DOCSLIB.ORG

Madison, Jefferson and the Principles of '98, 1798-1834

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Madison, Jefferson and the Principles of '98, 1798-1834 Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History 8-11-2015 Ambiguous Union: Madison, Jefferson and the Principles of '98, 1798-1834 Jeffrey E. Morrison Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Morrison, Jeffrey E., "Ambiguous Union: Madison, Jefferson and the Principles of '98, 1798-1834." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/47 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! ! AMBIGUOUS!UNION:!MADISON,!JEFFERSON!AND!THE!“PRINCIPLES!OF!‘98,”!1798?1834! ! ! by! ! ! JEFFREY!E.!MORRISON! ! ! Under!the!Direction!of!H.!Robert!Baker,!PhD! ! ! ABSTRACT! The!Constitution!of!the!United!State!has!never!Been!a!document!with!a!fixed!and! determinaBle!meaning,!and!demanded!continual!reinterpretation.!During!the!early! repuBlic,!legal!and!political!Battles!over!constitutional!meaning!were!commonplace,!leading! to!claims!of!disloyalty!as!well!as!threats!of!violence.!When!those!battles!occurred,! challenges!to!actions!of!the!federal!government!often!were!done!in!the!name!of!the!Virginia! and!Kentucky!Resolutions,!and!the!“Principles!of!‘98.”!Reflecting!one!important!strand!of! mainstream!political!thought!in!the!early!republic,!the!Virginia!and!Kentucky!Resolutions! were!later!employed!By!Pennsylvanians,!who!militarily!resisted!federal!efforts!to!enforce!a! Supreme!Court!decision,!to!New!Englanders,!who!effectively!nullified!certain!federal!laws! ! i! ! ! during!the!War!of!1812,!and!to!South!Carolinians,!who!nullified!a!federal!tariff!and! threatened!secession.!! Authored!By!James!Madison!and!Thomas!Jefferson,!respectively,!in!1798,!the! Virginia!and!Kentucky!Resolutions!set!forth!differing!visions!of!the!nation’s!founding.!The! extent!of!these!differences!was!misunderstood!By!many!contemporaries!and!has!been! largely!ignored!or!misunderstood!By!suBsequent!legal!scholars.!Jefferson!interpreted!the! Constitution!as!a!contract!Between!the!sovereign!state!governments,!akin!to!a!treaty! Between!independent!nations.!Thus,!unconstitutional!actions!By!the!federal!government! were!a!Breach!of!the!constitutional!compact,!in!response!to!which!each!state!had!a!right!to! nullify!the!offending!action.!For!Madison,!the!thirteen!peoples&of!the!several!states,!acting! collectively!in!their!highest!sovereign!capacity,&were!the!parties!to!the!constitutional! compact.!Madison!did!not!interpret!the!Constitution!By!application!of!strict!rules!applicaBle! to!contracts!or!treaties!and!did!not!deem!every!Breach!of!the!compact!as!justifying! nullification!by!the!people.!He!rejected!the!notion!that!a!single!state!or!even!the!sovereign! people&of!a!single!state!could!nullify!actions!of!the!federal!government.!Only!a!majority!of! the!people&of!the!several!states!could!nullify!actions!of!the!federal!government,!and!such! right!should!only!Be!exercised!when!the!act!“deeply!and!essentially”!affected!the!“vital! principles!of!their!political!system.”! ! ! ! INDEX!WORDS:!Virginia!and!Kentucky!Resolutions,!James!Madison,!Thomas!Jefferson,! Nullification,!Interposition,!Alien!and!Sedition!Acts,!Hartford!Convention,!John!Marshall,! Nullification!Crisis,!States’!Rights,!Andrew!Jackson.! ! ! ! ii! ! ! AMBIGUOUS!UNION:!MADISON,!JEFFERSON!AND!THE!“PRINCIPLES!OF!‘98,”!1798?1834! ! ! ! ! by! ! ! ! ! JEFFREY!E.!MORRISON! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A!Dissertation!Submitted!in!Partial!Fulfillment!of!the!Requirements!for!the!Degree!of! Doctor!of!Philosophy! in!the!College!of!Arts!and!Sciences! Georgia!State!University! 2015! ! ! iii! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!By! Jeffrey!E.!Morrison! 2015! ! ! iv! ! ! AMBIGUOUS!UNION:!MADISON,!JEFFERSON!AND!THE!“PRINCIPLES!OF!‘98,”!1798?1834! ! ! by! ! ! JEFFREY!E.!MORRISON! ! ! Committee!Chair:!! H.!Robert!Baker! Committee:! Wendy!Hamand!Venet! David!Sehat! ! ! ! Electronic!Version!Approved:! ! ! Office!of!Graduate!Studies! College!of!Arts!and!Sciences! Georgia!State!University! August!2015 ! v! ! ! ! DEDICATION ) This!dissertation!is!dedicated!to!many!of!the!people!I!have!loved!most!in!my!life.! First,!this!dissertation!is!dedicated!to!my!mother,!Susan!Hoffman!Morrison,!and!to! her!father!Earl!“Pop!Pop”!Hoffman,!who!first!taught!me!a!love!of!history.!As!a!child,!my! mom!took!me!to!Valley!Forge,!Mount!Vernon,!countless!wax!museums!and!to!the!great! monuments!in!Washington,!D.C.,!Philadelphia!and!Stone!Mountain,!Georgia.!My!grandfather! tutored!me!on!the!great!Battles!of!the!Civil!War!and!Custer’s!Last!Stand.!No!childhood! memories!give!me!greater!joy.!My!mom!encourages!my!love!of!history!to!this!day,!and! other!than!myself,!may!Be!the!happiest!that!my!dissertation!is!now!completed.! Second,!this!dissertation!is!dedicated!to!my!wife,!Sarah!Anne!(Schuster)!Morrison,! and!to!our!two!children,!Michael!Morrison!and!Susan!Morrison.!I!began!this!journey!as!a! frustrated!lawyer!entering!graduate!school!almost!twenty!years!ago!with!a!goal!of!earning! my!Masters!and!Ph.D.,!and!teaching!history!some!day.!Through!years!of!balancing!work! demands!as!an!attorney!with!the!demands!of!earning!two!degrees,!while!ensuring!that!I! fulfilled!my!most!important!and!rewarding!role!as!husband!and!father,!their!love,! encouragement!and!support!for!my!goal!never!waivered.!! Although!none!of!them!will!likely!read!its!entirety,!this!dissertation!never!would! have!been!finished!without!them!in!my!life.! ! iv! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS) ! My!interest!in!the!Virginia!and!Kentucky!Resolutions!Began!during!my!Master!thesis! on!Lincoln’s!record!on!freedom!of!expression!during!the!Civil!War!and!during!the! completion!of!a!seminar!paper!analyzing!Andrew!Jackson’s!response!to!efforts!of!South! Carolina!to!suppress!aBolitionist!literature!in!1835.!My!interest!in!freedom!of!expression! took!me!Back!to!the!Alien!and!Sedition!Acts,!which!is!where!I!found!Madison,!Jefferson!and! the!Principles!of!‘98.!To!the!extent!this!work!offers!any!new!insight!into!the!constitutional! history!of!the!early!republic,!much!of!the!credit!should!go!to!the!History!Department!at! Georgia!State!University.!I!attended!Georgia!State!off!and!on!for!almost!fifteen!years!and! enjoyed!every!single!class,!largely!due!to!the!efforts!and!dedication!of!my!teachers!and!to! the!diverse!group!of!students!who!added!so!much!to!each!seminar.! Many!thanks!to!Richard!Mannion!for!his!continued!encouragement,!prodding!and! support.!Rich!and!I!were!part!of!the!“senior”!brigade!that!regularly!populated!the!nighttime! history!seminars!during!our!early!years!at!Georgia!State.!Most!have!come!and!gone!But! Rich!and!I!Became!good!friends!during!the!process.!Other!than!my!wife!and!mother,!no!one! did!a!Better!joB!of!kicking!me!in!the!rump!to!finish!this!project.! Thanks!to!my!dissertation!committee!members,!David!Sehat!and!Wendy!Venet.! David!arrived!at!Georgia!State!after!I!had!completed!all!of!my!coursework!But!readily! agreed!to!jump!in!and!help!me!bring!this!project!to!a!satisfactory!conclusion.!I!regret!that!I! never!had!the!opportunity!to!Be!a!student!in!one!of!his!seminars.!As!for!Wendy,!she!has!had! a!recurring!role!during!my!long!journey!at!Georgia!State,!Beginning!with!multiple!seminars! on!19th!century!U.S.!history!and!as!my!advisor!for!my!Master!Thesis!on!Lincoln.!She! ! v! ! tolerated!many!a!long?winded!critique!of!Lincoln!and!Jackson!with!grace!and!skillfully! calmed!me!down!when!my!hyperBole!reached!dangerous!levels.!! Finally,!I!thank!my!dissertation!director,!RoB!Baker.!!Since!his!arrival!at!Georgia! State,!he!has!been!a!constant!and!enthusiastic!supporter!of!this!project!and!of!my!dreams!of! someday!Being!a!history!professor.!Intelligent,!creative,!proBing,!and!forever!optimistic,! RoB!always!had!an!encouraging!word!to!get!me!Back!on!track!after!a!few!periods!when!I! felt!like!I!would!never!finish.!I!look!forward!to!the!day!when!I!will!have!my!own!students! and!will!try!to!mirror!RoB’s!aBility!to!Be!a!valued!mentor!who!consistently!inspires.! ! vi! ! TABLE)OF)CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS)...........................................................................................................)v! 1!INTRODUCTION)....................................................................................................................)1! 2!HISTORIOGRAPHY).............................................................................................................)24! 3!THE)ALIEN)AND)SEDITION)ACTS)AND)POPULAR)RESPONSE)...............................)48! 4!THE)VIRGINIA)AND)KENTUCKY)RESOLUTIONS)........................................................)77! 5!MADISON’S)AND)JEFFERSON’S)PRINCIPLES)OF)‘98)..............................................)119! 6!FEDERALISTS)EMBRACE)THE)PRINCIPLES)OF)‘98)................................................)176! 7!JOHN)MARSHALL)CONFRONTS)THE)PRINCIPLES)OF)‘98).....................................)218! 8!ANDREW)JACKSON)CONFRONTS)THE)PRINCIPLES)OF)‘98).................................)271! 9!CONCLUSION).....................................................................................................................)364! BIBLIOGRAPHY)...................................................................................................................)372! vii! ! 1 INTRODUCTION)) ! The!Constitution!of!the!United!State!has!never!Been,!and!most!likely!never!was!
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Here
    In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, ​ ​ formally detailing the principles of nullification for the first time. Standing alone, the resolutions make a strong case for nullification. But they don’t reveal the whole story. The resolutions were actually just a first step in the strategy Madison and Jefferson developed for dealing with the unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. Correspondence between the two ​ ​ men, and other players involved in the fight to block this early example of federal overreach, provide a much clearer picture of what they were trying to accomplish in the long run. During the summer of 1798, Congress passed four laws together known as the Alien and ​ Sedition Acts. These laws violated several constitutional provisions and represented a gross ​ federal usurpation of power. The first three laws dealt with the treatment of resident aliens. The Alien Friends Act gave the ​ ​ president sweeping power to deport “dangerous” aliens, in effect elevating the president to the role of judge, jury and “executioner.” The Alien Enemies Act allowed for the arrest, imprisonment ​ ​ and deportation of any male citizen of a nation at war with the U.S., even without any evidence that the individual was an actual threat. These laws unconstitutionally vested judicial powers in the executive branch and denied the accused due process. The most insidious of the laws was the Sedition Act. It essentially criminalized criticism of the ​ ​ federal government, a blatant violation of the First Amendment. Recognizing the Alien and Sedition Acts represented a serious threat to the constitutional ​ ​ system, and with few options for addressing the overreach due to Federalist Party control of the federal government, Jefferson and Madison turned to the states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civil War As Constitutional Interpretation (Reviewing Lincoln's
    REVIEW The Civil War as Constitutional Interpretation Michael Stokes Paulsent Lincoln's Constitution, Daniel Farber. Chicago, 2003. Pp ix, 240. I. THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF A WAR OVER CONSTITUTIONAL MEANING The world will little note, nor long remember, what academics say about the Constitution. That is, probably, as it should be. The law is made-its interpretation settled-by great events, not law review articles; by wars, not words; by presidents, not professors. The Constitution we have today is in substantial measure the re- sult of the single most decisive legal interpretive event of American history: the Civil War. The outcome of Grant v Lee resolved the most important issue of antebellum constitutional dispute-the nature of the Union-in favor of the nationalist view of sovereignty and against the South's state-sovereignty view. It was a great Civil War, not a judicial opinion, that settled this issue. It was likewise the Civil War, not any correcting judicial decision, that reversed the most egre- gious error of the Supreme Court up to that point in our history- Dred Scott's' enshrinement of slavery as a fundamental constitutional property right of (white) citizens, immune from federal interference as a matter of "due process" of law. And it was the War, not any judi- cial decision, that reversed the most egregious error of the framers in t Briggs & Morgan Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School;Visiting Profes- sor of Law (2003-2004), University of St. Thomas School of Law. My thanks to John Nagle and Saikrishna Prakash for comments on earlier drafts of this Review.
    [Show full text]
  • The Federal Era
    CATALOGUE THREE HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN The Federal Era WILLIAM REESE COMPANY 409 Temple Street New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 789-8081 A Note This catalogue is devoted to the two decades from the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 to the first Jefferson administration and the Louisiana Purchase, usually known to scholars as the Federal era. It saw the evolution of the United States from the uncertainties of the Confederation to the establishment of the Constitution and first federal government in 1787-89, through Washington’s two administrations and that of John Adams, and finally the Jeffersonian revolution of 1800 and the dramatic expansion of the United States. Notable items include a first edition of The Federalist; a collection of the treaties ending the Revolutionary conflict (1783); the first edition of the first American navigational guide, by Furlong (1796); the Virginia Resolutions of 1799; various important cartographical works by Norman and Mount & Page; a first edition of Benjamin’s Country Builder’s Assistant (1797); a set of Carey’s American Museum; and much more. Our catalogue 338 will be devoted to Western Americana. Available on request or via our website are our recent catalogues 331 Archives & Manuscripts, 332 French Americana, 333 Americana–Beginnings, 334 Recent Acquisitions in Americana, and 336 What I Like About the South; bulletins 41 Original Works of American Art, 42 Native Americans, 43 Cartography, and 44 Photography; e-lists (only available on our website) and many more topical lists. q A portion of our stock may be viewed at www.williamreesecompany.com. If you would like to receive e-mail notification when catalogues and lists are uploaded, please e-mail us at [email protected] or send us a fax, specifying whether you would like to receive the notifications in lieu of or in addition to paper catalogues.
    [Show full text]
  • Town Meetings and Other Popular Assemblies in the American Founding
    Journal of Public Deliberation Volume 15 Issue 2 Town Meeting Politics in the United States: The Idea and Practice of an American Article 7 Myth 2019 A ‘Peaceable and Orderly Manner’: Town Meetings and other Popular Assemblies in the American Founding Robert W. T. Martin Hamilton College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Robert W. T. (2019) "A ‘Peaceable and Orderly Manner’: Town Meetings and other Popular Assemblies in the American Founding," Journal of Public Deliberation: Vol. 15 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol15/iss2/art7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Public Deliberation. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Public Deliberation by an authorized editor of Public Deliberation. A ‘Peaceable and Orderly Manner’: Town Meetings and other Popular Assemblies in the American Founding Abstract The New England town meeting has often been seen as the archetypical deliberative citizen forum (see, e.g., Mansbridge 1980). More recently, political theorists have begun to appreciate the way in which any particular public forum might be better understood as part of the larger deliberative system (Parkinson, Mansbridge, 2012). Much of this work draws on modern-day examples (Parkinson 2006). But a return to the American founding era reveals that while town meetings are often praised and have many democratic virtues, they also embody a limitation on popular action generally and especially on democratic dissent. Keywords deliberative democracy, town meetings, citizen assemblies, dissent, James Madison, American Founding This article is available in Journal of Public Deliberation: https://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol15/iss2/art7 Martin: A ‘Peaceable and Orderly Manner’ Introduction Much like the ancient Athenian assembly, the New England town meeting has often been seen as an archetypical deliberative citizen forum (see, e.g., Mansbridge 1980).
    [Show full text]
  • Minority Report: John Marshall and the Defense of the Alien and Sedition Acts
    OHIO STATE LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 68, NUMBER 2, 2007 Minority Report: John Marshall and the Defense of the Alien and Sedition Acts KURT T. LASH* ALICIA HARRSON** In 1799, the Federalist minority of the Virginia House of Delegates produced an extended defense of the Alien and Sedition Acts. This Minority Report responded to Madison's famous Virginia Resolutions and efforts by Virginia Republicans to tar the Adams Administration with having exceeded its powers under the federal Constitution. Originally attributed to John Marshall by biographerAlbert Beveridge, recent biographies of Marshall have omitted the episode or rejected Beveridge's claim and the current editors of the Papers of John Marshall omitted the Minority Report from their multi-volume collection of Marshall's work. What was once an assumed (if controversial) episode in Marshall's career has disappeared from otherwise exhaustive accounts of his life and work. As in Philip K. Dick's story, Minority Report, an alternate view of events has been unceremoniously erasedfrom the official record. The authors of this Article challenge the decision to remove Marshall's name from the Minority Report. Marshall was the only person named at the time as the probable author, and Marshallhad both reason and opportunity to draft the Address. The arguments of the Report not only track Marshall's views on the Constitution, they utilize constitutional arguments that were * Professor of Law and W. Joseph Ford Fellow, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. B.A., Whitman College; J.D., Yale Law School. I thank the wonderful staff at the Huntington Research Library for their invaluable assistance locating innumerable primary documents.
    [Show full text]
  • 418635 1 En Bookbackmatter 229..273
    CHRONOLOGY 1776 July 4 The United States declares its independence from Great Britain. 1777 November 15 The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation and submits them to the states for ratification. 1780 September Even before Articles are ratified, Hamilton suggests convention to draft new constitution. 1781 March 1 The Articles of Confederation enter into force with ratification by Maryland, the last of the 13 states to ratify. 1783–1786 All attempts by the Continental Congress to amend the Articles are frustrated by need for unanimous approval of states. 1786 September Annapolis Convention for commercial reform among states fails for lack of quorum. Meeting adopts a resolution for Congress to propose holding a convention in Philadelphia in May 1787. 1786 Fall Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts alarms men of prop- erty and commerce. 1787 February 21 Continental Congress recommends that states send delegates to convention to meet in Philadelphia in May to propose alterations to Articles, so as to “render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government & the preservation of the Union.” 1787 March–April Madison, in letters to Jefferson, Randolph, and Washington, outlines major reforms he proposes, including a national veto on all state legislation. 1787 May 14 Lack of quorum delays opening of Constitutional Convention. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 229 S. Slonim, Forging the American Nation, 1787–1791, DOI 10.1057/978-1-349-95163-5 230 CHRONOLOGY 1787 May 25 Convention begins deliberation with arrival of majority of state delegates. George Washington is elected as Chairman. 1787 May 29 Gov.
    [Show full text]
  • A Madisonian Constitution for All Essay Series 1
    A MADISONIAN CONSTITUTION FOR ALL 1 ESSAY SERIES THE RELEVANCE AND IRRELEVANCE OF JAMES MADISON TO FAITHFUL CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION BY MICHAEL STOKES PAULSEN The several departments being perfectly co-ordinate by the terms of their common commission, neither of them, it is evident, can pretend to an exclusive or superior right of settling the boundaries between their respective powers. The Federalist 49 (James Madison) I. INTRODUCTION: MADISON VERSUS MODERN PRACTICE The two most fundamental questions of constitutional law are how to interpret the Constitution and who is to do the interpreting. On these two questions—how and by whom, interpretive method and interpretive power—hang essentially every other issue of American constitutional law. There exists a clear modern consensus on the answers to these bedrock questions – and that consensus is almost certainly wrong. The error starts, subtly, by taking up the questions in reverse order: It has become common in modern times to identify the power of constitutional interpretation exclusively with the decisions of courts, and especially with the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The answer to the question “Who interprets?” is, most everyone today would agree, “The Supreme Court.” And once the question of interpretive power is resolved in favor of a supreme judiciary, the question of interpretive method tends to be answered in terms of deference to whatever that supreme judiciary decides. The judicial power “to say what the law is”1 thus rapidly degenerates into the cynical view that the law is “what the judges say it is.”2 It has thus become commonplace to assert that the Constitution itself contains no discernible rules or instructions concerning how it is to be interpreted.
    [Show full text]
  • Popular Nullification, Fries' Rebellion, and the Waning of Radical Republicanism, 1798-1801 Robert H
    Popular Nullification, Fries' Rebellion, and the Waning of Radical Republicanism, 1798-1801 Robert H. Churchill Rutgers University In May, 1798, a Republican writing under the pseudonym "Nestor" accused President John Adams of renouncing the principles for which Ameri- cans had fought the Revolution. Seizing on Adams' comment that Americans had fought for independence only out of necessity, Nestor accused Adams of misinterpreting the meaning of the Revolution: "Did America resist because she wished only to be independent? No! Mr. Adams' assertion to the contrary, she contended for freedom as well as independence." Nestor insisted that in belittling America's struggle for freedom, Adams had revealed his hitherto veiled hostility to liberty. "The real enemy," Nestor warned his readers, "is assaulting the citadel of your dearest privileges-Fleets, standing armies, debts and taxes are preparing for you." Though Nestor dearly twisted Adams' words to the President's discredit, his prediction was borne out over the summer months of 1798. Adams and the Federalist majority did indeed pass a program of legislation intended to prepare the country for an impending war with France. These measures in- cluded new internal taxes, a larger navy and a standing army, and the borrow- ing of large sums at eight-percent interest. Republicans denounced this pro- gram as unnecessary, burdensome, and despotic. The passage of the war pro- gram of 1798, which also included the Alien and Sedition Acts, initiated a political crisis that lasted for the next two years. The crisis brought into full focus the question that was central to debates over the meaning of the Revolu- tion: whether the people might resist oppressive acts undertaken by a govern- ment of their own creation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jeffersonian Republicans Vs. the Federalist Courts, 14 U
    University of St. Thomas Law Journal Volume 14 Article 3 Issue 1 The Pre-Marbury Constitution 2018 The effeJ rsonian Republicans vs. The edeF ralist Courts Kevin R. C. Gutzman Bluebook Citation Kevin R. C. Gutzman, The Jeffersonian Republicans vs. The Federalist Courts, 14 U. St. Thomas L.J. 56 (2018). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UST Research Online and the University of St. Thomas Law Journal. For more information, please contact [email protected]. \\jciprod01\productn\U\UST\14-1\UST103.txt unknown Seq: 1 30-MAR-18 12:55 ARTICLE THE JEFFERSONIAN REPUBLICANS VS. THE FEDERALIST COURTS BY KEVIN R. C. GUTZMAN* The conflict between Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalist- dominated federal courts was the longest-running, most consequential as- pect of the party conflict pitting former revolutionary brothers-in-arms against one another. It centered on Virginia, which, not coincidentally, con- tributed the most significant players to both sides and where some of the key court cases arose. The repercussions of this long-running confrontation have been felt in legislative halls, in courts, on the hustings, and even on battlefields ever since. I. A. Our story begins in pre-Revolutionary Virginia. In 1774, at the climax of the Imperial Crisis of the 1760s–1770s, a member of the House of Bur- gesses named Thomas Jefferson sat down in his Albemarle County home, Monticello, to draft legislative instructions for the Virginia delegates to the upcoming Continental Congress. Jefferson hoped that Virginia’s congress- men, who would be elected by the House of Burgesses, would insist on a highly pugnacious American communication with the king.
    [Show full text]
  • The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
    An Analysis of Two Federal Structures: The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution DOUGLAS G. SMITH" TABLE OF CONTENTS I. IN1RODUCTION • • • . • • • . • • • • . • • • . • • • . • • • • . • • . • • . • 250 JI. EARLY MODELS OF POLITICAL UNION • • . • . • • • . • • • • • . • . • • • 258 A. Montesquieu~ Model: A "Confederate Republic" . • . 260 B. Valle/~ Model: Mutual Defense and Commercial Union . 261 C. Pufendoif~ Model: A "Perpetual Treaty" . • . • . • . 264 Ill. TEX1UAL ANALYSIS: COMPARISON OF TilE CoNSTITUTION AND TilE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION • • • • • • . • • • • • . • . • • • • • 268 A. Structural Similarities . • . • . • . • . 270 J. Formation ofa Union . • • . • . • • . • • • . 270 ,2. Reciprocity Among the States . • . • . • . • . 212 3. A General Government of Enumerated Powers . 278 4. Residual Powers Retained by the States . • . • • . • • . • 281 5. Constitutional Protection for the States as Entities . • • . 283 6. Supremacy • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . • • . 284 B. Structural Differences . • . • • . • . • . • . • • • • . • • • . • 285 1. Scope ofEnumerated Powers . • • . • . • • . 285 2. The Sweeping Clause • • . • . • . 288 3. Source of Political Authority . • . • • • • • • . • . • . 291 4. The Guarantee Clause . • . • • • . • . 294 • Associate, Kirkland & Bilis, Chicago, JI. J.D., Northwestern University School of Law; B.S./B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo. I am grateful for comments on previous drafts of this Article from Stephen Gardbaum and Thomas Merrill. 249 5. Amendment • . • . • . • . • 299
    [Show full text]
  • States' Rights Apogee, 1760-1840
    “States’ Rights Apogee, 1776-1840” By Ryan M. Setliff A Thesis Submitted To The Faculty of the History Department and Graduate School At Liberty University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Masters of Arts in History December 2011 – Abstract – America’s states’ rights tradition has held much influence since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. In late 1798, in response to the Federalist administration’s adoption of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were formally adopted by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky respectively. These resolutions set a lasting precedent for state interposition and nullification. As well concurrence with these doctrines can be found in the Virginia Resolves of 1790, the constitutional debates of 1787-1790, and all throughout the colonial-revolutionary period of the 1760s to 1780s. In time, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions would gain stature and would define the American political culture of the nineteenth century. They became known as the Principles of 1798. The Tariff Crisis of 1828-1832 in South Carolina may be contextualized in light of the Principles of 1798. This inquiry endeavors to answer why those principles are integral to the American constitutional tradition. The continuity of the 1798 resolves with colonial-revolutionary practice reveals them as neither rash nor innovative, but in accord with the localism innate to American political tradition. -ii- – Acknowledgments – Special thanks to my thesis committee participants for their mentorship. In particular, my thesis advisor Dr. Samuel C. Smith, Professor of History, and committee reader, Dr. Roger Schultz, Professor of History and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, have my gratitude for their assistance and encouragement in this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Supreme Court of the United States ______THOMAS E
    No. 19-1392 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States _________ THOMAS E. DOBBS, M.D., IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS STATE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, et al., Petitioners, v. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION, et al., Respondents. _______ On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit _________ BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS _________ Meredith L. Di Liberto Counsel of Record James F. Peterson JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. 425 Third Street SW Washington, DC 20024 (202) 646-5172 [email protected] Counsel for Amicus Curiae Dated: July 29, 2021 LEGAL PRINTERS LLC ! Washington, DC ! 202-747-2400 ! legalprinters.com i QUESTION PRESENTED Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS QUESTION PRESENTED ........................................ i TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................ ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ..................................... iii INTERESTS OF AMICUS CURIAE .......................... 1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ..................................... 2 ARGUMENT ............................................................... 4 I. Abortion Regulation Belongs in the Realm of the States and State Governance. .................. 4 A. The Founders Relied on the Principles of Federalism. ............................................. 5 B. States Demonstrated the Ability to Self-Govern Prior to Roe .......................... 11 C. States Remain Capable of Self-
    [Show full text]