Coming to America: Portrait of Colonial Life: Immigration: A Key Element in American History
Immigration has been a key element throughout American history. The numbers of immigrants in the country's early history constituted a greater percentage of the population than it does today.
Government by Committee: Presidency, a Position With Sparse Constitutional Direction, the
The writers of the Constitution had a basic idea of what they wanted in a president: a national leader who would carry out the law of the land, a statesman who could negotiate with world powers; a commander-in chief in times of conflict. It was impo...
Question of Sovereignty, A: Perspectives on Federalism
Federalism, quips Jack Rakove, is the one topic in the history of political science that is the toughest to make sense of. Other noted political scientists add their perspectives on the federalist system, talking about the efficiencies and inefficie...
Rule of Nine: Creating the Judicial System
Article III of the U. S. Constitution provides that there shall be one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress should permit. It was the Judiciary Act of 1789 and subsequent legislation that created the system of federal courts that exist...
Question of Sovereignty, A: Constitutional Basis of Federalism
Unlike many other decisions made at the Constitutional Convention, federalism was not based on established political theory. It was a solution to a problem. The national government formed under the Articles of Confederation was dependent on the stat...
Living Constitution, The: Federalist Strategies in the Public Debate
The Constitution, crafted during the summer of 1787, now makes its public debut. Would the plan for a central government strong enough to govern this large nation be accepted by its citizens? The strategies to gain acceptance were remarkably similar...
Living Constitution, The: Focus of Conversation and Debate, A
The Constitution was the focus of conversation and debate in late 1787 and 1788 in almost every church, meeting house, roadside inn, and town square. Some of the most remarkable political literature ever published grew out of this political debate, ...
Federalism
Historian and author Bernard Bailyn talks about the tension inherent in the relationship between the United States federal government and the states. "American federalism is the emergence out of the origins of the country," Professor Bailyn explains...
Not Much of a War: How the Continental Army Outlasted Britain's Military Might
How can the small, rag-tag Continental army outlast the 18th century's most formidable military power? One important factor is that the British misunderstand what they are facing in this conflict, one of five battlefronts in which the British are en...
Not Much of a War: Support for Independence Intensifies
Colonial support for independence intensifies with the circulation of "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine. Three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress meets at the state house in Philadelphia with delegates fr...