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A Constitutional History
of the United States
VOU ME From the fouNDINGTO 1890
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MELVIN UKOFSKY FINKELMAN
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A
March of Liberty
A
March
Liberty
of
A CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY
OF THE UNITED STATES
Volume From the Founding to 1890
I:
Second Edition
Melvin Urofsky
I.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Paul Finkelman
University ofTulsa College ofLaw
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
2002
Oxford UniversityPress
Oxford NewYork
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Copyright©2002byOxford UniversityPress, Inc.
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http://www.oup-usa.org
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Urofsky, Melvin I.
A marchoflibe—rty : a constitutionalhistoryofthe United States / MelvinI. Urofsky,
Paul Finkelman. 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographical references and in—dex.
Contents: v. 1. From the founding to 1890 v. 2. From 1877to thepresent.
ISBN 0-19-512634-3 (v. 1 : cloth)—ISBN0-19-512635-1 (v. 1 : pbk.)—ISBN
0-19-512636-X (v. 2 : cloth—)—ISBN0-19-512637-8 (v. 2 : pbk)
1. Constitutionalhistory United States. I. Finkelman, Paul, 1949-11. Title.
KF4541.U762002
342.73'029—dc21 2001037041
Printingnumber: 987654321
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
on acid-free paper
1
—
For Susan and Byrgen yet again
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O
no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.
SHAKESPEARE, SONNET CXVI
Contents
Preface xiii
FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW
1. 1
Magna Carta and the Rule ofLaw, 7 The Common Law Enthroned, 4 Or-
ganizing for Settlement, 4 The Merchant Colonies: Virginia and Massachu-
setts, 7 The Compact Colonies, 10 The Proprietary Colonies, 77 Growth
of Legislative Dominance, 12 The English Revolutions and the Dominion
of New England, 13 For Further Reading, 75
2. LAW IN COLONIAL AMERICA 17
Settler and Indian Views of Land, 18 Simplifying Property Law, 19
Personal Status: Women, 21 Personal Status: Laborers, 23 Personal Status:
Slaves,24 Religion,26 CriminalLaw,29 LawyersandPractice,30 The
Privy Council and Imperial Courts, 32 Witchcraft and Press Freedom,
34 For Further Reading, 37
THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
3. 39
The Mercantile System, 39 Colonial Governments, 41 Writs of
Assistance, 43 The Parsons Cause and the Two Penny Act, 44 Colonial
Constitutional Thought, 45 Republican Ideology, 47 The British View,
48 The Stamp Act and the Colonial Response, 49 The Townshend
Duties, 57 Tea and the Coercive Acts, 53 The First Continental
Congress, 54 Parting of the Ways, 56 The Declaration of Independence,
57 Conclusion, 58 For Further Reading, 59
THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA
4. 61
Congress Governs, 61 The Articles ofConfederation, 63 New State Gov-
ernments, 65 Conservatives and Radicals, 68 State Constitutions, 69
vii
CONTENTS
viii
Religious Freedom, 71 Slavery, 73 Judicial Review and the Success and
Failure of State Constitutions in the Revolutionary Era, 74 The Common
Law Survives, 74 Blackstone'sInfluence, 75 Conclusion, 77 ForFurther
Reading, 77
5. THE CRISIS OF CONFEDERATION 80
Defects of the Articles, 81 A Government Without Energy, 83 Western
Land Policy, 86 Northwest Ordinance, 87 Shays's Rebellion, 88
Madison and the Annapolis Convention, 90 Toward the Philadelphia
Convention, 91 For Further Reading, 91
A MORE PERFECT UNION
6. 93
The Philadelphia Convention, 94 Representation and the Structure of
Government, 96 Slavery and Representation, 98 The Executive Branch, 100
The Judicial Branch, 101 The Powers of the New Government, 102
Regulating Commerce, 103 Concluding the Convention, 105 The
Constitution and Federalism, 106 Checks and Balances, 108 The Debate
over Ratification, 109 Federalists and Antifederalists, 113 Ratification, 115
Conclusion: TheConstitutionandDemocracy, 116 ForFurtherReading, 117
LAUNCHING THE GREAT EXPERIMENT
7. 120
Washington Takes Office, 120 The Bill of Rights, 123 The Government
TakesShape, 128 RaisingaRevenue,128 Hamilton'sFinancialProgram,130
The Bank of the United States, 132 The Hamilton-Jefferson Debate, 133
The Whiskey Rebellion, 135 The Slave Trade and the Fugitive Slave Law
of 1793, 136 Defining Presidential Power, 138 Presidential Conduct of
Foreign Affairs, 139 The Neutrality Proclamation, 140 Jay's Treaty, 142
Conclusion: Washington's Achievements, 144 For Further Reading, 144
8. THE SUPREME COURT: THE FIRST DECADE 147
The Federal Court of Appeals, 147 The Judiciary Act of 1789, 148 The
Process Act, 750 The Jay Court Convenes, 151 Separation ofPowers, 752
Suing States in Federal Courts, 755 Chisholm v. Georgia, 156 The
Eleventh Amendment, 758 The Debt Cases, 759 Judicial Review, 160
The Ellsworth Tenure, 762 Circuit Duties, 762 Conclusion, 764 For
Further Reading, 164
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE LAW
9. 165
Changes in the Common Law, 765 Criminal Law, 766 Property, 769
Land and Water Usage, 170 Contract, 772 Procedure, 774 Bench and
Bar, 776 Legal Literature, 777 Lower Federal Courts, 779 For Further
Reading, 180
