SELECTED NOTES ON BENSON'S WORK

Prepared by We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education

 There were 48 states in 1913, so 36 needed to approve the 16th amendment in order for it to be ratified.

The memo by the Solicitor was written on the basis of results from 42 states, at which point Knox proclaimed that the amendment was ratified after having received memo from his Solicitor. The other 6 were Fl, Va, Pa, Vt, Mass, W.Va.

16^th Amendment: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

Below are some of the more striking problems with the ratification. It should be pointed out that some problems may lead to invalid ratification by a state, while others may lead to fraudulent proclamation of ratification by Secretary of State Knox, and that these problems are not necessarily the same. If one begins to subtract from the 42 states that had provided information those states that rejected the amendment and those for which there were other very serious problems, one soon reduces the number of states that properly ratified well below the 36 required, and one reaches the conclusion that the 16th amendment was not legally ratified, and, indeed, was fraudulently declared to be ratified. 16 such states are noted below, although one could carry the list much further.

 42 states provided information which formed the basis of Solicitor's memo and proclamation by Knox. Of these:*

- 4 rejected the amendment and were so acknowledged by Solicitor (R.I., Utah, Conn., N.H.)

- 1 Ky rejected, but Solicitor counted as approved; initial approved resolution deleted "on incomes," so the legislators weren't even voting on an income tax, and they acted before governor transmitted proposed amendment to them.

- 2 Texas and Louisiana were forbidden by their own state constitutions to empower the federal government to tax.

- 1 Tennessee state constitution required election of new legislature between receipt and action on an amendment.

- 1 Oklahoma changed "without regard to" to "from;" and didn't send official signed copy to Knox.

- 1 Minnesota didn't send any copy of its resolution to Knox, let alone a signed and sealed one, as required.

- 2 Georgia and Illinois changed "lay" to "levy" and made other changes as well.

- 1 Ohio violated its constitution by not reading the bill 3 times in 3 days; then waited 22 months before sending to Knox a copy w/o great seal and signed only by clerk, not by heads of both houses.

- 1 Mississippi didn't send official notice to Knox (it was unsigned), intentionally made several changes, violated state constitution (didn't read 3x in 3 days), and whiskey used to influence vote (immediate scandal next day).

- 1 California didn't sent official notice despite Knox's reminder; violated own constitution in legislative procedures.

- 1 Washington made several changes, violated its own constitution, and didn't send official notice.

 48 states total. Of these:*

- 8 did not approve or ratify the amendment (R.I., Utah, Conn., N.H., Ky,, Fla., Va., Pa.)

- 2 Texas and Louisiana were forbidden by their own state constitutions to empower the federal government to tax.

- 1 Tennessee state constitution required election of new legislature between receipt and action on an amendment.

- 1 Oklahoma made significant and intentional changes in wording, and didn't send a signed copy to Knox.

- 2 Georgia and Illinois changed "lay" to "levy" and made other changes as well.

- 1 Minnesota did not send any copy of its resolution to Knox, let alone a signed and sealed one, as required.

- 1 Ohio violated its constitution by not reading the bill 3 times in 3 days; then waited 22 months before sending to Knox a copy w/o great seal and signed only by clerk, not by heads of both houses.

- 2 Vermont and Mass. rejected the amendment with recorded vote count; later declared it passed w/o record vote after the amendment was declared ratified by Knox.

- 1 Mississippi didn't send official notice to Knox (it was unsigned), intentionally made several changes, violated state constitution (didn't read 3x in 3 days), and whiskey used to influence vote (immediate scandal next day).

- 1 California didn't sent official notice despite Knox's reminder; violated own constitution in legislative procedures.

- 1 Washington made several changes, violated its own constitution, and didn't send official notice.

 Then there's the question of 2/3 majority passage by each house of legislature (6 states failed in that); and the question of the governor not signing (17 states failed that). [two overlap - NY and Ga. Neither chamber in NY had 2/3]

 *Source: The Law That Never Was, by William Benson. Volume I published in 1985, Volume II published in 1986. Published by Constitutional Research Assoc., Box 550, South Holland, IL 60473. Mr. Benson can be reached by telephone at (708) 596-3142.