the Government of the United States... In times of tranquillity it might have no ill consequence,.. but in great and trying emergencies there is almost a moral certainty of its becoming mischievous. The stamping of paper is... so much easier than the laying of taxes, that a government... would rarely fail, in any such emergency, to indulge itself too far... to avoid, as much as possible, one less auspicious to present popularity...

The payment of the interest of the public debt at thirteen different places is a weighty reason, peculiar to our immediate situation, for desiring a bank circulation...

Assuming it, then, as a consequence, from what has been said, that a national bank is a desirable institution, . . what are the principles upon which one ought to be established?..

The situation of the United States naturally inspires a wish that the form of the institution could admit of a plurality of branches. But various considerations discourage from pursuing this idea... The most that would seem advisable, on this point, is to insert a provision which may lead to it hereafter, if experience shall more clearly demonstrate its utility, and satisfy those who may have the direction, that it may be adopted with safety...

Another wish, dictated by the particular situation of the country, is, that the bank could be so constituted as to be made an immediate instrument of loans to the proprietors of land; but this wish also yields. to the difficulty of accomplishing it. Land is, alone, an unfit fund for a bank circulation... To attach full confidence to an institution of this nature, it appears to be an essential ingredient in its structure, that it shall be under a private not a public direction — under the guidance of individual interest, not of public policy; which would be supposed to be, and, in certain emergencies, under a feeble or too sanguine administration, would really be, liable to being too much influenced by public necessity...

It will not follow, from what has been said, that the state may not be the holder of a part of the stock of a bank, and consequently a sharer in the profits of it...

There is one thing however, which the government owes to itself and the community—at least, to all that part of it who are not stockholders — which is, to reserve to itself a right of ascertaining, as often as may be necessary, the state of the bank; excluding, however, all pretension to control... the following plan, for the constitution of a national bank, is respectfully submitted to the consideration of the House.

1. The capital stock of the bank shall not exceed ten millions of dollars, divided into twenty-five thousand shares, each share being four hundred dollars...

2. The amount of each share shall be payable, one-fourth in gold and silver coin, and three fourths in that part of the public debt which ... shall bear ... interest... of six per centum per annum.

3. The respective sums subscribed shall be payable in four equal parts... at the distance of six calendar months from each other; the first payment to be made at the time of subscription...

4. The subscribers to the bank, and their successors, shall be incorporated...

5. The capacity of the corporation to hold real and personal estate shall be limited to fifteen millions of dollars, including the amount of its capital, or original stock...

6. The totality of the debts of the company... shall never exceed the amount of its capital stock. In case of excess, the directors, under whose administration it shall happen, shall be liable for it in their private or separate capacities...

7. The company... shall trade in nothing except bills of exchange, gold and silver bullion, or in the sale of goods pledged for money lent; nor shall take more than at the rate of six per centum per annum, upon its loans or discounts.

8. No loan shall be made by the bank for the use, or on account, of the Government of the United States, or of either of them, to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, or of any foreign prince or state, unless previously authorized by a law of the United States.

9. The stock of the bank shall be transferable...

10. The affairs of the bank shall be under the management of twenty-five directors, one of whom shall be the president; and there shall be, on the first Monday of January, in each year, a choice of directors, by a plurality of suffrages of the stockholders, to serve for a year. The directors, at their first meeting after each election, shall choose one of their number as president...

24. And lastly, the President of the United States shall be authorized to cause a subscription to be made to the stock of the said company, on behalf of the United States, to an amount not exceeding two millions of dollars...

All which is humbly submitted.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Secretary of the Treasury.

68. THE FIRST TEN AMENDMENTS

One of the criticisms leveled at the Constitution of the United States was the lack of a bill of rights. To meet this criticism, a series of amendments was proposed at the first session of Congress, ten of which were finally adopted by the states and went into effect November 3,

1791.

Public Statutes at Large of the United States, Vol. 1, pp. 21–22.

ART. I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

ART. II. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

ART. III. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

ART. IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

ART. V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.

ART. VI. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district. shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

ART. VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law. ART. VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

ART. IX. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. ART. X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people.

69. PROCLAMATION OF NEUTRALITY, 1793

When news reached the United States of the outbreak of war between France and Great Britain, Washington, by advice of his cabinet, issued the following proclamation of neutrality.

American State Papers, Foreign Relations, Vol. 1, p. 140. Washington, 1833.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS it appears that a state of war exists between Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, and the United Netherlands, of the one part, and France on the other; and the duty and interest of the United States require, that they should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers:

I have therefore thought fit by these presents to declare the disposition of the United States to observe the conduct aforesaid towards those Powers respectively; and to exhort and warn the citizens of the United States carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever, which may in any manner tend to contravene such disposition.

And I do hereby also make known, that whosoever of the citizens of the United States shall render himself liable to punishment or forfeiture under the law of nations, by committing, aiding, or abetting hostilities against any of the said Powers, or by carrying to any of them those articles which are deemed contraband by the modern usage of nations, will not receive the protection of the United States, against such punishment or forfeiture; and further, that I have given instructions to those officers, to whom it belongs, to cause prosecutions

to be instituted against all persons, who shall, within the cognizance of the courts of the United States, violate the law of nations, with respect to the Powers at war, or any of them.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Philadelphia, the twenty-second day of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the seventeenth.

By the President:
TH. JEFFERSON.

GEO. WASHINGTON.

70. JAY'S TREATY, 1794

British aggressions on American commerce and the critical relations of the two powers on the northwest frontier, where Great Britain still maintained military posts within the bounds of the United States, had brought the nations to the verge of war. On April 16, 1794, the President appointed John Jay to undertake negotiations with Great Britain in settlement of all difficulties. The settlement in Jay's treaty was a most unfavorable one. All that Jay secured for his country was the evacuation of the western posts by Great Britain. The Twelfth Article by which Great Britain offered to reopen the coveted trade with her West India colonies, was accomplished with such humiliating restrictions on American commerce that the Senate refused to ratify the article which, therefore, never went into effect.

Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, Vol. 8, pp. 117-129.

ARTICLE I.

THERE shall be a firm, inviolable and universal peace, and a true and sincere friendship between his Britannic Majesty, his heirs and successors, and the United States of America...

ARTICLE II.

His Majesty will withdraw all his troops and garrisons from all posts and places within the boundary lines assigned by the treaty of peace to the United States. This evacuation shall take place on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six...