A Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Rename the Country

On this date, Representative Lucas Miltiades Miller of Wisconsin proposed a constitutional amendment to change the country’s name from the United States of America to the “United States of Earth.” Miller’s bill, which he submitted during a period of territorial expansion in America, mocked the era’s push for overseas conquest, stating that the new name would reflect the ambition of “this Republic to grow through the admission of new States into this Union until every nation on earth has become a part of it.” Miller had been born in Greece in 1824 during the country’s war for independence, and after being orphaned during the conflict, he was taken in by an American abolitionist fighting alongside the Greeks. Miller grew up in Vermont, moved to Wisconsin, and became involved in state and local office—serving as a colonel during America’s war with Mexico over territorial expansion in the southwest in the late 1840s. In 1890, Miller won election to the House from Wisconsin as a Democrat and served one term in the 52nd Congress (1891–1893). His constitutional amendment included numerous clauses meant to overhaul American society, including the abolition of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, the creation of a universal welfare system in America, and the direct election of U.S. Senators, federal judges, the President, the Vice President, and Cabinet secretaries. His amendment also provided for the use of electronic voting in the House. The press largely ridiculed Miller as a “crank” and derided his amendment. “This dazzling resolution was promptly referred to the Judiciary Committee, and is still awaiting a patriotic and spontaneous uprising,” a midwestern newspaper wrote two months later. Although critics belittled Miller’s agenda, parts of his amendment eventually became law during the next century: the Seventeenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, provided for the direct election of the U.S. Senate; federal aid programs, including Social Security and Medicare, were created and expanded in the mid-twentieth century; and the House conducted its first electronic vote in 1973.