A Blog Exploring American History and Politics
Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond) January 16, 1788 A former soldier sought to inform his fellow Virginians about the merits of the draft Constitution, and his fellow Virginians would be incorrect if they assumed that he was merely a soldier and would know nothing about the wisdom needed for setting up a new government. He described […]
MoreMassachusetts Ratifying Convention February 4, 1788 Some governmental systems are engines of tyranny. They may be dressed up as virtuous systems, ones that account for all members of society, but the consequences flowing from the system always speak louder than the rhetoric its leaders spout. At the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, in February 1788, Isaac Backus […]
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 […]
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.
More“Publius,” The Federalist I [Alexander Hamilton] Independent Journal (New York), October 27, 1787 Following are excerpts from the Federalist I, written by Alexander Hamilton: “The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences, nothing less than the existence of the union,
MoreThe Weaknesses of Brutus Exposed: “A Citizen of Philadelphia” [Pelatiah Webster] Philadelphia, November 8, 1787 Following is a series of excerpts from Pelatiah Webster’s article published in Philadelphia: “This government must have a supreme power, superior to and able to controul each and all of its parts. ‘Tis essential to all governments, that such a power
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
More“An Old Whig” [George Bryan et al.] I Independent Gazetteer (Philadelphia), October 12, 1787 Following is a series of excerpts from George Bryan’s article in the Independent Gazetteer: “And after the constitution is once ratified, it must remain fixed until two thirds of both the houses of Congress shall deem it necessary to propose amendments;
MoreReply to Wilson’s Speech: “Cincinnatus” [Arthur Lee] I New York Journal, November 1, 1787 Following are excerpts from the article, published in response to James Wilson’s speech: “Your first attempt is to apologize for so very obvious a defect as—the omission of a declaration of rights. This apology consists in a very ingenious discovery; that […]
MoreReply to Wilson’s Speech: “Centinel” [Samuel Bryan] II Freeman’s Journal (Philadelphia), October 24, 1787 Following are excerpts from Samuel Bryan’s article, published in response to James Wilson’s speech: “Friends, countrymen, and fellow-citizens, As long as the liberty of the press
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