3. Titles As Part of the Name ( 19Th C.-20Th C.)

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1/9/2014 8:30:05 AM

NOBILITY

An order of men in several countries to whom privileges are granted at the expense of the rest of the people.

The Constitution of the United States provides that no state shall "grant any title of nobility; and no person can become a citizen of the United States until he has renounced all titles of nobility." However, the Constitution has no general prohibition against any citizen whomsoever, whether in public or private life, accepting a foreign title of nobility. An amendment of the Constitution in this respect was passed by Congress, but was never ratified by a sufficient number of states.

The upper social class in feudal Europe. They were characterized by the following: a. Ownership of land, as a vassal to another lord; b. A military obligation to the king; c. An administrative obligation to the king; d. Possession of heraldry. Nobility was roughly divided into two classes: Noblesse de epee (of the Sword)

Knights; and, Noblesse de robe (of the Robe) - administrators.

1/9/2014 8:30:13 AM

3. Titles as part of the name (19th c.-20th c.)

The Revolution abolished the feudal system on 4 Aug 1789. This completely removed the legal foundation of titles.

Titles of nobility were explicitly abolished 19-23 June 1790.

The "Particule"

The "particule" (the word "de" between the given name and the family name) is often taken to be a sign of nobility.

Nobility and Titles in France since 1790

Brief Legal History since 1790

Briefly put, the legal status of nobility was abolished in 1789 and never recreated. Titles of nobility, as hereditary marks of honor, were recreated in 1808, abolished in 1848, restored in 1852 and have remained in existence ever since, to this day.

The Revolution broke in many ways with the Old Regime. The legal class of nobility, as one of the fundamental remaining elements of feudalism, was abolished along with the feudal regime on August 4, 1789, which established legal equiality of all individuals regardless of birth. Furthermore, titles of nobility were abolished by a decree of the National Assembly of June 19, 1790, signed by king Louis XVI.

On March 1, 1808, Napoleon, Emperor of the French, established a legal system of titles, but the word "nobility" is not used anywhere in legal texts, and no privileges were attached to it. Nevertheless, in common parlance it is often called nobility ("noblesse d'Empire"). Titles were created by Letters Patent of the Emperor, or, for the most part, were automatic and came with certain positions. However, the titles did not become hereditary until certain conditions were met (in particular the constitution by the grantee of an endowment in land to be attached to the title, the majorat), and a newly created Conseil du Sceau des Titres was in charge of verifying compliance (see more on Napoleonic titles).

After the fall of Napoleon's Empire, the Bourbon kings returned to France. On June 6, 1814, Louis XVIII granted a Royal Charter (equivalent of a constitution) whose article 71 specified:

The new nobility keeps its titles and the old nobility regains its titles. The king creates nobles at will, but he grants them only ranks and honors without any exemption from the burdens and duties of society.

La noblesse ancienne reprend ses titres. La nouvelle conserve les siens. Le roi fait des nobles a volonté, mais il ne leur accorde que des rangs et des honneurs sans aucune exemption des charges et des devoirs de la société.

The "charges" really mean taxes: nobility's exemption from a number of taxes in Old Regime France had been one of the major grievances in 1789. Louis XVIII established a House of hereditary Peers on the English model (although peers became life-peers in 1830). The Conseil du Sceau des Titres was replaced by a Commission du Sceau, presided by the minister of Justice (Ordinance, July 15, 1814). It was abolished by an ordinance of Oct. 31, 1830 and all its functions transfered to the Conseil d'administration of the Ministry of Justice.

When the monarchy was overthrown in 1848, nobility was again abolished (Feb. 29, 1848), but the decree was rescinded on Jan. 24, 1852 after Napoleon III restored the Empire. TheConseil du Sceau des Titres was recreated by decree of Jan. 8, 1859. The Second Empire fell on Sep. 4, 1870, and a decree of Jan. 10, 1872 declared that the Conseil had ceased to function since that date and transferred its activities, to the degree that they did not conflict with existing legislation, to the Conseil d'administration of the Ministry of Justice. The President of the Republic made a decision on May 10, 1875 that he would cease to confer or confirm titles, and this decision has never been reversed by any of his successors. The Conseil expressed in 1876 the opinion that the President should not confirm foreign titles either, but this has nevertheless happened twice (for a Papal title of count in 1893 and for a Spanish ducal title in 1961).

Titles of nobility since 1808

Titles have been granted from 1808 to 1848 and from 1852 to 1870, when the President of the Republic effectively relinquished the exercise of any prerogative in the matter. The process was well-defined: letters patent had to be issued and certain legal conditions had to be met for the title to be valid and hereditary.

Napoleon's titles are discussed in greater detail elsewhere. The titles granted by Louis XVIII (1814-24) and Charles X (1824-30) were of two kinds:

• peerages: part of the 1814 constitution was a House of Peers modelled on the British House of Lords; titles ranging from baron-peer to duke-peer were created (see afuller discussion)
• non-peerages: titles from baron to duc were created and, although hereditary, they did not give any access to the House of Peers. They were, however, subject to the requirement of the creation of a majorat. The title of chavelier was also created under special circumstances.

The title of duke was a hereditary peerage, but with some exceptions: letters of 14 Oct 1826 created a life title of duchess (without peerage) for Joséphine de Montault de Navailles, widow of Charles-Michel de Gontaut Biron, governess of the children of France (d. 1862).

The Restoration also granted letters of ennoblement.

Current Status and Recent History

This seeming paradox is disconcerting. It stems from several facts:

1. the abolition of feudalism and privileges in 1789, which did away with the legal status of nobility,
2. the restoration of titles in 1808 by Napoleon, and their confirmation by the successive monarchical regimes until 1870
3. the fact that the successive republican regimes have never passed any laws on the subject of titles.

The Revolution did away with nobility and titles, titles were restored (not nobility), and the Republic has not done anything about titles. How to reconcile these facts? The kings and successive governments did not resolve the problem with very explicit laws. The courts were left to resolve it on their own, through a process of jurisprudence. Thus, French nobiliary law is mostly based on court cases.

The Missing 13th Amendment to
the Constitution
for the united States of America

Amendment XIII
Passed by Congress May 1, 1810 - Ratified December 9, 1812.

"If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the united States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them."

(Considerable controversy surrounds this Amendment - The official position of the Federal Government is that it was never ratified - but - in the past few months there is more than ample evidence that shows the Amendment was properly ratified on December 9, 1812, and if not then, certainly no later than March 10, 1819.

SPECIAL NOTE

There has been a lot of discussion over the years about the fact that this Amendment was established to prohibit members of the BAR Association from participating in government offices.

If that were the sole purpose for this Amendment it is wasted energy. Our Founding Fathers were much more straight forward than that.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time: and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. - Article I, Section 6, Paragraph 2 - Constitution for the United States of America

This provision was established to maintain the clear dividing line that had been drawn between the three branches of the government. Violation of this provision create a direct conflict of interest because members of the BAR would be officers of the court in the Judiciary branch and members of the legislature in the Legislative branch.

History

For over 50 years the 13th Amendment was included in the publications of the Constitution for the united States.

Many States, Territories, and even the Federal Government, itself, printed copies of the Constitution containing this Amendment.

It was unlawfully removed by persons unknown for their own personal greed and aggrandizement.

Even though it was properly ratified, it appears that it was never enforced. Thus, all laws, treaties, appointments of officers to government positions, and other acts and actions of the Federal government since 1812 are of questionable validity and may therefore be null and void.

You can examine for yourself the images of the various documents that prove conclusively the validity of the 13th Amendment

It is very interesting to note that only the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Articles of Amendment had numbers assigned to them at the time of ratification. The reason behind the numbering was to insure that the removal of the validly existing 13th Amendment was fully hidden by the proposed, and wrongfully numbered new 13th Amendment. To have just numbered the new proposed Amendment as the 13th and then not number any others would have called attention to the facts surrounding the situation. Whoever was behind the removal of the valid 13th Amendment had to number the next few Amendments so as to further hide their unlawful actions.

This Amendment was for the specific purpose of banning participation in government operations by attorneys and bankers who claimed the Title of Nobility of "Esquire." These people had joined the International Bar Association or the International Bankers Association and owed their allegiance to the King of England. Banning Titles of Nobility began in the Articles of Confederation, continued in two places in the Constitution, and finally was added as an Amendment to the Constitution -- an Amendment that was needed as the other bans had no teeth in them to punish those persons who chose to ignore the Constitutional Law.

The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Eleventh Congress, Second Session, on the 1st of May, 1810. The dates of ratification were:

April 30, 1812: Louisiana becomes the 18th state in the Union, but is not consulted on the pending constitutional amendment, although Louisiana recognized the validity of the 13th Amendment by publishing the Constitution in its Law Books in 1825 and again in 1855.

June 12, 1812: The War of 1812 begins.

June 12, 1812: Governor Plumer of New Hampshire sends letter to New Hampshire Legislature accompanied by letters from the Chief Executive Officers of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont indicating ratification of the 13th Amendment by their State.

Virginia thus is shown to have properly ratified the Amendment. Discounting the letter from Governor Plumer of New Hampshire also requires that the Senate Record from New Hampshire also be discarded. There is no basis under which any reasonable argument can be proposed whereby it can be shown that both the Governor and the Secretary for the Senate were both lying.

Even if the New Hampshire information is wrong, Virginia printed a copy of the Constitution showing the 13th Amendment in its Law books in 1819. This date is the date, if no earlier date can be confirmed.

December 9, 1812: New Hampshire ratifies the 13th Amendment, the 13th of the 13 states required.

Ratification was completed on December 9, 1812.

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Missing 13th Amendment Facts

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Bestow an Esquire Watch on that Special Lady or Gentleman in Your Life!

Definitions of Esquire

What is Esquire? Is it a academic degree like a doctorate of law? Is it a rank like a General in the Army? Is it gender determinator like Ms. or Mr.? Then what is it? Then lets see what it means academically, historically and socially:
From Webster's Revised Unabridged College Dictionary
Esquire \Es*quire"\, n. [OF. escuyer, escuier, properly, a shield-bearer, F. ['e]cuyer shield-bearer, armor-bearer, squire of a knight, esquire, equerry, rider, horseman, LL. scutarius shield-bearer, fr. L. scutum shield, akin to Gr. ? skin, hide, from a root meaning to cover; prob.akin to E. hide to cover. See {Hide} to cover, and cf. {Equerry}, {Escutcheon}.] Originally, a shield-bearer or armor-bearer, an attendant on a knight; in modern times, a title of dignity next in degree below knight and above gentleman; also, a title of office and courtesy; -- often shortened to squire.
Note: In England, the title of esquire belongs by right of birth to the eldest sons of knights and their eldest sons in perpetual succession; to the eldest sons of younger sons of peers and their eldest sons in perpetual succession. It is also given to sheriffs, to justices of the peace while in commission, to those who bear special office in the royal household, to counselors at law, bachelors of divinity, law, or physic, and to others. In the United States the title is commonly given in courtesy to lawyers and justices of the peace, and is often used in the superscription of letters instead of Mr.
Claiming the title of Esquire may even be unconstitutional for reasons cited below. In short there was even a proposed amendment that one could lose their U.S. citizenship claiming any title. It does no longer mean that people that use this title are no longer gentlemen as used previously but it's use may risk those who wish to remain a U.S. citizen. Read on!

Black's Law Dictionary defines esquire as:"Esquire - In English Law. A title of dignity next above gentleman, and below knight. Also a title of office given to sheriffs, serjeants, and barristers at law, justices of the peace, and others." Blacks Law Dictionary fourth ed. p.641 In America we did away with all titles bestowed by the so-called aristocracy/royalists when the yoke was severed with England. Today the use of esquire is sometimes used by members of the legal profession and others but it has no legal significance. It does raise questions. If and when used those that use it may be jeopardizing their rights as U.S. citizens.

What does the history of the United States and its Constitution say about the title of ESQUIRE

The Articles of Confederation, Article VI states: "nor shall the united States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant any Title of nobility."The Constitution for the United States, in Article, I Section 9, clause 8 states: "No Title of nobility shall be granted by the united States; and no Person holding any Office or Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State." Also, Section 10, clause 1 states, "No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque or Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but Gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto of Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of nobility." There was however, no measurable penalty for violation of the above Sections, Congress saw this as a great threat to the freedom of Americans, and our Republican form of government. In January 1810 Senator Reed proposed the Thirteenth Amendment, and on April 26, 1810 was passed by the Senate 26 to 1 (1st-2nd session, p. 670) and by the House 87 to 3 on May 1, 1810 (2nd session, p. 2050) and submitted to the seventeen states for ratification. The Amendment reads as follows: "If any citizen of the United States shall Accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honor, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them." Some states do not permit anyone calling themselves attorneys or lawyers without being a member in good standing before that state's court or of its bar association. In its strictest sense the bar is the court sitting in full term.There are many different national and state bar associations. Each state has it's own rules as to the requirements for membership. Anyone representing themselves as lawfully being an attorney or lawyer in a given state in violation of that states law on the unauthorized practice of law can be prosecuted administratively by the courts, civilly by individuals or criminally by the state as the law allows in the various states.In many states people trained in law that are not members of the bar are allowed upon application to the court to represent people in legal proceedings in federal and state administrative courts. Examples are tax court, elder care, worker's compensation and others that various states allow. The term lawyer is defined differently in different states.Esquire as used anywhere at this website is clearly intended to be an honorary addage referring to individuals that are ladies and gentlemen and that these people treat others in a similar way.