The Greater Republic Part 16

The Const.i.tution supplied the great requirement without which the government itself would have been a nullity: the power to act supplanted the power simply to advise. The government consists of three departments: a legislative or Congress, which makes the laws; an executive department, consisting of the President and his officers, to execute the laws made by Congress; and a judiciary department (the Federal courts), which decides disputed questions under the laws. The Const.i.tution is our supreme law and must be obeyed by the general government, the State governments, and the people; if not, the general government punishes the offender.

Congress, or the legislative department, consists of two branches, the Senate and House of Representatives. Each State, no matter what its population, is ent.i.tled to two Senators, who serve for six years and are elected by the respective State Legislatures; the Representatives are apportioned according to the population, are voted for directly by the people, and serve for two years. In this admirable manner, each State is protected by its Senators against any encroachment upon its rights, while the populous States receive the recognition to which they are ent.i.tled through the House of Representatives.

Congress, the two branches acting together, lay taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, raise and support armies and navies, and employ militia to suppress insurrections. All States are forbidden to do any of these things, except to impose their own taxes, borrow for themselves, and employ their own militia. A majority of each house is enough to pa.s.s any bill, unless the President within ten days thereafter vetoes the act (that is, objects to it), when a two-thirds vote of each branch is necessary to make it a law. Treaties made by the President do not go into effect until approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.]

The executive department is vested in the President, chosen every four years by electors, who are voted for by the people. The President is commander-in-chief of the army and navy and appoints the majority of officers, it being necessary that most of the appointments shall be confirmed by the Senate. In case of misconduct, the President is to be impeached (charged with misconduct) by the House of Representatives and tried by the Senate. If convicted and removed, or if he should die or resign or be unable to perform the duties of his office, the Vice-President takes his place and becomes President. With this exception, the Vice-President presides over the Senate, with no power to vote except in case of a tie. No provision was made for a successor in the event of the death of the Vice-President, but in 1886 the Presidential Succession Law was pa.s.sed, which provides that, in case of the death or disability of the President and Vice-President, the order of succession shall be the secretaries of State, of the treasury, of war, the attorney-general, the postmaster-general, and the secretaries of the navy and of the interior.

The judiciary department, or power to decide upon the const.i.tutionality of laws, was given to one supreme court and such inferior courts as Congress should establish. The judges are appointed by the President and Senate and hold office during life or good behavior. The State courts have the power of appeal to the supreme court of the United States, whose decision is final, the questions being necessarily based upon offenses against any law of Congress, or upon the doubtful meaning of a law, or the doubt of the const.i.tutional power of Congress to pa.s.s a law.

At the time of the adoption of the Const.i.tution, three-fifths of the slaves were to be counted in calculating the population for the Representatives. Fugitive slaves were to be arrested in the States to which they had fled. New Territories were to be governed by Congress, which body admits the new States as they are formed. Each State is guaranteed a republican form of government, and the vote of three-fourths of the States can change the Const.i.tution through the means of amendments. The provisions regarding slavery, as a matter of course, lost their effect upon the abolishment of the inst.i.tution at the close of the Civil War.

THE ORDINANCE OF 1787.

Congress remained in session in New York, while the Philadelphia convention was at work upon the Const.i.tution, and during that period organized a territorial government for the immense region northwest of the Ohio, which belonged to the United States. The enterprising nature of the American people a.s.serted itself, and hundreds of emigrants began making their way into that fertile section, where the best of land could be had for the asking. But the Indians were fierce and warred continually against the settlers. Most of these had been soldiers in the Revolution, and they generally united for mutual protection. The Ohio Company was formed in 1787, and, in order to a.s.sist it, Congress pa.s.sed the Ordinance of 1787, of which mention has been made.

Slavery was forever forbidden in the Territory northwest of the Ohio, and the inhabitants were guaranteed full religious freedom, trial by jury, and equal political and civil privileges. The governors of the Territory were to be appointed by Congress until the population was sufficient to permit the organization of five separate States, which States should be the equal in every respect of the original thirteen.

From the Territory named the powerful and prosperous States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin were afterward formed.

SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST.

The Indian t.i.tles to 17,000,000 acres of land in the Territory had been extinguished by treaties with the leading tribes, despite which the red men contested the advancing settlers with untiring ferocity. Flatboats were attacked on their way down the Ohio, and the families ma.s.sacred; blockhouses were a.s.sailed, and the smoke of the settlers' burning cabins lit the skies at night. The pioneer path to the fertile region was crimsoned by the blood of those who hewed their way through the western wilderness.

Until formed into States, the region was known as _The Northwestern Territory_. In 1788, Rufus Putnam, of Ma.s.sachusetts, at the head of forty pioneers, founded the settlement of Marietta, and within the same year 20,000 people erected their homes in the region that had been visited by Daniel Boone and others nearly twenty years before.

No sooner had the ninth State ratified the Const.i.tution than the Congress of the Confederation named March 4, 1789, as the day on which, in the city of New York, the new government should go into effect.

The time had come for the selection of the first President of the United States, and it need not be said that the name of only one man--WAs.h.i.+NGTON--was in people's thoughts. So overmastering was the personality of that great man that he was the only one mentioned, and what is most significant of all, not a politician or leader in the country had the effrontery to hint that he had placed himself "in the hands of his friends" in the race for the presidency. Had he done so, he would have been buffeted into eternal obscurity.

Whatever may be said of the ingrat.i.tude of republics, it can never be charged that the United States was ungrateful to Was.h.i.+ngton. The people appreciated his worth from the first, and there was no honor they would not have gladly paid him.

THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

The date of the 4th of March was fixed without special reason for launching the new government, and it has been the rule ever since, though it often falls upon the most stormy and unpleasant day of the whole year. Some of the States were so slow in sending their representatives to New York, that more than a month pa.s.sed before a quorum of both houses appeared. When the electoral vote for the President was counted, it was found that every one of the sixty-nine had been cast for Was.h.i.+ngton. The law was that the person receiving the next highest number became Vice-President. This vote was: John Adams, of Ma.s.sachusetts, 34; John Jay, of New York, 9; R.H. Harrison, of Maryland, 6; John Rutledge, of South Carolina, 6; John Hanc.o.c.k, of Ma.s.sachusetts, 4; George Clinton, of New York, 3; Samuel Huntington, of Connecticut, 2; John Milton, of Georgia, 2; James Armstrong, of Georgia, Benjamin Lincoln, of Ma.s.sachusetts, and Edward Telfair, of Georgia, 1 vote each.

Vacancies (votes not cast).

John Adams, of Ma.s.sachusetts, therefore, became the first Vice-President.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN OLD INDIAN FARM-HOUSE.]

CHAPTER VIII.

ADMINISTRATIONS OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON, JOHN ADAMS, AND JEFFERSON--1789-1809.

Was.h.i.+ngton--His Inauguration as First President of the United States--Alexander Hamilton--His Success at the Head of the Treasury Department--The Obduracy of Rhode Island--Establishment of the United States Bank--Pa.s.sage of a Tariff Bill--Establishment of a Mint--The Plan of a Federal Judiciary--Admission of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee--Benjamin Franklin--Troubles with the Western Indians--Their Defeat by General Wayne--Removal of the National Capital Provided for--The Whiskey Insurrection--The Course of "Citizen Genet"--Jay's Treaty--Re-election of Was.h.i.+ngton--Resignation of Jefferson and Hamilton--Was.h.i.+ngton's Farewell Address--Establishment of the United States Military Academy at West Point--The Presidential Election of 1796--John Adams--Prosperity of the Country--Population of the Country in 1790--Invention of the Cotton Gin--Troubles with France--War on the Ocean--Was.h.i.+ngton Appointed Commander-in-Chief--Peace Secured--The Alien and Sedition Laws--The Census of 1800--The Presidential Election of 1800--The Twelfth Amendment to the Const.i.tution--Thomas Jefferson--Admission of Ohio--The Indiana Territory--The Purchase of Louisiana--Its Immense Area--Abolishment of the Slave Trade--War with Tripoli--The Lewis and Clark Expedition--Alexander Hamilton Killed in a Duel by Aaron Burr--The First Steamboat on the Hudson--The First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic--England's Oppressive Course Toward the United States--Outrage by the British s.h.i.+p _Leander_--The Affair of the _Leopard_ and _Chesapeake_--Pa.s.sage of the Embargo Act--The Presidential Election of 1808.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARY BALL, AFTERWARD THE MOTHER OF GEORGE WAs.h.i.+NGTON.]

WAs.h.i.+NGTON.

The name of Was.h.i.+ngton will always stand peerless and unapproachable on the pages of human history. In great crises, Heaven raises up men for its appointed work. As soldier, statesman, and patriot, he combined in his own personality the full requirements of the prodigious task than which no greater was ever laid upon the shoulders of man. Through trials, sufferings, discouragements, disappointments, abuse, ill treatment, opposition, and misunderstandings, he never lost heart; his lofty patriotism was never quenched; his sublime faith in G.o.d and the destiny of his country never wavered, and, seeing with the eye of undimmed faith the end from the beginning, he advanced with serene majesty and unconquerable resolve to the conclusion and perfection of his mighty work.

It has been said of Was.h.i.+ngton that he embodied within himself the genius of sanity and the sanity of genius. We can conceive of Lincoln, Grant, or any other great man losing his mind, but like the snowy crest of a mountain, rising far above the plain, he stood by himself, and it is impossible to think of him as losing even in the slightest degree the magnificent attributes of his personality. As has been stated, his was the single example in our history in which the fate of our country rested with one man. Had he fallen in battle at any time between Lexington and Yorktown, the Revolution would have stopped and independence been postponed indefinitely. But when Heaven selects its agent, it s.h.i.+elds him in impenetrable armor, and, though Was.h.i.+ngton was exposed to innumerable personal perils in the wilderness and in battle, when his comrades were smitten with death around him, he never received the slightest wound, and lived to see his work finished, when, in the quiet of his own home at Mount Vernon, he lay down, folded his arms, and pa.s.sed to his reward.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GEORGE WAs.h.i.+NGTON (1732-1799.) Two terms, 1789-1797.]

George Was.h.i.+ngton was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, February 22, 1732. There is a general misunderstanding as to his family. He had three half-brothers, one half-sister, and three brothers and two sisters. His half-brothers and sister, children of Augustine Was.h.i.+ngton and Jane Butler, were: Butler (died in infancy), Lawrence, Augustine, and Jane. His brothers and sisters, children of Augustine Was.h.i.+ngton and Mary Ball, were: Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles, and Mildred (died in infancy).

Was.h.i.+ngton's father died when the son was eleven years old, and his training devolved upon his mother, a woman of rare force of character.

He received a common school education, but never became learned in books. He early showed a liking for military matters, was fond of the sports of boyhood, and was manly, truthful, and so eminently fair in everything, that his playmates generally selected him as umpire and cheerfully accepted his decisions. He became an expert surveyor, and, at the age of sixteen, was employed by Lord Fairfax to survey his immense estate. The work, which continued for three years and was of the most difficult nature, attended by much hards.h.i.+p and danger, was performed to the full satisfaction of his employer.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INAUGURATION OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON.]

Was.h.i.+ngton grew to be a magnificent specimen of physical manhood. He was six feet two inches tall, with a large frame and a strength surpa.s.sing that of two ordinary men. No one in the neighborhood was his equal in horsemans.h.i.+p, running, leaping, throwing, swimming, and all manner of athletic sports. He was of the highest social rank, wealthy, and a vestryman and member of the Episcopal Church. He was rather fond of pomp and ceremony, somewhat reserved in manner, and at times seemed cold and distant, but with a character that was without flaw or stain. It has already been said that he served throughout the Revolution without accepting a penny for his services. He kept an account of all he received from the government, but sometimes forgot to note what he paid out. In such cases he balanced his books by paying the deficit from his own pocket, so that it may be truthfully said he not only won independence for his country, but paid for the privilege of doing so.

Was.h.i.+ngton from his first services in the French and Indian War was so identified with the history of his country that the account of one includes that of the other. Having told of his election to the presidency, it, therefore, remains to give the princ.i.p.al incidents of his administration.

WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S INAUGURATION.

A special messenger reached Mount Vernon with news of Was.h.i.+ngton's election on the 14th of April, and two days later he set out for New York. The journey was one continual ovation, special honors being shown him at Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, and New York, where they attained their culmination. He arrived on the 23d of April, and the inauguration took place a week later. Amid impressive ceremonies, the oath was administered by Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of the State of New York, in Federal Hall, on the present site of the sub-treasury building. Was.h.i.+ngton stood in a balcony of the senate chamber, in full view of the great mult.i.tude on the outside. He showed considerable embarra.s.sment, but was cheered to the echo and was greatly touched by the manifestations of the love of his fellow-countrymen.

At the opening of his administration, Was.h.i.+ngton became ill and no important business was done until September. On the 10th of that month, Congress created a department of foreign affairs, a treasury department, and a department of war. Thomas Jefferson was nominated to the first, Alexander Hamilton to the second, and General Henry Knox to the third.

All were admirable appointments.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, was one of the most remarkable men identified with the history of our country. He was born in the West Indies in 1757, and, while a child, displayed extraordinary ability.

When fifteen years old, he was sent to New York City and entered King's (now Columbia) College. A patriotic speech made when he was only seventeen years old held his hearers spellbound by its eloquence. At twenty, he organized a company of cavalry and performed excellent service on Long Island and at White Plains. Was.h.i.+ngton was so impressed by his brilliancy that he placed him on his staff and made him his military secretary. Many of the best papers of the commander-in-chief received their finis.h.i.+ng touches from the master hand of Hamilton. He was in Congress in 1782-1783, and helped to frame the Const.i.tution.

When the New York Convention a.s.sembled to ratify the new Const.i.tution, three-fourths of its members were strongly opposed to it, but Hamilton by the sheer force of his eloquent logic won them over and secured the a.s.sent of the State to the adoption of the Const.i.tution. He was one of our most brilliant statesmen and the foremost Federalist of his time.

HAMILTON'S WISE MANAGEMENT OF THE FINANCES.

The greatest problem which confronted the country was that of finance, and Hamilton grasped it with the skill of a master. Hardly had he received his commission, when Congress called upon him for a plan to provide for the public debt and to revive the dead national credit.

Hamilton's first answer was that the country would begin by being honest, and that every dollar of the confederation, then amounting almost to $80,000,000, should be paid, the United States a.s.suming all debts due to American citizens, as well as the war debt of each State.

This bold and creditable ground greatly improved public credit, before any provision was made for the payment of the vast debt.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ALEXANDER HAMILTON.