A Blog Exploring American History and Politics
New York Journal January 24, 1788 History is replete with military coups. At a time when a country’s government has grown weak, the temptation to make drastic change can become overwhelming. Sometimes, rather than wait for the next election, the military makes its move—to the detriment of the democracy, the people, and the chances for […]
MoreIndependent Journal (New York) January 19, 1788 Engineering a coup can be difficult. Usually, it requires a military to not only lose faith in the civilian government but to organize an overthrowing of that government. Democratic republics fear this prospect as much as any other type of government. Although democratic republics are better suited for […]
MoreMassachusetts Ratifying Convention January 24, 1788 The Constitution empowers Congress to “raise and support Armies” with the limitation that any appropriation of money for raising and supporting armies must be limited to a two-year term (Article I, Section 8, Clause 12). At the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, there was debate as to whether that authority should […]
More“Brutus” VIII New York Journal, January 10, 1788 In the draft of the Constitution was a clause that permitted the federal government to “borrow money on the credit of the United States, and to raise and support armies.” The author of an article in the New York Journal, using the pseudonym Brutus (undoubtedly referring to […]
MoreReply to Mason’s “Objections”: “Civis Rusticus” Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond), January 30, 1788 Following are excerpts of an article written in response to George Mason’s article listing the objections to the Constitution: “5th. Had the convention left the executive power indivisible, I am free to own it would have been better, than giving the senate […]
MoreReply to Wilson’s Speech: “A Democratic Federalist” Pennsylvania Herald (Philadelphia), October 17, 1787 Following are excerpts from the article, published in response to James Wilson’s speech:
More