The “Positive Good” of Slavery
John Calhoun, one of the staunchest supporters of states’ rights, was widely known for his view that slavery as a “positive good” in American society.
MoreA Blog Exploring American History and Politics
Senate
A First Test for Separation of Church and State
With the communications and transportation revolution came new, unforeseeable consequences. One such consequence was the spread of cholera and other contagious diseases, which would test the mettle of Americans.
MoreThe Aftermath of Jackson’s Bank Policies
In the aftermath of President Andrew Jackson’s destroying the Second Bank of the United States, there were ramifications throughout the country, from top to bottom.
MoreLiberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable
In 1830, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, engaged in a heated debate with Robert Hayne, Senator from South Carolina, which touched on the political theory of federal and state sovereignty.
MoreConstitution Sunday: “A Citizen of America” [Noah Webster]
“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
MoreThe Missouri Compromise
By 1819, the area west of the Mississippi River, known as the Missouri Territory, had obtained a population qualifying it to be admitted to the Union. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1819-1848, 147. The only requirement to be admitted was that an enabling act be presented to Congress “authorizing Missouri voters […]
MoreConstitution Sunday: Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “An Officer of the Late Continental Army”
Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “An Officer of the Late Continental Army” Independent Gazetteer (Philadelphia), November 6, 1787 Following are excerpts from an article with an unknown author, published in response to James Wilson’s speech: “That of the senate is so small that it renders its extensive powers extremely dangerous: it is to consist only of 26 […]
MoreThe Defeat of the Bonus Bill
Following the War of 1812, President James Madison was proudly touting the status of America. It had mobilized its navy to protect trade in the Mediterranean Sea, it had reestablished commercial relations with Britain, and it had pacified the Native Americans. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 80.
MoreRedefining Bicameralism
Looking to the state governments’ creation of their respective senates, as explained in The Birth of the Senate, the creation of the Senate in the Constitution was a given, when the Constitutional Convention began. See Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 553.
MoreA Compound of Aristocracy and Monarchy
In the 1780s, Americans, like John Dickinson, observed that “[p]eople once respected their governors, their senators, their judges and their clergy; they reposed confidence in them; their laws were obeyed, and the states were happy in tranquility.” Dickinson, Letters of Fabius, Ford, ed., Pamphlets, 188. The authority of the government was declining. Gordon Wood, The Creation of the […]
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