constitutional-law us-constitution legal-terms legal-history agriculture
Are State-Authorized Century Farm Programs Titles of Nobility?
<p>Both the Federal and State governments are prohibited from granting "titles of nobility" under the US Constitution (Art. 1, Sec. 9 &amp; 10).</p>

<p>My understanding is that "titles of nobility" are commonly read to mean, titles (ie, special names) that are:
-- inheritable
-- tied to the land
-- confer legal privileges
-- granted by the executive authority of the relevant sovereign</p>

<p>My understanding of the "century farm" programs, common in many States (see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Farm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Farm</a>), is that many meet all these conditions...</p>

<p>Are they then unconstitutional?</p>

<p>The most such a "Century Farm" designation gives is a title that carries no legal weight or privileges; having the "title" of being the owner of or resident on a Century Farm won't get you out of a traffic ticket or allow you to flog recalcitrant farm workers in the same ways that past nobility could do, and can no longer do.</p>

<p>In some cases, states (and the Federal Govt.) have established laws that can govern historical land and features, or there are non-profit NGOs that give historical status to tracts of land and buildings. But such state and federal statutes and non-profit legal frameworks are established case law have yet to be shown to be unconstitutional overall.</p>
