Just before President Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, Congress tried to keep slave states in the union by adopting House Resolution No. 80, which proposed amending the Constitution to bar federal interference with slavery. Maryland and Ohio actually ratified it.
The Civil War made the proposal a virtual dead letter, but Congress did not specify a deadline for ratification; so this pro-slavery amendment is technically still open for states to ratify.
It would be an important symbolic gesture for Congress to rescind H.R. No. 80 of 1861 and exorcise from our constitutional house this "ghost amendment" that represents the horror and injustice of slavery. We urge President Obama to support legislation to make this happen.
See this page for more information: http://ghostamendment.com