Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America

Documentary History
of the

Constitution
of the

United States of America

U.S. State Department

Contents
Legend: HTML or Submenu | Text | Zipped | Image Volume 1, 1894 Title page Introductory Note Proceedings of the Annapolis Convention Proceedings of the Continental Congress Credentials of Delegates to the Federal Convention Receipt of the Secretary of State to the President of the Federal Convention Proceedings of the Federal Convention Appendix: Papers Subsequently Received Volume 2, 1894 Title page Introductory Note Letter of the President of the Federal Convention to the President of Congress, Transmitting the Constitution The Constitution Resolution of the Federal Convention Submitting the Constitution to Congress Resolution of Congress Submitting the Constitution to the Several States Circular Letter of the Secretary of Congress Transmitting Copy of the Constitution to the Several Governors Proceedings of Congress Declaration of New York Convention of the Ratification of the Constitution
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Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America

Resolutions of Congress Proposing Amendatory Articles to the Several States Recommendation of "Subsequent Amendments" by Virginia Resolution of Congress Proposing Eleventh Amendment Resolution of Congress Proposing Twelfth Amendment Acknowledgement by Kentucky of the Official Notification of the Adoption of the Twelfth Amendment Resolution of Congress Proposing Thirteenth Amendment, Respecting Titles of Nobility Resolution of Congress Proposing Thirteenth Amendment, Respecting Noninterference with Domestic Affairs of the States Resolution of Congress Proposing Thirteenth Amendment Declaration of the Adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment Resolution of Congress Proposing Fourteenth Amendment Declaration of the Secretary of State Conditionally Announcing the Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment Declaration of the Secretary of State Positively Announcing the Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment Resolution of Congress Proposing Fifteenth Amendment Declaration of the Secretary of State of the Adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment Volume 3, 1900 Title page Introductory Note Volume 4, Volume 5, This table of contents is under construction. It will be filled in as more documents are uploaded that were included in the printed edition. Liberty Library | Home | Constitution Society

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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788

Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788.[1]
WE the Delegates of the People of the State of New York, duly elected and Met in Convention, having maturely considered the Constitution for the United States of America, agreed to on the seventeenth day of September, in the year One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty seven, by the Convention then assembled at Philadelphia in the Common-wealth of Pennsylvania (a Copy whereof precedes these presents) and having also seriously and deliberately considered the present situation of the United States, Do declare and make known. That all Power is originally vested in and consequently derived from the People, and that Government is instituted by them for their common Interest Protection and Security. That the enjoyment of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are essential rights which every Government ought to respect and preserve. That the Powers of Government may be reassumed by the People, whensoever it shall become necessary to their Happiness; that every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by the said Constitution clearly delegated to the Congress of the United States, or the departments of the Government thereof, remains to the People of the several States, or to their respective State Governments to whom they may have granted the same; And that those Clauses in the said Constitution, which declare, that Congress shall not have or exercise certain Powers, do not imply that Congress is entitled to any Powers not given by the said Constitution; but such Clauses are to be construed either as exceptions to certain specified Powers, or as inserted merely for greater Caution. That the People have an equal, natural and unalienable right, freely and peaceably to Exercise their Religion according to the dictates of Conscience, and that no Religious Sect or Society ought to be favoured or established by Law in preference of others. That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, including the body of the People capable of bearing Arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State; That the Militia should not be subject to Martial Law except in time of War, Rebellion or Insurrection. That standing Armies in time of Peace are dangerous to Liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in Cases of necessity; and that at all times, the Military should be under strict Subordination to the civil Power. That in time of Peace no Soldier ought to be quartered in any House without the consent of the Owner, and in time of War only by the Civil Magistrate in such manner as the Laws may direct. That no Person ought to be taken imprisoned, or disseised of his freehold, or be exiled or deprived of his Privileges, Franchises, Life, Liberty or Property but by due process of Law. That no Person ought to be put twice in Jeopardy of Life or Limb for one and the same Offence, nor, unless in case of impeachment, be punished more than once for the same Offence. That every Person restrained of his Liberty is entitled to an enquiry into the lawfulness of such restraint, and to a removal thereof if unlawful, and that such enquiry and removal ought not to be denied or

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delayed, except when on account of Public Danger the Congress shall suspend the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. That excessive Bail ought not to be required; nor excessive Fines imposed; nor Cruel or unusual Punishments inflicted. That (except in the Government of the Land and Naval Forces, and of the Militia when in actual Service, and in cases of Impeachment) a Presentment or Indictment by a Grand Jury ought to be observed as a necessary preliminary to the trial of all Crimes cognizable by the Judiciary of the United States, and such Trial should be speedy, public, and by an impartial Jury of the County where the Crime was committed; and that no person can be found Guilty without the unanimous consent of such Jury. But in cases of Crimes not committed within any County of any of the United States, and in Cases of Crimes committed within any County in which a general Insurrection may prevail, or which may be in the possession of a foreign Enemy, the enquiry and trial may be in such County as the Congress shall by Law direct; which County in the two Cases last mentioned should be as near as conveniently may be to that County in which the Crime may have been committed. And that in all Criminal Prosecutions, the Accused ought to be informed of the cause and nature of his Accusation, to be confronted with his accusers and the Witnesses against him, to have the means of producing his Witnesses, and the assistance of Council for his defense, and should not be compelled to give Evidence against himself. That the trial by Jury in the extent that it obtains by the Common Law of England is one of the greatest securities to the rights of a free People, and ought to remain inviolate. That every Freeman has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person his papers or his property, and therefore, that all Warrants to search suspected places or seize any Freeman his papers or property, without information upon Oath or Affirmation of sufficient cause, are grievous and oppressive; and that all general Warrants (or such in which the place or person suspected are not particularly designated) are dangerous and ought not to be granted. That the People have a right peaceably to assemble together to consult for their common good, or to instruct their Representatives; and that every person has a right to Petition or apply to the Legislature for redress of Grievances. That the Freedom of the Press ought not to be violated or restrained. That there should be once in four years an Election of the President and Vice President, so that no Officer who may be appointed by the Congress to act as President in case of the removal, death, resignation or inability of the President and Vice President can in any case continue to act beyond the termination of the period for which the last President and Vice President were elected. That nothing contained in the said Constitution is to be construed to prevent the Legislature of any State from passing Laws at its discretion from time to time to divide such State into convenient Districts, and to apportion its Representatives to and amongst such Districts. That the Prohibition contained in the said Constitution against ex post facto Laws, extends only to Laws concerning Crimes. That all Appeals in Causes determineable according to the course of the common Law, ought to be by Writ of Error and not otherwise. That the Judicial Power of the United States in cases in which a State may be a party, does not extend to

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criminal Prosecutions, or to authorize any Suit by any Person against a State. That the Judicial Power of the United States as to Controversies between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States is not to be construed to extend to any other Controversies between them except those which relate to such Lands, so claimed under Grants of different States. That the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States, or of any other Court to be instituted by the Congress, is not in any case to be encreased enlarged or extended by any Fiction Collusion or mere suggestion; And That no Treaty is to be construed so to operate as to alter the Constitution of any State. Under these impressions and declaring that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged or violated, and that the Explanations aforesaid are consistent with the said Constitution, And in confidence that the Amendments which shall have been proposed to the said Constitution will receive an early and mature Consideration: We the said Delegates, in the Name and in the behalf of the People of the State of New York Do by these presents Assent to and Ratify the said Constitution. In full Confidence nevertheless that until a Convention shall be called and convened for proposing Amendments to the said Constitution, the Militia of this State will not be continued in Service out of this State for a longer term than six weeks without the Consent of the Legislature thereof; that the Congress will not make or alter any Regulation in this State respecting the times places and manner of holding Elections for Senators or Representatives unless the Legislature of this State shall neglect or refuse to make Laws or regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance be incapable of making the same, and that in those cases such power will only be exercised until the Legislature of this State shall make provision in the Premises; that no Excise will be imposed on any Article of the Growth production or Manufacture of the United States, or any of them within this State, Ardent Spirits excepted; And that the Congress will not lay direct Taxes within this State, but when the Monies arising from the Impost and Excise shall be insufficient for the public Exigencies, nor then, until Congress shall first have made a Requisition upon this State to assess levy and pay the Amount of such Requisition made agreably to the Census fixed in the said Constitution in such way and manner as the Legislature of this State shall judge best, but that in such case, if the State shall neglect or refuse to pay its proportion pursuant to such Requisition, then the Congress may assess and levy this States proportion together with Interest at the Rate of six per Centum per Annum from the time at which the same was required to be paid. Done in Convention at Poughkeepsie in the County of Dutchess in the State of New York the twenty sixth day of July in the year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty eight. By Order of the Convention. GEO: CLINTON President Attested JOHN McKESSON ABM B. BANCKER | Secretaries AND the Convention do in the Name and Behalf of the People of the State of New York enjoin it upon

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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788

their Representatives in the Congress, to Exert all their Influence, and use all reasonable means to Obtain a Ratification of the following Amendments to the said Constitution in the manner prescribed therein; and in all Laws to be passed by the Congress in the meantime to conform to the spirit of the said Amendments as far as the Constitution will admit. That there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand Inhabitants, according to the enumeration or Census mentioned in the Constitution, until the whole number of Representatives amounts to two hundred; after which that number shall be continued or encreased but not diminished, as Congress shall direct, and according to such ratio as the Congress shall fix, in conformity to the rule prescribed for the Apportionment of Representatives and direct Taxes. That the Congress do not impose any Excise on any Article (except Ardent Spirits) of the Growth Production or Manufacture of the United States, or any of them. That Congress do not lay direct Taxes but when the Monies arising from the Impost and Excise shall be insufficient for the Public Exigencies. nor then until Congress shall first have made a Requisition upon the States to assess levy and pay their respective proportions of such Requisition, agreably to the Census fixed in the said Constitution, in such way and manner as the Legislatures of the respective States shall judge best; and in such Case, if any State shall neglect or refuse to pay its proportion pursuant to such Requisition, then Congress may assess and levy such States proportion, together with Interest at the rate of six per Centum per Annum, from the time of Payment prescribed in such Requisition. That the Congress shall not make or alter any Regulation in any State respecting the times places and manner of holding Elections for Senators or Representatives, unless the Legislature of such State shall neglect or refuse to make Laws or Regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance be incapable of making the same; and then only until the Legislature of such State shall make provision in the premises; provided that Congress may prescribe the time for the Election of Representatives. That no Persons except natural born Citizens, or such as were Citizens on or before the fourth day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy six, or such as held Commissions under the United States during the War, and have at any time since the fourth day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy six become Citizens of one or other of the United States, and who shall be Freeholders, shall be eligible to the Places of President, Vice President, or Members of either House of the Congress of the United States. That the Congress do not grant Monopolies or erect any Company with exclusive Advantages of Commerce. That no standing Army or regular Troops shall be raised or kept up in time of peace, without the consent of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present, in each House. That no Money be borrowed on the Credit of the United States without the Assent of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present in each House. That the Congress shall not declare War Without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present in each House. That the Privilege of the Habeas Corpus shall not by any Law be suspended for a longer term than six Months, or until twenty days after the Meeting of the Congress next following the passing of the Act for

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such suspension. That the Right of the Congress to exercise exclusive Legislation over such District, not exceeding ten Miles square, as may by cession of a particular State, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, shall not be so exercised, as to exempt the Inhabitants of such District from paying the like Taxes Imposts Duties and Excises, as shall be imposed on the other Inhabitants of the State in which such District may be; and that no person shall be privileged within the said District from Arrest for Crimes committed, or Debts contracted out of the said District. That the Right of exclusive Legislation with respect to such places as may be purchased for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dockyards and other needful Buildings, shall not authorize the Congress to make any Law to prevent the Laws of the States respectively in which they may be, from extending to such places in ail civil and Criminal Matters except as to such Persons as shall be in the Service of the United States; nor to them witl respect to Crimes committed without such Places. That the Compensation for the Senators and Representatives be ascertained by standing Laws; and that no alteration of the existing rate of Compensation shall operate for the Benefit of the Representatives, until after a subsequent Election shall have been had. That the Journals of the Congress shall be published at least once a year, with the exception of such parts relating to Treaties or Military operations, as in the Judgment of either House shall require Secrecy; and that both Houses of Congress shall always keep their Doors open during their Sessions, unless the Business may in their Opinion requires Secrecy. That the yeas & nays shall be entered on the Journals whenever two Members in either House may require it. That no Capitation Tax shall ever be laid by the Congress. That no Person be eligible as a Senator for more than six years in any term of twelve years; and that the Legislatures of the respective States may recal their Senators or either of them, and ["to" stricken out] elect others in their stead, to serve the remainder of the time for which the Senators so recalled were appointed. That no Senator or Representative shall during the time for which he was elected be appointed to any Office under the Authority of the United States. That the Authority given to the Executives of the States to fill the vacancies of Senators be abolished, and that such vacancies be filled by the respective Legislatures. That the Power of Congress to pass uniform Laws concerning Bankruptcy shall only extend to Merchants and other Traders; and that the States respectively may pass Laws for the relief of other Insolvent Debtors. That no Person shall be eligible to the Office of President of the United States a third time. That the Executive shall not grant Pardons for Treason, unless with the Consent of the Congress; but may at his discretion grant Reprieves to persons convicted of Treason, until their Cases, can be laid before the Congress. That the President or person exercising his Powers for the time being, shall not command an Army in the Field in person, without the previous desire of the Congress.
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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788

That all Letters Patent, Commissions, Pardons, Writs and Process of the United States, shall run in the Name of the People of the United States, and be tested in the Name of the President of the United States, or the person exercising his powers for the time being, or the first Judge of the Court out of which the same shall issue, as the case may be. That the Congress shall not constitute ordain or establish any Tribunals or Inferior Courts, with any other than Appellate Jurisdiction, except such as may be necessary for the Tryal of Causes of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction, and for the Trial of Piracies and Felonies committed on the High Seas; and in all other Cases to which the Judicial Power of the United States extends, and in which the Supreme Court of the United States has not original Jurisdiction, the Causes shall be heard tried, and determined in some one of the State Courts, with the right of Appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, or other proper Tribunal to be established for that purpose by the Congress, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. That the Court for the Trial of Impeachments shall consist of the Senate, the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the first or Senior Judge for the time being, of the highest Court of general and ordinary common Law Jurisdiction in each State; that the Congress shall by standing Laws designate the Courts in the respective States answering this Description, and in States having no Courts exactly answering this Description, shall designate some other Court, preferring such if any there be, whose Judge or Judges may hold their places during good Behaviour Provided that no more than one Judge, other than Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, shall come from one State That the Congress be authorized to pass Laws for compensating the said Judges for such Services and for compelling their Attendance and that a Majority at least of the said Judges shall be requisite to constitute the said Court that no person impeached shall sit as a Member thereof. That each Member shall previous to the entering upon any Trial take an Oath or Affirmation, honestly and impartially to hear and determine the Cause and that a Majority of the Members present shall be necessary to a Conviction. That persons aggrieved by any Judgment, Sentence or Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, in any Cause in which that Court has original Jurisdiction, with such exceptions and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make concerning the same, shall upon application, have a Commission to be issued by the President of the United States, to such Men learned in the Law as he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and consent of the Senate appoint, not less than seven, authorizing such Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, to correct the Errors in such Judgment or to review such Sentence and Decree, as the case may be, and to do Justice to the parties in the Premises. That no Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States shall hold any other Office under the United States, or any of them. That the Judicial Power of the United States shall extend to no Controversies respecting Land, unless it relate to Claims of Territory or Jurisdiction between States, or to Claims of Land between Individuals, or between States and Individuals under the Grants of different States. That the Militia of any State shall not be compelled to serve without the limits of the State for a longer term than six weeks, without the Consent of the Legislature thereof. That the words without the Consent of the Congress in the seventh Clause of the ninth Section of the first Article of the Constitution, be expunged.
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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788

That the Senators and Representatives and all Executive and Judicial Officers of the United States shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation not to infringe or violate the Constitutions or Rights of the respective States. That the Legislatures of the respective States may make Provision by Law, that the Electors of the Election Districts to be by them appointed shall chuse a Citizen of the United States who shall have been an Inhabitant of such District for the Term of one year immediately proceeding the time of his Election, for one of the Representatives of such State. Done in Convention at Poughkeepsie in the County of Dutchess in the State of New York the twenty sixth day of July in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and Eighty eight. By Order of the Convention. GEO: CLINTON President Attested JOHN McKESSON ABM B. BANCKER | Secretaries [INDORSEMENT] New York 1. Reprinted from Documentary History of the Constitution, Vol. II (1894), pp 190-203. Debates in New York Convention on Ratification of the Constitution Elliot's Debates Contents | Liberty Library | Home| Constitution Society

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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788

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Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York: July 26, 1788.[1] WE the Delegates of the People of the State of New York, duly elected and Met in Convention, having maturely considered the Constitution for the United States of America, agreed to on the seventeenth day of September, in the year One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty seven, by the Convention then assembled at Philadelphia in the Common-wealth of Pennsylvania (a Copy whereof precedes these presents) and having also seriously and deliberately considered the present situation of the United States, Do declare and make known. That all Power is originally vested in and consequently derived from the People, and that Government is instituted by them for their common Interest Protection and Security. That the enjoyment of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are essential rights which every Government ought to respect and preserve. That the Powers of Government may be reassumed by the People, whensoever it shall become necessary to their Happiness; that every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by the said Constitution clearly delegated to the Congress of the United States, or the departments of the Government thereof, remains to the People of the several States, or to their respective State Governments to whom they may have granted the same; And that those Clauses in the said Constitution, which declare, that Congress shall not have or exercise certain Powers, do not imply that Congress is entitled to any Powers not given by the said Constitution; but such Clauses are to be construed either as exceptions to certain specified Powers, or as inserted merely for greater Caution. That the People have an equal, natural and unalienable right, freely and peaceably to Exercise their Religion according to the dictates of Conscience, and that no Religious Sect or Society ought to be favoured or established by Law in preference of others. That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, including the body of the People capable of bearing Arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State; That the Militia should not be subject to Martial Law except in time of War, Rebellion or Insurrection. That standing Armies in time of Peace are dangerous to Liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in Cases of necessity; and that at all times, the Military should be under strict Subordination to the civil Power. That in time of Peace no Soldier ought to be quartered in any House without the consent of the Owner, and in time of War only by the Civil Magistrate in such manner as the Laws may direct. That no Person ought to be taken imprisoned, or disseised of his freehold, or be exiled or deprived of his Privileges, Franchises, Life, Liberty or Property but by due process of Law. That no Person ought to be put twice in Jeopardy of Life or Limb for one and the same Offence, nor, unless in case of impeachment, be punished more than once for the same Offence. That every Person restrained of his Liberty is entitled to an enquiry into the lawfulness of such restraint, and to a removal thereof if unlawful, and

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that such enquiry and removal ought not to be denied or delayed, except when on account of Public Danger the Congress shall suspend the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. That excessive Bail ought not to be required; nor excessive Fines imposed; nor Cruel or unusual Punishments inflicted. That (except in the Government of the Land and Naval Forces, and of the Militia when in actual Service, and in cases of Impeachment) a Presentment or Indictment by a Grand Jury ought to be observed as a necessary preliminary to the trial of all Crimes cognizable by the Judiciary of the United States, and such Trial should be speedy, public, and by an impartial Jury of the County where the Crime was committed; and that no person can be found Guilty without the unanimous consent of such Jury. But in cases of Crimes not committed within any County of any of the United States, and in Cases of Crimes committed within any County in which a general Insurrection may prevail, or which may be in the possession of a foreign Enemy, the enquiry and trial may be in such County as the Congress shall by Law direct; which County in the two Cases last mentioned should be as near as conveniently may be to that County in which the Crime may have been committed. And that in all Criminal Prosecutions, the Accused ought to be informed of the cause and nature of his Accusation, to be confronted with his accusers and the Witnesses against him, to have the means of producing his Witnesses, and the assistance of Council for his defense, and should not be compelled to give Evidence against himself. That the trial by Jury in the extent that it obtains by the Common Law of England is one of the greatest securities to the rights of a free People, and ought to remain inviolate. That every Freeman has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person his papers or his property, and therefore, that all Warrants to search suspected places or seize any Freeman his papers or property, without information upon Oath or Affirmation of sufficient cause, are grievous and oppressive; and that all general Warrants (or such in which the place or person suspected are not particularly designated) are dangerous and ought not to be granted. That the People have a right peaceably to assemble together to consult for their common good, or to instruct their Representatives; and that every person has a right to Petition or apply to the Legislature for redress of Grievances. -- That the Freedom of the Press ought not to be violated or restrained. That there should be once in four years an Election of the President and Vice President, so that no Officer who may be appointed by the Congress to act as President in case of the removal, death, resignation or inability of the President and Vice President can in any case continue to act beyond the termination of the period for which the last President and Vice President were elected. That nothing contained in the said Constitution is to be construed to prevent the Legislature of any State from passing Laws at its discretion from time to time to divide such State into convenient Districts, and to apportion its Representatives to and amongst such Districts. That the Prohibition contained in the said Constitution against en post facto Laws, extends only to Laws concerning Crimes. That all Appeals in Causes determineable according to the course of the common Law, ought to be by Writ of Error and not otherwise.

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That the Judicial Power of the United States in cases in which a State may be a party, does not extend to criminal Prosecutions, or to authorize any Suit by any Person against a State. That the Judicial Power of the United States as to Controversies between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States is not to be construed to extend to any other Controversies between them except those which relate to such Lands, so claimed under Grants of different States. That the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States, or of any other Court to be instituted by the Congress, is not in any case to be encreased enlarged or extended by any Fiction Collusion or mere suggestion; -- And That no Treaty is to be construed so to operate as to alter the Constitution of any State. Under these impressions and declaring that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged or violated, and that the Explanations aforesaid are consistent with the said Constitution, And in confidence that the Amendments which shall have been proposed to the said Constitution will receive an early and mature Consideration: We the said Delegates, in the Name and in the behalf of the People of the State of New York Do by these presents Assent to and Ratify the said Constitution. In full Confidence nevertheless that until a Convention shall be called and convened for proposing Amendments to the said Constitution, the Militia of this State will not be continued in Service out of this State for a longer term than six weeks without the Consent of the Legislature thereof; -- that the Congress will not make or alter any Regulation in this State respecting the times places and manner of holding Elections for Senators or Representatives unless the Legislature of this State shall neglect or refuse to make Laws or regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance be incapable of making the same, and that in those cases such power will only be exercised until the Legislature of this State shall make provision in the Premises; -- that no Excise will be imposed on any Article of the Growth production or Manufacture of the United States, or any of them within this State, Ardent Spirits excepted; And that the Congress will not lay direct Taxes within this State, but when the Monies arising from the Impost and Excise shall be insufficient for the public Exigencies, nor then, until Congress shall first have made a Requisition upon this State to assess levy and pay the Amount of such Requisition made agreably to the Census fixed in the said Constitution in such way and manner as the Legislature of this State shall judge best, but that in such case, if the State shall neglect or refuse to pay its proportion pursuant to such Requisition, then the Congress may assess and levy this States proportion together with Interest at the Rate of six per Centum per Annum from the time at which the same was required to be paid. Done in Convention at Poughkeepsie in the County of Dutchess in the State of New York the twenty sixth day of July in the year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty eight. By Order of the Convention. GEO: CLINTON President Attested JOHN McKESSON ABM B. BANCKER | Secretaries -AND the Convention do in the Name and Behalf of the People of the State of

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New York enjoin it upon their Representatives in the Congress, to Exert all their Influence, and use all reasonable means to Obtain a Ratification of the following Amendments to the said Constitution in the manner prescribed therein; and in all Laws to be passed by the Congress in the meantime to conform to the spirit of the said Amendments as far as the Constitution will admit. That there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand Inhabitants, according to the enumeration or Census mentioned in the Constitution, until the whole number of Representatives amounts to two hundred; after which that number shall be continued or encreased but not diminished, as Congress shall direct, and according to such ratio as the Congress shall fix, in conformity to the rule prescribed for the Apportionment of Representatives and direct Taxes. That the Congress do not impose any Excise on any Article (except Ardent Spirits) of the Growth Production or Manufacture of the United States, or any of them. That Congress do not lay direct Taxes but when the Monies arising from the Impost and Excise shall be insufficient for the Public Exigencies. nor then until Congress shall first have made a Requisition upon the States to assess levy and pay their respective proportions of such Requisition, agreably to the Census fixed in the said Constitution, in such way and manner as the Legislatures of the respective States shall judge best; and in such Case, if any State shall neglect or refuse to pay its proportion pursuant to such Requisition, then Congress may assess and levy such States proportion, together with Interest at the rate of six per Centum per Annum, from the time of Payment prescribed in such Requisition. That the Congress shall not make or alter any Regulation in any State respecting the times places and manner of holding Elections for Senators or Representatives, unless the Legislature of such State shall neglect or refuse to make Laws or Regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance be incapable of making the same; and then only until the Legislature of such State shall make provision in the premises; provided that Congress may prescribe the time for the Election of Representatives. That no Persons except natural born Citizens, or such as were Citizens on or before the fourth day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy six, or such as held Commissions under the United States during the War, and have at any time since the fourth day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy six become Citizens of one or other of the United States, and who shall be Freeholders, shall be eligible to the Places of President, Vice President, or Members of either House of the Congress of the United States. That the Congress do not grant Monopolies or erect any Company with exclusive Advantages of Commerce. That no standing Army or regular Troops shall be raised or kept up in time of peace, without the consent of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present, in each House. That no Money be borrowed on the Credit of the United States without the Assent of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present in each House. That the Congress shall not declare War Without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators and Representatives present in each House. That the Privilege of the Habeas Corpus shall not by any Law be suspended

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for a longer term than six Months, or until twenty days after the Meeting of the Congress next following the passing of the Act for such suspension. That the Right of the Congress to exercise exclusive Legislation over such District, not exceeding ten Miles square, as may by cession of a particular State, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, shall not be so exercised, as to exempt the Inhabitants of such District from paying the like Taxes Imposts Duties and Excises, as shall be imposed on the other Inhabitants of the State in which such District may be; and that no person shall be privileged within the said District from Arrest for Crimes committed, or Debts contracted out of the said District. That the Right of exclusive Legislation with respect to such places as may be purchased for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dockyards and other needful Buildings, shall not authorize the Congress to make any Law to prevent the Laws of the States respectively in which they may be, from extending to such places in ail civil and Criminal Matters except as to such Persons as shall be in the Service of the United States; nor to them witl respect to Crimes committed without such Places. That the Compensation for the Senators and Representatives be ascertained by standing Laws; and that no alteration of the existing rate of Compensation shall operate for the Benefit of the Representatives, until after a subsequent Election shall have been had. That the Journals of the Congress shall be published at least once a year, with the exception of such parts relating to Treaties or Military operations, as in the Judgment of either House shall require Secrecy; and that both Houses of Congress shall always keep their Doors open during their Sessions, unless the Business may in their Opinion requires Secrecy. That the yeas & nays shall be entered on the Journals whenever two Members in either House may require it. That no Capitation Tax shall ever be laid by the Congress. That no Person be eligible as a Senator for more than six years in any term of twelve years; and that the Legislatures of the respective States may recal their Senators or either of them, and ["to" stricken out] elect others in their stead, to serve the remainder of the time for which the Senators so recalled were appointed. That no Senator or Representative shall during the time for which he was elected be appointed to any Office under the Authority of the United States. That the Authority given to the Executives of the States to fill the vacancies of Senators be abolished, and that such vacancies be filled by the respective Legislatures. That the Power of Congress to pass uniform Laws concerning Bankruptcy shall only extend to Merchants and other Traders; and that the States respectively may pass Laws for the relief of other Insolvent Debtors. That no Person shall be eligible to the Office of President of the United States a third time. That the Executive shall not grant Pardons for Treason, unless with the Consent of the Congress; but may at his discretion grant Reprieves to persons convicted of Treason, until their Cases, can be laid before the Congress.

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That the President or person exercising his Powers for the time being, shall not command an Army in the Field in person, without the previous desire of the Congress. That all Letters Patent, Commissions, Pardons, Writs and Process of the United States, shall run in the Name of the People of the United States, and be tested in the Name of the President of the United States, or the person exercising his powers for the time being, or the first Judge of the Court out of which the same shall issue, as the case may be. That the Congress shall not constitute ordain or establish any Tribunals or Inferior Courts, with any other than Appellate Jurisdiction, except such as may be necessary for the Tryal of Causes of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction, and for the Trial of Piracies and Felonies committed on the High Seas; and in all other Cases to which the Judicial Power of the United States extends, and in which the Supreme Court of the United States has not original Jurisdiction, the Causes shall be heard tried, and determined in some one of the State Courts, with the right of Appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, or other proper Tribunal to be established for that purpose by the Congress, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. That the Court for the Trial of Impeachments shall consist of the Senate, the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the first or Senior Judge for the time being, of the highest Court of general and ordinary common Law Jurisdiction in each State; -- that the Congress shall by standing Laws designate the Courts in the respective States answering this Description, and in States having no Courts exactly answering this Description, shall designate some other Court, preferring such if any there be, whose Judge or Judges may hold their places during good Behaviour -Provided that no more than one Judge, other than Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, shall come from one State -- That the Congress be authorized to pass Laws for compensating the said Judges for such Services and for compelling their Attendance -- and that a Majority at least of the said Judges shall be requisite to constitute the said Court -- that no person impeached shall sit as a Member thereof. That each Member shall previous to the entering upon any Trial take an Oath or Affirmation, honestly and impartially to hear and determine the Cause -- and that a Majority of the Members present shall be necessary to a Conviction. That persons aggrieved by any Judgment, Sentence or Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, in any Cause in which that Court has original Jurisdiction, with such exceptions and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make concerning the same, shall upon application, have a Commission to be issued by the President of the United States, to such Men learned in the Law as he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and consent of the Senate appoint, not less than seven, authorizing such Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, to correct the Errors in such Judgment or to review such Sentence and Decree, as the case may be, and to do Justice to the parties in the Premises. That no Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States shall hold any other Office under the United States, or any of them. That the Judicial Power of the United States shall extend to no Controversies respecting Land, unless it relate to Claims of Territory or Jurisdiction between States, or to Claims of Land between Individuals, or between States and Individuals under the Grants of different States. That the Militia of any State shall not be compelled to serve without the limits of the State for a longer term than six weeks, without the Consent of

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the Legislature thereof. That the words without the Consent of the Congress in the seventh Clause of the ninth Section of the first Article of the Constitution, be expunged. That the Senators and Representatives and all Executive and Judicial Officers of the United States shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation not to infringe or violate the Constitutions or Rights of the respective States. That the Legislatures of the respective States may make Provision by Law, that the Electors of the Election Districts to be by them appointed shall chuse a Citizen of the United States who shall have been an Inhabitant of such District for the Term of one year immediately proceeding the time of his Election, for one of the Representatives of such State. Done in Convention at Poughkeepsie in the County of Dutchess in the State of New York the twenty sixth day of July in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and Eighty eight. By Order of the Convention. GEO: CLINTON President Attested -JOHN McKESSON ABM B. BANCKER | Secretaries ------1. Reprinted from Documentary History of the Constitution, Vol. II (1894), pp 190-203.

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Liberty Library
of

Constitutional Classics
The following is a list of the classic books and other works on constitutional government, which we either include in our collection, or plan to add. Legend: If more than one file format available, click on the button to get the indicated file format: HTML | Text | Zipped WP | Adobe PDF | RTF | MS Word | Image 1. 2. Library Guides Various analyses of key ideas and how they were advanced by some of the works in this collection. Code of Hammurabi (~1780 BCE) Early Mesopotamian legal code laid basis for later Hebraic and European law.

3. Ancient Greek and Latin Library Selected works on ancient history, customs and laws. 4. Institutes, Justinian (533) The main part of the Corpus Juris Civilis the other parts being the Digest, Code, and Novels, which codified Roman Law. In Latin and English. 5. 6. cases. 7. 8. 9. Assize of Arms (1181) Defined rights and duties of people and militias. Magna Carta (1215) Established the principle that no one, not even the king or a lawmaker, is above the law. Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) Established rights of laymen and the church in England. Assize of Clarendon (1166) Defined rights and duties of courts and people in criminal

Confirmatio Cartarum (1297) United Magna Carta to the common law by declaring that the Magna Carta could be pled in court. 10. On the Laws and Customs of England, Henry de Bracton (1268) First codification of English common law. 11. Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas (1265-1273) Discusses foundations of law and justice. 12. 13. 14. The Declaration of Arbroath (1320) Scotland's declaration of independence from England. The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli (1513) Practical advice on governance and statecraft, with thoughts on the kinds of problems any government must be able to solve to endure. Utopia, Thomas More (1516) Satirical analysis of shortcomings of his society and a vision of what could be.

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15.

Discourses on Livy, Niccolo Machiavelli (1517 tr. Henry Neville 1675) Argues for the ideal form of government being a republic based on popular consent, defended by militia. 16. Britton, (~1530) Abridged, updated, more readable, and more widely used codification based on Bracton, originally in the French of the English court, reflecting changes in the law, including changes in juries. 17. Relectiones, Franciscus de Victoria (lect. 1532, first pub. 1557) Includes De Indis and De iure belli, arguing for humane treatment of native Americans and of enemies in war. Provided the basis for the law of nations doctrine. 18. In Defense of the Indians, Bartolom de Las Casas (~1548) Argues for respecting the rights of Native Americans. 19. Six Books of the Commonwealth, Jean Bodin (~1590 tr. Richard Knolles 1606, tr. & abr. M.J. Tooley 1955) Originated modern ideas of sovereignty, the state, and citizenship. 20. Politica, Johannes Althusius (1614) First presented a comprehensive theory of federal republicanism based on a covenantal model of human society. 21. The Mayflower Compact (1620) One of the first expressions of the social contract in written form. 22. On Laws of War and Peace, Hugo Grotius (1625) Sets out principles of natural law and the laws of nations. 23. The New Atlantis, Francis Bacon (1627) Utopian vision of support for scientific research as a foundation of good government. 24. The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England, Sir Edward Coke (1628) Further codification of English common law. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. The Petition of Right (1628) The objectives of the reform movement that led to the English Civil War and the deposing of Charles I. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) The first written constitution. Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641) Early written expression of the liberties asserted by the colonists in reaction to the oppressions of European governments. A Plea for Religious Liberty, Roger Williams (1644) Early expression of the principle of religious tolerance by the founder of the colony of Rhode Island. On Liberty, John Winthrop (1645) Discusses liberties demanded by the colonists. Selected Works of the Levellers (1645-9) Militia leaders who sought legal reforms later sought by the American Revolution and embodied in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Includes An Agreement of the Free People of England, an early attempt at a republican constitution. The Citizen, Thomas Hobbes (1641-47) Discussion of the natural law foundations of government. Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes (1651) Laid basis for social contract theory, providing branching point for the theories of constitutionalism and fascism.

31. 32.

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33. Selected Political Works of John Milton Includes Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649) and Defense of the People of England (1651). 34. The Commonwealth of Oceana, James Harrington (1656) Outline of a plan for republican government.

35. Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos, "Junius Brutus" (1660) In 1683 it was ordered to be burned. 36. Theologico-Political Treatise, Baruch de Spinoza (1670) Discussed the ultimate source of legitimate political power. 37. On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to Natural Law, Samuel Pufendorf (1673, 1682 tr. Frank Gardner Moore) Based law and right on natural law. 38. The Law of Nature and of Nations, Samuel Pufendorf (1674, tr. Basil Kennett 1703) Derived justice and the law of nations from natural law. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People (1676) The manifesto of a rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. Political Treatise, Baruch de Spinoza (1677) Constitutional considerations of various forms of government, including ideas that later influenced the Founders. Habeas Corpus Act (1679) English Parliament established key right. Plato Redivivus, Henry Neville (1681) Argued for limits on the powers of government. Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, William Penn (1682) Early model for written constitutions. English Bill of Rights (1689) Early model for recognizing natural rights in writing. Much of its language appeared later in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. Second Treatise on Government, John Locke (1689) Principal proponent of the social contract theory which forms the basis for modern constitutional republican government. A Letter Concerning Toleration, John Locke (1689) Classic statement of the case for toleration of those holding different views. A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militias, Andrew Fletcher (1698) Analyzes importance of the militia to legitimate government, law enforcement, and national defense. Discourses Concerning Government, Algernon Sidney (1698) Built principles of popular government from foundation of natural law and the social contract.

Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy A model for a federal system of government for several Native American nations, it influenced Franklin's proposed Albany Plan of Union. 50. Abridgement of the Project for Perpetual Peace, Abb Charles de Saint-Pierre (1713) Plan for peace in Europe. 51. 52. Selected Works of Walter Moyle, (~1696-1721, pub. 1796) Includes Constitution of the Roman State, a commentary on English constitutional issues from a Whig perspective. Selections from Cato's Letters, John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon (1720-23) English newspaper articles advocating Whig principles, which much influenced the American colonists.

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53.

Questions of Public Law, Cornelius van Bynkershoek (1737) Develops the law of nations and constitutional (public) law beyond Grotius and Pufendorf. 54. An account of Denmark, as it was in the year 1692, Robert Molesworth (5th ed. 1745) Commentary on Denmark that is really a commentary on constituitonal issues in England. 55. The Principles of Natural and Politic Law, J. Burlamaqui (1748, tr. Thomas Nugent 1752) Commentary on the natural law ideas of Grotius, Hobbes, Puffendorf, Barbeyrac, Locke, Clarke, and Hutchinson. The Spirit of Laws, Charles de Montesquieu, (1748, tr. Thomas Nugent 1752) Laid the foundations for the theory of republican government, particularly the concepts of the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial, a federal republic, representatives elected from political subdivisions, a bicameral legislature, and a system of checks and balances. Selected Essays of David Hume, (1754) Includes "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth", which inspired the federal design of the U.S. Constitution. Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin (1754) An early model for union that laid the foundation for what would eventually become the federal union. In Defense of a Plan for Colonial Union, Benjamin Franklin (1754) Arguments in favor of the Albany Plan of Union, which was rejected as too democratic. Selected Political Works of Jean Jacques Rousseau, (1754-1772) Includes Social Contract and A Discourse on Political Economy.

56.

57. 58. 59. 60. 61.

The Law of Nations, Emmerich de Vattel (1758) Based constitutional and civil law on the law of nations. 62. Selected Works of Voltaire, (~1764) Includes The Philosophy of History and A Treatise on Toleration. 63. 64. The Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress (1765) Developed the concept that people could not legitimately be taxed except by their elected representatives. The Declaratory Act (1766) The English Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but couldn't leave well enough alone, and adopted this statement of parliamentary supremacy over the British colonies. On Crimes and Punishments, Cesare Beccaria (1764) Set out rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. Argues for crime prevention over punishment, and against the death penalty and torture. An Essay on the History of Civil Society, Adam Ferguson (1767) The evolution of societies and their forms of government.

65.

66. 67.

Camden, Mansfield and the English Constitution The rivalry between two British jurists helped provoke the American Revolution and shaped the evolution of the jury system in both Britain and the United States. 68. Letters of Junius, Unknown (1767-72) Letters from an English Whig and ally of Lord Camden against the efforts of Lord Mansfield to restrict the role of juries, and on other constitutional topics.
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69. Selected Political Works of Joseph Priestley Includes First Principles of Government (1768) and Present State of Liberty (1769). 70. The English Constitution, John Louis De Lolme (1771) Discusses separation of powers, the jury system, and habeas corpus. 71. 72. The Rights of the Colonists, Samuel Adams (1772) The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting.

Declaration of Colonial Rights, First Continental Congress (1774) Developed the principles being violated by British rule. 73. Political Disquisitions, James Burgh (1775) Constitutional thinking of an English Whig. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. Declaration of Taking Up Arms, Second Continental Congress (1775) Last step before declaring independence. On Civil Liberty, Passive Obedience, and Nonresistance, Jonathan Boucher (1775) Urged obedience to established authority, representing statist view of constitutional principles. Selected Writings of Thomas Paine Includes Common Sense (1776) and Rights of Man (1792). The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) Further developed principles being violated by British rule, adopted as part of Virginia Constitution. Contains accepted definition of militia. U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) Classic statement of what constitutes legitimate government and under what conditions men were justified in resorting to armed revolution to change it. Selected Political Works of Richard Price Includes Civil Liberty (1776) and Importance of the American Revolution (1784).

79. 80.

Articles of Confederation First attempt to form a common government for the newly independent states. 81. Civil Government, Josiah Tucker (1781) Critique of English constitution and commentary on Locke. 82. The Principles of Morals and Legislation, Jeremy Bentham (1781) Introduced utilitarianism, to provide a better theoretical foundation for penal statutory law than natural law theory. 83. Metaphysics of Morals, Immanual Kant (1785) Set out the Categorical Imperative doctrine of right based on natural law 1. 2. 84. Introduction to the ..., tr. W. Hastie (1785) Fundamental Principles of the ..., tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (1785)

The Northwest Ordinance (1787) Model for administration of common territory not yet a part of any state. 85. Constitutional Ratification Debates 1. Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison. These are the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia, an essential guide to

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interpreting the intent of the Framers. 2. 3. 4. 5. Constitution for the United States (1787) Annotated and linked to other documents in this collection. The Federalist Papers, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay (1787-88) Arguments for ratification of the proposed Constitution. Anti-Federalist Papers (1787-89) Various essays criticizing the proposed Constitution and urging changes. The Debates in the Several Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Jonathan Elliot (1836) A collection of documents, including proceedings of the ratifying state conventions. Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America, U.S. State Department (1894, 1900) A collection of documents, including some not in Elliot's Debates or the other works listed.

6.

7.

Documentary History of the Bill of Rights From the English Bill of Rights through the proposed amendments of the state ratifying conventions to the drafts debated in Congress before adopting the final version. 8. Selected Essays from the Founding Period Lectures, newspaper articles, and sermons which reflect the understanding of constitutional issues during the founding period. 86. A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, John Adams (1787-89) Argued for a broad interpretation of national powers. Comprehensive collection of quotes from political philosophers and historians that influenced the Founders. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, 1789) Manifesto of the French Revolution, expressing its ideals.

87. 88.

Selected Works of Edmund Burke (1788-92) Commentary on the American and French Revolutions and the political issues they raised. 89. The Declaration of the Rights of Women, Olympe de Gouge (1790) Statement of an early feminist. 90. 91. A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) Set forth the arguments for women's rights. Mother of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.

Perpetual Peace, Immanual Kant (1795) Further discussion of natural right and the plan for peace. 92. Federalist-Republican Debates 1792-1800 1. 2. 3. Against the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. For the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. The Virginia Report, J.W. Randolph, ed. (1850) Documents and commentary arising out of the controversies attending the Alien and Sedition Acts, including the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 and the Virginia Resolution of 1798, which set forth the "Doctrine of '98" concerning constitutional interpretation, and led to the "Revolution of

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1800", the dominance of the Jeffersonians, and the demise of the Federalist Party. 4. 93. 94. 95. First Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson (1801) Represents the triumph of the strict constructionists following the excesses represented by the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Selected Works of Thomas Jefferson Includes complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, ed., 19 vol. (1905). Selected Works of James Madison Selected writings bearing on constitutional interpretation. Tucker's Blackstone, St. George Tucker (1803) The Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone (1769), with additional commentaries by Tucker adapting the common law to the needs of the U.S. Constitution. Dallas, Cranch and Wheaton Three successive collections of U.S. Supreme Court decisions covering 1789-1816. An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States, John Taylor (1814) A response to John Adams' A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America. The Olive Branch: or, Faults on Both Sides, Federal and Democratic..., Matthew Carey (1816) Treatise on the constitutional issues dividing the federalists and democrats. Construction Contrued and Constitutions Vindicated, John Taylor (1820) A response to some of the misconstructions of the Constitution by the Marshall Court. The Elements of the Art of Packing, As Applied to Special Juries, Particularly in Cases of Libel Law, Jeremy Bentham (written 1809, published 1821) Critical treatise on abuses of the English jury system and ways to reform it, which provides a historical background to practices that continue to this day. The first publisher in 1817 of excerpts from this work was prosecuted twice for doing so, and the second three times, but in each attempt, juries acquitted them. Commentaries on American Law, James Kent (1826) Kent's Commentaries succeeded Tucker's Blackstone by reformulating the relevant content of Blackstone's Commentaries and integrating Common Law with Constitutional Law up to that time.

96. 97.

98. 99. 100.

101.

102.

A View of the Constitution, William Rawle (1829) Early commentary on the Constitution and how it should be interpreted. Made point that the Bill of Rights also applied to the states, something that would later be denied, then partially reassserted by the 14th Amendment and the doctrine of (selective) incorporation. 103. An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta, Richard Thomson (1829) Definitive commentary on the fundamental documents, including the Magna Charta, the Charters of Liberties and Confirmations of Henry III and Edward I, and the Original Charter of the Forests, and their relation to the common law. 104. Hayne-Webster Debate (1830) Debates between Daniel Webster, representing a broader construction of federal powers, and Robert Y. Hayne, representing strict construction and the views of John C. Calhoun. 105. Selected Works of John C. Calhoun, (1831) Includes "A Disquisition on Government" and "A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States". Developed the doctrines of concurrent majority, interposition, nullification and state secession, to correct what he
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perceived as a defect in the design of the Constitution that permits a persistent majority to dominate all three branches of government and legislate against the interests of a minority to the point where they would consider their rights violated. 106. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, Joseph Story (1833) Authoritative commentaries by an early Supreme Court justice who helped shape interpretation of the Constitution for the next century. 107. On Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville (1835, 1840) Discusses the society that makes republican government work and how it is shaped by that form of government. 108. A Brief Enquiry into the True Nature and Character of our Federal Government, ..., Abel Parker Upshur (1840, 1868) A review of Joseph Story's Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, arguing against some of Story's expansive interpretations of national powers. Man the Reformer, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841). Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau (1849) Discusses duty of individuals to resist government excesses. The Law, Frederick Bastiat (1850) Classic treatment of one of the main challenges to the survival of democratic government. Bouvier Law Dictionary, John Bouvier (1856). Also available as two self-extracting executables: Part 1 and Part 2. On Liberty, John Stuart Mill (1860) Develops a theory of civil liberties and discusses what rights should be recognized and protected.

109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114.

Representative Government, John Stuart Mill (1861) Discusses various representation methods and the advantages and difficulties with each. 115. Commentaries on the Criminal Law, 6th Ed. Vol. 1, Joel P. Bishop (1865) Discussion of the limits on the constitutional authority to impose criminal penalites in various jurisdictions. 116. Manual of the Constitution of the United States of America, T. Farrar (1867) Provides a view of the state of constitutional interpretation as of that time. 117. The Constitution of the United States: Defined & Carefully Annotated, George W. Paschal (1868) Interpretative citations for each clause and term in the Constitution. 118. An Introduction to the Constitutional Law of the United States, John N. Pomeroy (1868) Commentary on the state of constitutional jurisprudence during the Reconstruction Period, with guidance on interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. 119. A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations Which Rest Upon the Legislative Powers of The States of the American Union, Thomas M. Cooley (1868, 1883) Commentary reflecting constitutional thought at the time. 120. 121. The Subjection of Women, John Stuart Mill (1869) Argues for full equality of women. Documents and Commentary on Slavery, Secession, the Confederate States of America and the Civil War. 122. History of Trial by Jury, William Forsyth. (1875) Tells story of how it evolved, as seen by a legal scholar who missed the point that juries were established because judges and prosecutors
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123.

124. 125. 126. 127. 128.

cannot be trusted. History of the Formation of the Constitution of the United States of America, George Bancroft (1883) Presents much background information on the people and events that shaped the Constitution. The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States of America, Thomas M. Cooley (1891) Commentary reflecting constitutional thought at the time. The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States, Sydney George Fisher (1897). Traces each of the clauses of the U.S. Constitution back to previous colonial government documents. The History of English Law, Pollock and Maitland (1898) Definitive study of the foundations of the Anglo-American legal system. The Grand Jury, George J. Edwards (1906) Classic treatise on the grand jury, unequalled to this day.

The Moral Equivalent of War, William James (1906) Seeks solution to problem of how to sustain political unity and civic virtue without war or a credible threat. 129. Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Freund, Mikell, & Wigmore, ed. (1907) Classic essays on legal foundations and theory. 130. Federal Usurpation, Franklin Pierce (1908) Historical and constitutional analysis of how corruption, zealotry, and incompetence combined to violate the Constitution. 131. Black's Law Dictionary. 2nd Edition, 1910 Standard reference for legal terminology. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Henry Robert (1915) Essential manual for parliamentarians of deliberative assemblies. Constitutional Conventions, Roger Sherman Hoar (1917) Treatise on the way a body politic manifests its sovereignty. Recent Changes in American Constitutional Theory, John W. Burgess (1923) Constitutional scholar surveys departures from constitutional compliance from 1898 through 1920. The Revival of Natural Law Concepts, Charles Grove Haines (1930) Review of natural law theory as the foundation of constitutional law. Undermining the Constitution, Thomas James Norton (1950) Constitutional scholar examines departures from constitutional compliance arising from New Deal. Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States Report of the Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States (1956). Freedom's Frontier Atlantic Union Now, Clarence K. Streit (1962) Classic treatise on international conflict and federalism. Also see a Review by Jon Roland. Militia Treatises, James B. Whisker Standard references on the subject. Includes The Militia (1992) and The American Colonial Militia (1997). Selected Works on Tyranny To understand the principles of constitutional republican government, one must understand the principles of its opposite. Selected U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Includes commentaries on the rulings and the

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opinions. 142. Selected U.S. Appellate Court Decisions Includes commentaries on the rulings and the opinions. 143. Constitutional Commentary Collection Books, anthologies, and essays. 144. Legal Briefs Collection Organized by subject. 145. Law Review Article Collection Organized by subject. 146. 147. U.S. State Constitutions and Web Sites National Constitutions The supreme laws of many of the most important countries, for comparative analysis.

For contributions to and suggestions for additional items to be added to this collection, contact editor Jon Roland, liberty.librarian@constitution.org We plan to make this collection available on CD-ROM when it is more complete. Home | Constitution Society

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