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-Quote of the Day-
"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" -William Arthur Ward
Our Video of the Day:
In 1798 America's Federalists drafted the Alien and Sedition Acts to preserve the national government they had crafted and their own political power. These four laws violated rights guaranteed by the Constitution, inflated presidential power, and disenfranchised America's immigrants. Although the Federalist majority was able to enact and implement its legislative program, it could not silence the public outcry against these repressive measures or force the acceptance of its political beliefs.
The Constitution of 1787 is a sparse document. This is in part because it was conceived as a blueprint for republican government, unencumbered with procedural minutiae, and in part because the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, lacking the time to hammer out the precise powers and roles of each branch of government, left the completion of their work to Congress. The Constitution of 1787 directed Congress to create a national judicial system, to establish a "uniform rule of naturalization," and to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" to execute its enumerated powers. By restricting the Constitution to broad principles, delegates ensured its continued relevance. But the document's brevity also conferred great power on those who controlled the new national government in the 1790s—the men responsible for implementing the Constitution and filling in its gaps. Read more