Living Constitution, The: Bill of Rights, The
There are strong Federalist majorities in the House and Senate when the first Congress convenes in the spring of 1789. Madison submits a draft of ten amendments to the House, even though he does not believe the Constitution needs a Bill of Rights. ...
Most Basic of Rights, The: Struggle for Rights
Freedom of speech, the most basic component of the first amendment, is more extensive in the U.S. than other countries of the world. But this freedom did not come without a struggle. In fact, ratification of the Constitution by several states was co...
Rivals and Friends: Presidential Election of 1796, The
The presidential election of 1796 is the first partisan election in the nation's history. As it unfolds, it is a contest not only between the emerging Republican party and the Federalists, but a battle among the Federalists themselves. When John Ada...
Rivals and Friends: Jefferson as Administrator
Jefferson avoids Adams' mistakes in selecting his cabinet, appointing such talented administrators as Albert Gallatin and James Madison who share his views. In his first administration the Republicans control both houses of Congress, and Jefferson b...
American Experiment, The: Two Roads to Philadelphia
Two sets of issues led to convention in Philadelphia: the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and the problems individual states were experiencing. When the Annapolis convention did not attract a quorum, a general convention was called for the...
American Heritage: Guarding Against Overreaching Power
The federalist system that characterizes U. S. government has different branches that exercise checks and balances on each other in order to prevent any one branch from acquiring too much power. The rule of law embodied by the Constitution also limi...
Vision for a Nation: Testing the Design of the Constitution
The first election under the Constitution is scheduled for the early months of 1789. The newly-elected Congress, says historian Bernard Bailyn, is a "creative force in our constitutional life" for two reasons: the Bill of Rights, submitted to the Ho...
Vision for a Nation: Controlling Federal Power
Historian Bernard Bailyn characterizes the construction of the Constitution as "something of a miracle." Delegates to the Constitutional Convention create a system for governing the country's large geographic area while maintaining the ideals of ind...