A Blog Exploring American History and Politics
Sovereignty
The Precursor to the Winter of Secession
Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the Election of 1860 was disconcerting news for the South. It was the most recent event in a string of events that seemingly endangered the southern way of life and the future of the country. At a time when many northerners suspected southern threats of secession were but a bluff, there was evidence that […]
MoreConstitution Sunday: “Publius,” The Federalist VIII [Alexander Hamilton]
“Publius,” The Federalist VIII [Alexander Hamilton] New-York Packet, November 20, 1787 Following are excerpts from The Federalist VIII, authored by Alexander Hamilton: “Assuming it therefore as an established truth that the several States, in case of disunion, or such combinations of them as might happen to be formed out of the wreck of the general confederacy,
MoreThe Supreme Court Under Jackson
John Marshall, perhaps the greatest Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, died on July 6, 1835. As his life was coming to a close, he wrote Joseph Story, “I yield slowly and reluctantly to the conviction that our constitution cannot last.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, […]
MoreThe Fort Hill Address
John Calhoun, by 1831, had alienated himself from President Andrew Jackson, and he wanted to “head off talk of secession,” and on July 26, 1831, he published his “Fort Hill Address” in a South Carolina newspaper. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 399.
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: Letter from James Madison to Thomas Jefferson
Letter from James Madison to Thomas Jefferson New York, October 24, 1787 Following are excerpts from James Madison’s letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated October 24, 1787: “It remains then to be enquired whether a majority having any common interest, or feeling any common passion, will find sufficient motives to restrain them from oppressing the minority.
MoreThe Lesson of the American Revolution
The American Revolution changed political theory and government. At the heart of that change was the empowerment of the people, which continues to present day America.
MoreRetention of the Supreme Power
Capturing the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution was expressing “the inherent and unalienable right of the people” to determine their system of government. Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 535 quoting Wilson, in McMaster and Stone, eds., Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution, 317.
MoreTwo Supreme Coordinate Powers
Coming out of the Philadelphia Convention, many Americans had different perspectives about what had transpired and how effective the Constitution could be as a governing document.
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