The Life of John Marshall Volume III Part 69

Thus John Marshall's great opinion was influential in securing from Congress the settlement of the claims of numerous innocent investors who had, in good faith, purchased from a band of legislative corruptionists.

Of infinitely more importance, however, is the fact that Marshall's words a.s.serted the power of the Supreme Court of the United States to annul State laws pa.s.sed in violation of the National Const.i.tution, and that throughout the Republic a fundamental principle of the law of public contract was established.

FOOTNOTES:

[1359] See _infra_, 550.

[1360] Affidavit of Clem Lanier, _Am. State Papers, Public Lands_, I, 145.

[1361] Affidavit of Peter L. Van Allen, _ib._

[1362] _Ib._ It would appear that one hundred and fifty thousand acres were allotted to the thrifty Scotch legislator. He sold them for $7500.

[1363] Affidavit of John Thomas, Jr., _Am. State Papers, Public Lands_, I, 148.

[1364] Affidavit of Philip Clayton, _ib._ 146.

[1365] Affidavit of John Shepperd, _ib._

[1366] About sixty affidavits were made to show the venality of members of the Legislature. Of these, twenty-one are printed in _ib._ 144-49.

[1367] Harris: _Georgia from the Invasion of De Soto to Recent Times_, 127-28; White: _Statistics of the State of Georgia_, 50; Chappell: _Miscellanies of Georgia_, 93-95.

These writers leave the unjust inference that Wilson was one of those who were corrupting the Legislature. This is almost certainly untrue.

For a quarter of a century Wilson had been a heavy speculator in Indian lands, and it appears reasonable that he took this money to Augusta for the purpose of investment. When the deal was consummated, the Justice held shares to the amount of at least three quarters of a million of acres. (Chappell, 94.)

[1368] _Ib._ 95.

[1369] Gunn's reelection was the first step in the conspiracy. Not until that was accomplished was a word said about the sale of the lands.

Immediately after the Legislature had chosen Gunn for a second term in the National Senate, however, the bill was introduced and the campaign of intimidation and bribery launched, to force its pa.s.sage. (_Ib._ 82-83.)

[1370] See Mathews's reasons, as quoted in the Rescinding Act of 1796, _Am. State Papers, Public Lands_, I, 156.

[1371] Chappell, 86.

[1372] The claims of Spain to the territory had been a serious cloud on the t.i.tle. In October, 1795, the treaty with the Spanish Government, which removed this defect, was published. Senator James Gunn had knowledge that the treaty would be negotiated long before it was made known to the world or even concluded. This fact was one of the reasons for the mad haste with which the corrupt sale act was rushed through the Georgia Legislature. (See Chappell, 72-73.)

[1373] Gunn was a perfect example of the corrupt, yet able, bold, and demagogical politician. He was a master of the arts alike of cajolery and intimidation. For a vivid account of this man see Chappell, 99-105.

[1374] Haskins: _Yazoo Land Companies_, 24.

[1375] _Am. State Papers, Public Lands_, I, 151-52.

[1376] Chappell, 87.

[1377] "A small smoky cabin with a dirt floor was the home of most of them." (Smith: _Story of Georgia and the Georgia People_, 181.) For a good description of pioneer houses and manner of living, see Ramsey: _Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century_, 715-16.

[1378] Smith, 170-71.

[1379] Morse's _American Gazetteer_, as quoted in Bishop: _Georgia Speculation Unveiled_, 3-4.

[1380] Adams: _U.S._ I, 303.

[1381] The South Carolina Yazoo Company, 10,000,000 acres for $66,964; The Virginia Yazoo Company, 11,400,000 acres for $93,741; The Tennessee Company, 4,000,000 acres for $46,875. (Haskins, 8.)

[1382] _Works_: Ford, VI, 55-57.

[1383] Moultrie _vs._ Georgia, 1796, dismissed in 1798, _Am. State Papers, Public Lands_, I, 167; and see vol. II, 83-84, of this work.

[1384] Chappell, 92-93.

[1385] _Ib._ 67-68; Haskins, 13-15.

[1386] "No men stood higher in Georgia than the men who composed these several companies and the members of the Legislature who made the sale."

(Smith, 173.)

[1387] See Haskins, 25, and sources there cited.

[1388] The effect of Whitney's invention is shown in striking fas.h.i.+on by the increase of cotton exports. In 1791 only 189,500 pounds were exported from the entire United States. Ten years later Georgia alone exported 3,444,420 pounds. (Jones and Dutcher: _Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia_, 165.)

[1389] Priest: _Travels in the United States_, 132; and see Haskins, 3.

Otis speaks of the "land jobbing prospectors," and says that "money is the object here [Boston] with all ranks and degrees." (Otis to Harper, April 10, 1807, Morison: _Otis_, I, 283.)

The national character "is degenerated into a system of stock-jobbing, extortion and usury.... By the G.o.d of Heaven, if we go on in this way, our nation will sink into disgrace and slavery." (Tyler to Madison, Jan.

15, 1810, Tyler, I, 235.)

[1390] See vol. I, 428, of this work.

[1391] It was, however, among the last items proposed to the Convention, which had been at work more than three months before the "contract clause" was suggested. Even then the proposal was only as to _new_ States. The motion was made by Rufus King of New York on August 28.

Gouverneur Morris objected. "This would be going too far," he said.

George Mason of Virginia said the same thing. Madison thought "a negative on the State laws could alone secure the effect." James Wilson of Pennsylvania warmly supported King's motion. John Rutledge of South Carolina moved, as a subst.i.tute for King's proposition, that States should not pa.s.s "bills of attainder nor retrospective laws." (_Records, Fed. Conv._: Farrand, II, 440.) This carried, and nothing more appears as to the contract clause until it was included by the Committee on Style in its report of September 12. (_Ib._ 596-97.) Elbridge Gerry of Ma.s.sachusetts strongly favored it and even wanted Congress "to be laid under the like prohibitions." (_Ib._ 619.) The Convention refused to insert the word "previous" before "obligation." (_Ib._ 636.)

In this manner the provision that "no state shall pa.s.s any law impairing the obligation of contracts" was inserted in the Const.i.tution. The framers of that instrument apparently had in mind, however, the danger of the violation of contracts through depreciated paper money rather than the invalidation of agreements by the direct action of State Legislatures. (See speech of William R. Davie in the North Carolina Convention, July 29, 1788, _ib._ III, 349-50; speech of James McHenry before the Maryland House of Delegates, Nov. 29, 1787, _ib._ 150; and speech of Luther Martin before same, same date, _ib._ 214; also see Madison to Ingersoll, Feb. 2, 1831, _ib._ 495.)

Madison best stated the reason for the adoption of the contract clause: "A violations [_sic_] of Contracts had become familiar in the form of depreciated paper made a legal tender, of property subst.i.tuted for money, of Instalment laws, and of the occlusions of the Courts of Justice; although evident that all such interferences affected the rights of other States, relatively Creditor, as well as Citizens Creditors within the State." (_Ib._ 548.) Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth explained briefly that the clause "was thought necessary as a security to commerce." (Letter to the Governor of Connecticut, Sept. 26, 1787, _ib._ 100.)

[1392] Chappell, 67.

[1393] Harris, 130.

[1394] Harris, 131.

[1395] Feb. 27, 1795, _Annals_, 3d Cong. 1st and 2d Sess. 838-39.

[1396] _Ib._ 844-45. The silence of Jackson at this time is all the more impressive because the report of the Attorney-General would surely be used by the land companies to encourage investors to buy. Both Jackson and Gunn were present when King offered his resolution. (_Annals_, 3d Cong. 1st and 2d Sess. 846.) Jackson declined to vote on the pa.s.sage of a House bill "making provision for the purposes of treaty" with the Indians occupying the Yazoo lands. (_Ib._ 849-50.)

[1397] Smith, 174.