2J - The American Republic: the federal government and its relationships with the states
The United States in c1845 shared a constitution, a president and a national Congress, but power also belonged to individual states. Understanding that arrangement explains why disputes over slavery could become disputes over the survival of the Union.
Federal union and state powers
The American Republic was a union of states governed by a written Constitution, drafted in 1787 and operating from 1789. A republic locates legitimate government in the people and their representatives rather than a hereditary monarch. It did not follow that every inhabitant could participate: women were excluded from voting, enslaved people had no political rights, and the rights of free Black people varied and were often severely restricted.
The Constitution divided authority between the national, or federal, government and the states. Congress could levy taxes, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, declare war and provide armed forces. States retained extensive responsibility for such matters as property law, local government, schooling and voting qualifications. The Tenth Amendment reserved powers neither delegated to the United States nor prohibited to the states to the states or the people. Yet the Constitution and valid federal laws were supreme over conflicting state law. Federalism therefore combined local autonomy with obligations to the Union.
Federalism
A system in which authority is divided between a national government and constituent states, each with powers of its own.
This division mattered to slavery. Slaveholding states regulated slavery within their borders, while Congress governed federal territories before they became states. A politician could accept that Congress should not abolish slavery inside an existing state yet insist that it could prohibit slavery in a territory. Arguments about the territorial power of Congress consequently became arguments about whether slaveholding could expand and whether future states would strengthen North or South.
Congress and sectional balance
Congress contained two houses with different principles of representation. Seats in the House of Representatives reflected population, while each state had two senators regardless of its size. In c1845 senators were chosen by state legislatures, not directly by the public. The faster growth of the free states increased northern influence in the House, making the Senate particularly important to southern leaders seeking to block measures they feared.
The original Constitution counted three-fifths of the enslaved population when calculating representation and direct taxation. This gave slaveholding states additional House seats and presidential electors without giving enslaved people votes. It was a rule about political apportionment, not a grant of three-fifths of normal citizenship. The Electoral College allocated each state electors equal to its senators and representatives, linking presidential power to these same constitutional arrangements.
From Article I, section 2, of the US Constitution, signed on 17 September 1787 (National Archives transcription). “All other Persons” refers here to enslaved people.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
Admitting a new state altered the Senate balance. Admission of a free state without a corresponding slave state could reduce the South's ability to prevent hostile legislation. The danger southern politicians perceived was therefore more than the immediate number of enslaved workers allowed into a territory: the territory might eventually become a state, send senators to Washington and help choose a president.
Presidential authority and limits
The president headed the executive branch and was responsible for executing federal law. Presidents appointed officials and judges, subject to Senate confirmation where the Constitution required it, negotiated treaties with Senate consent and acted as commander-in-chief. They could recommend legislation and veto bills, although two-thirds majorities in both houses could override a veto. Congress, rather than the president alone, possessed the constitutional power to declare war and vote funds.
These powers offered presidents several ways to shape sectional disputes. An appointment could influence the administration of a territory or the future direction of the Supreme Court. Support for expansion could put new territories on the political agenda. Enforcement of a fugitive-slave law could bring national authority into a northern community. Conversely, a president who refused to execute a valid law risked criticism for failing a constitutional duty.
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