Inaugural Address of John Adams
INAUGURAL ADDRESS IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1797 When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature and a total independence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehensive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist than from those contests and ...
St. Thomas African Episcopal Church is Officially Accepted as the First Black Episcopal Parish in the United States by Former Slave, Absalom Jones
In 1762 at the tender age of sixteen, a slave named Absalom Jones witnessed his mother and six siblings sold away while he was brought by his owner to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Sussex, Delaware. He was put to work in a shop as a clerk and handyman, but was allowed to work in the evenings and keep the earnings for himself. Understanding the value of an ...
James Madison: Who Are the Best Keepers of the People’s Liberties?
Republican. — The people themselves. The sacred trust can be no where so safe as in the hands most interested in preserving it. Anti-republican. — The people are stupid, suspicious, licentious. They cannot safely trust themselves. When they have established government they should think of nothing but obedience, leaving the care of their liberties to their wiser rulers. Republican. — Although all men are born free, and all nations ...
National Gazette Article on ‘The Spirit of Governments’ by James Madison and Anon.
No government is perhaps reducible to a sole principle of operation. Where the theory approaches nearest to this character, different and often heterogeneous principles mingle their influence in the administration. It is useful nevertheless to analyze the several kinds of government, and to characterize them by the spirit which predominates in each. Montesquieu has resolved the great operative principles of government into fear, honor, and virtue, ...
Bill of Rights is finally ratified
Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land. In September 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The amendments were designed to protect the basic rights of U.S. citizens, guaranteeing the freedom of ...
George Washington Gives Nations 1st State of the Union Address: “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined…”
On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivered to Congress the first State of the Union address in American history. This address presented defense, foreign policy, economic, education, and immigration related topics to gathered representatives and senators in Federal Hall, New York City. Fellow Citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives. I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity, which now presents itself, of congratulating you ...
Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation: America’s First Federal Thanksgiving
On October 3rd, 1789, following a resolution of Congress, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” Reflecting American religious practice, Presidents and Congresses from the beginning of the republic ...
The Bill of Rights was Passed by Congress to Protect the Civil Liberties of American Citizens and Prevent the Government from Abusing Power
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Written by James Madison in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties, the Bill of Rights lists specific prohibitions on governmental power. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, strongly influenced Madison. One of the many points of contention between Federalists and Anti-Federalists was the Constitution’s lack of a bill ...
French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
This document, approved by the National Assembly, codifies the ideals of the French Revolution, strongly influenced by those of the Enlightenment and the American Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette, with help from Thomas Jefferson, drafted the declaration that would become the preamble of the republic's 1791 constitution. The basic principle of the Declaration was that all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights” (Article 1), which ...
A Congressman from Massachusetts, Fisher Ames, Proposes the Wording of the First Amendment
He sat next to George Washington in the pew at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York during the religious service following Washington’s presidential inauguration. He helped ratify the U.S. Constitution. His name was Fisher Ames. He was a Congressman from Massachusetts where, on Aug. 20, 1789, he proposed as the wording of the First Amendment (Annals of Congress, 1:766): “Congress shall make no law establishing religion, ...
