I believe the Constitution did a better job of protecting liberties, specifically in the areas of the federal court system, representation of the people, and the levy of taxes. Alexander Hamilton, statesman and economist, proclaimed "Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation”. The Articles of Confederation which gave rise to the Confederation government that took effect in March 1781, did not give the national government any means to enforce the federal laws. The states could, and often did, choose to interpret or enforce federal laws in any manner they saw fit. This led to disputes amongst the states that could not be readily settled, as it relied on each state’s court system which invariably chose to discount the ruling of the other states.
Neglecting the fact that there is no clause in the Constitution permitting him to purchase land, Jefferson used Napoleon’s European conquest to help him get rid of New World worries. Napoleon compares this decision to saying to your grown child, “I did this for your good. I pretend to no right to bind you, you may disavow me, and I must get out of the scrape as I can. I thought it my duty to risk myself for you” (Document C). The Embargo Act of 1807 is perhaps the most contradictory decision Jefferson has made in his presidency.
US FOREIGN POLICY - HISTORY WAS MADE!!! Monroe is trying to discourage Europe from taking land in the Americas. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, made a foreign policy statement for President Monroe to present before Congress. This proclamation, delivered in the House of Representatives on December 2, 1823, is now known as the Monroe Doctrine. It says that no land in the American continents will be considered by Europe, and any attempt would be considered a danger to the peace and safety of the United States.
A Democratic-Republican supporter George Hay of Philadelphia argued that any kind of legislation against a protected freedom, in this case freedom of the press and opinion, is “extremely forbidden by the constitution” (Doc. 7). Democrat-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and James Madison quietly rebelled against the Alien and Sedition Acts by drafting the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. They argued that the
This was done by prohibiting the importation of slaves. 2. Why did George Mason, a Virginia slave owner, demand a prohibition of the Atlantic slave trade? a. George Mason wasn’t concerned about the Importing states alone, but the whole union. He held essential in every point of view that the general government should have power to prevent the increase of slavery.
President Polk want to go to war with Mexico, while the Wig protested against going to war with Mexico. Document G. Sumner argued against the war because it all started because of the States annexing Texas, and it was unconstitutional to annex Texas at the first place. While in document H, the editor of New York Sun stated it was fine to go to war with Mexico because it brings the Mexicans liberty, safety, and prosperity. Another problem was the compromise for Oregon between the States and British. Due to the compromise, the northern border of the Oregon territory was set at the 49th parallel.
Although Congress passed for bills known as the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 intending to help protect the government of the united states from potential threats, they did not truly protect Americans from their foreign enemies. There were many controversies that developed around and because of these acts. The Alien Acts had three parts. The first part stated that you had to live on U.S. soil for at least fourteen years in oder to become a citizen. This made it harder for foreighners to become citizens.The second part stated that the President had power to deport all aliens that he thought dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.
Lastly, the executive branch failed to keep Congress informed. They did not brief Congress when they sold the arms to Iran and they completely disregarded laws restricting aid to the contras (Lowenthal, 169). The resulting blowback nearly ruined President Reagan’s efforts for global security. The power struggle between Congress and the President was problematic. It appeared that, even though Congress was supposed to be briefed on covert missions in order to decide if they should fund it or not, the National Security Council walked easily through a loophole in the
Policymakers in the US were not interested in peace, but rather what they could get out of peace. When it came to negotiating, they blatantly denied Britain’s proposal to allow their Native American allies to stay in their Midwest territories when such a limitation would require the ever growing population of the States to sacrifice precious farmland. Also, the British conceded valuable fishing rights to the American government for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The treaty did not even mention the problem of impressments that the US tried to pass as justification for declaring war in the first place. The participation in this war also resulted in an explosion within the US Navy that made future overseas endeavors possible, and the United States gained serious respect from European powers that had previously noted the budding country as a cute experiment.
All the treaty established was that the British were to remove their troops and strongholds on northern American territory, already had been stated at the convention of Paris ending the War for Independence; the Treaty gave that the English would redeem the American for any losses but did not mention whether they would seize to do so in the future and no declaration of the impressments at all; also it allowed for the right of England’s ability to place tariffs on American exports while giving them a more favorable import status in the Unites states. All Americans despised Jay after this failure of an attempt at trying to improve our relation with Great