UIL Social Studies 24-25: Primary Documents and Letters

"Farewell Address" by George Washington (Sept. 17, 1796)

- These were the final words that the first President of the United States wanted the public and history to take from his about the general direction he thought the country was headed.

- Alexander Hamilton and James Madison helped craft the address.

- Warned Americans to avoid partisanship and factionalism that sought to divide the people based on the regions they lived in.

- He also notes the downsides of foreign relationships and entanglements.

"Letter to James McHenry" by George Washington (1798)

- Former president George Washington wrote President John Adams's Secretary of War.

- The Secretary of War was a High Federalist and served under Washington as well.

- Disusses how best to appoint officers to the Additional Army created to combat a French invasion.

- Washington distrusted supporters of the French Revolution and criticizes Democratic-Republicans as a danger to the government even as they promised to support and defend it.

"Letter to John Taylor of Caroline" by Thomas Jefferson (June 4, 1798)

- The author and future President of the United States discusses the political influence of New England compared to the South.

- He compares it to despotic "minority rule."

- Author believes the majority of Americans agree with the Democratic-Republican Party.

- Believes only the populaity of George Washington and the schemes of Alexander Hamilton have helped the Federalist Party to stay in power.

- Believes if the Federarlist Party continues in power could lead to war against England, rising taxes, and an end to the Constitution.

- Author insists that the states should stay together and that suffering through the Federalist regime was better than disunion.

"Letter to Jonathan Trumbull" by George Washington (July 1799)

- A letter from the first President of the United States to his former personal secretary.

- The author spells out his dislike for revolutionary France and for the Democratic-Republican Party in the U.S.

- States that any candidate for the Democratic-Republican Party would receive their party's loyal vote regardles of the qualifications of the Federalist candidate (even if it was a broomstick!)

- Does not wish to run for president again and will only come out of retirement at Mt. Vernon if he needed to serve in the military.

- He also fears that if he did run for office again, he would be attacked in the partisan press.

- The author would die five months after writing this letter in December 1799.

"First Inaugural Address" by Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801)

- The first inaugural address of the nation's 3rd president.

- Acknowledges the tension and friction of the Election of 1800.

- The president states that opposing him or the government is a cherished American right that should be protected and differences of politics are welcomed.

- Outlays his vision of a smaller federal government.

- Urges Americans to come together dispite political differences because of all of our shared values and the mighty resources of the country to work toward a shared prosperity.

- His political platform included shrinking the size of the federal government, paying the federal debt, encourage agriculture, safeguard freedom of information, press, and religion, and defend the Constitution.

"Letter to Senator Uriah Tracy" by John Quincy Adams (1804)

- The son of a former president wrote to Senator Uriah Tracy on how he felt many political offiicals were focused on their own lives instead of fighting for princpled causes.

- Author argues that a constitutional amendment (originally proposed by Timothy Pickering) is necessary to abolish the 3/5ths Compromise from the Constitution.

- Author argues that removing the slave compromise is required to break the "slaveholding power" that had oversized influence on government.

"A Collection of Facts and Documents, relative to the Death of Major-General Alexander Hamilton" by William Coleman (1804)

- A play-by-play documentation of a famous duel that occurred in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804.

- The duel was the long-time result of decades of political rivalry between the two New Yorkers.

- The document states that the duelists were 10 paces apart. The victor (the sitting vice-president) hit is opponent in the liver.

- The vice-president flees the scene so as not to be recognized.

- Dr. David Hosack attended the loser and recorded that he did not fire at Burr and chose to fire to the side at a tree.

"Message to Congress on the Burr Conspiracy" by Thomas Jefferson (January 22, 1807)

- President Thomas Jefferson was providing the House of Representatives with facts concerning the actions of the former Vice-President who allegedly plotted to attack Spanish territory and American territory on the western frontier.

- Despite a shortage of specifics, President Jefferson thought the former VP guilty "beyond question."

- Charges also included an attempt to invade and capture the Spanish city of New Orleans and then go into Mexico.

- The VP had already been tried in Kentucky but was found not guilty.

- Even after additional evidence and a trial in the Congress, the former vice-president was found not guilty of treason and lived the rest of his life in exile in Europe.

"The Hartford Convention and State of the War of 1812," Niles Weekly Register (January 28, 1815)

- A news story about a "New England Convention" being held by Federalists in Connecticut who were speaking out against President James Madison and the War of 1812.

- The reporter of the news story states the convention would hurt America's war effort and current peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium.

- The reporter then discusses General Andrew Jackson's chances at victory in New Orleans.

- The report ends with calls of support from soldiers and from politicians on the homefront.

- The last section appeals that "Men of Color" to join the military to fight the British.

Amendments to the Constitution Proposed by the Hartford Convention (1814)

- This document was formulated by New England Federalists in opposition to the War of 1812.

- The document opens with a resolution against any military draft issued by Congress.

- It calls for 7 amendments to the Constitution:

1. Abolish the 3/5th Compromise

2. New states admitted by a 2/3rds majority in Congress.

3. Federal trade embargoes will be capped at 60 days.

4. Federal trade embargoes need a 2/3rds majority in Congress to pass.

5. 2/3rds approval from Congress to declare an offensive war.

6. Naturalized citizens are barred from holding federal office.

7. Limit the presidency to one term and the president cannot come from the same state for two terms in a row.

- The document ends with calls for secession convention in Boston if no action is taken.

"Resquests from Congress to Support Internal Improvements" by President James Madison (1815)

- The 4th president of the United States asked Congress to fund infrastructure that would support national defense after the War of 1812.

- The president suggested that tariffs could be used to help pay for the new infrastructure projects.

- States that building canals and roads is essential in the U.S. due to its massive size.

- The president also called for the creation of a national university in Washington, D.C.

"Letter to John Holmes" by Thomas Jefferson (April 22, 1820)

- The 3rd president of the United States writes to John Holms concerning the controversy surrounding Missouri statehood.

- Author believes the proposed Missouri Compromise would only be a temporary answer.

- Suggests that expanded slavery in new territories would not increase the number of slaves and might bring about emancipation sooner than without it.

- Author believes that Congress cannot end slavery and only individual states have that power.

- Concludes by arguing the freedom won by his generation will be wasted by the divisions and sectionalism that leads to disunion and is glad he will be dead before he can see a civil war.

"Note to His Speech on the Right of Suffrage," by James Madison (1821)

- The 4th president of the United States muses on the pro's and con's of expanding universal white male suffrage.

- Stated that there are dangers in both limiting voting and to expanding voting.

- Believes that universal white male suffrage could endanger the rights of those with property if they are a minority.

- The author offers five solutions:

1. Only allow property holders to vote, but would result in violence.

2. Allow property holders to vote for one branch of governemnt and another branch be voted on only by landless citizens.

3. Allow those with property to vote for both branches and those without only for one branch.

4. If universal white male suffrage continued, create larger districts for elected officials and longer terms of office.

5. Have a focus on widespread education and understanding of how the federal government works.

- Concludes that eventual universal suffrage is the best solution because it would deny the least amount of rights to the least amount of people.

"Letter to Thomas J. Wharton," by Henry Clay (1823)

- Letter to Thomas J. Wharton from this Kentucky politician blames the spread of universal white male suffrage on the Panic of 1819 and the end of property qualifications.

- The author writes Wharton to discuss his chance of success in the upcoming Election of 1824 and sees a threat in Andrew Jackson.

- The author thought his chances at victory were good and then remarked on brief campaign for emacnipation of slaves in the Kentucky Constitution of 1799.

- He believed in gradual emancipation in Kentucky and hopefully for Missouri.

"Certificate of Citizenship by Massachusetts" issued by Ezekiel Savage for John Harris (1824)

- Article that dicusses the struggles free Black people faced concerning their rights and citizenship.

- New Orleans, Charleston, and Baltimore offered the most opportunities for free Blacks to work as skilled trade workers.

- The largest population of free Black people in any state in the North was under 4%.

- The document displays what was required of John Harris, a free Black man in Massachusetts, to have in order to avoid being taken into custody in other states as a slave.

"Letter to John McLean" by John Quincy Adams (1824)

- A letter from the 6th president of the United States to John McLean.

- In the letter, the author includes a copy of a resolution he pushed for while in the Senate in 1807 to fund internal improvements and infrastructure projects.

- The author believes whole heartedly that Congress has the right and the obligation to make such improvements.

- He compares it to a human designed without an operational heart.

"Anonymous Letter to the Columbian Observer" by George Kremer (Jan. 25, 1825)

- The author begins be claiming members of the Democratic-Republican Party are assaulting liberty and democracy.

- He accuses Henry Clay and his associaties in Congress of extracting a deal from candidate John Quincy Adams for Clay's support in the run-off election in 1824.

- Author was surprised to find that Clay did actually make a deal with the Quincy Adams team to become Secretary of State in the new administration.

- In truth, there were overtures to Henry Clay from all three candidates (Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William Crawford).

"Virginia Legislative Debate following Nat Turner's Insurrection," by Thomas R. Dew (1832)

- A chroncile of the legislative debates by a professor at William & Mary University after the deadly Nat Turner Insurrection in Southampton County, Virginia.

- Author states that internal security was forever damaged after the revolt.

- The legislature debates the possible removal of enslaved people out of the country or emancipation efforts via the federal and state governments.

South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification (November 24, 1832)

- The document begins by labeling the tariff bills passed by Congress only to protect manufacturers and their owners.

- Document believes that the tariff is an unconstitutional power and infringes on the states' right to tax.

- The Tariff of 1828 was determined to be unconstitutional within the borders of South Carolina.

- It further states that South Carolina's actions cannot be questioned in court.

-South Carolina ends by stating it will uphold these beliefs even under threat of force and lead to secession.

"Proclamation Regarding Nullification," by President Andrew Jackson (Dec. 10, 1832)

- The 7th President of the United States' response to South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification.

- The president agrees that states can fight unconstitutional laws in the courts throught the Constitution, but the Tariff of 1828 isn't one.

- He criticizes the logic of the Ordinance and that it is a slippery slope to allow individual states to nullify laws they believed were passed for the wrong reasons.

- The president then goes on to attack the "compact theory" that single states can just leave the Union as easily as they ratified the Constitution.

- The president concludes by asking South Carolinians to think for themselves and not let their elected officials lead them astry.

- The president stated that he would use all of his power as commander-in-chief to enforce the tariff.

"The Constitution is not a Compact," by Daniel Webster (1833)

- This New England congressman responded to the "Ordinance from South Carolina" that the "compact theory" was how the country operated that single states could choose to leave the Union at their discretion.

- The congressman stated that the government and Constitution gained its power from the people ("We the People...") and not the states.

- Thus, secession is not a legal option without armed revolution or civil war.

"An Address to the People of Rhode Island," by Thomas Dorr (1834)

- This address from a local Rhode Island leader urging for the state's constitution to be amended to expand suffrage to all white males and amending how representatives in state government are chosen.

- Cities in Rhode Island all had equal representation in the state legislature even though those cities differed widely in population.

"Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States," by Samuel Morse (1835)

- Document written by the inventor of the telegraph.

- Focused on the major influx of immigrants (especially Irish Catholics) and the author feared new immigrants' influence on the U.S.

- Suggests that Catholics had traveled to Italy and were told to move en masse to the U.S. to make it less democratic or even to overthrow it.

- The author also stated that there were spies in the country working towards its failure.

- The author suggests the only reason the press doesn't warn people of this international conspiracy is to not appear bigoted or nativist.

"Letters to Catherine E. Beecher," by Angelina Grimké (1838)

- This letter by a well known abolitionist and suffragette that compared the lack of rights between slaves and women.

- The author relates how women who have been fighting for the abolition of slavery have been forced to reflect on their own lack of rights.

"Appeal of 40,000 Citizens, Threatened with Disfranchisement, to the People of Pennsylvania," by Robert Purvis (March 14, 1838)

- The author of the document pleads for the expansion of voting rights for Black men.

- The author is a wealthy Black man who lost his voting rights when Pennsylvania changed its state constitution.

- The author argues that its unfair and unjust to let poor white men vote, but wealthy Black men cannot.

"The Rights of Colored Men," by William Yates (1838)

- This document was a first for the United States. It advocated for the rights of free Black people in the U.S.

- The author states that denying Black citizens the right to vote is a political denial, but denying rights of a citizenship defies human rights.

- Argues that Black people deserve the rights and perks of citizenship just as much as white citizens.

"Letter to Henry A. Muhlenberg," by James Buchanan (1840)

- The future 15th president of the United States penned a letter criticizing the Whig Party's campaign in the Election of 1840

- The Whig Party candidate William Henry Harrison employed log cabin symbols and hard cider iconography to appear like a common man.

- The Democratic Party thought President Martin Van Buren would easily win re-election, even after the disastrous Panic of 1837.

"Report from the County of Madison, NY," by Gerrit Smith (1840)

- This document details the results of the Election of 1840 and the efforts of the Liberty Party, who ran a nationwide campaign.

- The Liberty Party platform included abolition of slavery, expanding rights of free Black people, and challenging the proslavery stereotypes and culture of the South.

- The author is hopeful that the Liberty Party and its ideas will spread in popularity.

"Address to the Slaves," by Henry Highland Garnet (August 1843)

- This speech was given at teh Buffalo Anti-Slavery Convention in 1843 by a free Black abolitionist.

- It called for slaves to take direct action to end slavery.

- The author aruges that slavery is incompatable with Christianity and that slavery not only hurts the enslaved but damages the lives of the enslavers as well.

- The abolitonist stated that the struggle to end slavery will lead to death, but that is a better alternative than staying a slave.

- Does not cite specific actions slaves and supporters should take, but states that direct action is required.

"Address Delivered at Seneca Falls," by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1848)

- A speech given by a co-founder of the Seneca Falls Convention.

- The author argued for the need to add a women's suffrage resolution to the convention's declaration.

- She counters arguments against female suffrage by stating happy households only happen when both spouses are treated as equals.

"Letter to J.K. Ingalls," by Gerrit Smith (1848)

- The author of the letter describes the creation of the Free-Soil Party from members of the Liberty Party, Conscience Whigs, and antislavery Democrats.

- The author states why he won't vote for the Free-Soil Party candidate, former president Martin Van Buren, because he is not convincingly abolitonist enough.

- The author believes that the federal government has the power to end slavery under the Constitution.

"Seneca Falls Declaration," by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1848)

- The final document that was produced at the first women's rights convention in the world, held in upstate New York.

- The meeting had over 300 attendees and the document included outcries for suffrage, the right to own property and earn wages, the right to economic and educational opportunities, and social equality with men.

Amendments to the Constitution Proposed by the Hartford Convention (1814)