DOCSLIB.ORG

The Attitude of John Quincy Adams Toward the Presidency

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Attitude of John Quincy Adams Toward the Presidency Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1936 The Attitude of John Quincy Adams Toward the Presidency Helen Tichenor Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Tichenor, Helen, "The Attitude of John Quincy Adams Toward the Presidency" (1936). Master's Theses. 395. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/395 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1936 Helen Tichenor THE ATTITUDE OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS TOYlARD THE PRES IDE!lCY BY Mother Helen Tiohenor~R.S.C.J. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the require­ ments for the degree of Master of Arts in Loyola University February~ 1936 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I - The Inheritance of John Quincy Adams Page 1 John Quincy Adams, an administrator; his theory of government; the New England temperament vs. the Southern; its effect on government in the United States; the influence of John Adams on his son; Secretary to Francis Dana; influence of Voltaire; Deism; rationalism; influence of enlightened despots; journey to Sweden,and Denmark; treaties with Great Britain; decision to return to America; entrance at Harvard. Chapter II - John Quincy Adams - Federalist " 25 The critical period of his life; difficulties of Washington's adlninistration; influence of French Revolution on American politics; Marcellus Papers; their influence on Washington; arrival of Genet; his attitude toward Washington; conduct of Americans; Columbus Papers; consequences in Adams' later life. Chapter III - John Quincy Adams - Republican " 40 French Revolution continued; continued difficulties of neutrality; the Embargo question; John Quincy Adams placed on the Senate Committee; consternation of the courrbry at the Embargo; Adams' reasons for upholding the measure; effect of the Embargo on the country; New England plans secession; Adams' warnings to Jefferson; repeal of the Embargo; Adams' appointIOOnt as Russian Ambas sad or. Chapter IV - John Quinoy Adams - Imperialist Page 55 Change in Adams' attitude toward the presidency; Adams made Seoretary of State; diplomatio importanoe of the period; problem of reoognizing South Amerioan republios; its oonneot! on with the Florida question; Jackson's expedit ion into Florida; consequent difficulties with England; with Spain; Jackson's condemnation by the Cabinet; Adams upholds Jackson; oession of Florida to the United States. Chapter V - John Quincy Adams - Nationalist tI Formation of the Holy Alliance; England's alarm; Canning's proposal; Cabinet discussion concerning it; Monroe's despondency over the situation; Adams' encouragement; Monroe's vacillation; Adams' first draft of the "Monroe Doctrine"; his appeal to Monroe to avoid any pretext for war on the part of the Holy Alliance; Monroe's fear of Congress; Adams upholds American isolation; proclamation of the Doctrine; its approval by the nation. Chapter VI - John Quincy Adams - President " 80 His presidency an anti-olimax; ciroumstances of his election; his presidential program; freedom fram party spirit; internal improve­ ments; oonfliot over states' rights; problem of public lands linked with that of internal improvements; compromising tendency of the legislation of the period; Adams' idea of civilization; a national universitJr; the university a bulwark of respeot for authority; Adams' interpretation of the Constitution; a resume. Bibliography If 95 Bibliographical Essay " 100 CHAPTER I THE INHERITANCE OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS Theodore Parker. a leading Protestant minister of the nineteenth oentury. makes an interesting comment in a tuneral address preached at Boston in memory of JOhn Quincy Adams. on an obvious olassifioation of great men. There are. he says. the Discoverers of truth at first hand. Whether it be the truth of literature or politics. of philosophy or religio These are the men who blaze the trail. who force their way into the depths of unknown forests. and who. beoause of their prophet's vision and explor- er's oourage. lay the foundation of empires. Following upon the Disooverers oome the Organizers. - men of oonstruotive minds. who form the institutions of the world upon these foundations. and who are the Napoleons. great and little. of history. Last of all in time and in greatness. come the Administrators of What the first and seoond have aocomplished. men of good oommon sense. who carry on in a praotioal and effioient way the ideal sean by the first and adopted by the second.l In this third olass. the orator plaoed John Quincy Adams. At first thougnt the reader is inolined to disagree. Efficiency connotes suooess 1. Theodore Parker. Discourse on the Death of John Quincy Adams. March 5. 1848. Reprinted from 'Eisachusetts"Q'ii'arter1l ReView. 1848. 1-8. ---- 1 2 and few would call the Administration of the sixth President of the United states a suocess. Not even an seoond thought, but only after some depth ot investigation, does one commence to realize that John Quincy Adams was indeed a great administrator, gifted in mind and charaoter with all that such a title implies. True, he himself tailed in the offioe. In all that lay dearest to his heart his purposes were defeated. He failed ot re-elec­ tion and went out of otfice in a storm of unpopularity. But this was a tailure due largely to oiroumstances over which he had no oontrol, a tailur that may well be forgotten in the memory ot the servioes he rendered to the eight more suocessfUl administrators with 'Whom he was contemporaneous. Administrators, in the strict sense of the te~ are not innovators but inheritors. With their inheritanoe, they govern, - and their responsibility lies in their unawervingly taithfUl interpretation ot the Constitutions by which they rule. To use the word interpretation is . immediately to imply that the inheritanoe is twotold. Constitutions are lifeless unless they are interpreted, and the administrator lII1st bring his own training to his interpretation. In his training will lie the roots ot his attitude. This first chapter, then, on "The Attitude of John Quincy Adams toward the Presidency," lII1st neoessarily revi~ his early education. In a letter to Mr. George Banoroft, written from Quincy in Ootober, 1835, he states his theory of good government. Though Adams wrote this letter 'When he was an old man, it may well be quoted in this ohapter, for he based it on Aristotle's definitions ot the three simple forms ot govern­ ment, - definitions he had learned in Greek at the age of eleven.2 The 2. ~ Writings .2!: ~ quinoy Adams, W.C. Ford, II, 189. I"!". 3 first tor.m, aooording to Aristotle, is demooraoy, the government of the a good tor.m Whose,danger is to desoend into oohlooraoy, or the peep1 fI, , go-vernment ot the mob. The seoond is aristooraoy, the government of the best, _ also a good form, but with its oorresponding danger of desoending into oligarchy, the government of the few. In this event, the ff!1¥f will inevitably be the rioh and therefore the ruling power of the aristooratio State is Property. The third of Aristotle's forms is monarohy, - the government of one aooording to the laws of the land, and its danger is despotism. "Now the theory of good government which I have imbibed from childhood," oontinues John Quincy Adams, "Whioh I was taught by the instruotions of my father, whioh I learnt in every stage of the history of mankind, whioh the French Revo- lution at the dawn of my political life brought up again by experiment, and which, from. that day to this, has been tested by a oontinual sucoession of experiments by almost every oivilized nation in llbrope, all terminating in the same results, fix- ing it upon my mind as an oracle of Holy Writ, is a government compounded of the three elements, - a government instituted for the proteotion both of persons and of property, to secure alike the rights of persons and of things. The right of property is a natural right as much as the right of life, whioh is merely personal, but as the earth was given by the Creator to mankind in oommon, the distribution of property within it is left to be settled among the human raoe by physioal foroe or by argument, oompaot, or oovenant. This I take it to be the origin of government. It is founded on persons and on property. And if Demooraoy is founded exolusively on persons and not on property, I fear it will follow the tendenoy of its nature and degenerate into oohlooracy and Lynch Law, burning down convents, and hanging Abolitionists or g~blers, without judge or jury, without fear of God to restrain, and without remorse to punish."3 .3. Letter to George Banoroft, Ootober 25,1835. Published in Bulletin of !!! ~ Public Library, 246. 4 riA compound of the three elements," -does he mean to say a union of the aristocracy of the North with the monarchism of the South wiil result in the demooracy he champions? He goes on in this letter to indicate that the division between the party believing government to be founded upon property may be fotmd rw:ming almost in parallel lines through the whole of our early history, and he concludes with an eloquent plea for "the true theory of government" which provides alike for the protection and seourity both of persons and property.4 Here it would seem is the crux of his greatness and his failure. Freedom from party spirit - not from political parties, these he believed were beneficial to a democracy,5 - union of North and South, in order that the general good of the United States might result, these were ideals unattainable in the age in whioh he lived.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the Quasi-War with France
    John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the Quasi-War with France David Loudon General University Honors Professor Robert Griffith, Faculty Advisor American University, Spring 2010 1 John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the Quasi-War with France Abstract This paper examines the split of the Federalist Party and subsequent election defeat in 1800 through the views of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton on the Quasi-War with France. More specifically, I will be focusing on what caused their split on the French issue. I argue that the main source of conflict between the two men was ideological differences on parties in contemporary American politics. While Adams believed that there were two parties in America and his job was to remain independent of both, Hamilton saw only one party (the Republicans), and believed that it was the goal of all “real” Americans to do whatever was needed to defeat that faction. This ideological difference between the two men resulted in their personal disdain for one another and eventually their split on the French issue. Introduction National politics in the early American republic was a very uncertain venture. The founding fathers had no historical precedents to rely upon. The kind of government created in the American constitution had never been attempted in the Western World; it was a piecemeal system designed in many ways more to gain individual state approval than for practical implementation. Furthermore, while the fathers knew they wanted opposition within their political system, they rejected political parties as evil and dangerous to the public good. This tension between the belief in opposition and the rejection of party sentiment led to confusion and high tensions during the early American republic.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilton County (Ohio) Naturalization Records – Surname A
    Hamilton County Naturalization Records – Surname A Applicant Age Country of Origin Departure Date Departure Port Arrive Date Entry Port Declaration Dec Date Vol Page Folder Naturalization Naturalization Date Restored Date Aarnink, Geert 33 Hanover Bremen New Orleans T 11/07/1855 13 190 F F Aaron, Louis 37 Russia Hamburg New York T 04/17/1891 T F Abbato, Frank 30 Italy Havre New York T 08/31/1894 21 71 F F Abel, Frederick 27 Brunswick Bremen New Orleans T 04/19/1860 27 69 F F Abel, Jacob 38 England Liverpool New York T 10/11/1882 T F Abel, Jacob 30 England Antwerp New York T 10/14/1895 T F Abel, Joseph 38 Germany Havre New York T 01/10/1883 F F Abel, Michael 25 Prussia Hamburg New York T 07/02/1857 15 122 F F Abeling, Henry 24 Oldenburg Bremen Baltimore T 09/13/1852 25 60 F F Abeling, John Bernard 24 Germany Amsterdam New York T 12/27/1888 T F Abeling, John Clement 22 Germany Amsterdam New York T 12/27/1888 T F Abelowitz, Harris 41 Russia Hamburg New York T 10/12/1892 T F Abig, Philipp 28 Russia Hamburg New York T 10/29/1900 T F Abraham, Albert 41 Germany Hamburg New York F ? T T 10/29/1887 Abraham, David 74 Germany Havre New Orleans F ??/??/1852 28 70 F T 09/??/1854 10/12/1893 Abraham, Emanuel 6 England ? New York F T T 10/11/1888 Abraham, Isidor 30 Germany Hamburg New York T 10/26/1889 T F Abraham, John 17 England ? New York F T T 10/12/1888 Abraham, Joseph 24 Syria Bayruth New York T 07/16/1892 T F Abraham, Morris 47 Germany Bremen New York T 03/06/1897 T F Abraham, Samuel 8 England ? New York F T T 10/23/1886 Abrahart, William 50 England Liverpool New York T 03/02/1886 T F Abrams, Evan 23 Wales Liverpool Philadelphia T 02/24/1853 7 230 F F Abrams, Jacob 57 Poland London New York T 10/20/1888 T F 08/16/1890 Abromovicz, Jacob Romania ? 1/19/1901 ? T 8/24/1903 T F Abt, Christoph 44 Prussia ? New York T 11/16/1887 T F Achtzehn, Chas.
    [Show full text]
  • A Massachusetts Yankee in the Court of Charleston Jasper Adams, College President in Antebellum South Carolina” Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 35, No
    Gerald Vaughn, “A Massachusetts Yankee in the Court of Charleston Jasper Adams, College President in Antebellum South Carolina” Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 35, No. 2 (Summer 2007). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University You may use content in this archive for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the Historical Journal of Massachusetts regarding any further use of this work: [email protected] Funding for digitization of issues was provided through a generous grant from MassHumanities. Some digitized versions of the articles have been reformatted from their original, published appearance. When citing, please give the original print source (volume/ number/ date) but add "retrieved from HJM's online archive at http://www.westfield.ma.edu/mhj. A Massachusetts Yankee in the Court of Charleston: Jasper Adams, College President in Antebellum South Carolina By Gerald Vaughn Massachusetts clergyman and educator Jasper Adams (1793-1841) was among the line of notable descendants of Henry Adams (1583- 1646), who fled persecution in England circa 1630 and settled on a farm in the Braintree area, then part of Boston. The most notable of Henry Adams’s descendants include U.S. presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, William Howard Taft, and Calvin Coolidge, and Vice-President Richard Cheney. John Adams erected a monument in Henry Adams’s honor in Quincy, Massachusetts. Jasper Adams grew to manhood in Massachusetts. His travels in adult life took him from Massachusetts to South Carolina, where he gained his renown. While his career was spent mostly in the south he was a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, at Boston, and a Corresponding Member of the Massachusetts’ Historical Society.
    [Show full text]
  • Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White</H1>
    Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Volume II Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software donated by Caere Corporation, 1-800-535-7226. Contact Mike Lough AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW DICKSON WHITE WITH PORTRAITS VOLUME I page 1 / 895 NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1905 Copyright, 1904, 1905, by THE CENTURY CO. ---- Published March, 1905 THE DE VINNE PRESS TO MY OLD STUDENTS THIS RECORD OF MY LIFE IS INSCRIBED WITH MOST KINDLY RECOLLECTIONS AND BEST WISHES TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I--ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD IN CENTRAL NEW YORK--1832-1850 The ``Military Tract'' of New York. A settlement on the headwaters of the Susquehanna. Arrival of my grandfathers and page 2 / 895 grandmothers. Growth of the new settlement. First recollections of it. General character of my environment. My father and mother. Cortland Academy. Its twofold effect upon me. First schooling. Methods in primary studies. Physical education. Removal to Syracuse. The Syracuse Academy. Joseph Allen and Professor Root; their influence; moral side of the education thus obtained. General education outside the school. Removal to a ``classical school''; a catastrophe. James W. Hoyt and his influence. My early love for classical studies. Discovery of Scott's novels. ``The Gallery of British Artists.'' Effect of sundry conventions, public meetings, and lectures. Am sent to Geneva College; treatment of faculty by students. A ``Second Adventist'' meeting; Howell and Clark; my first meeting with Judge Folger. Philosophy of student dissipation at that place and time.
    [Show full text]
  • Abigail Adams, Letters to from John Adams and John Quincy Adams
    ___Presented, and asterisked footnotes added, by the National Humanities Center for use in a Professional Development Seminar___ Mass. Hist. Soc. Mass. Hist. Soc. ABIGAIL ADAMS LETTERS TO HER SON JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 20 March 1780 Abigail Adams 26 December 1783 John Quincy Adams In Letters of Mrs. Adams, The Wife of John Adams, ed., Charles Francis Adams 3d. edition, Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1841. 20 March, 1780. MY DEAR SON, Your letter, last evening received from Bilboa,* relieved me from much anxiety; for, having a day or two before received letters from your papa, Mr. Thaxter,1 and brother, in which packet I found none from you, nor any mention made of you, my mind, ever fruitful in conjectures, was instantly alarmed. I feared you were sick, unable to write, and your papa, unwilling to give me uneasiness, had concealed it from me; and this apprehension was confirmed by every person’s omitting to say how long they should continue in Bilboa. Your father’s letters came to Salem, yours to Newburyport, and soon gave ease to my anxiety, 10 at the same time that it excited gratitude and thankfulness to Heaven, for the preservation you all experienced in the imminent dangers which threatened you. You express in both your letters a degree of thankfulness. I hope it amounts to more than words, and that you will never be insensible to the particular preservation you have experienced in both your voyages. You have seen how inadequate the aid of man would have been, if the winds and the seas had not been under the particular government of * John Quincy Adams (13) and his younger brother Charles sailed to Europe in late 1779 with their father, John Adams, who had been appointed special envoy to Europe during the American Revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Corrupt Bargain" Charge Against Clay and Adams
    THE "CORRUPT BARGAIN" CHARGE AGAINST CLAY AND ADAMS: AN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS BY WILLIAM G. MORGAN Oral Roberts University Tulsa, Oklahoma The election of 1824 provided a substantial portion of the ground- work for the notable political changes which emerged from the some- what misnamed "Era of Good Feelings," while at the same time involv- ing several unusual political phenomena. A cardinal feature of this electoral struggle was the large number of prominent candidates. Early in the contest the serious contenders totaled as many as "16 or 17," in- cluding William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury; John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State; Henry Clay, long-time Speaker of the House; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; Smith Thompson, Secretary of the Navy; Vice-President Daniel D. Tompkins; Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York; Representative William Lowndes of South Carolina; and a comparative latecomer to politics, General Andrew Jackson] As the campaign progressed, several of these men dropped from conten- tion: Lowndes died in 1822, while Thompson, Tompkins, and Clinton fell from the ranks for lack of support, though there was mention of the latter's possible candidacy late in 1823.2 Calhoun subsequently withdrew from the race, deciding to delay his bid for the presidency to accept the second office.8 Of the prominent contenders remaining in the contest, Crawford was the administration favorite, and his position as Treasury Secretary had enabled him to build a significant following in various circles.4 Despite these advantages, Crawford's success proved illusory: among other difficulties, the Georgian suffered a severe stroke in the summer of 1823 and was the victim of the growing antagonism toward the caucus, the very insti- nation on which he was relying to bring him broad party support.5 Adams, Clay, and Jackson fought actively to secure an electoral majority or, failing that, to gain sufficient votes to be included in the top three who would be presented to the House of Representatives for the final decision.
    [Show full text]
  • The Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789-1791 David P
    The University of Chicago Law Review VOLUME 61 NUMBER 3 SUMMER 1994 of Chicago © 1994 by The University The Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789-1791 David P. Curriet Judicial review of legislative and executive action has been such a success in the United States that we tend to look exclu- sively to the courts for guidance in interpreting the Constitution. The stock of judicial precedents is rich, accessible, and familiar, but it does not exhaust the relevant materials. Members of Congress and executive officers, no less than judges, swear to uphold the Constitution, and they interpret it every day in making and applying the law.' Like judges, they often engage in t Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor and Interim Dean, The University of Chicago Law School. The author wishes to thank the Kirkland & Ellis Faculty Research Fund, the Mayer, Brown & Platt Faculty Research Fund, the Morton C. Seeley Fund, the Raymond & Nancy Goodman Feldman Fund, and the Sonnenschein Faculty Research Fund for financial support; Charlene Bangs Bickford, Kenneth R. Bowling, and Helen E. Veit of the First Federal Congress Project for access to hitherto unpublished reports of the debates; Kenneth Bowling, Gerhard Casper, Richard Posner, and Richard Ross for invalu- able advice and encouragement; and Keith Garza for exemplary research assistance. ' "M[T]he whole business of Legislation," said Representative Theodore Sedgwick in 1791, "was a practical construction of the powers of the Legislature. ." Gales & Seaton, eds, 2 Annals of Congress 1960 (1791) ("Annals"). See generally Frank H. Easterbrook, PresidentialReview, 40 Case W Res L Rev 905 (1989-90); Jefferson Powell, ed, Languages of Power: A Source Book of Early American ConstitutionalHistory xi-xii (Carolina Aca- demic Press, 1991).
    [Show full text]
  • Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence Table of Contents
    SIGNERS OF THE UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 56 Men Who Risked It All Life, Family, Fortune, Health, Future Compiled by Bob Hampton First Edition - 2014 1 SIGNERS OF THE UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTON Page Table of Contents………………………………………………………………...………………2 Overview………………………………………………………………………………...………..5 Painting by John Trumbull……………………………………………………………………...7 Summary of Aftermath……………………………………………….………………...……….8 Independence Day Quiz…………………………………………………….……...………...…11 NEW HAMPSHIRE Josiah Bartlett………………………………………………………………………………..…12 William Whipple..........................................................................................................................15 Matthew Thornton……………………………………………………………………...…........18 MASSACHUSETTS Samuel Adams………………………………………………………………………………..…21 John Adams………………………………………………………………………………..……25 John Hancock………………………………………………………………………………..….29 Robert Treat Paine………………………………………………………………………….….32 Elbridge Gerry……………………………………………………………………....…….……35 RHODE ISLAND Stephen Hopkins………………………………………………………………………….…….38 William Ellery……………………………………………………………………………….….41 CONNECTICUT Roger Sherman…………………………………………………………………………..……...45 Samuel Huntington…………………………………………………………………….……….48 William Williams……………………………………………………………………………….51 Oliver Wolcott…………………………………………………………………………….…….54 NEW YORK William Floyd………………………………………………………………………….………..57 Philip Livingston…………………………………………………………………………….….60 Francis Lewis…………………………………………………………………………....…..…..64 Lewis Morris………………………………………………………………………………….…67
    [Show full text]
  • Massachusetts Historical Society, Adams Papers Editorial Project
    Narrative Section of a Successful Application The attached document contains the grant narrative of a previously funded grant application, which conforms to a past set of grant guidelines. It is not intended to serve as a model, but to give you a sense of how a successful application may be crafted. Every successful application is different, and each applicant is urged to prepare a proposal that reflects its unique project and aspirations. Prospective applicants should consult the application guidelines for instructions. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to consult with the NEH Division of Research Programs staff well before a grant deadline. Note: The attachment only contains the grant narrative, not the entire funded application. In addition, certain portions may have been redacted to protect the privacy interests of an individual and/or to protect confidential commercial and financial information and/or to protect copyrighted materials. Project Title: Adams Papers Editorial Project Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society Project Director: Sara Martin Grant Program: Scholarly Editions and Translations Program Statement of Significance and Impact The Adams Papers Editorial Project is sponsored by and located at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS). The Society’s 300,000-page Adams Family Papers manuscript collection, which spans more than a century of American history from the Revolutionary era to the last quarter of the nineteenth century, is consulted during the entire editing process, making the project unique among large-scale documentary editions. The Adams Papers has published 52 volumes to date and will continue to produce one volume per year. Free online access is provided by the MHS and the National Archives.
    [Show full text]
  • Construction of the Massachusetts Constitution
    Construction of the Massachusetts Constitution ROBERT J. TAYLOR J. HI s YEAR marks tbe 200tb anniversary of tbe Massacbu- setts Constitution, the oldest written organic law still in oper- ation anywhere in the world; and, despite its 113 amendments, its basic structure is largely intact. The constitution of the Commonwealth is, of course, more tban just long-lived. It in- fluenced the efforts at constitution-making of otber states, usu- ally on their second try, and it contributed to tbe shaping of tbe United States Constitution. Tbe Massachusetts experience was important in two major respects. It was decided tbat an organic law should have tbe approval of two-tbirds of tbe state's free male inbabitants twenty-one years old and older; and tbat it sbould be drafted by a convention specially called and chosen for tbat sole purpose. To use the words of a scholar as far back as 1914, Massachusetts gave us 'the fully developed convention.'^ Some of tbe provisions of the resulting constitu- tion were original, but tbe framers borrowed heavily as well. Altbough a number of historians have written at length about this constitution, notably Prof. Samuel Eliot Morison in sev- eral essays, none bas discussed its construction in detail.^ This paper in a slightly different form was read at the annual meeting of the American Antiquarian Society on October IS, 1980. ' Andrew C. McLaughlin, 'American History and American Democracy,' American Historical Review 20(January 1915):26*-65. 2 'The Struggle over the Adoption of the Constitution of Massachusetts, 1780," Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 50 ( 1916-17 ) : 353-4 W; A History of the Constitution of Massachusetts (Boston, 1917); 'The Formation of the Massachusetts Constitution,' Massachusetts Law Quarterly 40(December 1955):1-17.
    [Show full text]
  • Fascinating Facts About the Founding Fathers
    The Founding Fathers: Fascinating Facts (Continued) Fascinating Facts About The Founding Fathers Once Gouverneur Morris was offered a bet of one Thomas Jefferson has been described as a(n): dinner if he would approach George Washington, agriculturalist, anthropologist, architect, astronomer, slap him on the back and give him a friendly greet- bibliophile, botanist, classicist, diplomat, educator, ing. He wanted to show people how “close” he ethnologist, farmer, geographer, gourmet, horseman, was to the “chief.” Morris carried out the bet, but horticulturist, inventor, lawyer, lexicographer, linguist, later admitted that after seeing the cold stare from mathematician, meteorologist, musician, naturalist, Washington, he wouldn’t do it again for a thousand numismatist, paleontologist, philosopher, political dinners! philosopher, scientist, statesman, violinist, writer. ___________________ He was also fluent in Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and German! George Washington was born on February 11, ___________________ 1732, but in 1751 Great Britain changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. An act of Parlia- Upon graduating from Harvard, John Adams became ment added eleven days to make the adjustment a grammar school teacher. “My little school, like complete and in 1752 Washington celebrated his the great world, is made up of Kings, politicians, birthday on February 22! divines, fops, buffoons, fiddlers, fools, coxcombs, ___________________ sycophants, chimney sweeps, and every other character I see in the world. I would rather sit in Of the Founding Fathers who became president, school and consider which of my pupils will turn out only George Washington did not go to college. John be a hero, and which a rake, which a philosopher Adams graduated from Harvard, James Madison and which a parasite, than to have an income of a graduated from Princeton, and Thomas Jefferson thousand pounds a year.” attended the College of William and Mary.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Book Reviews 307 Pressly deserves praise for his accomplishment in pre- senting this survey of intellectual history, and for providing the student and general reader with a useful summary of the major literature of the Civil War. And, considering the world in which Pressly writes, it is a matter of moment to have this important reminder that honest men may differ in their interpretations of events. Earlham College Harold M. Hyman The Writing of American History. By Michael Kraus. (Norman, Oklahoma : University of Oklahoma Press, 1953, pp. x, 386. Index. $5.50.) American historiography began with the Norse sagas but with the Spanish historians there began a chain of narration that links with our own day, and Richard Hakluyt was to write volumes about imperial expansion before the English began their colonization of America. With this introduction Michael Kraus takes up the historians of the first settle- ments-John Smith, William Bradford, John Winthrop, and on through the Mathers. The chapters that follow, in the main, proceed chronologically : The Era of Colonialism ; The Growing National Spirit: 1750-1800 ; Gathering the Records- Awaiting the National Historian ; Patriots, Romantics-and Hildreth; Francis Parkman; The Rise of the “Scientific School” ; Henry Adams ; The Nationalist School ; The Imperial School of Colonial History ; The Frontier and Sectional Histor- ians ; Biography ; and Contemporary Trends. In 1891 James Franklin Jameson published a sketch of American historical writing, carrying his study to the 1880’s. In 1917 John Spencer Bassett published his The Middle Group of American Historians, chiefly concerned with Sparks, Bancroft, and Peter Force. Not until 1937 when Michael Kraus published his A History of American History was any survey of the whole field of American historical writing available.
    [Show full text]