Gunpoint Amendments

The Gunpoint Amendments were the constitutional amendments proposed under Chancellor John P. Hale and Premier John C. Fremont that would grant citizenship and the right to vote to freed slaves.

Purpose

Following the Texas Rebellion that freed the slaves, Chancellor Daniel Webster authorized the payments of compensation to the slave owners. This helped ease tensions from the previously rebelling states for a time until Chancellor Hale authorized military force to protect the newly freed persons from danger.
In an effort to grant more legal protections for the freed slaves, Hale and the Libertarian Party supported the constitutional amendments that would grant citizenship and the right to vote to black men.

Document Structure

Clauses

Two amendments were proposed. One granted citizenship to all freed people in the kingsdom, and the other extended the right to vote to all men of color.

Publication Status

The amendments were not allowed to be fully ratified until gold was discovered in the predominently black territory of Freeman. The amendments were fully ratified in 1852, with the territory voting for statehood in 1853.

Legal status

The amendments were immediately challenged upon the election of Franklin Pierce as Chancellor. His premier, William King, suspended the congressional vote on them and halted the ratification before the final states could vote.

Historical Details

Public Reaction

At the time of proposal, the amendments became extremely controversial, as many believe they were illegally ratified. However, public reaction lessened by the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and the volunteering of black soldiers into the army during the Mexican Intervention.

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

1849

Ratification Date

1852