Later generations have laid more stress on the political ideals expressed in the declaration and, in particular, have found inspira-tion in the phrase“all men are created equal.” k Decla
Trang 1That the legislative and executive powers of the state should be separate and distinct from the judicative; and, that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression by feeling and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced
to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct
VI
That elections of members to serve as represen-tatives of the people in assembly ought to be free;
and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attach-ment to, the community have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses without their own consent or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public good
VII
That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority without consent of the representatives of the people is injurious to their rights and ought not to be exercised
VIII
That in all capital or criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence
in his favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty, nor can he
be compelled to give evidence against himself;
that no man be deprived of his liberty except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers
IX
That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed; nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
X
That general warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search
suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are griev-ous and oppressive and ought not be granted
XI
That in controversies respecting property and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other and ought to be held sacred
XII
That the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments
XIII
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordi-nation to, and governed by, the civil power
XIV
That the people have a right to uniform government; and therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the govern-ment of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof
XV
That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temper-ance, frugality, and virtue and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles
XVI
That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can
be directed only by reason and conviction, not
by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that
it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other
Source: Ben Perley Poore, ed., The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the United States, vol 2 (1878), pp 1908–1909.
CONFLICT AND
REVOLUTION
VIRGINIA
DECLARATION OF
RIGHTS
Trang 2Conflict and Revolution
Declaration of Independence
In Congress, July 4, 1776 The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
The DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, perhaps
the most famous document in U.S
history, was adopted by the Second Continental
Congress on July 4, 1776 The preparation of
the declaration began on June 11, when
Congress appointed a committee composed of
THOMAS JEFFERSON, JOHN ADAMS, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
ROBERT R LIVINGSTON, and ROGER SHERMAN.
Jefferson actually wrote the declaration,
appro-priating some of the language in the VIRGINIA
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS Jefferson’s famous phrase
concerning “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness” is a slight reworking of the wording
of the Virginia declaration
After debate on Jefferson’s draft, the
Con-gress made several changes, yet the document
remained an expression of the liberal political
ideas articulated byJOHN LOCKEand others The
second section, with its reference to“He,” is an
indictment of the actions of King George III
Like Common Sense, this section destroyed the
aura surrounding the monarchy and helped
move the colonists toward psychological as well
as political independence from Great Britain
For the members of theCONTINENTAL CONGRESS,
the declaration served as a vehicle for publicizing
their grievances and winning support for the
revolutionary cause It affirmed the natural rights
of all people and the right of the colonists to
“dissolve the political bands” with the British
government Later generations have laid more
stress on the political ideals expressed in the
declaration and, in particular, have found
inspira-tion in the phrase“all men are created equal.”
k
Declaration of Independence
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers
of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.—
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms
to which they are accustomed But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for
87
FOUNDATIONS OF U.S LAW
Trang 3their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such
is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.—
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.—He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them.—He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right
of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.—He has called together legislative bodies
at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository or their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.—He has dis-solved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.—He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise;
the State remaining in the mean time exposed
to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.—He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization
of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.—He has obstructed the Administration
of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.—He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.—He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.—He has kept among us,
in times of peace, Standing Armies, without the Consent of our legislatures.—He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior
to the Civil power.—He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:—For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:—For protecting them,
by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:—For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:—For impos-ing Taxes on us without our Consent:—For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:—For transporting us beyond Seas
to be tried for pretended offences:—For abol-ishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Bound-aries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:—For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:—For suspending our own Legis-latures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.—
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring
us out of his Protection and waging War against us.—He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives
of our people.—He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.—He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners
of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves
by their Hands.—He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored
to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions In every state of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people Nor have We been wanting
in attentions to our British brethren We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settle-ment here We have appealed to their native
CONFLICT AND
REVOLUTION
DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
Trang 4justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured
them by the ties of our common kindred to
disavow these usurpations, which would
inevita-bly interrupt our connections and
correspon-dence They too have been deaf to the voice of
justice and consanguinity We must, therefore,
acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our
Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of
mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.—
WE, THEREFORE, the REPRESENTATIVES
of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in
General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of
our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority
of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly
publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally disolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to
do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.—And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor
Source: The United States Government Manual.
CONFLICT AND REVOLUTION DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Trang 5Conflict and Revolution
Treaty of Paris
The TREATY OF PARIS of 1783 ended the WAR OF INDEPENDENCE and granted the 13 colonies political freedom A preliminary treaty between Great Britain and the United States had been signed in 1782, but the final agreement was not signed until September 3, 1783
Peace negotiations began in Paris, France, in April 1782 The U.S delegation includedBENJAMIN FRANKLIN, JOHN ADAMS, JOHN JAY, and Henry Laurens, while the British were represented by Richard Oswald and Henry Strachey The negotiators concluded the preliminary treaty on November
30, 1782, but the agreement was not effective until Great Britain concluded treaties with France and Spain concerning foreign colonies
In the final agreement, the British recog-nized the independence of the United States
The treaty established generous boundaries for the United States; U.S territory now extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River
in the west, and from the Great Lakes and Canada in the north to the 31st parallel in the south The U.S fishing fleet was guaranteed access to the fisheries off the coast of New-foundland with their plentiful supply of cod
Navigation of the Mississippi River was to
be open to both the United States and Great Britain Creditors of both countries were not to
be impeded from collecting their debts, and Congress was to recommend to the states that loyalists to the British cause during the war should be treated fairly and their rights and confiscated property restored
k
Treaty of Paris
In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity
It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg, arch-treasurer and prince elector of the Holy Roman Empire etc., and of the United States of America, to forget all past misunder-standings and differences that have unhappily interrupted the good correspondence and friendship which they mutually wish to restore, and to establish such a beneficial and satisfac-tory intercourse, between the two countries upon the ground of reciprocal advantages and mutual convenience as may promote and secure
to both perpetual peace and harmony; and having for this desirable end already laid the foundation of peace and reconciliation by the Provisional Articles signed at Paris on the 30th
of November 1782, by the commissioners empowered on each part, which articles were agreed to be inserted in and to constitute the Treaty of Peace proposed to be concluded between the Crown of Great Britain and the said United States, but which treaty was not to
be concluded until terms of peace should be agreed upon between Great Britain and France and his Britannic Majesty should be ready to conclude such treaty accordingly; and the treaty between Great Britain and France having since been concluded, his Britannic Majesty and the
90 FOUNDATIONS OF U.S LAW
Trang 6United States of America, in order to carry into
full effect the Provisional Articles above
men-tioned, according to the tenor thereof, have
constituted and appointed, that is to say his
Britannic Majesty on his part, David Hartley,
Esqr., member of the Parliament of Great
Britain, and the said United States on their
part, John Adams, Esqr., late a commissioner of
the United States of America at the court of
Versailles, late delegate in Congress from the
state of Massachusetts, and chief justice of
the said state, and minister plenipotentiary
of the said United States to their high
might-inesses the States General of the United
Nether-lands; Benjamin Franklin, Esqr., late delegate in
Congress from the state of Pennsylvania,
president of the convention of the said state,
and minister plenipotentiary from the United
States of America at the court of Versailles; John
Jay, Esqr., late president of Congress and chief
justice of the state of New York, and minister
plenipotentiary from the said United States at
the court of Madrid; to be the plenipotentiaries
for the concluding and signing the present
definitive treaty; who after having reciprocally
communicated their respective full powers have
agreed upon and confirmed the following articles
ARTICLE 1
His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said
United States, viz., New Hampshire,
Massachu-setts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence
Planta-tions, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia,
to be free sovereign and independent states, that
he treats with them as such, and for himself, his
heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to
the government, propriety, and territorial rights
of the same and every part thereof
ARTICLE 2
And that all disputes which might arise in future
on the subject of the boundaries of the said
United States may be prevented, it is hereby
agreed and declared, that the following are
and shall be their boundaries, viz.: from
the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, viz., that
angle which is formed by a line drawn due north
from the source of St Croix River to the
highlands; along the said highlands which divide
those rivers that empty themselves into the river
St Lawrence, from those which fall into the
Atlantic Ocean, to the northwesternmost head of
Connecticut River; thence down along the middle of that river to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude; from thence by a line due west on said latitude until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraquy; thence along the middle of said river into Lake Ontario; through the middle of said lake until it strikes the communication by water between that lake and Lake Erie; thence along the middle of said communication into Lake Erie, through the middle of said lake until it arrives at the water communication between that lake and Lake Huron; thence along the middle of said water communication into the Lake Huron, thence through the middle of said lake to the water communication between that lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior northward of the Isles Royal and Phelipeaux to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of said Long Lake and the water communication between it and the Lake of the Woods, to the said Lake of the Woods; thence through the said lake to the most northwestern point thereof, and from thence on a due west course to the river Mississippi; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude South, by a line to be drawn due east from the determination
of the line last mentioned in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola or Catahouche; thence along the middle thereof to its junction with the Flint River, thence straight to the head of Saint Mary’sRiver; andthence downalongthe middleof Saint Mary’s River to the Atlantic Ocean; east, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river Saint Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river Saint Lawrence; comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part and East Florida on the other shall, respectively, touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean, excepting such islands as now are
or heretofore have been within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia
ARTICLE 3
It is agreed that the people of the United States shall continue to enjoy unmolested the right to
CONFLICT AND REVOLUTION TREATY OF PARIS
Trang 7take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank and
on all the other banks of Newfoundland, also in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and at all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish
And also that the inhabitants of the United States shall have liberty to take fish of every kind
on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British fishermen shall use, (but not to dry or cure the same on that island) and also on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other of his Britannic Majesty’s dominions in America; and that the American fishermen shall have liberty
to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled, but so soon as the same or either of them shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish
at such settlement without a previous agree-ment for that purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the ground
ARTICLE 4
It is agreed that creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery
of the full value in sterling money of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted
ARTICLE 5
It is agreed that Congress shall earnestly recommend it to the legislatures of the respec-tive states to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to real British subjects;
and also of the estates, rights, and properties of persons resident in districts in the possession of his Majesty’s arms and who have not borne arms against the said United States And that persons of any other description shall have free liberty to go to any part or parts of any of the thirteen United States and therein to remain twelve months unmolested in their endeavors to obtain the restitution of such of their estates, rights, and properties as may have been con-fiscated; and that Congress shall also earnestly recommend to the several states a reconsidera-tion and revision of all acts or laws regarding the premises, so as to render the said laws or acts perfectly consistent not only with justice and equity but with that spirit of conciliation which
on the return of the blessings of peace should universally prevail And that Congress shall also earnestly recommend to the several states that
the estates, rights, and properties, of such last mentioned persons shall be restored to them, they refunding to any persons who may be now
in possession the bona fide price (where any has been given) which such persons may have paid
on purchasing any of the said lands, rights, or properties since the confiscation
And it is agreed that all persons who have any interest in confiscated lands, either by debts, marriage settlements, or otherwise, shall meet with no lawful impediment in the prosecution
of their just rights
ARTICLE 6
That there shall be no future confiscations made nor any prosecutions commenced against any person or persons for, or by reason of, the part which he or they may have taken in the present war, and that no person shall on that account suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person, liberty, or property; and that those who may be in confinement on such charges at the time of the ratification of the treaty in America shall be immediately set at liberty, and the prosecutions so commenced be discontinued
ARTICLE 7
There shall be a firm and perpetual peace between his Britannic Majesty and the said states, and between the subjects of the one and the citizens of the other, wherefore all hostilities both by sea and land shall from henceforth cease All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and his Britannic Majesty shall with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the said United States, and from every post, place, and harbor within the same; leaving
in all fortifications, the American artillery that may be therein; and shall also order and cause all archives, records, deeds, and papers belong-ing to any of the said states, or their citizens, which in the course of the war may have fallen into the hands of his officers, to be forthwith restored and delivered to the proper states and persons to whom they belong
ARTICLE 8
The navigation of the river Mississippi, from its source to the ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States
CONFLICT AND
REVOLUTION
TREATY OF PARIS
Trang 8ARTICLE 9
In case it should so happen that any place or
territory belonging to Great Britain or to the
United States should have been conquered by
the arms of either from the other before the
arrival of the said Provisional Articles in
America, it is agreed that the same shall be
restored without difficulty and without
requir-ing any compensation
ARTICLE 10
The solemn ratifications of the present treaty
expedited in good and due form shall be
exchanged between the contracting parties in
the space of six months or sooner, if possible, to
be computed from the day of the signature of
the present treaty In witness whereof we the
undersigned, their ministers plenipotentiary, have in their name and in virtue of our full powers, signed with our hands the present definitive treaty and caused the seals of our arms to be affixed thereto
Done at Paris, this third day of September in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three
D Hartley [Seal]
John Adams [Seal]
B Franklin [Seal]
John Jay [Seal]
Source: United States Department of State, Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776–1949 (compiled under the direction of Charles I Bevans), vol 12 (1974), pp 8–12.
CONFLICT AND REVOLUTION TREATY OF PARIS
Trang 9Origins of U.S Government
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
NORTHWEST ORDINANCE
THE VIRGINIA, OR RANDOLPH, PLAN
THE NEW JERSEY, OR PATERSON, PLAN
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
BILL OF RIGHTS
FEDERALIST, NUMBER 10
FEDERALIST, NUMBER 78
THE VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLVES
MONROE DOCTRINE
After declaring their independence in
1776, the 13 states had to determine both what type of central government they should form and how the individual states would be related to that central government
Their initial efforts to answer those questions resulted in the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION The Articles were drafted in 1776 but were modified during the ratification process, which ended when the Articles went into effect on March 1, 1781
The Articles of Confederation created a weak national government, which lacked both
an executive and a judicial branch The national government consisted only of a Congress, which prosecuted the end of theWAR OF INDEPENDENCE and negotiated theTREATY OF PARIS By the end of the war, however, the Congress of the Confed-eration of the States found itself receiving less cooperation from the individual states The Congress did enact theNORTHWEST ORDINANCEin
1787, which provided for the government of the Northwest Territory and established a proce-dure by which states could be carved out of the territory
Dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confed-eration grew during the 1780s until Congress finally summoned a convention to amend and revise the Articles All of the states except Rhode Island sent delegates to the convention, which convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May
1787 A fundamental problem for the delegates was resolving a split between the states that favored a strong national government and those that preferred the strong state governments established by the Articles of Confederation
As the convention debated the issues, it soon became apparent that a stronger national government was needed and that the Articles of Confederation would have to be replaced A major conflict developed, however, between the large states, which favored a legislature appor-tioned by population, and the small states, which preferred a system under which each state would have an equal vote The large states proposed the Virginia Plan, also known as the Randolph Plan, and the small states offered the New Jersey, or Paterson, Plan At first, neither side would yield on the issue of representation Finally,ROGER SHERMAN, along with OLIVER ELLS-WORTH, proposed the Connecticut, or Great, Compromise, which called for a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house
The U.S Constitution was completed on September 17, 1787 It established three branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial) with an intricate set of checks and balances aimed at preventing one branch of government from gaining absolute control The separation of powers is one of the hallmarks of the Constitution The Framers did not, how-ever, resolve the question of slavery Southern states won the Three-fifths Compromise, which allowed them to count each slave as three-fifths
of a white person in apportioning the House of Representatives and the electoral college Though opponents of the Constitution argued that it gave too much power to the national government, it was ratified by the requisite
94 FOUNDATIONS OF U.S LAW
Trang 10number of states by June 1788 GEORGE MASON,
drafter of theVIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, and
otherSTATES' RIGHTS advocates opposed
ratifica-tion because the Constituratifica-tion included no
guarantees of basic personal liberties In
re-sponse, the first Congress convened under the
Constitution in 1789 enacted the first ten
amendments to the Constitution, known as
theBILL OF RIGHTS.
During the ratification battle of 1787 and
1788, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, JAMES MADISON, and
JOHN JAY wrote 85 short essays in support of the
Constitution The essays, known as theFEDERALIST
PAPERS, sought to convince the voters of New
York to persuade their legislators to vote in favor
of the proposed federal constitution The writers
so clearly articulated the reasoning and scope of
many of the constitutional provisions that the
Federalist Papers have taken on lasting historical
and legal significance
The early years of the Republic saw a clash
between the Federalists, led by Hamilton, and
the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson and other proponents of strong state
governments accused Hamilton and other
advocates of a strong national government of
going beyond the constitutional restrictions on
the power of the national government This
debate escalated after the federal ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS(1 Stat 570, 596) were enacted in
1798 Jefferson and Madison prepared resolves,
or resolutions, for the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures that proposed a“compact” theory of the U.S Constitution Under this theory state legislatures possessed all powers not specifically granted to the federal government, and states had the right to pass upon the constitutionality
of federal legislation
In the first years of the new nation, it was unclear whether the Supreme Court had the right to review an executive or legislative act and invalidate it if the act was contrary to constitu-tional principles Article III of the Constitution was silent on the subject, but the Supreme Court settled the issue in 1803, when it ruled in MARBURY V MADISON, 5 U.S (1 Cranch) 137, 2 L.
Ed 60, that a particular act of Congress was unconstitutional
The United States entered the field of international relations in 1823, when President JAMES MONROEenunciated a statement on foreign policy that has come to be known as theMONROE DOCTRINE The Monroe Doctrine asserted U.S.
dominance over the Western Hemisphere and warned European nations not to interfere with the free nations of the region