President George Washington signs legislation creating the First Bank of the United States, establishing a national bank chartered for twenty years despite fierce constitutional opposition from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s proposal creates an …
Alexander HamiltonThomas JeffersonJames MadisonGeorge WashingtonU.S. Congressinstitutional-capturefinancial-systemconstitutional-conflictelite-corruptionbanking-power
Two groups of Quakers enter the House of Representatives in New York and submit petitions calling on the federal government to ban the African slave trade and take steps toward abolishing slavery. The petitions come from three organizations: the Philadelphia and New York Yearly Meetings of the …
Society of Friends (Quakers)Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of SlaveryBenjamin FranklinJames MadisonSouthern congressmen+1 moreslaveryabolition-movementcongressional-debatepetition-rightsinstitutional-corruption+1 more
The Constitutional Convention concludes its work by approving a Constitution that entrenches slavery through multiple provisions despite deliberately avoiding the word “slave” in the document. The most notorious provision is the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by delegate James Wilson …
Constitutional Convention delegates finalize the Electoral College system for selecting presidents, resolving months of contentious debate between those favoring congressional selection and those supporting direct popular vote. The compromise creates an indirect election method where each state …
Constitutional Convention delegatesJames MadisonSouthern state delegatesCommittee of Elevenelectoral-collegethree-fifths-compromiseslaveryinstitutional-corruptionconstitutional-design+1 more
On August 28, 1787, South Carolina delegates Pierce Butler and Charles Pinckney attempt unsuccessfully to include “fugitive slaves” in the Constitution’s extradition clause during Constitutional Convention debates. The following day, August 29, the South Carolina delegation …
Pierce ButlerCharles PinckneyJames MadisonSouth Carolina delegatesCommittee of Stylefugitive-slave-clauseslaveryconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionfederal-complicity+1 more
The Constitutional Convention’s Committee of Eleven, chaired by William Livingston of New Jersey, recommends prohibiting Congress from banning slave importation until 1808—initially proposing twelve years but extending to twenty years after southern delegates demand more time. This compromise, …
Committee of ElevenWilliam LivingstonJohn RutledgeCharles PinckneyRoger Sherman+2 moreslaveryslave-tradeconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionslave-power+1 more
Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania delivers a powerful moral condemnation of slavery during Constitutional Convention debates over representation, attacking the Three-Fifths Compromise and challenging southern delegates who profess little willingness to end slavery in their states. Morris declares …
Gouverneur MorrisJames MadisonSouthern state delegatesPennsylvania delegationslaveryconstitutional-conventionmoral-oppositionthree-fifths-compromiseslave-power
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention reach agreement on the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by James Wilson of Pennsylvania and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, establishing that enslaved people will be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional …
James WilsonCharles PinckneyGouverneur MorrisJames MadisonSouthern state delegates+1 morethree-fifths-compromiseslaveryinstitutional-corruptionelectoral-manipulationconstitutional-design+1 more