An introduction to the main themes of the American Constitution—popular sovereignty, separation of powers, federalism, and rights.
America's First Officer, Part 2
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America's Written Constitution
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America's First Officer
In this module you'll find out what about George Washington made him so uniquely qualified for the task of being our nation's first president. Learn how his actions before, during, and after his time in office set precedents which are still followed today.
Conoce a los instructores
Akhil Reed AmarSterling Professor of Law and Political Science
Yale Law School
Welcome back.
This lecture continues our conversation about Article II
of the Constitution, which focuses on America's presidency.
It corresponds to chapter four of the book America's Constitution: A Biography, which
is our, our guidebook for this walking tour through the written Constitution.
In our last session we talked about how the presidency is vastly
more powerful than anything that had existed
under the Articles of Confederation at the federal
level, and frankly, also vastly more powerful
than anything that existed In the 13 States
most State Governments pick their Chief Executive by the Legislator but in America
the Presidentcy is going to have an independent base of power he's not
picked by the Legislator and 10 of the 13 States the Governor has
a 1 year term this President is going to have a 4 year term.
He's going to be per, most states don't
allow, or many states don't allow, perpetual re-eligibility.
This president is going to be perpetually re-eligible.
Only one of the 13 states New York, has a multi-year term
and perpetual re-eligibility, and so, that's
a three-year term for their governorship.
The presidency is going to be even more powerful at four.
Only one of the states, Massachusetts, Gives the governor, and the governor
alone, a, a veto pin the, the constitution is going to give the president the
veto pin.
And so it's going to combine, in certain ways,
the elements of the two strongest state governorships the.
New York governorship three year term, perpetual re-eligibility.
The Massachusetts governorship, a pardon, a veto pen in his own hand.
And it's going to add all sorts of additional exectuvie
powers to, to this supremely powerful new office being created.
An office To repeat, vastly more powerful than any
state governor, yet much more constrained than an English monarch.
And we’ll talk about those constraints as, as well.
Let’s talk just a bit about what the rules are for who can become president.
So let’s start with the property qualifications.
That's right.
None.
Zero. That's an important number.
We've been talking about numbers.
Zero are the property qualifications to be President.
A person can be elected President even if He's not eligible to be state governor.
And indeed, every state that has a governorship.
Pennsylvania has a kind of a rotating executive council.
But every state that has a single person
as governor has considerable property qualifications for that office.
And of course in England to be the, the chief executive
you have to, be basically the wealthiest person in England, the monarchy.
But, zero property qualifications for the presidency.
A radically democratic vision. Let's talk about religious qualifications.
In England you need to be the head of the state, the defender of the faith.
In America, there are no religious qualifications for the presidency,
and indeed a later provision in the Constitution say, says.
That,
the, in article six, there will be no religious tests for any federal office.
This too, it's a dramatic contrast, not just with the rules in England at the
time, but in the 13 states, only one state, basically,
has gotten rid of all religous qualifications, that's Virginia, and
The vast number of, of state constitutions, religious qualifications,
religious tests, are not just permitted, they are built into the state constitution
itself in about ten of the states. So remarkable openness.
To towns.
Now, the people will get to decide whom they choose, whom they have the most
confidence in, no property qualifications, no religious qualifications.
Now,
there is that thought, that you have, that, that rule in
Article Two, that a President must be a natural born citizen.
Which means that he has to be a citizen on of the day of his birth.
He could have been born abroad, John McCain
for example was born in Panama canal zone.
Mitt Romney's father George Romney who ran for president was born in Mexico,
but they were citizens on the day of their birth and therefore eligible.
And you may thing well
that's kind of a real restriction on, on democracy.
But in fact, and, and, and it may
reflect some anti-immigrant sentiment, but let's remember some things.
First of all Everyone who was already an American citizen, whether foreign born
or not at the time of the Constitution, was eligible to be president.
Alexander Hamilton was born outside the United States,
not born, you know, in effect, a citizen of
the United States, but he was eligible to be president.
James Wilson, we talked about him from
Scotland born in Scotland, he's eligibly present.
Anyone who's proved their loyalty to the American system,
by being here in the American Revolution, is eligible.
They grandfather all those folks in and, and, far from being
anti immigrant, they're very pro immigrant.
Seven of the 39 people who draft
the Constitution at Philadelphia are foreign born.
Vast numbers of foreign born people participate in the
act of ordainment and establishment that result in the constitution.
A third of the early Supreme Court
justices are foreign born, including James Wilson,
four of the first six Secretaries of
the Treasury including Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin
are, are foreign-born.
Roughly a tenth of the first Congress is foreign-born.
Now remember, if you're a naturalized American
who comes later to the United States
after being born under some other flag, you are eligible to be in the House.
And the senate.
And the judiciary. That's not true in England.
In England, foreign born people are basically perpetually ineligible to
be a member of House of Commons or House of
Lords or Privy Council or hold any
important position of honor, trust or profit.
But America's Constitution is open to a very broad range of immigrants.
In part for national security reasons we want folks,
talented people, the Framers did, to come from abroad
and add their strength to the American projects, to
add Their skills and their talents, their their military capacity.
We want
them to come here by western land and and help us in
the next war, which we hope doesn't happen that we fear might.
And so, it's a quite actually a pro-immigration document.
So why this special rule about the presidency?
And I think the idea was ultimately It was a democratic idea in part.
They were concerned that a foreign earl or duke
might come over with a boatload of gold and
buy a presidential election, because there weren't campaign finance rules in place.
They associated foreign-born Chiefs of State with monarchy.
George the First was born outside of England.
George II was born outside of England.
Neither of them spoke English.
So Americans tend to associate foreign born
heads of state with monarchy and aristocracy.
So they were worried Maybe some foreign aristocrat,
the second or third son of Geoge III or something like that.
The Bishop of [UNKNOWN] was going to come over with a huge possie, a
retinue of people, boatload of gold, and try to buy himself an election.
So they created a specific rule and grandfathered in all the loyal
Americans...whether foreign born or American born
who were here during the American Revolution.
the Alexander Hamilton's of the world. The James Wilsons of
the world.
So, so we talked about, no property qualifications.
We talked about no religious qualifications.
The natural born citizen requirement is actually
a egalitarian idea, an anti-aristocracy, anti-monarchy idea.
What about this idea that a president has to be 35?
Isn't that a restriction on the peoples ability to choose
the most virtuous person, isn't that anti-democratic?
Well not quite.
Because the spirit there was actually pro-egalitarian.
Who could get themselves elected president at the age of 33?
What kind of person would have the name recognition to do that.
Now note that they are not thinking about any specific indivudual.
This wasn't.
An effort to try to keep Alexander Hamilton out of the presidency immediately
cause he's only 33.
Everyone understands to repeat that George Washington is
going to be our first president if Virginia says yes.
And he's going to continue to be president as long as he's willing to serve.
So, it's not trying to exclude who's currently
31 or 32 when the Constitution is being considered.
But there is a concern, more generally, about a certain kind
of person that famous son of a famous father.
That's the kind of person who could get himself
elected president, and possibly at the age of a 30,
or 32, or 33, Who is the Prime Minister of
England that they're coming up with this rule, these rules?
The answer is, William Pitt the younger.
Whose daddy was Prime Minister, William Pitt the elder.
And the congress likes
his daddy, Pittsburg is named after William Pitt the elder, but
William Pitt the younger becomes a member of parliament at age 21.
Prime Minister at age 24.
He might be good, he might be bad,
but he's getting it because of his daddy's name.
The American Constitution is trying to prevent that.
Before you can get elected president, you should
actually have a tract record of your own.
So at 35 we'll know you are.
You can have held other offices, you could have been in
the House or the Senate or State Government or something else.
You'll have a chance to show your stuff and be judged by your own merits.
It's an anti-dynastic idea.
And indeed, George Washington is picked as
first president in important respects for anti-dynastic reasons.
George Washington becomes father of his country.
Because he's
not father of his own children. And this is very well known.
Mr. Washington himself says in a, in a early version of his
first inaugural address in early draft and he cut this out because.
He was advised by Madison that it was a little too personal.
Here's what George Washington writes in, in effect and what he's saying well,
let me actually first read you the quote, and then I'll sort of translate.
"Divine providence, the good Lord, has seen, has not
seen fit, That my blood", this is Washington speaking,
"should be transmitted or my name perpetuated by the
endearing, though sometimes seducing channel, of a immediate offspring.
I have no child for whom I could wish to make a provision.
No family to build in greatness on the country's ruins No
earthly consideration beyond the hope of rendering some little service to
our parent country could have persuaded me to accept this appointment."
That's what he says in his first draft of his first inaugural address.
In other words, trust me I'm not going to try to create a throne
because I've got no one to give it to there is no George the Second.
To give power to.
And indeed of the early presidents, you see.
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington has no sons.
Thomas Jefferson has no sons, at least legitimate
ones that we know about who bear his name.
And, little Tommy, James Madison, has no sons.
James Monroe has no sons. Now John Adams you see, has a son.
And his name is Q, as in W.
And his son does become president, but only
well after he's 35 years old, he has a
track record of his own, John Quincy Adams does.
Distinguished scholar, diplomat, senator, secretary of state.
When John Adams leaves office, little Johnny Q is not even
old enough yet to, to be eligible in his own right.
I'll tell you one other, a couple of other sort of, stories.
About their, their obsession, their concern with dynasty.
Remember, these guys who framed the
Constitution are, were born American colonists.
They were breaking away from England.
In England, power descends, is transmitted dynastically you know, from
father to son or father to daughter, Henry VIII to Elizabeth.
and, and they're trying to break with that.
They've seen how even in the House of Commons so
called, power is transmitting dynastically from William Pitt the elder
to William Pitt the younger, and they're trying to.
To, to break with that and they pick Washington
in part because he is a break with dyna-, dynasty.
You can trust him because he's got no son to give a throne to.
In the election between Thomas Jefferson and, and John Adams.
Why, why is, do people think, oh Jefferson's the Democrat?
John Adams is a monarchist?
John Adams is a farmer's son.
Thomas Jefferson sits on a mountaintop, lording over hundreds
of slaves and yet he's the man of the people?
Why is that?
Well, Jefferson is actually very good at, at
political public relations but, but here's another thing.
I'll read you actually from campaign literature in the 1796 election.
Here's a Boston newspaper.
It warns that Adams, if elected, would work to install his wellborn
sons as lords of this country.
Jefferson, with daughters only, can be trusted.
Here's another campaign sheet.
Adams has sons who might aim to succeed his father.
Jefferson, like Washington, has no son.
So all of that kind of concern, anxiety, about dynasty is
kind of packed into these, these this very compact phrase, 35 years.
So it's actually a democratic, it's, it's hugely powerful, the
geo-strategic argument that we've been talking about is embodied in the
presidency, creating a muscular presidency, that's going to be able to
stand up against Kings and Emperors and Tzars around the world.
But it's also, and that's one of
our big themes, how geo-strategic the Constitution is.
How focused it is on national security.
But remember another theme is how Democratic the document is.
No property qualifications, no religious qualifications.
Presidents can actually be elected in, in some ways by the people.
I'm going to talk about that in just a minute with the Electoral College.
and, and anti-dynastic rules like the 35-year-old clause.
Anti-nobility rules, which is what the natural-born Citizen idea is, in this
essence, all about, we're going to pay him, this president so that the
people without vast amounts of wealth could be eligible to serve, just
as the paying members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Now, what about the Electoral College?
You've been taught that they came up
with an electoral college, rather than direct election,
because they didn't believe in democracy.
But I've just given you a bunch of
evidence that they really were Democrats at the founding.
And they put the constitution to a vote.
We the people of the Unites States, an unprecedentedly inclusive vote.
And they believe in direct election of governors.
And they're actually creating a presidency that will
be a model for direct election of Governors.
And they create a House of Representatives that's directly elected in a
way that wasn't true of the Congress and the Articles of Confederation.
So I don't think it's actually fair to say, oh, they, they created the electoral
congress because they really didn't believe in
democracy, because they were afraid of, of democratic
power.
So I don't think that actually explains the data.
And you've been taught, oh, the electoral college
is a balance between large states and small states.
Well, the house and the senate, that's a
balance between popular states and less popular states.
But not the electoral college, the electoral
college, the big state guy wins every time.
We've only had three small state presidents in all of American history.
Bill Clinton, Franklin Pierce and Zach, Zachary Taylor.
That's it.
Remember, for the first the first President
is from Virginia, that's the biggest state.
And then actually, Massachusetts is the next President, that's
the second or third biggest state depending on your count.
And then Virginia again with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe.
For 32 of the first 36 years, it's Virginia, which is the biggest state.
And for the other four, it's Massachusetts.
And then for the next four, it's Massachusetts, which is
the second or third biggest state, depending on how you count.
It's not a balance between
big and small states.
It's not because they didn't believe in democracy.
Here's what James Carville would tell you.
It's slavery, stupid. That's why we have an electoral college.
In a world of direct election, the South loses every time.
Because a huge proportion of its population is slave population.
So, obviously, they don't vote.
But, in the electoral college system, the South gets to count its slave
albeit at a discount, the three-fifths clause, but
still gets to count its slaves, so the three-fifths
clause is built in not just to the
house of representatives, but the electoral college as well.
And it's going to end up with the presidency that
ends up skewing very much in favor of the south.
So, Who's the big winner in this electoral college
world, it's Virginia it's a large state that gets to
count its slaves, Pennsylvania in 1800 has more free
citizens than Virginia, way more voters than Virginia in 1800.
But, Virginia has more electoral votes because Virginia gets to
count its slaves as do all the southern states three-fifths.
Our electoral college system is, basically, very much
part of the three-fifths compromise, very much a pro-slavery
accommodation constitution. If this wasn't crystal clear.
Every American, when the Constitution was being proposed, it soon
became so when 2 elections between a southerner, Thomas Jefferson, and
a northerner, John Adams, as soon as George Washington leaves the
scene And the south votes for the southerner twice, Thomas Jefferson.
And the north votes for the
northerner, John Adams, twice. New York is the swing state.
First goes for Adams in 1796 and then for, for Jefferson later on.
We're going to talk a lot about that election in later
lectures, but it was clear to all that basically this
is the South against the North, and the three-fifths clause
is playing a huge part in all, in all of that.
That's what we're going to see in later chapters.
Without three-fifths actually John Adams wins even that second election.
He loses against Jefferson in the rematch
because Jefferson is benefiting from the extra three
fifths that the southern states are getting because
three fifths is built into the electoral college.
So we have the electoral college.
For reasons of slavery, were going to come back to this again
and again, cause one question is, should we continue to have it?
If that's what it's all about.
Now, I promised at the beginning of this session, about the presidency,
that you're going to be able to see all the great themes of article two.
In this painting, 1796, is the Washington family.
Let me just identify what some of those themes are and, and you see here.
So one, the presidency it's, it's a kind of a lonely office.
The president here is not surrounded by other presidents.
Remember, in our previous chapter we saw Henry Clay.
And, he up there in the senate and there's John C.
Calhoun
and there's Daniel Webster Congress is a collective body.
Present, one person.
And he's got his family all around him.
But there's not a, a Congress of, of presidents.
And no one's quite looking directly at him.
It's a bit of a lonely office, actually.
So you see George Washington. And what's he wearing?
He's wearing his general's uniform.
You see, it's a geo-strategic and military office.
George Washington becomes the first
President in part because he commit, partly because you can trust him and I'll
tell you, because of, of, he has no heir to the throne who bears his name.
No George the second, and we're going to talk about that in a minute.
But party because he had an army under his disposal and gave it up.
He was the only guy with an army on
the continent during the Civil during the Revolutionary War and
in 1783, he hands his commission over.
He, he disbands the army, he goes to the farm.
You can trust him.
He's a general, he'll be able to protect you against the British.
You see this globe down here in the corner?
It's a geo-strategic office that's all about foreign
affairs, and he's wearing his general's uniform, but
you can trust him because he's not going to
try to stra, stage a military coup d'etat.
He, he could have done that during the American Revolution and didn't.
He's not going to be a Napoleon.
Napoleon hasn't quite emerged on the scene, but he's, he's not going to
be another, when Washington was elected, Napoleon hasn't emerged on the scene.
By the time of this, this painting, actually,
some Americans have, have begun to hear of Napoleon.
But he's not going to become a Napoleon.
A Julius Caesar's going to make himself Emperor Caesar you can trust him.
He's going to be big enough to, to go against the Brits.
It's a foreign policy office to defend us.
All the early presidents are basically, elected presidents
are basically battlefield generals or secretaries of state, so
foreign policy office John Adams was, in effect, Secretary
of State, leading diplomat in the articles of confederation.
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, James Madison, James Monroe.
All of the early elected presidents, all the way
up until Lincoln, are either secretaries of state slash
America's leading diplomat or battlefield generals like Andy Jackson.
Like William Henry Harrison.
Like Franklin Pierce.
The only elected president up til Lincoln, who is not
a leading diplomat or a battlefield general, is James K.
Polk.
So, it's a foreign policy office.
It's a militant, it, it's Commander in Chief.
It's about Geo-strategy.
We see all of that. It's lonely, here.
It's a lonely office.
We see, the lurking presence of slavery in the corner.
There's actually Billy Lee Washington's favorite slave, whom he frees.
On his death, actually.
Setting a model, a precedent as ex-president.
Trying to, to set a model for his country that,
alas, is not emulated by all the great slaveholders of Virginia.
But Washington does provide for the freeing of his slaves,
the ones that he owns at his death. And Billy Lee is one of them.
But we see kind of the presence of slavery in this early a, a presidency.
One final thing. What we see and don't see.
This is the Washington family.
And this is a step grandson, a Custis, a step granddaughter.
They do not bear the Washington name.
They do not bear his blood. They are not going to be heirs to
the throne.
In some ways the saddest feature of this, and it, there's a certain solemnity
here, but also a certain, maybe sadness is, there's an emptiness in the middle.
What's not here?
There's the rising S U N, the American empire on the rise, sort of,
as, a, a, so a rising S U N, a rising sun But no S O N, Washington
has no kids of his own. And there's sadness there.
That's what he doesn't have.
But precisely because of that, we can trust him.
We can trust him because he's a military officer.
Who could have made himself president but didn't.
Who can beat the British, we can trust him because he has no son of his own.
He has a lot of wealth and power, party because he is
a Virginian who does own slaves and marries a very wealthy Virginia widow.
So that's all part of it. But the anti-dynastic feature is here too.
Maybe the most important
part of this painting is what is not there.
Namely, an heir to the throne.
In our next sessions, we're going to talk
more about America's presidency, so stay tuned.
[MUSIC]
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