A Blog Exploring American History and Politics
Daily Advertiser (New York) January 21, 1788 With the draft Constitution being circulated and reviewed by throughout the country, Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House of Delegates detailing his objections—of which there were many—to adopting the Constitution as written. Given his stature as a governor, his objections […]
MoreLuther Martin: “The Genuine Information,” IX Maryland Gazette (Baltimore), January 29, 1788 Impeachment of a president has become a feature within the Constitution that is colored by its uses throughout history: the impeachments of Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump and the near-impeachment of Richard Nixon. While none of the impeachment proceedings resulted in […]
More“Cato” V New York Journal, November 22, 1787 Following are excerpts from an anonymous article published in the New York Journal: “To the Citizens of the State of New-York. In my last number I endeavored to prove that the language of the article relative to the establishment of the executive of this new government was vague and inexplicit, that […]
MoreAnswers to Mason’s “Objections”: “Marcus” [James Iredell] II Norfolk and Portsmouth Journal (Virginia), February 27, 1788 Following are excerpts from James Iredell’s responses to George Mason’s “Objections” to the Constitution: “IVth. Objection. The Judiciary of the United States is so constructed and extended, as to absorb and destroy the Judiciaries of the several States
MoreGeorge Mason, “Objections to the Constitution” Circulated early October 1787, published in full in the Virginia Journal (Alexandria), November 22, 1787 Following are excerpts from George Mason’s article, articulating objections to the Constitution, as submitted to the states for ratification: “Gentlemen, At this important crisis when we are about to determine upon a government which is […]
MoreThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the culmination of the Mexican-American War and “embodied the objectives for which [President James] Polk had gone to war.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 808.
MoreFollowing William Henry Harrison’s death just a month into his presidency in 1841, John Tyler rose to the presidency, in the first instance of a president dying while holding the office. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 589.
MoreMartin Van Buren, President Andrew Jackson’s hand-picked heir, would carry out many of Jackson’s policies, such as the removal of the Native Americans westward, as he was elected in the election of 1836. President Jackson also fundamentally changed the nature of the presidency.
More“A Citizen of America” [Noah Webster] Philadelphia, October 17, 1787 Following are excerpts from Noah Webster’s writing: “Another idea that naturally presents itself to our minds, on a slight consideration of the subject, is, that in a perfect government, all the members of a society should be
MoreJohn Quincy Adams, Secretary of State from 1817 to 1825, was a principled, “tough negotiator.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 107.
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