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James Madison

James Madison

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was the fourth (1809–1817) President of the United States. He was co-author, with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, of the Federalist Papers, and is traditionally regarded as the Father of the United States Constitution.

Early life

Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on March 16, 1751. His parents Colonel James Madison, Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) and Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway (January 9, 1731 – February 11, 1829) were the prosperous owners of the tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia where Madison spent most of his childhood years. In 1769, he left the plantation to attend Princeton University (it was called the College of New Jersey at the time), finishing its four-year course in two years, but exhausting himself from overwork in the process. When he regained his health, he served in the state legislature (1776-79) and became known as a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. In this capacity he became a prominent figure in Virginia state politics, helping to draft their declaration of religious freedom and persuading Virginia to give their northwestern territories (consisting of most of modern-day Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) to the Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-83), he excelled as a legislative workhorse and master of parliamentary detail. Back in the state legislature he welcomed peace, but soon became alarmed at the fragility of the Confederation. He was a strong advocate of a new constitution, and played the leading role in drafting and negotiating the main points at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. To foster the ratification effort, he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write "The Federalist" papers, one of the most influencial documents in American political history. Back in Virginia in 1788, he led the fight for ratification of the constitution at the state's convention--oratorically outdueling Patrick Henry and formidable forces aligned against acceptance of the constitution. For his efforts, Madison is known as the "Father of the Constitution."

Congressional years

When the Constitution was ratified, Madison was elected to the United States House of Representatives from his home state of Virginia and served from the First Congress through the Fourth Congress, and was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party during his final term in the House. In 1789, he successfully offered a package of twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution, the final ten of which became what is collectively known as the Bill of Rights by December 15, 1791, based upon earlier work by George Mason. The chief characteristic of Madison's time in Congress was his desire to limit the power of the federal government. He led the unsuccessful attempt to block Hamilton's proposed Bank of the United States, arguing the new Constitution did not explicitly allow the federal government to form a bank. Most biographers see a sea-change with Madison moving from strong nationalism in 1787-88 to a states' rights position that became extreme in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798. Other scholars, notably Lance Banning, see more continuity, arguing Madison was never caught up in Hamilton's dream of a powerful nation. During Madison's time in Congress, the debate between Hamilton and Jefferson led to the formation of the first political parties (the first ones in world history). Madison was instrumental in the creation of the Democratic-Republican party, whose members supported Jefferson and believed strongly in limiting centralized power. Opposed to the Democratic-Republicans was the Federalist party, whose members followed Hamilton and believed in a strong central government. In 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, who cut as attractive and vivacious a figure as he did a sickly and antisocial one. It is Dolley who is largely credited with inventing the role of "First Lady" as political ally to the president. In 1797 Madison left Congress; in 1798 he and Jefferson secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which insisted the states could block unconstitutional federal laws. With Jefferson's victory in 1800-01, Madison became Secretary of State, though he had never travelled abroad.

Secretary of State 1801-1809

The main challenge Madison faced was navigating between the two great empires of Britain and France, which were almost constantly at war. The first great triumph was the Louisiana Purchase on 1803, made possible when Napoleon realized he could not defend that vast territory, and it was to France's advantage that Britain not seize it. Madison tried to maintain neutrality, but at the same time insisted on the legal rights of the U.S. under international law. Neither London nor Paris showed much respect, however. The Jefferson administration decided on an Embargo to punish Britain, which meant forbidding all Americans to trade with any foreign nation. The Embargo failed as foreign policy and instead caused massive hardships in the northeastern seabord, which depended on foreign trade. The Republican Caucus chose presidential candidates for the party, and Madison was chosen in the election of 1808, easily winning election. The Embargo was repealed just before Madison took office.

Presidential years 1809-1817

British insults continued, especially the practice of using the Royal Navy to intercept unarmed American merchant ships and "impressing" (seizing) all sailors who might be British subjects for service in the British navy. Madison's protests were ignored, so he helped stir up public opinion in the west and south for war. One argument was that an American invasion of Canada would be easy and would be a good bargaining chip. Madison carefully prepared public opinion for what everyone at the time called "Mr. Madison's War," but much less time and money was spent building up the army, navy, forts or state militias. In the ensuing War of 1812, the British won numerous victories, including the capture of Detroit after the American general surrendered to a small force without a fight, and occupation of Washington, D.C., forcing Madison to flee the city. The British also armed American Indians in the West, most notably followers of Tecumseh. Finally a standoff was reached on the Canadian border. The Americans built warships on the Great Lakes faster than the British, and gained the upper hand. At sea the British blockaded the entire coastline, cutting off both foreign trade and domestic trade between ports. After the defeat of Napoleon both sides were exhausted, the causes of the war had been forgotten, and it was time for peace. New England Federalists, however, set up a secret defeatist Hartford Convention and threatened secession. In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, allowing each side to keep the territory it held when the treaty was finalized. The Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson defeated the British regulars, was fought 15 days after the treaty was signed but before it was finalized. With peace finally established America was swept by a sense of euphoria and national achievement in finally securing independence. Madison was hailed and the Federalists fell apart and disappeared from politics, as an Era of Good Feeling emerged with a much lower level of political fear and vituperation. In his last act before leaving office, Madison vetoed a bill for "internal improvements," including roads, bridges, and canals: :"Having considered the bill...I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling this bill with the Constitution of the United States...The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified...in the...Constitution, and it does not appear that the power proposed to be exercised by the bill is among the enumerated powers..." [http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/981.html] Madison rejected the view of Congress that the General Welfare Clause justified the bill, stating: :"Such a view of the Constitution would have the effect of giving to Congress a general power of legislation instead of the defined and limited one hitherto understood to belong to them, the terms 'common defense and general welfare' embracing every object and act within the purview of a legislative trust." It should be noted that although Madison would support internal improvement schemes only through constitutional amendment, he urged a variety of measures that he felt were "best executed under the national authority," including federal support for roads and canals that would "bind more closely together the various parts of our extended confederacy."

Cabinet


Supreme Court appointments

Madison appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Gabriel Duvall — 1811
- Joseph Story — 1812

States admitted to the Union


- Louisiana – April 30, 1812
- Indiana – December 11, 1816

Later life

After leaving office, Madison retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Virginia, not far from Jefferson's Monticello. He engaged in extensive correspondence on political affairs, and served as rector of the University of Virginia for ten years until his death. He died on June 28, 1836 of rheumatism and heart failure, leaving no children. His detailed notes on the Constitutional Convention were published after his death. By his request, these notes were not to be published until the death of the last signer of the constitution. The implication is that Madison did not want the thoughts and debates of the founders to shape the nation's interpretation of what the Constitution meant. He strongly believed that the text, and only the text, should be consulted. Madison's portrait was on the U.S. $5000 bill. There were about twenty different varieties of $5000 bills issued between 1861 and 1946, and all but three had James Madison. Madison also appears on the $200 Series EE Savings Bond.

Trivia


- At 5 feet, 4 inches in height (163 cm) and 100 pounds (45 kg) in weight, Madison was the nation's shortest president and frequently ill. He was too frail for military service during the Revolution.

See also


- U.S. presidential election, 1808
- U.S. presidential election, 1812
- List of places named for James Madison
- List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations
- University of Virginia, where he was Rector of the University from 1826 to 1836
- James Madison University, named Madison College after him in 1936

References

Primary Documents


- James Madison, James Madison: Writings 1772-1836. (Library of America, 1999), over 900 pages of letters, speeches and reports.
- William T. Hutchinson et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison (1962-), the definitive multivolume edition, still incomplete.
- Gaillard Hunt, ed., The Writings of James Madison (9 vols 1900- 1910).
- James M. Smith, ed. The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1776-1826. (3 vols. 1995).
- Jacob E. Cooke, ed. The Federalist. (1961)
- James Madison. Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm]

Secondary Sources: Scholarly Biographies


- Irving Brant, James Madison (6 vols., 1941-1961)
- Ralph Ketcham, James Madison: A Biography (1971)
- Jack Rakove, James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic (2nd Edition 2001).
- Garry Wills, James Madison (2002)

Secondary Sources: Analytic Studies


- Robert A. Rutland, The Presidency of James Madison (1990)
- Lance Banning, The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Creation of the Federal Republic, 1780-1792 (1995)
- Drew R. McCoy, The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America (1980)
- Drew R. McCoy, The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy (1989).
- Stanley M. Elkins and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism (1993).
- Marshall Smelser. The Democratic Republic 1801-1815 (1968).
- Robert Allen Rutland, ed. James Madison and the American Nation, 1751-1836: An Encyclopedia. (1994)
- John C. A. Stagg. Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American republic, 1783-1830. (1983). [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28197610%293%3A33%3A4%3C557%3AJMAT%22T%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X J. C. A. Stagg "James Madison and the 'Malcontents': The Political Origins of the War of 1812," William and Mary Quarterly (Oct., 1976)] [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28198101%293%3A38%3A1%3C3%3AJMATCO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W J.C.A. Stagg, "James Madison and the Coercion of Great Britain: Canada, the West Indies, and the War of 1812," in The William and Mary Quarterly(Jan., 1981)]

External links


- [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/ The James Madison Papers, 1723-1836] from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, approximately 12,000 items captured in some 72,000 digital images.
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/madispap.htm The Papers of James Madison] from the Avalon Project
- [http://Madison.thefreelibrary.com/ James Madison's brief biography]
- [http://www.jamesmadisonmus.org/resources/will.htm Madison's last will and testament, 1835]
- [http://www.jmu.edu/madison/family/ A history of the Madison family since the 17th century]
- [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html Official White House page for James Madison]
- [http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/madison_archives.htm Madison Archives]
- Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison Madison, James Madison, James ko:제임스 매디슨 ja:ジェームズ・マディスン

March 16

March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in Leap years). There are 290 days remaining.

Events


- 1190 - Crusaders start to massacre the Jews of York.
- 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines.
- 1621 - Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset."
- 1660 - The Long Parliament disbands.
- 1792 - King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
- 1802 - The United States Military Academy West Point is established.
- 1815 - Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaimed himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
- 1850 - Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter is first published.
- 1861 - Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.
- 1867 - First publication of an article by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery, in The Lancet.
- 1872 - The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
- 1900 - Sir Arthur Evans purchases the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
- 1926 - Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
- 1935 - Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty.
- 1945 - World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.
- 1945 - Würzburg, Germany is 90% destroyed, with 5,000 dead, in only 20 minutes by British bombers.
- 1956 - St. Urho's Day is first celebrated.
- 1962 - A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 people missing.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers -- men, women, and children -- are killed by American troops.
- 1969 - A Venezuelan Airlines DC-9 crashes shortly after takeoff in Maracaibo, Venezuela killing 155
- 1972 - The first building of the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex is demolished.
- 1978 - Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing urban guerrillas in Italy and is later killed by his captors.
- 1983 - Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last radio tower in Germany built of wood.
- 1984 - William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity.
- 1985 - Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He would be released on December 4, 1991.
- 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- 1988 - Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents, killing thousands of people.
- 1993 - A blizzard on the east coast of the United States kills 184 (see Great Blizzard of 1993).
- 1994 - Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan.
- 1997 - Stuart Appleby wins the Honda Golf Classic.
- 2002 - Closing ceremonies of the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- 2003 - Largest coordinated worldwide vigil, as part of the global protests against Iraq war.
- 2006 - Planned release date of the computer role-playing game Final Fantasy XII in Japan.
- 2880 - The predicted closest approach to Earth of near-Earth object (29075) 1950 DA which might impact Earth.

Births


- 1445 - Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss-born preacher (d. 1510)
- 1581 - Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and writer (d. 1647)
- 1585 - Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (d. 1618)
- 1631 - René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680)
- 1654 - Andreas Acoluthus, German orientalist (d. 1704)
- 1750 - Caroline Herschel, German-born English astronomer (d. 1848)
- 1751 - James Madison, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836)
- 1774 - Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer of the coasts of Australia (d. 1814)
- 1789 - Georg Simon Ohm, German physicist (d. 1854)
- 1800 - Emperor Ninko of Japan, (b. 1846)
- 1829 - René François Armand Sully-Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
- 1834 - James Hector, Scottish geologist (d. 1907)
- 1840 - Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (d. 1931)
- 1878 - Clemens August Graf von Galen, German archbishop and cardinal (d. 1946)
- 1878 - Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran (d. 1941)
- 1889 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
- 1897 - Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1901 - Edward Pawley, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1902 - Leon Roppolo, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1943)
- 1903 - Mike Mansfield, American politician, and diplomat (d. 2001)
- 1905 - Elisabeth Flickenschildt, German actress (d. 1977)
- 1905 - Marlin Perkins, American naturalist (d. 1986)
- 1906 - Henny Youngman, American comedian (d. 1998)
- 1911 - Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal (d. 1979)
- 1912 - Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)
- 1916 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1918 - Frederick Reines, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1920 - Leo McKern, British actor (d. 2002)
- 1926 - Charles Goodell, American politician, (d. 1987)
- 1926 - Jerry Lewis, American comedian
- 1928 - Christa Ludwig, German mezzo-soprano
- 1927 - Vladimir Komarov, cosmonaut (d. 1967)
- 1927 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator from New York (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Olga San Juan, American comedienne
- 1932 - Don Blasingame, Major League Baseball and Japanese baseball manager (d. 2005)
- 1932 - Walter Cunningham, astronaut
- 1934 - Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (d. 2002)
- 1939 - Carlos Bilardo, Argetinian football coach and player
- 1940 - Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director
- 1940 - Chuck Woolery, American game show host
- 1941 - Robert Guéï, military ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 2002)
- 1942 - James Soong, Taiwanese politician
- 1942 - Jerry Jeff Walker, American musician
- 1948 - Margaret Weis, American author
- 1949 - Erik Estrada, Puerto Rican actor
- 1949 - Victor Garber, Canadian actor
- 1950 - Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress
- 1952 - Philippe Kahn, French-American entrepreneur
- 1953 - Isabelle Huppert, French actress
- 1953 - Richard Stallman, American free software activist
- 1954 - Jimmy Nail, British actor and singer
- 1954 - Nancy Wilson, American guitarist, singer, and actress (Heart)
- 1955 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
- 1959 - Flavor Flav, American rapper
- 1959 - Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway
- 1963 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (d. 2002)
- 1964 - Patty Griffin, American singer and songwriter
- 1967 - Lauren Graham, American actress
- 1970 - Stephen Martin, Canadian livejournaler
- 1971 - Alan Tudyk, American actor
- 1980 - Todd Heap, American football player
- 1981 - Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer

Deaths


- 37 - Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar,Roman Emperor (b. 46 BC)
- 455 - Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (b. 419)
- 1072 - Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop
- 1322 - Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English soldier (b. 1276)
- 1485 - Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456)
- 1559 - Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496)
- 1649 - Jean de Brébeuf, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)
- 1679 - John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
- 1721 - James Craggs the Elder, English politician (b. 1657)
- 1736 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, (b. 1710)
- 1737 - Benjamin Wadsworth, American President of Harvard University (b. 1670)
- 1738 - George Bähr, German architect (b. 1666)
- 1898 - Aubrey Beardsley, British artist (b. 1872)
- 1903 - Judge Roy Bean, American jurist and pioneer
- 1914 - Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
- 1930 - Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish dictator (b. 1870)
- 1935 - John James Richard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- 1940 - Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- 1945 - Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874)
- 1957 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (b. 1876)
- 1968 - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (b. 1895)
- 1970 - Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1946)
- 1971 - Thomas Dewey, American Presidential candidate (b. 1902)
- 1975 - T-Bone Walker, American musician (b. 1910)
- 1977 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (b. 1917)
- 1979 - Jean Monnet, French politician (b. 1888)
- 1983 - Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903)
- 1996 - Charlie Barnett, American actor (b. 1954)
- 1998 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2001 - Norma MacMillan, American voice actress (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Rachel Corrie, American political activist (b. 1979)

Holidays and observances


- Latvia - The controversial Latvia Legions is celebrated in Latvia, where about 140,000 men joined the Waffen SS National Legions during World War II, trying to defend Latvia. Since February 23, 2000, this day is no longer an official celebration day.
- St. Urho's Day - the fictional patron saint of Finnish immigrants to the US, created by Richard Mattson in 1956
- The first day of the Bacchanalia in ancient Rome

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/3/16 Today in History: March 16] ---- March 15 - March 17 - February 16 - April 16 -- listing of all days ko:3월 16일 ms:16 Mac ja:3月16日 simple:March 16 th:16 มีนาคม

June 28

(Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. See Talk:August_1. The correct dates for such events need to be determined.) June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining.

Events


- 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
- 1243 - Innocent IV becomes pope.
- 1389 - Ottoman forces crush the armies of Christian Europe in Kosovo, opening the way for the Ottoman conquest of Southeastern Europe (see Vidovdan).
- 1519 - Charles V elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1635 - Guadeloupe becomes a French colony.
- 1651 - Battle of Beresteczko between Poles and Ukrainians, the biggest battle in the 17th century, starts.
- 1763 - Earthquake in Komarom, Hungary
- 1859 - First dog show is held in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England.
- 1880 - Ned Kelly the Australian bushranger captured at Glenrowan.
- 1887 - Minot, North Dakota incorporated as a city.
- 1894 - Labor Day becomes an official US holiday.
- 1895 - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form the Central American Union.
- 1914 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophia are killed in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist young man: Gavrilo Princip , the casus belli of World War I.
- 1919 - The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I with Germany.
- 1936 - The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
- 1938 - A 450 metric ton meteorite struck the earth in a empty field near Chicora, Pennsylvania
- 1940 - Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union.
- 1948 - Cominform circulates the "Resolution on the situation in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia"
- 1950 - Seoul is captured by troops from North Korea.
- 1956 - Anti-communist demonstrations in Poznan. Also called Poznański czerwiec (June of Poznan).
- 1960 - US-owned oil refineries in Cuba confiscated and nationalised.
- 1964 - Malcom X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
- 1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem.
- 1969 - Stonewall riots in New York city mark the beginning of the modern gay rights era.
- 1978 - The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke bars quota systems in college admissions.
- 1988 - The worst confined-space industrial accident in U.S. history occurs at a metal-plating plant in Auburn, Indiana, killing five.
- 1990 - Paperback Software found guilty by a U.S. court of copyright violation for copying the appearance and menu system of Lotus 1-2-3 in its competing spreadsheet program.
- 1997 - Boxer Mike Tyson is disqualified from WBA title re-match, for biting off part of the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield.
- 2004 - Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism
  - Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
- 2005 - Canada's lower house paves the way for same-sex marriage to be legalized there, and make it the third country to do so.

Births

1243 to 1899


- 1243 - Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (d. 1304)
- 1476 - Pope Paul IV (d. 1559)
- 1490 - Albert of Mainz, bishop and elector of Mainz (d. 1545)
- 1491 - King Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
- 1503 - Giovanni della Casa, Italian poet (d. 1556)
- 1547 (baptism) - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (d. 1599)
- 1577 - Peter Paul Rubens, Belgian painter (d. 1640)
- 1703 - John Wesley, English founder of Methodism (d. 1791)
- 1712 - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher (d. 1778)
- 1719 - Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French statesman (d. 1785)
- 1806 - Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (d. 1883)
- 1824 - Paul Pierre Broca, French physician (d. 1880)
- 1831 - Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (d. 1907)
- 1867 - Luigi Pirandello, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
- 1873 - Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1944)
- 1883 - Pierre Laval, Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
- 1891 - Carl Panzram, American serial killer (d. 1930)

1900 to 1999


- 1902 - Richard Rodgers, American composer (d. 1979)
- 1906 - Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1913 - Franz Antel, Austrian filmmaker
- 1914 - Lester Flatt, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1921 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India (d. 2004)
- 1926 - Mel Brooks, American filmmaker
- 1927 - Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 - Itamar Franco, President of Brazil
- 1932 - Pat Morita, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1936 - Chuck Howley, American football player
- 1938 - Moy Yat, Chinese martial artist (d. 2001)
- 1943 - Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 - Gilda Radner, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1947 - Mark Helprin, American writer
- 1948 - Kathy Bates, American actress
- 1952 - Pietro Mennea, Italian athlete
- 1954 - Alice Krige, South African actress
- 1960 - John Elway, American football player
- 1964 - Mark Grace, baseball player
- 1966 - John Cusack, American actor
- 1967 - Kenneth Steven Becker, American taxpayer
- 1968 - Adam Woodyatt, British actor
- 1969 - Danielle Brisebois, American actress
- 1970 - Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer
- 1971 - Fabien Barthez, French footballer
- 1971 - Kenny Cunningham, Irish footballer
- 1971 - Norika Fujiwara, Japanese actress and television-personality
- 1972 - Jon Heidenreich, American professional wrestler
- 1973 - Adrian Annus, Hungarian athlete
- 1976 - Shinobu Asagoe, Japanese tennis player
- 1979 - Randy McMichael, American football player

Deaths

767 to 1899


- 767 - Pope Paul I
- 1175 - Andrei Bogolyubsky, Russian prince
- 1194 - Emperor Xiaozong of China (b. 1127)
- 1586 - Primož Trubar, Slovenian protestant reformer (b. 1508)
- 1598 - Abraham Ortelius, Flemish-born cartographer (b. 1527)
- 1716 - George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general (b. 1665)
- 1813 - Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general (b. 1755)
- 1834 - Joseph Bové, Russian architect (b. 1784)
- 1836 - James Madison, President of the United States (b. 1751)
- 1881 - Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (b. 1798)
- 1889 - Maria Mitchell, American astronomer (b. 1818)

1900 to 1999


- 1913 - Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, President of Brazil (b. 1841)
- 1914 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1863)
- 1914 - Countess Sophie Chotek, wife of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1868)
- 1922 - Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet (b. 1885)
- 1929 - Edward Carpenter, English poet (b. 1844)
- 1960 - Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1898)
- 1962 - Mickey Cochrane, baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1965 - Red Nichols, American musician (b. 1905)
- 1974 - Frank Sutton, American actor (b. 1923)
- 1975 - Rod Serling, American television scriptwriter (b. 1924)
- 1980 - José Iturbi, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1895)
- 1981 - Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)
- 1989 - Joris Ivens, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1898)
- 1992 - Mikhail Tal, Latvian chess player (b. 1936)
- 1997 - Mrs. Miller, American singer (b. 1907)

2000 onwards


- 2001 - Mortimer Adler, American philosopher (b. 1902)
  - Joan Sims, English actress (b. 1930)
- 2003 - Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Anthony Buckeridge, English author (b. 1912)

Holidays and observances


- Feast of St Irenaeus of Lyons
- Vidovdan, Orthodox religious holiday.
- One of the TWO dates made up of only perfect numbers (6 and 28; also June 6th [6 and 6]).

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/28 BBC: On This Day] ---- June 27 - June 29 - May 28 - July 28 -- listing of all days ko:6월 28일 ms:28 Jun ja:6月28日 simple:June 28 th:28 มิถุนายน

1836

1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January - Book by Maria Monk claims that she was sexually exploited in a Canadian convent
- February 3 - United States Whig Party holds its first convention in Albany, New York.
- February 23 - The siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
- February 24 - Samuel Colt receives a patent for the Colt revolver
- March 1 - Convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos to deliberate independence from Mexico
- March 1 - Antonio García Gutiérrez's play El Trovador played for the first time
- March 2 - Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
- March 5 - Samuel Colt makes the first pistol (.34-caliber).
- March 6 - After a 13-day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 189 Texas volunteers defending the Alamo are defeated and the fort taken.
- March 27 - Texas Revolution: Goliad massacre - Antonio López de Santa Anna orders the Mexican army to kill about 400 Texans at Goliad, Texas
- March 31 - Marshall College, named for John Marshall, opens in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. It later merges with Franklin College to become Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
- April 20 - U.S. Congress passes act creating the Wisconsin Territory
- April 21 - Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto - Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. (Santa Anna and hundreds of his troops are taken prisoner along the San Jacinto River the next day.)
- May 15 - Francis Baily, during an eclipse of the sun, observes the phenomenon named after him as Baily's beads
- June 15 - Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- July 11 - President Andrew Jackson issues the Specie Circular, beginning the failure of the land speculation economy that would lead to the Panic of 1837.
- September 1 - Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white woman to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.
- September 5 - Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
- September 8 - Transcendental Club founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- October 2 - Naturalist Charles Darwin returns to Falmouth, England aboard the HMS Beagle after a 5-year journey collecting biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution.
- October 31 - Bristol riot - In Bristol, England, large crowd protests against the decision of the House of Lords to defeat the Reform Act. They burn down 100 houses, including the Bishop's Palace, the Custom House and the Mansion House and release prisoners. The dragoons attack the crowd and kill and wound hundreds
- November - Martin Van Buren defeats William Henry Harrison in the U.S. presidential election
- December 10 - Emory College, the forerunner of Emory University, is chartered in Oxford, Georgia.
- December 20 - Sudden freeze kills many travelers in Illinois.
- December 28 - Proclamation of the colony of South Australia, now celebrated in the state of South Australia as Proclamation Day.
- December 28 - Spain recognizes independence of Mexico.

Unknown dates


- Chartists in Britain demand universal male suffrage.
- Boers in South Africa begin the Great Trek across the Orange River.
- Henry R. Campbell builds the first 4-4-0, a steam locomotive type that will soon become the most common on all railroads of the United States.
- First printed literature in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is produced by Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary.
- Andrew Crosse's electrical experiment seems to produce strange insects; they are named acarus calvanicus
- American Temperance Union established.

Births


- January 2 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian Yiddish writer (d. 1917)
- January 14 - Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter (d. 1904)
- January 27 - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
- February 16 - Robert Halpin, Irish mariner and cable layer (d. 1894)
- February 18 - Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Bengali religious leader (d. 1886)
- February 21 - Léo Delibes, French composer (d. 1891)
- February 24 - Winslow Homer, American artist (d. 1910)
- March 20 - Sir Edward Poynter, French-born artist (d. 1919)
- April 27 - Major Charles Bendire, U.S. Army captain and ornithologist (d. 1897)
- May 27 - Jay Gould, American financier (d. 1892)
- May 28 - Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist (d. 1918)
- May 31 - Jules Chéret, French printmaker (d. 1932)
- June 2 - Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
- July 8 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914)
- July 9 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1908)
- August 13 - Bishop Nikolai of Japan, Russian Orthodox priest (d. 1912)
- August 24 - Susan Agnes Bernard, First Lady of Canada (d. 1920)
- August 25 - Bret Harte, American writer (d. 1902)
- September 11 - Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (d. 1870)
- October 15 - James Tissot, French artist (d. 1902)
- November 11 - Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet and novelist (d. 1907

1817

1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events


- March 4 - James Monroe succeeds James Madison as the President of the United States of America
- April - Earthquake in Palermo, Italy
- April 3 - Princess Caraboo appears in Almondsbury in Gloucestershire, England
- May - The General Convention of the Episcopal Church founded General Theological Seminary while meeting in New York City.
- July 4 - At Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
- June 5 - First Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched.
- June 25 - Large prison riot in Copenhagen prison - army is sent for to quell it
- August 22 - City of Araraquara, Brazil founded.
- August 23 - Earthquake near the site of the ancient Greek city of Helike. 65 deaths.
- December 10 - Mississippi is admitted as the 20th U.S. state.

Unknown dates


- Elgin Marbles displayed in British Museum
- Emperor Ninko ascends to the throne of Japan
- Battle of Maipú
- John Kidd extracts naphthalene from coal tar

Births


- January 8 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone British South African statesman (d. June 23 1893)
- February 19 - King William III of the Netherlands (d. 1890)
- February 22 - Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician (d. 1880)
- March 6 - Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France and mother of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1907)
- March 22 - Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (d. 1876)
- May 15 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (d. 1905)
- June 30 - Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist (d. 1911)
- July 12 - Henry David Thoreau, American philosopher (d. 1862)
- July 24 - Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1905)
- August 3 - Archduke Albert, Austrian general (d. 1895)
- August 24 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1875)
- November 3 - Leonard Jerome, American entrepreneur and grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1891)
- November 12 - Bahá'u'lláh, Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1894)
- November 17 - Benjamin Champney, Founder of the White Mountain school of painters (d. 1907)
- November 30 - Theodor Mommsen, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1903)

Deaths


- January 12 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
- January 16 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier (b. 1759)
- April 4 - André Masséna, French marshal (b. 1758)
- June 24 - Thomas McKean, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1734)
- July 14 - Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, French writer (b. 1766)
- July 18 - Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)

Literature


- Samuel Taylor Coleridge publishes Biographia Literaria Category:1817 ko:1817년 ms:1817 simple:1817

John Jay

John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat and jurist. Jay served in the Continental Congress, and was elected President of that body in 1778. During and after the difficult and dangerous years of the American Revolutionary War, he was an ambassador to Spain and France, helping to fashion American foreign policy and to secure favorable peace terms from the British and French. He cowrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. He served on the U.S. Supreme Court as the first, as well as the youngest, Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1794.

Early life

John Jay, one of the nation's "founding fathers", was born on December 12, 1745 to a prominent and wealthy family of merchants in New York City in the Province of New York, who were descended from French Huguenot stock. The young Jay attended King's College, later renamed Columbia University, and then began the practice of law in 1768 as one of early New York City's first few licensed lawyers with his relative by marriage, Robert Livingston. Building up a successful and profitable law practice, Jay also engaged in land speculation with his profits, until the law practice was virtually shut down by the British Stamp Act and the colonial boycott. With little or nothing to do, Jay took a "vacation" from watching over the law practice, and went riding in the countryside for a few months. This short, peaceful interlude was interrupted by Jay's first public role as secretary to the New York committee of correspondence, where Jay represented the conservative faction that was interested in protecting property rights and in preserving the rule of law and that feared the growing prospect of "mob rule" during the increasingly turbulent and agitated colonial period which led up to the Revolutionary War. However, in the next two years Jay became first a moderate, and then an ardent patriot, once he realized that all the colony's efforts at reconciliation with the "home-country" of England were fruitless, and that revolution and independence were inevitable and necessary.

Roles in the American Revolution

Having established a reputation as a "reasonable moderate" in New York, Jay was elected to serve as delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses which debated whether the colonies should declare independence from Britain. Jay's views became more radical as events unfolded; he became an ardent patriot and was influential in moving New York towards independence. Jay did not attend the Continental Congress as it debated the Declaration of Independence, believing himself to be more badly-needed back in New York. There he was quite busy:
- He served in the New York legislature.
- He served on the committee of correspondence which was attempting to coordinate the rebellious activities of the various colonial states with the actual fighting in Massachusetts.
- He served on the committee of observation in logistics. The committee of observation was active in gathering intelligence on British actions and in counter-intelligence about 'loyalist' activities.
- He set up separate legal and financial organizations to counter the British.
- He watched over his own family while his father was very sick. Once he returned to the Continental Congress, Jay was sufficiently respected to be chosen its (youngest) President from December 10, 1778 to September 27, 1779. Jay then became one of the most important diplomats of the Revolutionary crisis as minister plenipotentiary to Spain, and as peace commissioner (in which he negotiated treaties with Spain and France). In many ways, John Jay played an indispensable role as an American patriot during the Revolutionary War and afterwards. As one of the most scholarly and dedicated of the "founders" of the United States, he was perhaps as instrumental in "winning the peace" as George Washington was in winning the War.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

In 1784, Jay was named by Congress as the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs, an office which would later become known as the Secretary of State. Jay ably filled this role until the Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789. Jay sought to establish a strong and durable American foreign policy: to seek the recognition of the young independent nation by powerful and established foreign European powers; to establish a stable American currency and credit supported at first by financial loans from European banks; to pay back America's creditors and to quickly pay off the country's heavy War-debt; to secure the infant nation's territorial boundaries under the most-advantageous terms possible and against possible incursions by the Indians, Spanish, the French and the English; to solve regional difficulties among the colonies themselves; to secure Newfoundland fishing rights; to establish a robust maritime trade for American goods with new economic trading partners; to protect American trading vessels against piracy; to preserve America's reputation at home and abroad; and to "hold the country together" politically under the fledgling Articles of Confederation. In short, Jay had a large area of responsibility. Jay's heavy responsibility was not, however, matched by a commensurate level of authority, which helped to convince Jay that the national government under the Articles of Confederation was unworkable. Thus, Jay joined Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in attacking the Articles. Jay argued in his [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/bdsdcc.c0501 Address to the People of the State of New-York, on the Subject of the Federal Constitution] that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and ineffective a form of government. He contended that:
[The Congress under the Articles of Confederation] may make war, but are not empowered to raise men or money to carry it on—they may make peace, but without power to see the terms of it observed—they may form alliances, but without ability to comply with the stipulations on their part—they may enter into treaties of commerce, but without power to inforce them at home or abroad…—In short, they may consult, and deliberate, and recommend, and make requisitions, and they who please may regard them.
Jay did not attend the Constitutional Convention, but he joined Hamilton and Madison in aggressively arguing in favor of the creation of a new and more powerful, centralized, but nonetheless balanced system of government. Writing under the shared pseudonym of "Publius", they articulated this vision in the Federalist Papers, a series of eighty-five articles, written to persuade the citizenry to ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States. Jay wrote five of these articles:
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed02.htm Federalist #2 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed03.htm Federalist #3 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued)]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed04.htm Federalist #4 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued)]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed05.htm Federalist #5 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued)]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed64.htm Federalist #64 The Powers of the Senate]

Chief Justice

In 1789, George Washington nominated Jay as the first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay's most notable case was Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), in which Jay and the court affirmed the subordination of the states to the federal government. Unfavorable reaction to the decision led to adoption of the Eleventh Amendment which denied federal courts authority in suits by citizens against a state. In 1794, Washington sent Jay as a special envoy to Great Britain to negotiate a new treaty and thereby avert war. The treaty he returned with was known as the Jay Treaty. Jay thought, and Washington agreed, that it was the best treaty he could negotiate, and it was signed by Washington and ratified by the Senate (albeit with reservations and amendments). Nonetheless, unfavorable reaction to the treaty made Jay so unpopular that he once commented that he could travel from Boston to Philadelphia solely by the light of his burning effigies. It certainly ruined Jay's chances for the presidency.

Governor of New York

While in Britain, he was elected governor of New York State. He resigned from the Court, and served as governor of New York until 1800. President John Adams then renominated him to the court; the Senate quickly confirmed him, but he declined, citing his own poor health and the court's lack of "the energy, weight, and dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national government." Despite winning a second term in 1802, Jay declined and retired to the life of a gentleman farmer in Westchester County, New York. His home and part of his farm is operated as a museum by the New York State Parks, and is located on NY state route 22 near Bedford. John Jay died at home on May 15, 1829. He was buried in a family plot on his son Peter's farm in Rye, New York. This home today is a part of the Jay Heritage Center, located at 210 Boston Post Road in Rye. It is also open as a museum. The Town of Jay, New York and Jay County, Indiana are named after him. The John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of the City University of New York is also named after him.

Quotes


- "The people who own the country ought to govern it." (reportedly "one of his favorite maxims")[http://www.bartleby.com/73/764.html]
- "No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent."
- "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."
- "Only one adequate plan has ever appeared in the world, and that is the Christian dispensation"

Trivia


- Starting with Thomas McKean in 1781, the presiding officer of Congress was sometimes referred to as "President of the United States" in official documents. Since Jay was the youngest presiding officer of the Continental Congress, he could therefore be said to be the youngest "President of the United States" in American history, although Jay himself was never referred to by that title.

External links


-
- Parts of this article were incorporated from the public domain source [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec12.html Today in History: December 12] on the Library of Congress's American Memory website.

References


-
- Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John Jay, John



List of people known as the father or mother of something

The following tables list men and women described as "father" or "mother" of something. Note however that this does not always mean they invented, discovered or originated it. People considered "fathers" or "mothers" of nations are listed at Father and Mother of the Nation.

A

B

¹ Resolution 269 of the Congress of the United States, dated June 112002, recognises Antonio Meucci as the original inventor of the telephone.

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also


- Father of the Nation
- Founding Fathers
- Mother of the Nation Category:Lists of people "father" or "mother" of something, List of people known as

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was later ratified by special conventions in each of the original thirteen states. It created a federal union of sovereign states, and a federal government to operate that union. It replaced the less defined union that had existed under the Articles of Confederation. It took effect in 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of numerous other nations. nations] nations nations nations

History

During the Revolutionary War, the thirteen states first formed a very weak central government—with the Congress being its only component—under the Articles of Confederation. Congress lacked any power to impose taxes, and, because there was no national executive or judiciary, relied on state authorities (who were often uncooperative) to enforce all of its acts. It also had no authority to override tax laws and tariffs between states. The Articles required unanimous consent from all the states before they could be amended and states took the central government so lightly that their representatives were often absent. For lack of a quorum, Congress was frequently blocked from making even moderate changes. In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states (Rhode Island being the only exception) accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect. These actions were criticized by some as exceeding the convention's mandate and existing law. However, Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation government, unanimously agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite what some perceived as the exceeded terms of reference. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia, and the new government it prescribed came into existence on March 4, 1789, after fierce fights over ratification in many of the states. The original transcribed copy of the Constitution is on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. For a list of those who signed the Constitution, see List of signatories of the United States Constitution.

The Constitution

The U.S. Constitution styles itself the "supreme law of the land." Courts have interpreted this phrase to mean that when laws (including state constitutions) that have been passed by state legislatures, or by the (national) U.S. Congress, are found to conflict with the federal constitution, these laws are ultra vires and have no effect. Decisions by the Supreme Court over the course of two centuries have repeatedly confirmed and strengthened the doctrine of Constitutional supremacy, or the supremacy clause. supremacy clause The Constitution guarantees the legitimacy of the American state by invoking the Am