Democracy, Liberty, and Property

by Peterson, Merrill D.; Tarr, G. Alan

• ISBN13: 9780865977891
• ISBN10: 0865977895
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-30
• Publisher: Liberty Fund

Summary

In one volume, "Democracy, Liberty & Property" provides an overview of the state constitutional conventions held in the 1820s. With topics as relevant today as they were then, this collection of essential primary sources sheds light on many of the enduring issues of liberty. Emphasising the connection between federalism and liberty, the debates that took place at these conventions show how questions of liberty were central to the formation of state government, allowing students and scholars to discover important insights into liberty and to develop a better understanding of U.S. history. The debates excerpted in Democracy, Liberty, and Property focus on the conventions of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, and they include contributions from the principal statesmen of the founding era, including John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Marshall.

Author Biography

Merrill D. Peterson (1921-2009) was Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Virginia and a noted Jeffersonian scholar. G. Alan Tarr is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University-Camden.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Liberty Fund Edition, with Suggested Further Reading	p. ix
General Introduction	p. xxi
Selected Bibliography	p. xxv
Editor's Note	p. xxix
The Massachusetts Convention of 1820-1821
Introduction	p. 3
Chronology	p. 17
The Test Oath	p. 19
The Third Article	p. 30
The "Poll Parish"	p. 45
Tax Exemption	p. 49
The Suffrage	p. 55
The Basis of Representation	p. 62
Joseph Story on Representation	p. 71
Daniel Webster on Representation	p. 83
"Address to the People"	p. 97
Tables
Massachusetts Counties in Relation to Legislative Representation	p. 107
The Division of the Vote by Counties on Two Questions in the Massachusetts Convention	p. 108
Statement of the Votes for and against the Articles of Amendment, in the Several Counties	p. 110
The New York Convention of 1821
Introduction	p. 115
Chronology	p. 131
The Council of Revision and the Veto Power	p. 133
The Term of the Governor	p. 149
The Appointive Power	p. 157
The Senate and the Suffrage	p. 169
The Negro and the Suffrage	p. 192
Blasphemy and Libel	p. 208
Reform of the Judiciary	p. 222
Tables
The Vote by Districts on the Convention Bill, Suffrage, and Judicial Reform, and the Revised Constitution, in the New York Convention	p. 238
The Vote of Radicals and Conservatives on Selected Questions in the New York Convention	p. 239
The Virginia Convention of 1829-1830
Introduction	p. 243
Chronology	p. 257
Representation
Cooke on Democratic Representation	p. 259
Upshur on Majorities and Minorities	p. 275
Doddridge in Rebuttal	p. 295
Leigh on Power and Property	p. 300
Randolph on the Federal Issue	p. 312
Marshall on Compromise	p. 320
Summers on the Gordon Plan	p. 324
Gordon on the Gordon Plan	p. 330
The Suffrage
The Non-Freeholders'Memorial	p. 336
The Freehold Suffrage Defended	p. 344
The Reformers' Rebuttal	p. 351
Structure and Change
The Executive	p. 363
The County Courts	p. 373
The Amendment Article	p. 383
The Question of Ratification	p. 388
Tables
Population and Representation in Virginia by Districts, 1820-1830, and the Vote on Ratification of the Constitution of 1830	p. 393
The Sectional Division on Selected Questions in the Virginia Convention	p. 394
Index	p. 397
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