similar proclamation by the Archivist.

Proclamation and the U.S. Constitution

Resources

See Also

References

This text about Proclamation is based on “The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation”, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Notes