government. The legislature of Kentucky went a step farther the following year, and added to these premises the logical conclusion that if a state should decide that the national government had acted contrary to the agreement, for example by passing unconstitutional laws in Congress, the states could declare those laws null and void. No other states indorsed the stand of Virginia and Kentucky, though copies of the resolutions were sent to all the legislatures. criticism. The theory of government embodied in these resolutions is sometimes called the compact theory of the Constitution. How it would Federalist work out in actual practice was not at the time made clear. Its enemies declared that it would not work at all. They pointed out how it might easily happen that some states would choose to nullify one law, other states another law, and so on, until the national government would become an object of ridicule and its laws be reduced to confusion. These were the arguments of Washington, Adams, and the Federalists, who favored accepting the Supreme Court as the final judge for all the states in matters concerning the interpretation of the Constitution, on the ground that in this way only could the dignity of the national government be safeguarded and the uniformity of the national laws throughout the Union be secured. The principles of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions led to many conflicts between the states and the national government, Later importance of the prin ciples of the Resolutions. particularly in New England before and during the war of 1812, when that section was opposed to the policy of the national government, and in South Carolina in 1832, when that state actually nullified a law of the United States. The influence of the theory reached its height when it played an important part in bringing on the Civil War between the Northern and Southern States in 1861. The Feder alists and the courts. In the last weeks of the administration of President Adams, when the Federalists knew that they must soon give up their control of the executive and legislative branches of the government, they passed a law creating sixteen new United States judgeships, a number far beyond the needs of the time, and the President filled the places with the members of his own party. These were the "midnight judges," so named because Adams was said to have been occupied far into the night of his last day in office signing their commissions. Six weeks before the end of his administration Adams appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States John Marshall of Virginia, who is generally recognized as the greatest judge who ever sat upon the Supreme Bench. Dispute over the presiden tial election of 1800. A bitter dispute arose over the presidential election of 1800. The Constitution directed the presidential electors, when they came together in their respective states, to vote by ballot for two persons, the one receiving the greatest number of votes, if a majority, to become President, and the one receiving the next highest number of votes, if a majority, to become Vice President. This provision was made in the expectation that each elector would exercise his own independent judgment in casting his ballot, but that a sufficient number would usually agree to give a majority of votes to one candidate. In case the colleges failed to elect, the choice of the President was to devolve upon the House of Representatives and that of the Vice President upon the Senate. For some strange reason it was not foreseen by the makers of the Constitution, or if foreseen no provision was made for the contingency, that political parties would arise among the voters, which would deprive the electors of their freedom of choice. In 1800 party loyalty brought it about that the Democratic-Republican electors cast their ballots in the electoral colleges for the candidates selected for them by their party. Every Democratic-Republican elector voted for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, who thus were tied for the first place with 73 votes each, while President Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney received the Federalist vote of 65 and 64 respectively. The House of Representatives voted off the tie in favor of Jefferson, who became President, while the Vice Presidency fell to Burr. To avoid a tie vote in the future the twelfth amendment of the Constitution was adopted in 1804, directing the electors to ballot for President and Vice President separately. THE SERVICES OF THE FEDERALISTS With the close of the administration of Adams the régime of the Federalists ended, and a long period of Democratic-Republican rule in national affairs was begun. The Federalists had The services placed the government on a firm footing and established of the Federvaluable precedents. They had given the nation its first alists. tariff, and had satisfied the foreign and domestic creditors of the country as to the good faith of the government; they had created the national capital at Washington, set up the national bank, passed the Judiciary Act, and used the national military power with energy against an incipient insurrection and against the Indians; they had shown a firm hand amidst difficulties in dealing with Great Britain, France, and Spain, and on the whole had been successful in the conduct of foreign affairs; and they had encouraged a capitalist class and fostered business. In all these matters they had acted on the theory of loose construction of the Constitution, and had insisted on exercising the national powers to the full, with the welfare of the nation as a whole in view rather than that of the separate states. However, with their leanings toward aristocracy, they wandered too far from the democratic spirit of the country, and for this they were thrust from power. GENERAL REFERENCES MCMASTER, United States, I; BASSETT, Federalist System; J. P. GORDY, Political Parties in the United States; LODGE, George Washington; N. HAPGOOD, George Washington; P. L. FORD, George Washington; H. B. LEARNED, The President's Cabinet. SPECIAL TOPICS 1. THE WHISKY REBELLION. Epochs, IV, 90-107; BASSETT, Federalist System, 101-116; AVERY, United States, VII, 141–155. 2. PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S SOCIAL CUSTOMS. Epochs, IV, 62–64; BASSETT, Federalist System, 150-162; Source Book, 181-183; Journal of William Maclay. 3. THE MISSION OF GENÊT. BASSETT, Federalist System, 84-100; AVERY, United States, VII, 78-91; Contemporaries, III, 307-311. 4. THE FRENCH DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN. Old South Leaflets, VII, 8. ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL G. ATHERTON, Conqueror; COOPER, Afloat and Ashore, Miles Wallingford, and Pioneers; S. W. MITCHELL, Red City; KIPLING, Brother Square Toes, in Rewards and Fairies. SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS What were the chief problems of the national government under the Federalist régime? What were the chief triumphs of the Federalists? What were the leading features of Hamilton's financial policy? Describe the work of the first Congress. What were the leading mistakes of President Washington? How do you account for the rise of political parties under Washington? Why are political parties necessary? Mention at least three instances of alleged ingratitude to France on the part of the United States from 1776 to 1801. Was each justifiable? Was it a mistake for Adams to continue the cabinet of Washington? Why? What were some of the accusations against Washington? What is nullification? Were there any instances of nullification up to 1801? What good purpose was served by the Whisky Rebellion? What is a treaty? How does a treaty differ from arbitration? Define "constitutional" and "unconstitutional." What was the importance of the Jay treaty? From what sections of the country in general and from what classes of society was the Federalist party recruited? What is sectionalism in American politics? Do you think Hamilton's financial measures would have succeeded if the country had experienced poor crops or a financial panic at that time? What does the Genêt episode prove ought to be the conduct of diplomatic representatives in a foreign country? What probably suggested to President Washington advising his fellow-citizens to avoid alliances with European nations? PART V NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 1801-1841 CHAPTER XVI JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY NEW PRINCIPLES IN INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION JEFFERSON came to the presidential chair as the champion of democracy, in opposition to aristocracy and to conservatism. In a notable book on "Democracy and Liberty," an unfriendly critic, The new Lecky, from whose "American Revolution" we have era. already quoted, has sneered at democracy as government by the "poorest, the most ignorant, the most incapable, who are necessarily the most numerous." Yet the formulation of the democratic idea of popular participation in government may fairly be looked upon as Jefferson's greatest achievement and one of the greatest achievements in the whole history of national politics. It was of distinctly more value than either the theory of strict construction of the Constitution or that of states' rights, the other leading contentions of the Jeffersonian party. Jefferson's ideals of democracy, though as old as the colonies themselves, were not thoroughly worked into the fabric of national life at once but are still in process of progressive application. The foremost leader of the Democratic-Republicans was Jefferson himself. The Secretary of State, James Madison, who since 1789 had performed useful services in the House of Represen- Democratictatives as a member from Virginia, and Albert Gallatin, Republican a young Swiss immigrant, who as Secretary of the Treasury made a record second only to that of Hamilton, were among the strong men of the party. leaders. At his inauguration Jefferson disregarded the precedents of the two Federalist Presidents, who at their inauguration had been accompanied to the capitol in state, and walked with a few friends Jefferson's to the simple ceremony. His inaugural address was a inauguration. striking document. He pleaded for "a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." The essential principles of good government he summed up as follows: "Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political: - peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none: - the support of the state governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies - the preservation of the general government in its constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home, and safety abroad." As a further break with Federalist precedent, Jefferson sent written Written presidential messages. Democratic Republican theory and practice. messages to Congress instead of appearing before the assembled legislators in person, and his example in this respect was followed till the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. The Democratic-Republicans passed few important laws in Congress. The Alien and Sedition Laws, which by their own provisions expired a few years after their enactment, were not renewed; the Naturalization Act was amended by the reduction of the term of residence in the country required of a foreigner before naturalization, from fourteen back to the original term of five years, where it still remains; taxes were lowered and the size of the navy reduced. The national military academy at West Point on the Hudson was established in 1802. The truth is, that when charged with the responsibility of administering national affairs, the followers of Jefferson found that their ideal of a central government with restricted powers was not practical; and their most important measures, such as the purchase of Louisiana and the retaliatory acts against Great Britain and France for their insulting practices on the sea, were based on a loose construction of the Constitution and presupposed a strong central government. The attack and its One of the first measures of the new administration was to legislate the "midnight judges" out of office by the repeal of the law creating the offices to which they had been appointed. The on the courts Supreme Court could not be so easily managed. It was galling to the victorious party that the national tribunal was in the hands of Federalist judges, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, in a position to wield the power of the court in favor of loose construction and a strong central government against their own professions of strict construction and states' rights. Early in failure. |