Three groups filed amicus briefs in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit backing the American Historical Association (AHA), American Oversight, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in their fight to stop the Trump administration from evading the Presidential Records Act (PRA). [Read more…] about New Amicus Briefs Back Fight to Protect Presidential Records
Constitution
The Articles of Confederation
On June 12, 1776, the Second Continental Congress turned to perhaps the most difficult element of independence: drafting a plan of government for their brand new nation.
The man Congress chose to write the first draft was John Dickinson of Pennsylvania. Although he would not vote for independence, Dickinson was the most respected constitutional thinker in Congress. What Dickinson wrote was strong and bold. What Congress did to his draft was something else entirely. [Read more…] about The Articles of Confederation
George Washington’s Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, 1790
In August of 1790 President George Washington composed a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, and to its leader, Moses Seixas (1744–1809). Seixas had written a letter to Washington several days earlier.
Washington responded with the brief letter below, expressing America’s enduring commitment to the principle of tolerance and the freedom of conscience. [Read more…] about George Washington’s Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, 1790
19th Century NY Law and Birthright Citizenship
In August 1829 the passenger ship Emily arrived from Liverpool and anchored in New York Harbor. Like many 19th century ships entering New York’s bustling port, Emily carried migrants intent on making a new life in the city. Passages such as the Emily’s were commonplace but the actions of her master, William Thompson, proved exceptional.
Thompson, likely on the order of shipowner George Miln, flagrantly ignored an 1824 New York State law intended to regulate the flow of migrants into the metropolis. [Read more…] about 19th Century NY Law and Birthright Citizenship
The Voting Rights Act & The Great Betrayal of 1877
On April 24, 1877, on orders from President Rutherford B. Hayes, federal troops withdrew from the state house in Louisiana — the last federally defended state house in the South — just 12 years after the end of the Civil War.
This withdrawal marked the end of Reconstruction and paved the way for the unrestrained resurgence of white supremacist rule in the South, carrying with it the rapid deterioration of political rights for Black Americans.
What began with Hayes’s elevation to the Presidency following the disputed Election of 1876, is now having dramatic political consequences 150 years later. [Read more…] about The Voting Rights Act & The Great Betrayal of 1877
Revolutionary New York in Eight Documents
Readers of New York Almanack can expect to see lots of coverage of events related to the America 250 commemoration over the next year or so. The events and programs are likely to be mostly based around major events, such as the Battle of Saratoga.
But there might be another way to gain perspective on the American Revolution in New York, one that focuses on some original documents. A few revealing documents are noted below. They illustrate a pattern that will recur in New York history: our state sometimes hesitates but then assumes a leadership role in effecting change. [Read more…] about Revolutionary New York in Eight Documents
Fugitive Slaves, Kidnapping & State Government Response
Although not authorized to do so by a strict constructionist reading of the Constitution’s fugitive slave clause, Congress enacted the first Fugitive Slave Act in 1793. Northern states blocked effective enforcement of the federal law, leading to a southern outcry for more stringent legislation.
The sectional crisis precipitated by the California Statehood Act in 1850 provided the opportunity for passage of a harsher Fugitive Slave Act, which became part of the Compromise of 1850. [Read more…] about Fugitive Slaves, Kidnapping & State Government Response
US Military in Our Streets: Posse Comitatus in Historical Perspective
In the 1975 film Posse, Amsterdam, NY native Kirk Douglas (who directed the film) plays an unscrupulous U.S. Marshal running for U.S. Senate who leads an elite posse in pursuit of a gunslinger to further his political career. In the final scenes the posse has to reassess whose side they are really on. The echos of recent events are uncanny.
The word posse is a shorted form of posse comitatus meaning “power of the county.” It refers to the power of local officials to grant policing authority to local people to assist in criminal justice activities. It’s a powerful authority, easily manipulated by unscrupulous actors and has been frequently abused throughout American history by local (and a few times national) officials, especially to racially target minorities. [Read more…] about US Military in Our Streets: Posse Comitatus in Historical Perspective
Patrick Henry: From “Give Me Liberty” to Saving the Union
Patrick Henry is one of the most famous voices of the American Revolution. A Virginian, his first trip to the north was for business to the city of New York in 1770.
Henry was known in his own time for his powerful speeches and his unwavering commitment to liberty. But did you know that later in life he opposed the United States Constitution? Did you know that during the political crisis of 1798/99, George Washington wrote to Patrick Henry and asked him to save the nation? [Read more…] about Patrick Henry: From “Give Me Liberty” to Saving the Union
Black History, Birthright Citizenship & Civil Rights
Very few protections existed under state laws for free Black people during the era of enslavement and their actions were strictly regulated.
In New York free Black citizens faced legal limitations on voting rights, property ownership, and social interactions, some for nearly a century after the abolition of slavery. [Read more…] about Black History, Birthright Citizenship & Civil Rights
Egbert Benson: New York’s first Attorney General
Egbert Benson (1746-1843), serving as New York’s first Attorney General from May 8, 1777, to May 14, 1788, was a pivotal figure in the state’s early legal history.
Appointed in the heat of the Revolutionary era, Benson’s role was essential in guiding New York through its transition from colonial rule to statehood. [Read more…] about Egbert Benson: New York’s first Attorney General
The First State of the Union Address
According to Article II, Sec. 3, of the United States Constitution, “The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United Sta6es on April 30, 1789. He delivered the first State of the Union Address to Congress on January 8, 1790. At the time, the United States capital was in the city of New York. [Read more…] about The First State of the Union Address
Oaths of Office: A Primer
Oaths of office date back at least to the time of ancient Rome, and, since then oaths have become a staple of representative government. Oaths have been a requirement for public office from the nation’s inception.
“An Act to regulate the Time and Manner of administering certain Oaths” was the first law passed by the United States Congress after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. It was signed by President George Washington on June 1, 1789, and parts of it remain in effect to this day. [Read more…] about Oaths of Office: A Primer
Politics and Political Culture in the Early American Republic
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, in honor of Constitution Day on September 17, the day the United States commemorates the signing of the United States Constitution, we speak with two historians – Jonathan Gienapp, an Associate Professor of History and Associate Professor of Law at Stanford University and Rachel Shelden, Director of the Richard Civil War Era Center and an Associate Professor of History at Penn State University – about early American political culture and political civility in the early American republic.
[Read more…] about Politics and Political Culture in the Early American Republic
September 17th is Constitution Day: Some History
In 2004, Congress passed a law recognizing September 17th as Constitution Day. On that date in 1787, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia put their signatures on the Constitution of the United States. Local celebrations of Constitution Day started over 100 years ago, but it didn’t become federal law until 2004. [Read more…] about September 17th is Constitution Day: Some History
Making Maine: A Journey to Statehood
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Joshua Smith, the interim director of the American Merchant Marine Museum in Kings Point, New York, and author of the book Making Maine: Statehood and the War of 1812 (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022), leads us on an exploration of Maine’s journey to statehood. [Read more…] about Making Maine: A Journey to Statehood
James Wilson & The US Constitution
James Wilson was a Scottish-born legal scholar, jurist, and statesman who served as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1789 to 1798.
Wilson attended two Continental Congresses, signed of the Declaration of Independence, and one of five of the Committee of Detail that helped draft the U.S. Constitution. A leading legal theorist, he was one of the first four Associate Justices appointed to the Supreme Court by George Washington.
In his capacity as the first professor of law at the College of Philadelphia (later to become the University of Pennsylvania), he taught the first course on the new Constitution to President Washington and his Cabinet in 1789 and 1790. [Read more…] about James Wilson & The US Constitution
William Paterson & The Constitution of the United States
William Paterson was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1745. His family immigrated to America when William was two years old. Arriving first at New Castle, Delaware, the family settled for a short time in New London, Connecticut. At first, his father traveled around the country selling tin ware, moving the family several times. He eventually settled in Princeton, New Jersey where he became a merchant and manufacturer of tin goods.
Paterson attended local private schools and eventually the College of New Jersey (Princeton) where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1763 and a master’s degree in 1766. Showing an interest in law, Paterson apprenticed with Richard Stockton, who later signed the Declaration of Independence. Paterson practiced law in New Bromley, South Branch. In 1779, he settled near New Brunswick at Raritan Estate, all in New Jersey. [Read more…] about William Paterson & The Constitution of the United States
Presidential Pardon Power: What The Founders Thought
Before President Trump retreated to Mar-a-Lago, the pundits were debating whether he would — or could, legally — pardon himself for any misdeeds committed in or out of office. Although he’s gone from the White House, the issue is not moot. [Read more…] about Presidential Pardon Power: What The Founders Thought
Doctor Benjamin Rush As Founding Father
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Stephen Fried, an award-winning journalist and author of Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (Crown, 2018), joins us to explore the life and deeds of one founder we don’t always talk about, Benjamin Rush.