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Society of Cincinnati

The Society began as the brainchild of Major General Henry Knox. Supported by George Washington, Knox initiated the Society and helped draft the Institution upon which it is based. The basis for the creation of the Society of the Cincinnati was to provide a means of ongoing fellowship for the officers of the Continental Army, and to develop charitable funds to assist the families of original members. The Society also acted on behalf of the Army's officers in an effort to secure military pensions for surviving Revolutionary War veterans. The structure of the Society is multi-faceted, with significant authority residing within the individual State societies, of which there are thirteen, as well as a French society. The leading officers of the Continental Army established the General Society of the Cincinnati, and representatives from each State line in 1783. The organizational meetings were held at the Verplank House in Fishkill, New York; home of Major General Baron von Steuben, who also presided over the first meetings. The Society was founded in May 1783. George Washington served as the first President General of the Society of the Cincinnati from December 1783, until his death in 1799. His advocacy of the Society's interests, as well as the sheer strength of his reputation, helped establish the Society of the Cincinnati during its formative years; a time when some opposition to the Society existed. Washington's leadership stabilized and guided the Society of the Cincinnati as President General for the first sixteen years of its existence.

 

 

Roger Sherman addressed the nettlesome issues of representation and slavery by offering what came to be known as the Connecticut Compromise (or Great Compromise). It provided:

· The upper house (Senate) would have equal representation and be elected by the lower house

· The lower house (House of Representatives) would be subject to proportional representation

· The Three-Fifths Compromise: For purposes of determining the number of representatives in the House, every five slaves would be counted as three. (This did not confer the vote on slaves; it was simply a formula for determining representation in the House of Representatives.) Final wording in the Constitution referred to “all other persons†and the words slave and slavery do not appear; this same population computation would also be used for determining taxation.

· All proposed legislation having to do with raising money would originate in the House of Representatives.

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides for the Electoral College to be the device for electing the president and vice president. Each state was entitled to the number of electors equal to the sum of its senators plus its representatives. At the time of voting, each elector was to cast two ballots, supposedly selecting the two most qualified candidates. No distinction was to be made between the offices of president and vice president, but the candidate with the highest number of votes (if a majority) was to assume the former office and the runner-up the latter.

In case of a tie or plurality, a disputed election was to be submitted to the House of Representatives, where each state would cast a single vote.

The states were responsible for determining how to select the electors. Some states used popular elections, while others turned the task over to the state legislatures.

The idea of using the Electoral College was favored by the framers of the Constitution as a means of avoiding direct election, which was feared by many as too democratic.

The Ordinance of 1785 was landmark legislation. By preparing this means for selling Western lands, the government introduced a system that would remain the foundation of U.S. public land policy until the enactment of the Homestead Act of 1862. Modifications, however, would occur over the years as it became apparent that $640 was more than many could afford and, similarly, that 640 acres was too large for most family farms. Future legislation would keep the basic system intact, but reduce the minimum acreage requirement.

 

The Three-Fifths Compromise purpose was to determine the number of representatives in the House, to have equal representation in a way. Every five slaves would be counted as three. (This did not confer the vote on slaves; it was simply a formula for determining representation in the House of Representatives.) Final wording in the Constitution referred to “all other persons†and the words slave and slavery do not appear; this same population computation would also be used for determining taxation.

In 1787, the Articles of Confederation Congress enacted a law that clearly indicated the western lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River would be settled and become states on a par with existing ones.

The ordinance provided that:

· No fewer than three, or more than five, states would be formed

· Admission to the Union would be available when the number of free inhabitants reached 60,000

· Civil rights and liberties be guaranteed

· Education be encouraged

· Slavery and involuntary servitude be prohibited.

The impact of this legislation was significant in several ways:

· The ordinance spurred the westward movement of American settlers

· It overturned the colonial idea that newly settled lands would be subservient to established areas

· It established the format for American land policy for years to come

· The law provided the first national limitation upon the expansion of slavery.

A wave of farm foreclosures in western Massachusetts swept the young republic to its first episode in class struggle. Demonstrators and rioters protested high taxation, the governor's high salary, high court costs and the assembly's refusal to issue paper money (an inflationary measure highly favored by the debtor class). Opposition had coalesced around Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran, who headed an “army†of 1,000 men. They marched first for Worcester where they closed down the commonwealth's supreme court, then turned west to Springfield where they broke into the jail to free imprisoned debtors. The barns of some government officials were burned. Wealthy Bostonians, who feared the rebellion in the west, contributed money for soldiers under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln.

The Federalists were originally those forces in favor of the ratification of the Constitution and were typified by:

 

· A desire to establish a strong central government (unlike that which existed under the Articles of Confederation)

· A corresponding desire for weaker state governments

· The support of many large landowners, judges, lawyers, leading clergymen and merchants

· The support of creditor elements who felt that a strong central government would give protection to public and private credit.

The term "Federalist" was later applied to the emerging political faction headed by Alexander Hamilton in George Washington's administration.