1.
1st United States Congress
–
With the initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. April 1,1789, House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers April 6,1789, Senate first achieved a quorum and elected its officers. Held March 4,1789, through September 29,1789, at Federal Hall in New York City June 1,1789, An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, ch. 1,1 Stat.23 July 4,1789, Hamilton Tariff,2,1 Stat.24 July 27,1789, United States Department of State, was established, originally named the Department of Foreign Affairs, ch. Regulation of the Collection of Duties on Tonnage and Merchandise, ch.5,1 Stat.29, august 7,1789, Department of War was established, ch. September 2,1789, United States Department of the Treasury was established,12,1 Stat.65 September 24,1789, Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 2,1 Stat.101 March 26,1790, Naturalization Act of 1790,3,1 Stat.103 April 10,1790, Patent Act of 1790, ch. 7,1 Stat.109 April 30,1790, Crimes Act of 1790,9,1 Stat.112 May 31,1790, Copyright Act of 1790, ch. 15,1 Stat.124 July 6,1790, Residence Act,130, established Washington, D. C. as the seat of government of the United States. July 22,1790, Indian Intercourse Act of 1790, ch,137, regulated commerce with the Indian tribes. Held December 6,1790, through March 3,1791, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia February 25,1791, First Bank of the United States,10,1 Stat.191 March 3,1791, Whiskey Act, ch. 199, which triggered the Whiskey Rebellion September 25,1789, Constitution establishing specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on government power, and submitted them to the state legislatures for ratification. 97, Article one has not been ratified and is pending before the states. Article two was later ratified on May 7,1992 as the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Articles three through twelve, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15,1791. November 21,1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution, may 26,1790, Territory South of the River Ohio organized from land ceded by North Carolina. May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state to ratify the United States Constitution, there were no political parties in this Congress
1st United States Congress
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Federal Hall, site of the first two sessions of this Congress (1789)
1st United States Congress
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Congress Hall in
Philadelphia, meeting place of this Congress's third session.
1st United States Congress
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Statue of
George Washington in front of
Federal Hall, where he was first inaugurated as President.
1st United States Congress
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President of the Senate
John Adams
2.
United States Statutes at Large
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Each act and resolution of Congress is called a slip law, which is classified as either public law or private law, and designated and numbered accordingly. At the end of a Congress session, slip laws are compiled into Statutes at Large and they are part of a three-part model for publication of federal statutes consisting of slip laws, session laws, and codification. Today, large portions of slip laws denominated as public laws are now drafted as amendments to the United States Code. Once enacted into law, an Act will be published in the Statutes at Large and will add to, modify, provisions of a public law that contains only enacting clauses, effective dates, and similar matters are not generally codified. Private laws also are not generally codified, some portions of the United States Code have been enacted as positive law and other portions have not been so enacted. Publication of the United States Statutes at Large began in 1845 by the firm of Little, Brown. During Little, Brown and Companys time as publisher, Richard Peters, George Minot, in 1874, Congress transferred the authority to publish the Statutes at Large to the Government Printing Office under the direction of the Secretary of State. 633, was enacted July 30,1947 and directed the Secretary of State to compile, edit, index,980, was enacted September 23,1950 and directed the Administrator of General Services to compile, edit, index, and publish the Statutes at Large. Since 1985 the Statutes at Large have been prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register of the National Archives, sometimes very large or long Acts of Congress are published as their own volume of the Statutes at Large. For example, the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was published as volume 68A of the Statutes at Large. Volumes 1 to 18 of the Statutes at Large made available by the Library of Congress Volumes 1 to 64 of the Statutes at Large made available by the Congressional Data Coalition via LEGISWORKS
United States Statutes at Large
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Title page of volume 125
United States Statutes at Large
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A few volumes of the Statutes at Large
3.
Richard Henry Lee
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Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation, and his resolution for independency of June 1776 led to the United States Declaration of Independence and he was a member of the Lee family, a historically influential family in Virginia politics. He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Col. Thomas Lee and he was raised and came from a line of military officers, diplomats, and legislators. His father, Thomas Lee, was the governor of Virginia before his death in 1750, Lee spent most of his early life in Stratford, Virginia with his family at Stratford Hall. In 1748, at 16, Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, to complete his education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Both of his parents died in 1750 and, in 1753, after touring Europe, in 1757, Lee was appointed justice of the peace in Westmoreland County. In 1758 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, an early advocate of independence, Lee became one of the first to create Committees of Correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. This resolution was signed by four brothers of George Washington as well as Gilbert Campbell, in August 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, Lee was elected the sixth President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30,1784, in the French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey. On January 11,1785, Congress convened in the old New York City Hall, although, he was not paid a salary for his office as president, his household expenses were paid by Congress in the amount of $12,203.13. Lees Congress was most active in 1785, passing numerous legislation and his most pressing issue, however, was to settle the states territorial disputes over the Northwest Territory. Throughout his term, Lee remained steadfast that the release of states’ territorial claims on the Northwest Territory would enable the government to fund itself with land sales. He believed that the urgency of this measure was paramount because borrowing more foreign money was no longer prudent, the sale of these vast federal lands, he concluded, was the nations only hope to pay off the war debt and adequately fund federal government. On May 3,1785, William Grayson of Virginia made a motion seconded by James Monroe to change “seven miles square” to “six miles square”, and the current US Survey system was born. The states relinquished their right to this test tract of land, and this either required troops to eject the Native Americans or capital to purchase their land fairly, insuring the peaceful sale and settlement. With the states no longer in control of the lands and no federal magistrates or troops to enforce the laws, Lees plan to fill the federal treasury with the proceeds of land sales failed, but the survey system developed under the Land Ordinance of 1785 is still used today. Anne died December 12,1768 at Chantille, Westmoreland Co, the couple had six children, four of whom survived infancy, Elizabeth Virginia Lee, who died in infancy. Thomas Lee, resided at Park Gate from 1790 to 1805, Col. Ludwell Lee, Esq. who married Flora Lee, daughter of Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr. Esq. and Elizabeth Steptoe, who married secondly, Philip Richard Fendall I
Richard Henry Lee
–
A painting of Lee at the
National Portrait Gallery in
Washington, D.C.
4.
George Washington
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George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is popularly considered the driving force behind the nations establishment and came to be known as the father of the country, both during his lifetime and to this day. Washington was widely admired for his leadership qualities and was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. Washingtons incumbency established many precedents still in use today, such as the system, the inaugural address. His retirement from office two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two elected terms and he was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia to a family of wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves, which he inherited. In his youth, he became an officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned him as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, in that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause and his strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies, after victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of government for the United States. Following his election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation and he supported Alexander Hamiltons programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 and he remained non-partisan, never joining the Federalist Party, although he largely supported its policies. Washingtons Farewell Address was a primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home, upon his death, Washington was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen by Representative Henry Lee III of Virginia. He was revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history and he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, public works, currency, and other dedications to the present day. He was born on February 11,1731, according to the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22,1732. Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave and his great-grandfather John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, Georges father Augustine
George Washington
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George Washington by
Gilbert Stuart, 1797
George Washington
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Washington's birthplace
George Washington
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Washington's map, accompanying his Journal to the Ohio (1753–1754)
George Washington
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A
mezzotint of
Martha Washington, based on a 1757 portrait by
Wollaston
5.
United States Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court of the United States. In the legal system of the United States, the Supreme Court is the interpreter of federal constitutional law. The Court normally consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight justices who are nominated by the President. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, in modern discourse, the justices are often categorized as having conservative, moderate, or liberal philosophies of law and of judicial interpretation. Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, the Court meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D. C. The Supreme Court is sometimes referred to as SCOTUS, in analogy to other acronyms such as POTUS. The ratification of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court in 1789 and its powers are detailed in Article Three of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the court specifically established by the Constitution. The Court first convened on February 2,1790, by which five of its six initial positions had been filled. According to historian Fergus Bordewich, in its first session, he Supreme Court convened for the first time at the Royal Exchange Building on Broad Street and they had no cases to consider. After a week of inactivity, they adjourned until September, the sixth member was not confirmed until May 12,1790. Because the full Court had only six members, every decision that it made by a majority was made by two-thirds. However, Congress has always allowed less than the Courts full membership to make decisions, under Chief Justices Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth, the Court heard few cases, its first decision was West v. Barnes, a case involving a procedural issue. The Courts power and prestige grew substantially during the Marshall Court, the Marshall Court also ended the practice of each justice issuing his opinion seriatim, a remnant of British tradition, and instead issuing a single majority opinion. Also during Marshalls tenure, although beyond the Courts control, the impeachment, the Taney Court made several important rulings, such as Sheldon v. Nevertheless, it is primarily remembered for its ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which helped precipitate the Civil War. In the Reconstruction era, the Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts interpreted the new Civil War amendments to the Constitution, during World War II, the Court continued to favor government power, upholding the internment of Japanese citizens and the mandatory pledge of allegiance. Nevertheless, Gobitis was soon repudiated, and the Steel Seizure Case restricted the pro-government trend, the Warren Court dramatically expanded the force of Constitutional civil liberties. It held that segregation in public schools violates equal protection and that traditional legislative district boundaries violated the right to vote
United States Supreme Court
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Chief Justice Marshall
United States Supreme Court
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Supreme Court of the United States
United States Supreme Court
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The Roberts Court, October 2010 Back row (left to right):
Sonia Sotomayor,
Stephen G. Breyer,
Samuel A. Alito, and
Elena Kagan. Front row (left to right):
Clarence Thomas,
Antonin Scalia,
Chief Justice John Roberts,
Anthony Kennedy, and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
United States Supreme Court
–
Roberts, John
John Roberts (
Chief Justice)
6.
Marbury v. Madison
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The landmark decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force the new Secretary of State, James Madison, the Court, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, found firstly that Madisons refusal to deliver the commission was both illegal and correctible. In the presidential election of 1800, Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams, although the election was decided on February 17,1801, Jefferson did not take office until March 4,1801. Until that time, outgoing president Adams and the Federalist-controlled 6th Congress were still in power, during this lame-duck session, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. The act also reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five, effective upon the vacancy in the Court. These appointees, the infamous Midnight Judges, included William Marbury, an ardent Federalist, Marbury was active in Maryland politics and a vigorous supporter of the Adams presidency. He had been appointed to the position of justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, the term for a justice of the peace was five years, and they were authorized to hold courts and cognizance of personal demands of the value of 20 dollars. On the following day, the appointments were approved en masse by the Senate, however, to go into effect, the commissions had to be delivered to those appointed. This task fell to John Marshall, who, even though recently appointed Chief Justice of the United States, while a majority of the commissions were delivered, it proved impossible for all of them to be delivered before Adamss term as president expired. On March 4,1801, Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as President, without the commissions, the appointees were unable to assume the offices and duties to which they had been appointed. In Jeffersons opinion, the commissions, not having been delivered on time, were void. In addition, it replaced the Courts two annual sessions with one session to begin on the first Monday in February, and canceled the Supreme Court term scheduled for June of that year. Seeking to delay a ruling on the constitutionality of the act until months after the new judicial system was in operation. Although the power of review is sometimes said to have originated with Marbury, the concept of judicial review has older roots in the United States. The idea is attributed to the English jurist Edward Coke. Rep. 107a, although this attribution has been called one of the most enduring myths of American constitutional law and theory, bonhams Case was not mentioned in Marbury v. The actual and practical security for English liberty against legislative tyranny was the power of a public opinion represented by the commons. Cokes meaning has been disputed over the years, for example by scholars who contend that Coke only meant to construe a statute without challenging Parliamentary sovereignty and his remarks that seem suggestive of judicial review are sometimes considered obiter dicta, rather than part of the rationale of the case
Marbury v. Madison
–
William Marbury
Marbury v. Madison
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Secretary of State Madison was ordered by President Jefferson to withhold the commissions made at the last minute by outgoing President Adams.
Marbury v. Madison
–
Sir
Edward Coke
Marbury v. Madison
–
Inscription on the wall of the
Supreme Court Building from Marbury v. Madison, in which Chief Justice John Marshall outlined the concept of judicial review.
7.
Statute
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A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city or country. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy, statutes are rules made by legislative bodies, they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies. Statute law is written by a legislative body and signed into law by its executive. Before a statute becomes law in countries, it must be agreed upon by the highest executive in the government. A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history is how to organize published statutes, such publications have a habit of starting small but growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through a number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which portions are still in effect. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative state of the law in that jurisdiction. In many nations statutory law is distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional law, statute is also another word for law. The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century, in the Autonomous Communities of Spain, the autonomy statute is a legal document similar to a state constitution in a federated state. The autonomies statutes in Spain have the rank of Ley Organica, leyes Organicas rank between the Constitution and ordinary laws. The name was chosen, among others, to avoid confusion with the term Constitution, in biblical terminology, statute refers to a law given without any reason or justification. The classic example is the statute regarding the Red Heifer. The opposite of a chok is a mishpat, a law given for a reason, e. g. the Sabbath laws, which were given because God created the world in six days. That which upholds, supports or maintains the order of the universe meaning the Law or Natural Law. This is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion, Constitution Legislation Legislature Organic statute Statutory law
Statute
–
Statute of
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, written in
Polish
8.
First United States Congress
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With the initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. April 1,1789, House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers April 6,1789, Senate first achieved a quorum and elected its officers. Held March 4,1789, through September 29,1789, at Federal Hall in New York City June 1,1789, An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, ch. 1,1 Stat.23 July 4,1789, Hamilton Tariff,2,1 Stat.24 July 27,1789, United States Department of State, was established, originally named the Department of Foreign Affairs, ch. Regulation of the Collection of Duties on Tonnage and Merchandise, ch.5,1 Stat.29, august 7,1789, Department of War was established, ch. September 2,1789, United States Department of the Treasury was established,12,1 Stat.65 September 24,1789, Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 2,1 Stat.101 March 26,1790, Naturalization Act of 1790,3,1 Stat.103 April 10,1790, Patent Act of 1790, ch. 7,1 Stat.109 April 30,1790, Crimes Act of 1790,9,1 Stat.112 May 31,1790, Copyright Act of 1790, ch. 15,1 Stat.124 July 6,1790, Residence Act,130, established Washington, D. C. as the seat of government of the United States. July 22,1790, Indian Intercourse Act of 1790, ch,137, regulated commerce with the Indian tribes. Held December 6,1790, through March 3,1791, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia February 25,1791, First Bank of the United States,10,1 Stat.191 March 3,1791, Whiskey Act, ch. 199, which triggered the Whiskey Rebellion September 25,1789, Constitution establishing specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on government power, and submitted them to the state legislatures for ratification. 97, Article one has not been ratified and is pending before the states. Article two was later ratified on May 7,1992 as the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Articles three through twelve, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15,1791. November 21,1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution, may 26,1790, Territory South of the River Ohio organized from land ceded by North Carolina. May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state to ratify the United States Constitution, there were no political parties in this Congress
First United States Congress
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Federal Hall, site of the first two sessions of this Congress (1789)
First United States Congress
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Congress Hall in
Philadelphia, meeting place of this Congress's third session.
First United States Congress
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Statue of
George Washington in front of
Federal Hall, where he was first inaugurated as President.
First United States Congress
–
President of the Senate
John Adams
9.
Article Three of the United States Constitution
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Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court of the United States, the judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The number of justices is fixed by statute at nine, the one chief justice, proposals to divide the Supreme Court into separate panels have been made, but all have failed. Since all such proposals have failed, the Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of such a division, however, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote, the Constitution does not appear to authorize two or more Supreme Courts functioning in effect as separate courts. The Supreme Court is the federal court that is explicitly mandated by the Constitution. During the Constitutional Convention, a proposal was made for the Supreme Court to be the federal court. This proposal was rejected in favor of the provision that exists today, under this provision, the Congress may create inferior courts under both Article III, Section 1, and Article I, Section 8. The Article III courts, which are known as constitutional courts, were first created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Article I courts, which are known as legislative courts, consist of regulatory agencies. Article III courts are the ones with judicial power. However, cases not requiring judicial determination may come before Article I courts, other cases, such as bankruptcy cases, have been held not to involve judicial determination, and may therefore go before Article I courts. Similarly, several courts in the District of Columbia, which is under the jurisdiction of the Congress, are Article I courts rather than Article III courts. This article was expressly extended to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico by the U. S. Congress through Federal Law 89-571,80 Stat,764, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. This transformed the article IV United States territorial court in Puerto Rico, created in 1900, Supreme Court for every sitting member over the age of 70½, up to a maximum of six. The Constitution is silent when it comes to judges of courts which have been abolished, the Judiciary Act of 1801 increased the number of courts to permit the Federalist President John Adams to appoint a number of Federalist judges before Thomas Jefferson took office. When Jefferson became President, the Congress abolished several of these courts, Judicial code of 1911 abolished circuit riding and transferred the circuit courts authority and jurisdiction to the district courts. The Constitution provides that judges shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, the term good behavior is interpreted to mean that judges may serve for the remainder of their lives, although they may resign or retire voluntarily. A judge may also be removed by impeachment and conviction by congressional vote, Three other judges, Mark W. Delahay, George W. English, and Samuel B
Article Three of the United States Constitution
–
Secretary of State
James Madison, who won
Marbury v. Madison, but lost
Judicial review.
Article Three of the United States Constitution
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A nineteenth century painting of a jury.
Article Three of the United States Constitution
–
Iva Toguri, known as
Tokyo Rose, and
Tomoya Kawakita were two Japanese Americans who were tried for treason after World War II.
10.
United States Constitution
–
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government, Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure used by the thirteen States to ratify it. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty, the majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures, Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the document. All four pages of the original U. S, according to the United States Senate, The Constitutions first three words—We the People—affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. From September 5,1774 to March 1,1781, the Continental Congress functioned as the government of the United States. The process of selecting the delegates for the First and Second Continental Congresses underscores the revolutionary role of the people of the colonies in establishing a governing body. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States and it was drafted by the Second Continental Congress from mid-1776 through late-1777, and ratification by all 13 states was completed by early 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation, the governments power was quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers, implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures. The Continental Congress could print money but the currency was worthless, Congress could borrow money, but couldnt pay it back. No state paid all their U. S. taxes, some paid nothing, some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more. No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments, by 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due. Internationally, the Articles of Confederation did little to enhance the United States ability to defend its sovereignty, most of the troops in the 625-man United States Army were deployed facing – but not threatening – British forts on American soil. They had not been paid, some were deserting and others threatening mutiny, spain closed New Orleans to American commerce, U. S. officials protested, but to no effect. Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce, the Treasury had no funds to pay their ransom, if any military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response. Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was failing to bring unity to the sentiments and interests of the various states
United States Constitution
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Page one of the original copy of the Constitution
United States Constitution
–
Signing the Constitution, September 17, 1787
United States Constitution
–
Territorial extent of the United States, 1790.
United States Constitution
–
"We the People" in an original edition
11.
Anti-Administration Party (United States)
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This was not an organized political party, but an unorganized faction. Most had been Anti-Federalists in 1788, meaning they opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States, however, the situation was fluid, with members moving in and out. Madison joined with former Anti-Federalists to oppose Hamiltons financial plans in 1790, after Jefferson took leadership of the opposition to Hamilton in 1792, the faction became a formal party, Jeffersons Republican Party. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and during the process in 1788. He wrote The Federalist Papers, together with Hamilton and John Jay, in 1789–1790, Madison was a leader in support of the new federal government. At this time, the concept of an opposition party was novel. But in January 1790, Madison joined with Henry Tazewell and others to oppose Hamiltons First Report on the Public Credit, the creation of this coalition marked the emergence of the anti-Administration party, which was almost exclusively southern at this time. Madison argued that repaying the debt rewarded speculators and his proposal to repay only the original bondholders was defeated by a vote of 36 to 13. Hamiltons report also provided for the assumption of debt by the federal government. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and South Carolina owed nearly half of this debt, the United States House of Representatives passed the bill without assumption, but the Senate included this provision. Jefferson only had one State Department patronage job, which he gave to Freneau, in the second Congress, the anti-Administration elements were more numerous and included about 32 House members. In 1791, Madison and Hamilton again clashed when the proposed the creation of a national bank. Southern planters were opposed, but urban merchants supported the idea, Madison said the Bank was unconstitutional, but Hamilton successfully argued that the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution allowed for it. The French Revolutionary Wars, which began in April 1792, hardened the differences between the factions, the Pro-Administration Party generally supported the British side, or wished to remain neutral, while the Anti-Administration Party supported the French side. Jefferson joined the party in 1792, and it contested the election that year under the name Republican, politics now became more stable, with well-defined parties, thereby creating the First Party System which lasted two decades. The Jeffersonian Persuasion, Evolution of a Party Ideology Bordewich, Fergus M, the First Congress, How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government on 1789–91. Bowling, Kenneth R. and Donald R. Kennon, eds, perspectives on the History of Congress, 1789–1801. The Age of Federalism online version, the highly detailed political history of 1790s Hoadley
Anti-Administration Party (United States)
–
Virginia Congressman
James Madison was the leader of the anti-Administration party
12.
Tyranny
–
A tyrant, in its modern English usage, is an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or person, or one who has usurped legitimate sovereignty. Often described as a character, a tyrant defends his position by oppressive means. The original Greek term, however, merely meant an authoritarian sovereign without reference to character, bearing no pejorative connotation during the Archaic, Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as one who rules without law, and uses extreme and cruel tactics–against his own people as well as others. It is defined further in the Encyclopédie as a usurper of sovereign power who makes his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws. During the seventh and sixth centuries BC, tyranny was often looked upon as a stage between narrow oligarchy and more democratic forms of polity. However, in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant. Tyranny includes a variety of types of government – by a tyrant. The definition is extended to other leadership and to oppressive policies. For example, a teacher may find the school administration, the textbook or standardized tests to be oppressive, the English noun tyrant appears in Middle English use, via Old French, from the 1290s. The final -t arises in Old French by association with the present participles in -ant, the word tyranny is used with many meanings, not only by the Greeks, but throughout the tradition of the great books. The Oxford English Dictionary offers alternative definitions, a ruler, an illegitimate ruler, the term is usually applied to vicious dictators who achieve bad results for the governed. The definition of a tyrant is cursed by subjectivity, oppression, injustice and cruelty do not have standardized measurements or thresholds. The Greeks defined both usurpers and those inheriting rule from usurpers as tyrants, Old words are defined by their historical usage. It is difficult to determine characteristics of tyrants were defining rather than descriptive. Biblical quotations do not use the word tyrant, but express opinions very similar to those of the Greek philosophers, citing the wickedness, cruelty, like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life, proverbs 28, 15–16 By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy extractions ruins it. Proverbs 29,4 The Greek philosophers stressed the quality of rule rather than legitimacy or absolutism, both Plato and Aristotle speak of the king as a good monarch and the tyrant as a bad one. Both say that monarchy, or rule by a man, is royal when it is for the welfare of the ruled
Tyranny
–
François Gérard, The French people demanding destitution of the Tyran on
10 August 1792
13.
United States Bill of Rights
–
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the oftentimes bitter 1787–88 battle over ratification of the U. S, on June 8,1789, Representative James Madison introduced nine amendments to the constitution in the House of Representatives. Among his recommendations Madison proposed opening up the Constitution and inserting specific rights limiting the power of Congress in Article One, Seven of these limitations would become part of the ten ratified Bill of Rights amendments. Contrary to Madisons original proposal that the articles be incorporated into the body of the Constitution. Articles Three through Twelve were ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15,1791, Article Two became part of the Constitution on May 5,1992, as the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Article One is technically still pending before the states, the door for their application upon state governments was opened in the 1860s, following ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Since the early 20th century both federal and state courts have used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply portions of the Bill of Rights to state, the process is known as incorporation. There are several original engrossed copies of the Bill of Rights still in existence, One of these is on permanent public display at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. However, the government that operated under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to adequately regulate the various conflicts that arose between the states. The Philadelphia Convention set out to correct weaknesses of the Articles that had been apparent even before the American Revolutionary War had been successfully concluded, the convention took place from May 14 to September 17,1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention convened in the Pennsylvania State House, and George Washington of Virginia was unanimously elected as president of the convention, the 55 delegates who drafted the Constitution are among the men known as the Founding Fathers of the new nation. Thomas Jefferson, who was Minister to France during the convention, Rhode Island refused to send delegates to the convention. However, the motion was defeated by a vote of the state delegations after only a brief discussion. Madison, then an opponent of a Bill of Rights, later explained the vote by calling the bills of rights parchment barriers that offered only an illusion of protection against tyranny. The quick rejection of this motion, however, later endangered the entire ratification process, thirty-nine delegates signed the finalized Constitution. Thirteen delegates left before it was completed, and three who remained at the convention until the end refused to sign it, Mason, Gerry, elbridge Gerry wrote the most popular Anti-Federalist tract, Hon. Mr. Gerrys Objections, which went through 46 printings, the essay particularly focused on the lack of a bill of rights in the proposed constitution, many were concerned that a strong national government was a threat to individual rights and that the president would become a king. Jefferson wrote to Madison advocating a Bill of Rights, Half a loaf is better than no bread, if we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can
United States Bill of Rights
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United States Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
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On June 5, 1788,
Patrick Henry spoke before
Virginia's ratification convention in opposition to the Constitution.
United States Bill of Rights
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James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and first author of the Bill of Rights
14.
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment was introduced in Congress in 1789 by James Madison, along with the amendments in the Bill of Rights. Congress submitted the amendment to the states on September 28,1789, by December 15,1791, the necessary three-fourths of the states had ratified it. On March 1,1792, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced the adoption of the amendment, the amendment was held to apply to the states in Mapp v. Ohio. Under the Fourth Amendment, search and seizure should be limited in scope according to information supplied to the issuing court. The exclusionary rule is one way the amendment is enforced, established in Weeks v. United States, this rule holds that evidence obtained through a Fourth Amendment violation is generally inadmissible at criminal trials. Evidence discovered as a result of an illegal search may also be inadmissible as fruit of the poisonous tree. Like many other areas of American law, the Fourth Amendment finds its roots in English legal doctrine. Sir Edward Coke, in Semaynes case, famously stated, The house of one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defence against injury. Entick filed suit in Entick v Carrington, argued before the Court of Kings Bench in 1765, during what scholar William Cuddihy called the colonial epidemic of general searches, the authorities possessed almost unlimited power to search for anything at any time, with very little oversight. In 1756, the colony of Massachusetts enacted legislation that barred the use of general warrants and this represented the first law in American history curtailing the use of seizure power. The act also permitted the use of a general warrant known as a writ of assistance, allowing tax collectors to search the homes of colonists and seize prohibited and uncustomed goods. A crisis erupted over the writs of assistance on December 27,1760 when the news of King George IIs death on October 23 arrived in Boston. All writs automatically expired six months after the death of the King and would have had to be re-issued by George III, in mid-January 1761, a group of over 50 merchants represented by James Otis petitioned the court to have hearings on the issue. During the five-hour hearing on February 23,1761, Otis vehemently denounced British colonial policies, however, the court ruled against Otis. Future US President John Adams, who was present in the courtroom when Otis spoke, the governor overturned the legislation, finding it contrary to English law and parliamentary sovereignty. Seeing the danger general warrants presented, the Virginia Declaration of Rights explicitly forbade the use of general warrants, by 1784, eight state constitutions contained a provision against general warrants. George Mason, a Constitutional Convention delegate and the drafter of Virginias Declaration of Rights, after a brief debate, Masons proposal was defeated by a unanimous vote of the state delegations
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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The Bill of Rights in the
National Archives
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden established the English common law precedent against general search warrants.
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Massachusetts lawyer
James Otis protested British use of general warrants in the American colonies.
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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James Madison, drafter of the Bill of Rights
15.
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment. The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendments Cruel, the phrases in this amendment originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689. This amendment was adopted on December 15,1791, along with the rest of the United States Bill of Rights. The amendment as proposed by Congress in 1789 reads as follows, Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel, the Eighth Amendment was adopted, as part of the Bill of Rights, in 1791. Oates was sentenced to imprisonment including an annual ordeal of being out for two days pillory plus one day of whipping while tied to a moving cart. The Oates case eventually became a topic of the U. S. Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, the punishment of Oates involved ordinary penalties collectively imposed in a barbaric, excessive and bizarre manner. The reason why the judges in Oates perjury case were not allowed to impose the penalty may be because such a punishment would have deterred even honest witnesses from testifying in later cases. England’s declaration against cruel and unusual punishments was approved by Parliament in February 1689, Parliament then enacted the English Bill of Rights into law in December 1689. Members of parliament characterized the punishment in the Oates case as not just barbarous and inhuman, in England, the cruel and unusual punishments clause was a limitation on the discretion of judges, and required judges to adhere to precedent. For the bill of rights has particularly declared, that excessive fines ought not to be imposed, nor cruel, Virginia adopted this provision of the English Bill of Rights in the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and the Virginia convention that ratified the U. S. Constitution recommended in 1788 that this also be included in the Constitution. Virginians such as George Mason and Patrick Henry wanted to ensure that this restriction would also be applied as a limitation on Congress, Mason warned that, otherwise, Congress may inflict unusual and severe punishments. Henry emphasized that Congress should not be allowed to depart from precedent, What has distinguished our ancestors. --That they would not admit of tortures, or cruel, but Congress may introduce the practice of the civil law, in preference to that of the common law. They may introduce the practice of France, Spain, and Germany, ultimately, Henry and Mason prevailed, and the Eighth Amendment was adopted. James Madison changed ought to shall, when he proposed the amendment to Congress in 1789, in England, sheriffs originally determined whether to grant bail to criminal suspects. Since they tended to abuse their power, Parliament passed a statute in 1275 whereby bailable and non-bailable offenses were defined, the Kings judges often subverted the provisions of the law. It was held that an individual may be held without bail upon the Sovereigns command, eventually, the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority. Thereafter, judges were compelled to set bail, but they often required impracticable amounts, finally, the English Bill of Rights held that excessive bail ought not to be required
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Pertinent part of the English Bill of Rights, December 1689.
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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The American Bill of Rights in the
National Archives, March 1789
16.
Supreme Court of the United States
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court of the United States. In the legal system of the United States, the Supreme Court is the interpreter of federal constitutional law. The Court normally consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight justices who are nominated by the President. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, in modern discourse, the justices are often categorized as having conservative, moderate, or liberal philosophies of law and of judicial interpretation. Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, the Court meets in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D. C. The Supreme Court is sometimes referred to as SCOTUS, in analogy to other acronyms such as POTUS. The ratification of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court in 1789 and its powers are detailed in Article Three of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the court specifically established by the Constitution. The Court first convened on February 2,1790, by which five of its six initial positions had been filled. According to historian Fergus Bordewich, in its first session, he Supreme Court convened for the first time at the Royal Exchange Building on Broad Street and they had no cases to consider. After a week of inactivity, they adjourned until September, the sixth member was not confirmed until May 12,1790. Because the full Court had only six members, every decision that it made by a majority was made by two-thirds. However, Congress has always allowed less than the Courts full membership to make decisions, under Chief Justices Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth, the Court heard few cases, its first decision was West v. Barnes, a case involving a procedural issue. The Courts power and prestige grew substantially during the Marshall Court, the Marshall Court also ended the practice of each justice issuing his opinion seriatim, a remnant of British tradition, and instead issuing a single majority opinion. Also during Marshalls tenure, although beyond the Courts control, the impeachment, the Taney Court made several important rulings, such as Sheldon v. Nevertheless, it is primarily remembered for its ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which helped precipitate the Civil War. In the Reconstruction era, the Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts interpreted the new Civil War amendments to the Constitution, during World War II, the Court continued to favor government power, upholding the internment of Japanese citizens and the mandatory pledge of allegiance. Nevertheless, Gobitis was soon repudiated, and the Steel Seizure Case restricted the pro-government trend, the Warren Court dramatically expanded the force of Constitutional civil liberties. It held that segregation in public schools violates equal protection and that traditional legislative district boundaries violated the right to vote
Supreme Court of the United States
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Chief Justice Marshall
Supreme Court of the United States
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Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
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The Roberts Court, October 2010 Back row (left to right):
Sonia Sotomayor,
Stephen G. Breyer,
Samuel A. Alito, and
Elena Kagan. Front row (left to right):
Clarence Thomas,
Antonin Scalia,
Chief Justice John Roberts,
Anthony Kennedy, and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court of the United States
–
Roberts, John
John Roberts (
Chief Justice)
17.
Admiralty law
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Admiralty law or maritime law is a distinct body of law that governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities that operate vessels on the oceans. It deals with matters including marine commerce, marine navigation, marine salvaging, shipping, sailors, Admiralty law also covers many commercial activities, although land based or occurring wholly on land, that are maritime in character. Seaborne transport was one of the earliest channels of commerce, in southern Italy the Ordinamenta et consuetudo maris at Trani and the Amalfian Laws were in effect from an early date. Islamic law also made contributions to international admiralty law, departing from the previous Roman. Islamic law departed from Justinians Digest and the Nomos Rhodion Nautikos in condemning slave jettison, the Islamic influence on the development of an international law of the sea can thus be discerned alongside that of the Roman influence. Admiralty law was introduced into England by the French Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine while she was acting as regent for her son, in England, special admiralty courts handle all admiralty cases. These courts do not use the law of England, but are civil law courts largely based upon the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian. Admiralty courts were a prominent feature in the prelude to the American Revolution, because the Stamp Act was unpopular, a colonial jury was unlikely to convict a colonist of its violation. However, because admiralty courts did not grant trial by jury, Admiralty law became part of the law of the United States as it was gradually introduced through admiralty cases arising after the adoption of the U. S. Many American lawyers who were prominent in the American Revolution were admiralty and those included are Alexander Hamilton in New York and John Adams in Massachusetts. The result was the Seventh Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, in the more modern era, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes was an admiralty lawyer before ascending to the bench. The doctrine of maintenance and cure is rooted in Article VI of the Rolls of Oleron promulgated in about 1160 A. D. The obligation to cure requires a shipowner to provide care, free of charge, to a seaman injured in the service of the ship. The concept of maximum medical cure is more extensive than the concept maximum medical improvement, the obligation to cure a seaman includes the obligation to provide him with medications and medical devices which improve his ability to function, even if they dont improve his actual condition. They may include long term treatments that permit him to continue to function well, common examples include prostheses, wheelchairs, and pain medications. The obligation of maintenance requires the shipowner to provide a seaman with his living expenses while he is convalescing. Once a seaman is able to work, he is expected to maintain himself, consequently, a seaman can lose his right to maintenance, while the obligation to provide cure is ongoing
Admiralty law
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Admiralty law
18.
United States district court
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The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the court, which is a court of law, equity. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States district court, each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and many districts have more than one. The formal name of a court is the United States District Court for the name of the district—for example. In contrast to the Supreme Court, which was established by Article III of the Constitution, there is no constitutional requirement that district courts exist at all. This view did not prevail, however, and the first Congress created the court system that is still in place today. There is at least one district for each state, the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as Article III U. S. district courts, despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these Article IV territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article Three of the Constitution, there are 89 districts in the 50 states, with a total of 94 districts including territories. The United States Court of International Trade addresses cases involving international trade, the United States Tax Court has jurisdiction over contested pre-assessment determinations of taxes. A judge of a United States district court is titled a United States District Judge. The number of judges in district court is set by Congress in the United States Code. The President appoints the judges for terms of good behavior. With the exception of the courts, federal district judges are Article III judges appointed for life. Otherwise, a judge, even if convicted of a criminal offense by a jury, is entitled to hold office until retirement or death. In the history of the United States, only twelve judges have been impeached by the House, a judge who has reached the age of 65 may retire or elect to go on senior status and keep working. A federal judge is addressed in writing as The Honorable John/Jane Doe or Hon. John/Jane Doe and in speech as Judge or Judge Doe or, when presiding in court, Your Honor. District judges usually concentrate on managing their courts overall caseload, supervising trials, since the 1960s, routine tasks like resolving discovery disputes can, in the district judges discretion, be referred to magistrate judges
United States district court
–
Eastern District of New York
United States district court
–
Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts
19.
Anti-Administration Party
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This was not an organized political party, but an unorganized faction. Most had been Anti-Federalists in 1788, meaning they opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States, however, the situation was fluid, with members moving in and out. Madison joined with former Anti-Federalists to oppose Hamiltons financial plans in 1790, after Jefferson took leadership of the opposition to Hamilton in 1792, the faction became a formal party, Jeffersons Republican Party. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and during the process in 1788. He wrote The Federalist Papers, together with Hamilton and John Jay, in 1789–1790, Madison was a leader in support of the new federal government. At this time, the concept of an opposition party was novel. But in January 1790, Madison joined with Henry Tazewell and others to oppose Hamiltons First Report on the Public Credit, the creation of this coalition marked the emergence of the anti-Administration party, which was almost exclusively southern at this time. Madison argued that repaying the debt rewarded speculators and his proposal to repay only the original bondholders was defeated by a vote of 36 to 13. Hamiltons report also provided for the assumption of debt by the federal government. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and South Carolina owed nearly half of this debt, the United States House of Representatives passed the bill without assumption, but the Senate included this provision. Jefferson only had one State Department patronage job, which he gave to Freneau, in the second Congress, the anti-Administration elements were more numerous and included about 32 House members. In 1791, Madison and Hamilton again clashed when the proposed the creation of a national bank. Southern planters were opposed, but urban merchants supported the idea, Madison said the Bank was unconstitutional, but Hamilton successfully argued that the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution allowed for it. The French Revolutionary Wars, which began in April 1792, hardened the differences between the factions, the Pro-Administration Party generally supported the British side, or wished to remain neutral, while the Anti-Administration Party supported the French side. Jefferson joined the party in 1792, and it contested the election that year under the name Republican, politics now became more stable, with well-defined parties, thereby creating the First Party System which lasted two decades. The Jeffersonian Persuasion, Evolution of a Party Ideology Bordewich, Fergus M, the First Congress, How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government on 1789–91. Bowling, Kenneth R. and Donald R. Kennon, eds, perspectives on the History of Congress, 1789–1801. The Age of Federalism online version, the highly detailed political history of 1790s Hoadley
Anti-Administration Party
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Virginia Congressman
James Madison was the leader of the anti-Administration party
20.
Oliver Ellsworth
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While at the Federal Convention, Ellsworth moved to strike the word National from the motion made by Edmund Randolph of Virginia. Randolph had moved successfully to call the government the National Government of United States, Ellsworth moved that the government should continue to be called the United States Government. Ellsworth was born in Windsor, Connecticut, to Capt. David and he entered Yale in 1762, but transferred to the College of New Jersey at the end of his second year. He continued to study theology and, while attending, helped found the American Whig–Cliosophic Society along with Aaron Burr and he received his A. B. degree, Phi Beta Kappa after 2 years. Soon afterward, however, Ellsworth turned to the law, after four years of study, he was admitted to the bar in 1771 and later became a successful lawyer and politician. Oliver Ellsworth was the grandfather of Henry L. Ellsworths son Henry W. Ellsworth, from a slow start, Ellsworth built up a prosperous law practice. In 1777, he became Connecticuts state attorney for Hartford County and that same year, he was chosen as one of Connecticuts representatives in the Continental Congress. He served on various committees until 1783, including the Marine Committee, the Board of Treasury, Ellsworth was also active in his states efforts during the Revolution, having served as a member of the Committee of the Pay Table that supervised Connecticuts war expenditures. In 1777 he joined the Committee of Appeals, which can be described as a forerunner of the Federal Supreme Court, while serving on it, he participated in the Olmstead case that first brought state and federal authority into conflict. In 1779, he assumed duties as a member of the Council of Safety. His first judicial service was on the Supreme Court of Errors when it was established in 1785, in May 1787, Ellsworth joined the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia as a delegate from Connecticut along with Roger Sherman and William Samuel Johnson. More than half of the 55 delegates were lawyers, eight of whom, the words United States had already been used in the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation as well as Thomas Paines The American Crisis. It was Ellsworths proposal to retain the earlier wording to sustain the emphasis on a rather than a single national entity. Three weeks earlier, on May 30,1787, Edmund Randolph of Virginia had moved to create a government consisting of a supreme legislative, an executive. Ellsworth accepted Randolphs notion of a division, but moved to strike the phrase national government. From this day forward the United States was the title used in the Convention to designate the government. Ellsworth played a role in the passage of the Connecticut Plan. Ellsworths version of the compromise was adopted by the Convention, to gain the passage of the Connecticut Plan its proponents needed support of three southern states, Georgia and the two Carolinas, complementing the small state coalition of the North
Oliver Ellsworth
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Oliver Ellsworth
Oliver Ellsworth
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Oliver and Abigail Ellsworth by
Ralph Earl
Oliver Ellsworth
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Letter from Ellsworth to
George Washington wishing former president "a most respectful and most cordial farewell," March 1797
21.
Connecticut
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Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront
Connecticut
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Bear Mountain, highest peak in Connecticut
Connecticut
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Flag
Connecticut
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Lake Mcdonough reservoir as seen from the Tunxis Trail Overlook Spur trail, Barkhamsted
Connecticut
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New Haven
22.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
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United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
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Seal of the House
United States House of Representatives
–
Republican
Thomas Brackett Reed, occasionally ridiculed as "Czar Reed", was a U.S. Representative from
Maine, and
Speaker of the House from 1889 to 1891 and from 1895 to 1899.
United States House of Representatives
–
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer, and Education and Labor Committee Chairman
George Miller confer with President
Barack Obama at the
Oval Office in 2009.
23.
John Jay
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John Jay was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay was born into a family of merchants and government officials in New York City. He became a lawyer and joined the New York Committee of Correspondence and he joined a conservative political faction that, fearing mob rule, sought to protect property rights and maintain the rule of law while resisting British rule. Jay served as the President of the Continental Congress, a position with little power. His major diplomatic achievement was to negotiate trade terms with Great Britain in the Jay Treaty in 1794. Jay, a proponent of strong, centralized government, worked to ratify the U. S, constitution in New York in 1788 by pseudonymously writing five of The Federalist Papers, along with the main authors Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. After the establishment of the U. S. government, Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States, as a leader of the new Federalist Party, Jay was the Governor of the State of New York, where he became the states leading opponent of slavery. His first two attempts to end slavery in New York in 1777 and 1785 failed, but a third in 1799 succeeded, the 1799 Act, a gradual emancipation he signed into law, eventually granted all slaves in New York their freedom before his death in 1829. The Jays were a prominent merchant family in New York City, in 1685 the Edict of Nantes had been revoked, thereby abolishing the rights of Protestants and confiscating their property. Among those affected was Jays paternal grandfather, Augustus Jay and he moved from France to New York, where he built a successful merchant empire. Jays father, Peter Jay, born in New York City in 1704, became a trader in furs, wheat, timber. Johns mother was Mary Van Cortlandt, who had married Peter Jay in 1728 and they had ten children together, seven of whom survived into adulthood. Marys father, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, had born in New Amsterdam in 1658. Cortlandt served on the New York Assembly, was mayor of New York City. Two of his children married into the Jay family, Jay spent his childhood in Rye. He was educated there by his mother until he was eight years old, in 1756, after three years, he would return to homeschooling in Rye under the tutelage of his mother and George Murray. In 1760, Jay attended Kings College, during this time, Jay made many influential friends, including his closest, Robert Livingston—the son of a prominent New York aristocrat and Supreme Court justice. Jay took the political stand as his father, a staunch Whig
John Jay
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John Jay
John Jay
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Drawing of Sarah Jay by
Robert Edge Pine
John Jay
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John Jay's childhood home in Rye, NY is a
New York State Historic Site and Westchester County Park managed by the non-profit Jay Heritage Center
John Jay
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John Jay's home where he retired, near
Katonah, New York, is a
New York State Historic Site
24.
Chief Justice of the United States
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The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices, the eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. From 1789 until 1866, the office was known as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also serves as a spokesperson for the judicial branch. The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court and presides over oral arguments, when the court renders an opinion, the Chief Justice—when in the majority—decides who writes the courts opinion. The Chief Justice also has significant agenda-setting power over the courts meetings, in the case of an impeachment of a President of the United States, which has occurred twice, the Chief Justice presides over the trial in the Senate. In modern tradition, the Chief Justice also has the duty of administering the oath of office of the President of the United States. The first Chief Justice was John Jay, the 17th and current Chief Justice is John G. Roberts, Jr. The office was known as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and is still informally referred to using that title. However,28 U. S. C. §1 specifies that the title is Chief Justice of the United States, the title was changed from Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Congress in 1866 at the suggestion of the sixth Chief Justice, Salmon P. Chase. Chase wished to emphasize the Supreme Courts role as a branch of government. The first Chief Justice commissioned using the new title was Melville Fuller in 1888, use of the previous title when referring to Chief Justices John Jay through Roger B. Taney is technically correct, as that was the title during their time on the court. The other eight members of the court are officially Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Chief Justice is the only member of the court to whom the Constitution refers as a Justice, and only in Article I. Article III of the Constitution refers to all members of the Supreme Court simply as Judges, the Chief Justice is nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed to sit on the Court by the United States Senate. The salary of the Chief Justice is set by Congress, the Constitution prohibits Congress from lowering the salary of any judge, including the Chief Justice, while that judge holds office. As of 2015, the salary is $258,100 per year, which is higher than that of the Associate Justices. Three serving Associate Justices have received promotions to Chief Justice, Edward Douglass White in 1910, Harlan Fiske Stone in 1941, Associate Justice Abe Fortas was nominated to the position of Chief Justice of the United States, but his nomination was filibustered by Senate Republicans in 1968. Despite the failed nomination, Fortas remained an Associate Justice until his resignation the following year, there have been 21 individuals nominated for Chief Justice, of whom 17 have been confirmed by the Senate, although a different 17 have served
Chief Justice of the United States
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Incumbent
John G. Roberts, Jr. since September 29, 2005
Chief Justice of the United States
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Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
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John Jay, by
Gilbert Stuart
Chief Justice of the United States
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John Marshall, the fourth and longest serving Chief Justice.
25.
John Rutledge
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John Rutledge was the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. S. He was the brother of Edward Rutledge, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Rutledge was the eldest child in a family in Charleston. His father was Scots-Irish immigrant John Rutledge, the physician and his mother, South Carolina–born Sarah, was of English descent. John had six siblings, Andrew, Thomas, Sarah, Hugh, Mary. John’s early education was provided by his father until the latters death, the rest of Rutledges primary education was provided by an Anglican priest. John took an early interest in law and often played lawyer with his brothers and sisters, when he was 17 years old, Rutledge began to read law under a man named James Parsons. Two years later, Rutledge sailed to England to further his studies at Londons Middle Temple, in the course of his studies, he won several cases in English courts. After finishing his studies, Rutledge returned to Charleston to begin a legal career. At the time, many new lawyers barely scraped together enough business to earn their livings, most new lawyers could only hope that they would win well-known cases to ensure their success. Rutledge, however, emerged almost immediately as one of the most prominent lawyers in Charleston, with his successful legal career, he was able to build on his mothers fortune. On May 1,1763, Rutledge married Elizabeth Grimké, Rutledge was very devoted to his wife, and Elizabeths death on July 6,1792, was a major cause of the illness that affected Rutledge in his later years. John and Elizabeth had 10 children, Martha Henrietta, Sarah, John, Edward James, Frederick Wilkes, William Spencer, Charles Wilson, Thomas, Elizabeth, in mid-1765 Rutledge was an important figure in the Stamp Act Congress. Rutledge chaired a committee that drew up a petition to the House of Lords attempting to persuade them to reject the Stamp Act, when the delegates returned to South Carolina after the Congress adjourned, they found the state in turmoil. The people had destroyed all the stamps they could find. When the Stamp Act went into effect on November 1,1765, dougal Campbell, the Charleston court clerk, refused to issue any papers without the stamps. Because of this, all processes in the entire state came to a standstill until news that the Stamp Act had been repealed reached South Carolina in early May 1766. After the Stamp Act conflict ended, Rutledge went back into private life, besides serving in the colonial legislature, he did not involve himself in politics
John Rutledge
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John Rutledge
John Rutledge
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A map showing the battle lines during the British siege in 1780.
John Rutledge
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Rutledge around the time of the Convention.
John Rutledge
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A bust of John Rutledge located in the United States Supreme Court.
26.
William Cushing
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William Cushing was one of the original six associate justices of the United States Supreme Court, from September 27,1789, until his death. He was the longest-serving of the Courts original members, sitting on the bench for 20 years,351 days, in 1796 he was nominated by George Washington to become the third Chief Justice, but declined. He was also the last judge in the United States to wear a full wig, Cushing was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, on March 1,1732. The Cushing family had a history in the area, settling Hingham in 1638. Cushings father John Cushing was a magistrate who in 1747 became an associate justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. William Cushings grandfather John Cushing was also a court judge. Cushings mother, Mary Cotton Cushing, was a daughter of Josiah Cotton and they were descended from Rev. John Cotton, the great 17th century Puritan theologian. Josiah Cotton and Richard Fitzgerald, a teacher at a local Latin school, were responsible for young Cushings early education, Cushing graduated from Harvard College in 1751 and became a member of the bar of Boston in 1755. After briefly practicing law in Scituate, he moved to Pownalborough, in 1762 he was called to become a barrister, again the first in Maine. He practiced law until 1772, when he was appointed by Governor Thomas Hutchinson to replace his father on the Superior Court bench, Cushing did not express any opinion on the matter, but declined the crown payment in preference to a provincial appropriation. After the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, consequently, it essentially dissolved the Superior Court and reformed it in November 1775. Of all its justices, Cushing was the one retained. The congress offered the seat of Chief Justice first to John Adams, but he never sat, the provincial congress appointed Cushing to be the courts first sitting Chief Justice in 1777. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts. He would sit as Massachusetts Chief Justice until 1789, during which period the court ruled in 1783 that slavery was irreconcilable with the new state constitution, and it was ended in the state. In 1783, Cushing presided over a series of cases involving Quock Walker and this was taken to mean that slavery was incompatible with the state constitution ratified in 1779, and that slavery was therefore ended in the state. The case relied on a 1781 freedom suit brought by slave Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mum Bett, on the same grounds, during Shays Rebellion, Cushing ensured that court sessions continued, despite the aggressive protests of the armed rebels, and later presided over their trials. A year later, in 1788, he served as president of the Massachusetts convention
William Cushing
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William Cushing
William Cushing
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Justices
27.
Robert H. Harrison
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Robert Hanson Harrison was an American jurist. Born in Charles County, Maryland, Robert Hanson Harrison was the son of Colonel Richard Harrison, little is known of his life before his removal to Northern Virginia, where he studied law and married. By 1769, he was an attorney and subsequently met. Harrison supported the Virginia Nonimportation Resolves in 1770 and served as the clerk for the Fairfax Resolves in 1774, additionally, he served as an officer in the Fairfax Independent Company in 1774 &1775, and was appointed Major of the Fairfax County militia in September of 1775. On November 6,1775, Robert Hanson Harrison was appointed an aide-de-camp to General Washington, the following May, Harrison was appointed military secretary to General Washington in lieu of Joseph Reed. The Continental Congress approved to grant him at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on June 5,1776, in this capacity, he assisted with the drafting, writing and organization of the Commander-in-Chief’s voluminous correspondence for almost five years. Moreover, President James Monroe testified that “in all the actions in which General Washington commanded, Colonel Harrison was present, near the person of the General. ”Along with Alexander Hamilton, Robert Hanson Harrison negotiated for the exchange of prisoners of war. The death of his father, Richard Harrison, in 1780 began a chain of events led to Robert Hanson Harrisons resignation from the Continental Army in the spring of 1781. When the federal government was established, President George Washington nominated Harrison to the Supreme Court of the United States as an Associate Justice on September 24,1789, the United States Senate confirmed his appointment two days later. However, Harrison declined the appointment, citing familial responsibilities and his health as two prime reasons, moreover, he was truly torn in weighing the position and declined chiefly out of embarrassment for having taken so long to decide. Indeed, the stress on Harrison was so great that it caused George Washington’s old friend, Letter from George Washington, September 28,1789 Letter from George Washington, November 25,1789
Robert H. Harrison
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Robert Harrison
28.
James Wilson
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James Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, where he represented Pennsylvania, a leading legal theorist, he was one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States. Wilson was one of seven children born into a Presbyterian farming family on September 14,1742 near St. Andrews, Scotland and he studied at the Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh, but never obtained a degree. While he was a student, he studied Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, including Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, imbued with the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in British America in 1766, carrying valuable letters of introduction. These helped Wilson to begin tutoring and then teaching at The Academy and he petitioned there for a degree and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts several months later. Wilson began to read the law at the office of John Dickinson a short time later, after two years of study he attained the bar in Philadelphia, and in the following year, set up his own practice in Reading, Pennsylvania. His office was successful and he earned a small fortune in a few years. On November 5,1771, he married Rachel Bird, daughter of William Bird and Bridget Hulings, they had six children together, Mary, William, Bird, James, Emily and Charles. Rachel died in 1786, and in 1793 he married Hannah Gray, daughter of Ellis Gray and Sarah DOlbear, the marriage produced a son named Henry, after Wilsons death, Hannah married Thomas Bartlett, M. D. In 1774, Wilson published Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament, in this pamphlet, Wilson argued that the Parliament had no authority to pass laws for the American colonies because the colonies had no representation in Parliament. It presented his views that all power derived from the people, scholars considered his work on par with the seminal works of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams of the same year. However, it was penned in 1768, perhaps the first cogent argument to be formulated against British dominance. Some see Wilson as a leading revolutionary while others see him as another reluctant, in 1775 he was commissioned Colonel of the 4th Cumberland County Battalion and rose to the rank of Brigadier General of the Pennsylvania State Militia. As a member of the Continental Congress in 1776, James Wilson was an advocate for independence. Believing it was his duty to follow the wishes of his constituents, only after he received more feedback did he vote for independence. While serving in the Congress, Wilson was clearly among the leaders in the formation of French policy, Wilson also served from June 1776 on the Committee on Spies, along with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Rutledge, and Robert R. Livingston. On October 4,1779, the Fort Wilson Riot began, after the British had abandoned Philadelphia, Wilson successfully defended at trial 23 people from property seizure and exile by the radical government of Pennsylvania. A mob whipped up by liquor and the writings and speeches of Joseph Reed, president of Pennsylvanias Supreme Executive Council, marched on Congressman Wilsons home at Third, Wilson and 35 of his colleagues barricaded themselves in his home, later nicknamed Fort Wilson
James Wilson
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James Wilson
James Wilson
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Convention President
29.
John Blair Jr.
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John Blair Jr. was an American politician, Founding Father and jurist. Blair was one of the jurists of his day. A famous legal scholar, he avoided the tumult of state politics, but he was devoted to the idea of a permanent union of the newly independent states and loyally supported fellow Virginians James Madison and George Washington at the Constitutional Convention. Contemporaries praised Blair for such personal strengths as gentleness and benevolence, born in Williamsburg, Virginia, Blair was a member of a prominent Virginia family. John Blair, Sr. his father, served on the Virginia Council and was for a time acting Royal governor and his granduncle, James Blair, was founder and first president of the College of William & Mary. Blair attended William & Mary, receiving an A. B. in 1754, in 1755 he went to London to study law at the Middle Temple. He went on to clerk of the Royal Governors Council. Blair originally joined the wing of the Patriot cause. He opposed Patrick Henrys extremist resolutions in protest of the Stamp Act, when the Revolution began, Blair became deeply involved in the government of his state. He served on the Privy Council, Governor Patrick Henrys major advisory group, the legislature elected him to a judgeship in the general court in 1778 and soon thereafter to the post of chief justice. He was also elected to Virginias high court of chancery, where his colleague was George Wythe and these judicial appointments automatically made Blair a member of Virginias first court of appeals. On the Virginia Court of Appeals, Blair participated in The Commonwealth of Virginia v. Caton et al. which set the precedent that courts can deem legislative acts unconstitutional and this decision was a precursor to the United States Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison. In 1786, the legislature, recognizing Blairs prestige as a jurist, George Washington nominated Blair to the Supreme Court of the United States on September 24,1789. The United States Senate confirmed his appointment on September 26,1789, due to the system of seniority established in Judiciary Act of 1789, Washington did not sign Blairs commission until September 30. The Courts caseload during Blair’s tenure was light, with only 13 cases decided over six years, justice Blair participated, though, in the Courts landmark case of Chisholm v. Georgia, which is considered the first United States Supreme Court case of significance and impact. Blair resigned on October 25,1795, and died in Williamsburg, five years later and he was buried at the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery in Williamsburg. Blair Street in Madison, Wisconsin is named in his honor and he was named Grand Master of Freemasons in Virginia under the newly organized Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1778. Abraham, Henry J. Justices and Presidents, A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court Justices, Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995
John Blair Jr.
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John Blair
John Blair Jr.
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Virginia colonial currency (1773) signed by
Peyton Randolph and Blair.
John Blair Jr.
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Convention President
30.
Edmund Randolph
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Edmund Jennings Randolph was an American attorney, the seventh Governor of Virginia, the second Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General. Randolph was born on August 10,1753 to the influential Randolph family in Williamsburg in the Colony of Virginia and he was educated at the College of William and Mary. After graduation he began reading law with his father John Randolph and uncle and he would go on to serve as mayor of Williamsburg, and then as the first Attorney General of the United States under the newly formed government. He was married on August 29,1776 to Elizabeth Nicholas, Randolph was selected as one of eleven delegates to represent Virginia at the Continental Congress in 1779, and served as a delegate through 1782. During this period he remained in private law practice, handling numerous legal issues for George Washington among others. Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia in 1786, that year leading a delegation to the Annapolis Convention. The following year, as a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention and he argued against importation of slaves and in favor of a strong central government, advocating a plan for three chief executives from various parts of the country. The Virginia Plan also proposed two houses, where in both of them delegates were chosen based on state population, Randolph additionally proposed, and was supported by unanimous approval by the Conventions delegates, that a Nationally Judiciary be established. The Articles of Confederation lacked a national system for the United States. Randolph was also a member of the Committee of Detail which was tasked with converting the Virginia Plans 15 resolutions into a first draft of the Constitution. Randolph ultimately refused to sign the document, one of only three members who remained in the Constitutional Convention yet refused to sign. Randolph thought the final document lacked sufficient checks and balances, Randolph had several objections to the Convention’s proposal. He thought the federal judiciary would pose a threat to state courts, Randolph nevertheless reversed his position at the Virginia Ratifying Convention in 1788. He chaired that nearly equally divided convention, and Mason greatly resented Randolphs change of position, Mason and other opponents demanded amendments prior to ratification. Randolph noted that he had seen several responses to the insistence that amendments were necessary before ratification, some thought the objection insubstantial because the Constitution provided a process for amendment. He did not think it desirable that the people should become accustomed to altering their constitution with any regularity once it was adopted, the Governor had written, “If after our best efforts for amendments, they cannot be obtained, I will adopt the constitution as it is. Randolph believed that Virginia must choose between the alternatives of ratification and disunion. Historians commonly have missed the importance of Randolph’s role in the Richmond Convention
Edmund Randolph
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Edmund Jennings Randolph
Edmund Randolph
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Edmund Randolph
Edmund Randolph
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Grave of Edmund Randolph
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