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Hamilton, after having demonstrated the utility of a power which might prevent, or which might at least impede, the promulgation of bad laws, adds: "It might perhaps be said that the power of preventing bad laws includes that of preventing good ones, and may be used to the one purpose as well as to the other.
Alexis de Tocqueville • Democracy in America, Volume I and II (Optimized for Kindle)
After starting out with 55 delegates—all of them white and male, and many affluent—the convention had suffered a high rate of attrition, with only 42 present at the end; of those, 39 signed the document. Eleven states approved the Constitution; Alexander Hamilton signed individually as the sole remaining delegate from New York. Rhode Island had
... See moreRon Chernow • Washington
Before Fortas arrived, Johnson’s roomful of attorneys had been trying to decide what was the strongest case they could present to a Circuit Court judge. Fortas was suggesting they present to that judge not the strongest case, but the weakest. Under his plan, the object was not to try to win in Circuit Court, but to lose—fast. Lyndon Johnson had two
... See moreRobert A. Caro • Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson II
Josiah Bartlett, a signatory of
Isaac Fitzgerald • Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional
Until the publication of Hamilton’s report, James Madison had been Washington’s most confidential adviser. That began to erode on February 11, 1790, when Madison rose in the House and, in a surprising volte-face, denounced the idea that speculators should benefit from Hamilton’s program. It was a stunning shot across the bow of the administration.
... See moreRon Chernow • Washington
It was Hamilton, they say, who correctly anticipated a future that would
Jon Meacham • Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
Rounding out the group were Thomas Nelson, Jr., son of the late Virginia governor, and Washington’s young nephew Robert Lewis, who had escorted his aunt Martha to New York. Among members of Congress, James Madison stood in a class by himself in his advisory capacity to Washington. When he ran for Congress, Madison had consulted Washington about how
... See moreRon Chernow • Washington
John Larson
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