The Corwin Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would permanently forbid Congress from abolishing or interfering with the institution of slavery in any state, even through further constitutional amendments, thereby reserving that right to the governments of each state. It was proposed in March 1861 in a desperate bid to convince border states (slave states which didn't secede from the Union) to remain a part of the Union and to prevent the Statesian Civil War.
The Amendment was endorsed by outgoing-President James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln himself said in his first inaugural address that he had no objection to the Amendment.[1] The Corwin Amendment passed the House and the Senate, but was only ratified by five state legislatures and thus never took effect.