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Virginia Plan

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Proposed by Edmund Randolph, but written largely by James Madison, it called for a strong central "national" government.The original plan included a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, just as there is today. However, Randolph changed his mind later during the Convention at Philadelphia, and wanted the executive branch to consist of three people from different sections of the country (New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South) in order to obtain a balance of representation. The Virginia plan urged that a state's weight in votes toward congressmen be proportional to that state's population or wealth, which would be advantageous Virginian representation, which was about: 700,000 (dwarfing, for example, Delaware's 27,000), and that the Senate be chosen by the representatives, so that the Senate indirectly would be based on population as well... The Virginia plan consisted of 15 resolutions, each covering a specific aspect of the proposed system of government. These resolutions formed an agenda for the ensuing debate of the convention, and in broad outline described the topics covered in the resulting constitution. However, many details of the plan were altered by the convention. The New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Paterson in June of 1787, outlined the structure for the new federal government. The plan was created in response to the adoption of the Virginia Plan's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation. The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body. When the Connecticut Compromise was constructed, the New Jersey Plan's legislative body was used as the model for the United States Senate.

External link

- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/529.htm#rand Text of the Virginia Plan, as reported by Madison (with links to variant texts)]

Federal government of the United States

Legislative branch

Article I of the Constitution grants all legislative powers of the federal government to the Congress, which is divided into two chambers, a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state as provided by the Constitution. Its current membership is 100. Membership in the House is based on each state's population, and its size is therefore not specified in the Constitution. Its current membership is fixed by statute at 435. Members of the House and Senate are elected by first-past-the-post voting in every state except Louisiana, which has runoffs. The Constitution does not specifically call for the establishment of U.S. Congressional committees. As the nation grew, however, so did the need for investigating pending legislation more thoroughly. The 108th Congress (2003-2004) had 19 standing committees in the House and 17 in the Senate, plus four joint permanent committees with members from both houses overseeing the Library of Congress, printing, taxation, and the economy. In addition, each house can name special, or select, committees to study specific problems. Because of an increase in workload, the standing committees have also spawned some 150 subcommittees. The Congress has the responsibility to monitor and influence aspects of the executive branch. Congressional oversight prevents waste and fraud, protects civil liberties and individual rights, ensures executive compliance with the law, gathers information for making laws and educating the public, and evaluates executive performance. It applies to cabinet departments, executive agencies, regulatory commissions, and the presidency. Congress's oversight function takes many forms:
- Committee inquiries and hearings;
- Formal consultations with and reports from the President;
- Senate advice and consent for presidential nominations and for treaties;
- House impeachment proceedings and subsequent Senate trials;
- House and Senate proceedings under the 25th Amendment in the event that the President becomes disabled, or the office of the Vice President falls vacant;
- Informal meetings between legislators and executive officials;
- Congressional membership on governmental commissions;
- Studies by congressional committees and support agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, and the Government Accountability Office, both of which are arms of Congress.

Executive branch

Article II of the Constitution establishes the Executive branch of Government.

President

The President of the United States is both the head of state and head of government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the military. The office of President of the United States is one of the most powerful offices of its kind in the world. The President, the Constitution says, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, he presides over the executive branch of the federal government, a vast organization numbering about 4 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel. In addition, the President has important legislative and judicial powers. Within the executive branch itself, the President has broad constitutional powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government, and may issue executive orders to effect internal policies. The President may veto legislation passed by Congress; he may be impeached by a majority in the House and removed from office by a two-thirds majority in the Senate for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." The President may not dissolve Congress or call special elections, but does have the power to pardon criminals convicted of federal offences (though not crimes against a state), give executive orders, and (with the consent of the Senate) appoint Supreme Court justices and federal judges.

Vice President

The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government. As first in the presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President, which has happened nine times. Beyond serving this role, the only duty required by the U.S. Constitution is that the Vice President serve as the President of the Senate, and to break any tie votes in that chamber. Informally, the Vice President serves as an advisor to the President and as a drafter and spokesperson for the administration's policy. In modern times, the Vice President has gone on to become their party's presidential nominee in the next election when the incumbent President is either unable to run again due to the two term limit established by the 22nd Amendment, or for other reasons decides not to seek a second term.

Cabinet and executive departments

The day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various federal executive departments, created by Congress to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. The heads of the 15 departments, chosen by the President and approved with the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate, form a council of advisors generally known as the President's "Cabinet." In addition to departments, there are a number of staff organizations grouped into the Executive Office of the President. These include the White House staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. There is also a number of independent agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

White House staff

In addition, the President is advised and supported by several hundred White House political appointees, often referred to as the country's "best and brightest" because of the White House's history of attracting extremely capable and intelligent such appointees. All of these political employees serve at the pleasure of the President, which means they typically leave the White House when administrations change.

Judicial branch

Article III of the Constitution states the basis for the federal court system: "The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." The federal judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of the United States, whose nine justices are appointed for life by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and various "lower" or "inferior courts," among which are the United States courts of appeals and the United States district courts. With this guide, the first Congress divided the nation into judicial districts and created federal courts for each district. From that beginning has evolved the present structure: the Supreme Court, 13 courts of appeals, 94 district courts, and two courts of special jurisdiction. Congress today retains the power to create and abolish federal courts, as well as to determine the number of judges in the federal judiciary system. It cannot, however, abolish the Supreme Court. There are three levels of federal courts with general jurisdiction, meaning that these courts handle criminal cases and civil law suits between individuals. The other courts, such as the bankruptcy courts and the tax court, are specialized courts handling only certain kinds of cases. The bankruptcy courts are branches of the district courts, but technically are not considered part of the "Article III" judiciary because their judges are not appointed to serve during good behavior. Similarly, the tax court is not an Article III court. The United States district courts are the "trial courts" where cases are filed and decided. The United States courts of appeals are "appellate courts" that hear appeals of cases decided by the district courts, and some direct appeals from administrative agencies. The Supreme Court of the United States hears appeals from the decisions of the courts of appeals or state supreme courts (on constitutional matters), as well as having original jurisdiction over a very small number of cases. The judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty of the United States; cases affecting ambassadors, ministers, and consuls of foreign countries in the United States; controversies in which the U.S. government is a party; controversies between states (or their citizens) and foreign nations (or their citizens or subjects); and bankruptcy cases. The Eleventh Amendment removed from federal jurisdiction cases in which citizens of one state were the plaintiffs and the government of another state was the defendant. It did not disturb federal jurisdiction in cases in which a state government is a plaintiff and a citizen of another state the defendant. The power of the federal courts extends both to civil actions for damages and other redress, and to criminal cases arising under federal law. Article III has resulted in a complex set of relationships between state and federal courts. Ordinarily, federal courts do not hear cases arising under the laws of individual states. However, some cases over which federal courts have jurisdiction may also be heard and decided by state courts. Both court systems thus have exclusive jurisdiction in some areas and concurrent jurisdiction in others. The Constitution safeguards judicial independence by providing that federal judges shall hold office "during good behavior". Usually they serve until they die, retire, or resign. A judge who commits an offense while in office may be impeached in the same way as the President or other officials of the federal government. U.S. judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Another Constitutional provision prohibits Congress from reducing the pay of any judge—Congress could enact a new lower salary applying to future judges, but not to those already serving.

References

- Constitution of the United States of America
- United States Code
- Executive Order

External links

- United States

Constitutional Convention (United States)

.]] The Philadelphia Convention (also known as the Constitutional Convention or the Federal Convention) took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address problems in the government of the United States of America following independence from Great Britain. Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution. The convention is considered one of the founding events in the history of the United States.

Deliberations

Virginia Plan

James Madison was one of the principal writers of the Virginia Plan, which was to create a whole new republican and nationalist government. This plan was the unofficial "agenda" for the Convention, it was the main plan being considered. The plan was first reported to the Convention by Edmund Randolph. It included:
- A bicameral legislature
- Both house's membership determined proportionately
- The lower house was elected by the people
- The upper house was elected by the lower house
- The legislature was very powerful
- An executive was planned, but would exist to ensure the will of the legislature was carried out, and was so chosen by the legislature
- Formation of a judiciary, with life-terms of service
- The executive and some of the national judiciary would have the power to veto legislation, subject to override
- National veto power over any state legislation

New Jersey Plan

Some, like William Paterson, thought that if too much power was given to government, or to larger states, then they could swallow up the smaller states, and the smaller states would have little influence in future issues in the country. The New Jersey Plan was largely a response to the Virginia Plan. Paterson reported the plan to the Convention on June 15, 1787. It included:
- The current Congress was maintained, but granted new powers. For example, the Congress could set taxes and force their collection
- An executive, elected by Congress, was created - the Plan allowed for a multi-person executive
- The executives served a single term and were subject to recall based on the request of state governors
- A judiciary appointed by the executives, with life-terms of service
- Laws enacted by the Congress took precedence over state law

The Great Compromise

Roger Sherman was well liked in the convention, and he had the respect of many of the other members. Earlier on July 11, Sherman proposed: "That the proportion of suffrage in the 1st. branch should be according to the respective numbers of free inhabitants; and that in the second branch or Senate, each State should have one vote and no more." This was largely disregarded as too radical at first. Later when neither side would give into the other, they made a compromise, known as The Great Compromise following Sherman's plan of having the House of Representatives be based on population and in the Senate each state would get an equal amount of Senators. This was also known as the Connecticut Compromise.

Hamilton's Plan

On July 18th Hamilton reported his own plan for the US government. It was largely based on the British form of government and hinted of Monarchy, and was ultimately rejected. Hamilton left the convention soon after, only to return to sign the Constitution near the end of the Convention.

Slavery

How would slavery work in the new government set up by the Constitution? On June 11th Sherman suggested that only free persons should be counted, but the southern states wanted slaves to be counted as well. James Wilson suggested that they be counted as 3/5 of a person. It was later agreed to, and became known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. It was also decided that the new government could not ban the slave trade for at least 20 years (January 1, 1808). In effect they postponed the decision on the slave trade because of its contentous nature. The delegates to the Convention did not want its ratification to fail because of the conflict over slavery.

Drafting and signing

In late July the convention appointed a committee to draft a document based on the agreements that had been reached. After another month of discussion and refinement, a second committee, headed by Gouverneur Morris, produced the final version, which was submitted for signing on September 17. Not all the delegates were pleased with the results; some left before the ceremony, and three of those remaining refused to sign: Edmund Randolph and George Mason of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Of the 39 who did sign, probably no one was completely satisfied, but such is the nature of compromise. Their views were ably summed up by Benjamin Franklin, who said, "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. ... I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. ... It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies..."

Delegates Who Attended

The 55 delegates who drafted the Constitution included most of the outstanding leaders, or Founding Fathers, of the new nation. Thomas Jefferson said, “It is really an assembly of demi-gods.” about the convention. They represented a wide range of interests, backgrounds, and stations in life, although the vast majority of them were wealthy landowners, and all were white males. There were thirty-two lawyers, eleven merchants, four politicians, two military men, two doctors, 2 teacher/educators, one inventor, and one farmer. The Convention was mostly made up of Christian faiths (and Deism) including Congregationalist, Deist, Dutch Reformed, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Quaker, and Roman Catholic. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not attend; they were abroad in Europe. Patrick Henry was also absent, he refused to go for he "smelt a rat." white white.]] white white
- Connecticut
- William Samuel Johnson
- Roger Sherman
- Oliver Ellsworth
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- Delaware
- George Read
- Gunning Bedford
- John Dickinson
- Richard Bassett
- Jacob Broom
- Georgia
- William Few
- Abraham Baldwin
- William Pierce
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- William Houstoun
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- Maryland
- James McHenry
- Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
- Daniel Carroll
- John Francis Mercer
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- Luther Martin
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- Massachusetts
- Elbridge Gerry
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- Nathaniel Gorham
- Rufus King
- Caleb Strong
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- New Hampshire
- John Langdon
- Nicholas Gilman
- New Jersey
- David Brearley
- William Houston
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- William Paterson
- William Livingston
- Jonathan Dayton
- New York
- Robert Yates
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- Alexander Hamilton
- John Lansing, Jr.
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- North Carolina
- Alexander Martin
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- William Richardson Davie
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- Richard Dobbs Spaight
- William Blount
- Hugh Williamson
- Pennsylvania
- Thomas Mifflin
- Robert Morris
- George Clymer
- Jared Ingersoll
- Thomas Fitzsimons
- James Wilson
- Gouverneur Morris
- Benjamin Franklin
- Rhode Island
- No appointment
- South Carolina
- John Rutledge
- Charles Pinckney
- Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
- Pierce Butler
- Virginia
- George Washington
- Edmund Randolph
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- John Blair
- James Madison
- George Mason
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- George Wythe
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- James McClurg
- (
- ) Did not sign the final draft of the US Constitution

1787

1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).

Events

- In Britain, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharpthe "Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade" with support from John Wesley, Josiah Wedgwood and others.
- January 11 - William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
- February 4 - Shays' Rebellion fails
- May 13 - Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England with eleven ships full of convicts to establish a penal colony in Australia.
- May 14 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to meet to write a new Constitution for the United States.
- May 25 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to convene a Constitutional Convention intended to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, a new Constitution for the United States was eventually produced. George Washington presided over the Convention.
- June 6 - Franklin College, named for Benjamin Franklin, opens in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It later merges with Marshall College to become Franklin and Marshall College.
- July 13 - The U.S. Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.
- August 27 - Launching a forty-five-foot craft on the Delaware River, John Fitch demonstrates the first US patent for his design.
- September 17 - United States Constitution is adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
- October 27 - the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published in a New York paper.
- December 7 - Delaware ratifies the Constitution and becomes the first U.S. state.
- December 12 - Pennsylvania becomes the second U.S. state.
- December 18 - New Jersey becomes the third U.S. state.

Births

- March 16 - Georg Ohm, German physicist (d. 1854)
- April 26 - Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
- December 10 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American educator (d. 1851)

Deaths

- February 13 - Rudjer Boscovich, Croatian scientist and diplomat (b. 1711)
- February 13 - Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1717)
- April 1 - Floyer Sydenham, English classical scholar (b. 1710)
- April 2 - Thomas Gage, British general (b. 1719)
- May 10 - William Watson, English physician and scientist (b. 1715)
- May 28 - Leopold Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1719)
- June 20 - Karl Friedrich Abel, German composer (b. 1723)
- July 4 - Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
- August 1 - Alphonsus Liguori, Italian founder of the Redemptionist order (b. 1696)
- October 7 - Henry Muhlenberg, German-born founder of the U.S. Lutheran Church (b. 1711)
- November 3 - Robert Lowth, English bishop and grammarian (b. 1710)
- November 15 - Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (b. 1714)
- December 18 - Francis William Drake, British admiral and Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1724)
- December 18 - Soame Jenyns, English writer (b. 1704) Category:1787 ko:1787년 ms:1787 simple:1787

Edmund Randolph

right Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 – September 12, 1813) was an American attorney, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General. Randolph was born at Tazewell Hall to the prominent colonial Randolph family in Williamsburg, Virginia, and he was educated in law at the College of William and Mary. After graduation he began practicing law with his father John Randolph's firm. In 1775, with the start of the American Revolution, his father remained a Loyalist and returned to Britain; Edmund Randolph, on the contrary, joined the Continental Army as aide-de-camp to General George Washington. Upon the death of his uncle Peyton Randolph he went to Virginia to act as executor of the estate, and while there was elected as a representative to the state constitutional convention. He would go on to serve as mayor of Williamsburg, and then as the first Attorney General of Virginia under the newly-formed state government. Randolph was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779, and served there to 1782. During this period he also remained in private law practice, handling numerous legal issues for George Washington among others. Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia in 1786, that same year leading a delegation to the Annapolis Convention. The following year, as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he introduced the Virginia Plan as an outline for a new national government. He argued against importation of slaves and in favor of a strong central government, advocating a plan for three chief executives from various parts of the country. He was also a member of the "committee on detail" which was tasked with converting the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions into a first draft of the Constitution. Randolph, however, refused to sign the final document, believing the form of government it would engender had insufficient checks and balances, and published an account of his objections in October 1787. He nevertheless urged its ratification in 1788, seeing its adoption as necessary at that point. He was appointed U.S. Attorney General in September 1789, maintaining a precarious neutrality in the feud between Thomas Jefferson (of whom Randolph was a distant relative) and Alexander Hamilton. When Jefferson resigned as Secretary of State in 1793, Randolph succeeded him to the position. In this post he held a similar strict neutrality between the interests of France and Britain, earning the scorn of both in the process. Randolph set forth the guidelines for John Jay's mission to London in 1794. These were, however, ignored. The resulting Jay's Treaty left Randolph to mollify both France and the Federalists; in this he was largely unsuccessful. Near the end of his term as Secretary of State negotiations for Pinckney's Treaty were finalized. A scandal involving an intercepted French message implying Randolph was prone to bribery led to his resignation in August 1795, although the allegations were provably unfounded. After leaving the cabinet he returned to Virginia to practice law; his most famous case was that of defense counsel during Aaron Burr's trial for treason in 1807. Randolph died at his home, Carter Hall, near Millwood, Virginia in Clarke County.

External link

- [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000043 Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website] Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Edmund ja:エドムンド・ランドルフ

James Madison

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was the fourth (1809–1817) President of the United States. He was co-author, with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, of the Federalist Papers, and is traditionally regarded as the Father of the United States Constitution.

Early life

Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on March 16, 1751. His parents Colonel James Madison, Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) and Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway (January 9, 1731 – February 11, 1829) were the prosperous owners of the tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia where Madison spent most of his childhood years. In 1769, he left the plantation to attend Princeton University (it was called the College of New Jersey at the time), finishing its four-year course in two years, but exhausting himself from overwork in the process. When he regained his health, he served in the state legislature (1776-79) and became known as a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. In this capacity he became a prominent figure in Virginia state politics, helping to draft their declaration of religious freedom and persuading Virginia to give their northwestern territories (consisting of most of modern-day Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) to the Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-83), he excelled as a legislative workhorse and master of parliamentary detail. Back in the state legislature he welcomed peace, but soon became alarmed at the fragility of the Confederation. He was a strong advocate of a new constitution, and played the leading role in drafting and negotiating the main points at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. To foster the ratification effort, he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write "The Federalist" papers, one of the most influencial documents in American political history. Back in Virginia in 1788, he led the fight for ratification of the constitution at the state's convention--oratorically outdueling Patrick Henry and formidable forces aligned against acceptance of the constitution. For his efforts, Madison is known as the "Father of the Constitution."

Congressional years

When the Constitution was ratified, Madison was elected to the United States House of Representatives from his home state of Virginia and served from the First Congress through the Fourth Congress, and was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party during his final term in the House. In 1789, he successfully offered a package of twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution, the final ten of which became what is collectively known as the Bill of Rights by December 15, 1791, based upon earlier work by George Mason. The chief characteristic of Madison's time in Congress was his desire to limit the power of the federal government. He led the unsuccessful attempt to block Hamilton's proposed Bank of the United States, arguing the new Constitution did not explicitly allow the federal government to form a bank. Most biographers see a sea-change with Madison moving from strong nationalism in 1787-88 to a states' rights position that became extreme in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798. Other scholars, notably Lance Banning, see more continuity, arguing Madison was never caught up in Hamilton's dream of a powerful nation. During Madison's time in Congress, the debate between Hamilton and Jefferson led to the formation of the first political parties (the first ones in world history). Madison was instrumental in the creation of the Democratic-Republican party, whose members supported Jefferson and believed strongly in limiting centralized power. Opposed to the Democratic-Republicans was the Federalist party, whose members followed Hamilton and believed in a strong central government. In 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, who cut as attractive and vivacious a figure as he did a sickly and antisocial one. It is Dolley who is largely credited with inventing the role of "First Lady" as political ally to the president. In 1797 Madison left Congress; in 1798 he and Jefferson secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which insisted the states could block unconstitutional federal laws. With Jefferson's victory in 1800-01, Madison became Secretary of State, though he had never travelled abroad.

Secretary of State 1801-1809

The main challenge Madison faced was navigating between the two great empires of Britain and France, which were almost constantly at war. The first great triumph was the Louisiana Purchase on 1803, made possible when Napoleon realized he could not defend that vast territory, and it was to France's advantage that Britain not seize it. Madison tried to maintain neutrality, but at the same time insisted on the legal rights of the U.S. under international law. Neither London nor Paris showed much respect, however. The Jefferson administration decided on an Embargo to punish Britain, which meant forbidding all Americans to trade with any foreign nation. The Embargo failed as foreign policy and instead caused massive hardships in the northeastern seabord, which depended on foreign trade. The Republican Caucus chose presidential candidates for the party, and Madison was chosen in the election of 1808, easily winning election. The Embargo was repealed just before Madison took office.

Presidential years 1809-1817

British insults continued, especially the practice of using the Royal Navy to intercept unarmed American merchant ships and "impressing" (seizing) all sailors who might be British subjects for service in the British navy. Madison's protests were ignored, so he helped stir up public opinion in the west and south for war. One argument was that an American invasion of Canada would be easy and would be a good bargaining chip. Madison carefully prepared public opinion for what everyone at the time called "Mr. Madison's War," but much less time and money was spent building up the army, navy, forts or state militias. In the ensuing War of 1812, the British won numerous victories, including the capture of Detroit after the American general surrendered to a small force without a fight, and occupation of Washington, D.C., forcing Madison to flee the city. The British also armed American Indians in the West, most notably followers of Tecumseh. Finally a standoff was reached on the Canadian border. The Americans built warships on the Great Lakes faster than the British, and gained the upper hand. At sea the British blockaded the entire coastline, cutting off both foreign trade and domestic trade between ports. After the defeat of Napoleon both sides were exhausted, the causes of the war had been forgotten, and it was time for peace. New England Federalists, however, set up a secret defeatist Hartford Convention and threatened secession. In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, allowing each side to keep the territory it held when the treaty was finalized. The Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson defeated the British regulars, was fought 15 days after the treaty was signed but before it was finalized. With peace finally established America was swept by a sense of euphoria and national achievement in finally securing independence. Madison was hailed and the Federalists fell apart and disappeared from politics, as an Era of Good Feeling emerged with a much lower level of political fear and vituperation. In his last act before leaving office, Madison vetoed a bill for "internal improvements," including roads, bridges, and canals: :"Having considered the bill...I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling this bill with the Constitution of the United States...The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified...in the...Constitution, and it does not appear that the power proposed to be exercised by the bill is among the enumerated powers..." [http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/981.html] Madison rejected the view of Congress that the General Welfare Clause justified the bill, stating: :"Such a view of the Constitution would have the effect of giving to Congress a general power of legislation instead of the defined and limited one hitherto understood to belong to them, the terms 'common defense and general welfare' embracing every object and act within the purview of a legislative trust." It should be noted that although Madison would support internal improvement schemes only through constitutional amendment, he urged a variety of measures that he felt were "best executed under the national authority," including federal support for roads and canals that would "bind more closely together the various parts of our extended confederacy."

Cabinet

Supreme Court appointments

Madison appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Gabriel Duvall — 1811
- Joseph Story — 1812

States admitted to the Union

- Louisiana – April 30, 1812
- Indiana – December 11, 1816

Later life

After leaving office, Madison retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Virginia, not far from Jefferson's Monticello. He engaged in extensive correspondence on political affairs, and served as rector of the University of Virginia for ten years until his death. He died on June 28, 1836 of rheumatism and heart failure, leaving no children. His detailed notes on the Constitutional Convention were published after his death. By his request, these notes were not to be published until the death of the last signer of the constitution. The implication is that Madison did not want the thoughts and debates of the founders to shape the nation's interpretation of what the Constitution meant. He strongly believed that the text, and only the text, should be consulted. Madison's portrait was on the U.S. $5000 bill. There were about twenty different varieties of $5000 bills issued between 1861 and 1946, and all but three had James Madison. Madison also appears on the $200 Series EE Savings Bond.

Trivia

- At 5 feet, 4 inches in height (163 cm) and 100 pounds (45 kg) in weight, Madison was the nation's shortest president and frequently ill. He was too frail for military service during the Revolution.

References

Primary Documents

- James Madison, James Madison: Writings 1772-1836. (Library of America, 1999), over 900 pages of letters, speeches and reports.
- William T. Hutchinson et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison (1962-), the definitive multivolume edition, still incomplete.
- Gaillard Hunt, ed., The Writings of James Madison (9 vols 1900- 1910).
- James M. Smith, ed. The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1776-1826. (3 vols. 1995).
- Jacob E. Cooke, ed. The Federalist. (1961)
- James Madison. Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/debcont.htm]

Secondary Sources: Scholarly Biographies

- Irving Brant, James Madison (6 vols., 1941-1961)
- Ralph Ketcham, James Madison: A Biography (1971)
- Jack Rakove, James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic (2nd Edition 2001).
- Garry Wills, James Madison (2002)

Secondary Sources: Analytic Studies

- Robert A. Rutland, The Presidency of James Madison (1990)
- Lance Banning, The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Creation of the Federal Republic, 1780-1792 (1995)
- Drew R. McCoy, The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America (1980)
- Drew R. McCoy, The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy (1989).
- Stanley M. Elkins and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism (1993).
- Marshall Smelser. The Democratic Republic 1801-1815 (1968).
- Robert Allen Rutland, ed. James Madison and the American Nation, 1751-1836: An Encyclopedia. (1994)
- John C. A. Stagg. Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American republic, 1783-1830. (1983). [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28197610%293%3A33%3A4%3C557%3AJMAT%22T%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X J. C. A. Stagg "James Madison and the 'Malcontents': The Political Origins of the War of 1812," William and Mary Quarterly (Oct., 1976)] [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28198101%293%3A38%3A1%3C3%3AJMATCO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W J.C.A. Stagg, "James Madison and the Coercion of Great Britain: Canada, the West Indies, and the War of 1812," in The William and Mary Quarterly(Jan., 1981)]

External links

- [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/ The James Madison Papers, 1723-1836] from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, approximately 12,000 items captured in some 72,000 digital images.
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/madispap.htm The Papers of James Madison] from the Avalon Project
- [http://Madison.thefreelibrary.com/ James Madison's brief biography]
- [http://www.jamesmadisonmus.org/resources/will.htm Madison's last will and testament, 1835]
- [http://www.jmu.edu/madison/family/ A history of the Madison family since the 17th century]
- [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html Official White House page for James Madison]
- [http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/madison_archives.htm Madison Archives]
- Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison, James Madison Madison, James Madison, James ko:제임스 매디슨 ja:ジェームズ・マディスン

Executive Branch

Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the executive is the branch of a government charged with implementing, or executing, the law and running the day-to-day affairs of the government or state. The de facto most senior figure in an executive is referred to as the head of government. The executive may be referred to as the administration, in presidential systems, or simply as the government, in parliamentary systems. In some constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, the monarch, who is the Head of State, is the de jure and theoretical head of the executive, and the Prime Minister, who he or she technically appoints, is the head of the monarch's government (i.e. "Her Majesty's Government"). In practice, however, a symbolic or figurehead Head of State does not actively exercise executive power, though decisions may be formally made in his or her name. Along with the Prime Minister or executive President, the executive branch consists of the cabinet and the executive departments or ministries of the government.

Executives under different systems

Executive authority within a presidential system is exercised by a president who is also head of state. The president will not usually be designated by the legislature, and may instead be elected directly, or in the case of the President of the United States, indirectly, by an electoral college. Under presidential systems the legislature and the executive are formally distinct, and it is usually expressly forbidden for the president and other executive officers to be members of the legislature. In parliamentary systems, the executive branch is generally comprised of a prime minister and a cabinet, who must directly or indirectly secure the support of the legislature. In a semi-presidential system (such as France, for example) executive powers are shared between the president and a prime minister.

Role of the executive

It is usually the role of the executive to:
- Enforce the law. To achieve this the executive administers the prisons and the police force, and prosecutes criminals in the name of the state.
- Conduct the foreign relations of the state.
- Command the armed forces.
- Appoint state officials, including judges and diplomats.
- Administer government departments and public services.
- Issue executive orders (also known as secondary legislation, ordinances, edicts or decrees). Most constitutions require that certain executive powers may only be exercised in conjunction with the legislature. For example, often the consent of the legislature is required to ratify treaties, appoint important officials, or to declare war. In the United Kingdom, however, the executive is exempt from most such limitations under the royal prerogative.

New England

:This article is about the region in the United States of America. For other uses, see New England (disambiguation). New England (disambiguation) The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. Boston is its business and cultural center and its most populous city. The region is made up of the following states:
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont New England is the most well-defined region of the United States, with more uniformity and more shared heritage than other regions of the country. But, while there is cultural and historical uniformity throughout the whole region, Northern and Southern New England differ in the fact that the former is more rural whereas the latter is very urban. This difference has always existed, however, even when the region was young, and thus does not imply a growing or changing trend, but rather the result of historical population patterns. Western and Eastern New England share similar differences, with the former not only being much more rural, but also usually lacking the Boston accent that typifies the region in the eyes of outsiders. While some parts of Western New England closely border metropolitan New York City, they are still historically, and, for the most part, culturally part of New England. Together, the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions are generally referred to as the Northeastern region of the United States.

History

The indigenous peoples of New England

New England has long been inhabited by Algonquian-speaking native peoples, including the Abenaki, the Penobscot, the Wampanoag, and many others. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans such as Giovanni Verrazano, Jacques Cartier and John Cabot (known as Giovanni Caboto before being based in England) charted the New England coast. They referred to the region as Norumbega, named for a fabulous native city that was supposed to exist there. See also: List of place names in New England of aboriginal origin.

Early European settlement (1610s-1630s)

List of place names in New England of aboriginal origin while its interior is rendered New Belgium, New Netherland and Irocoisia]] The name New England dates to the earliest days of European settlement: in 1616 Captain John Smith described the area in a pamphlet "New England." The name was officially sanctioned in 1620 by the grant of King James I to the Plymouth Council for New England. The region was subsequently divided through further grants, including the 1629 royal grant of "Hampshire" which was issued for "makeing a Plantation & establishing of a Colony or Colonyes in the Countrey called or knowen by ye name of New England in America."

The New England Confederation (1630s-1650s)

Following the Pequot War in 1637, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut joined together in a loose compact called the New England Confederation. The confederation was designed largely to coordinate mutual defense against the Dutch in the New Netherland colony to the south and the French in New France to the north, as well as to enforce the return of runaway slaves. The confederation had a council comprising two delegates from each of the four colonies, but it had no formal enforcement powers and relied on the individual colonies to voluntarily follow council decisions. The confederation disintegrated in the 1650s when the powerful Massachusetts Bay Colony refused to follow decisions of the confederation council regarding the conflict with the Dutch. King Philip's War (1675-1676), the bloodiest Indian war of the early colonial period, had a devastating effect on the colonies of southern New England, but effectively ended the power and influence of the Indians in the region.

The Dominion of New England (1686-1689)

In 1686, King James II, concerned about the increasingly independent ways of the colonies, in particular their open flouting of the Navigation Acts, decreed the Dominion of New England, an administrative union comprising all the New England colonies. Two years later, the provinces of New York and New Jersey, which had been acquired from the Dutch, were added. The union, imposed from the outside, was highly unpopular among the colonists. In 1687, when the Connecticut Colony refused to follow a decision of the dominion governor Edmund Andros, he sent an armed contigent to seize the colony's charter, which the colonists, according to popular legend, hid inside the Charter Oak tree. Andros' efforts to unify the colonial defenses met little success and the dominion ceased after only three years, after the removal of King James II in the Glorious Revolution in 1689.

Modern New England (1689-present)

Glorious Revolution The colonies were not formally united again until 1776, when they became part of the United States; however, especially in the 18th century and the early 19th century, New England was still considered to be a very distinct region of the country, as it is today. During the War of 1812, there was talk of secession from the Union, as New England merchants opposed the war with Great Britain. Aside from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, or "New Scotland", New England is the only North American region to inherit the name of a kingdom in the British Isles. New England has largely preserved its regional character, especially in its historic sites. Its name is a reminder of the past, as many of the original English-Americans have migrated further west.

Politics

The early European settlers of New England were English Protestants fleeing religious persecution. This, however, did not prevent them from establishing colonies where religion was legislated to an extreme, and where those who deviated from the established doctrine were persecuted greatly.

Town meetings in New England

A derivative of meetings held by church elders, town meetings were an integral part of governance and remain so today in towns across New England. At such meetings, any citizen of the town may discuss issues of the day with other members of the community, and vote on them. This is the most direct democracy in the United States today, and the form of dialogue has been adopted under certain circumstances elsewhere. Such a strong democratic tradition was even apparent in the early 19th century, when Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America that: In New England, where education and liberty are the daughters of morality and religion, where society has acquired age and stability enough to enable it to form principles and hold fixed habits, the common people are accustomed to respect intellectual and moral superiority and to submit to it without complaint, although they set at naught all those privileges which wealth and birth have introduced among mankind. In New England, consequently, the democracy makes a more judicious choice than it does elsewhere.

New England and political thought

Democracy in America spirit that, in many ways, is still alive and well in New England today.]] In the colonial period and the early time of the republic, New England leaders like John Hancock, John Adams, and Samuel Adams joined those in Philadelphia and Virginia to direct the country. At the time of the Civil War, New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest combined against slavery, eventually ending the practice in the United States. Henry David Thoreau, one of New England's most iconic thinkers, made the case for civil disobedience, libertarianism, and even had some anarchist tendencies; this spirit is still alive in the Free State Project and occasional discussions of secession. New England led the rest of the country in abolishing the death penalty for crimes like robbery and burglary in the 19th century. In the 20th century, the region remained a source of political thought and intellectual ferment in the nation, eventually becoming the forefront of the civil rights issue of same sex marriage, with Vermont being the first state to allow civil unions between same sex couples, and Massachusetts being the first state to allow marriage between same sex couples. As of 2005, Connecticut now also allows for civil unions. While well known for its liberal tendencies, the region still has a history similar to the rest of the country. Puritan New England, of course, was highly intolerant of any deviation from the strict social norms. Arguments against slavery, at first, were not moral, but economic, since owning slaves was expensive and not very useful in the northern climate. During the civil rights era, Boston brewed with tension over school busing to end de facto segregation of its public schools. Despite these examples, the region is still known as one of the more liberal regions of the United States.

Contemporary New England politics

Today, the dominant party in New England is the Democratic Party, though most states have a significant Republican electorate, especially New Hampshire and Maine which are both represented in the U.S. Senate by two Republicans. As of the 2004 elections, Maine is the only state that has its governorship and legislature controlled by one party (the Democrats). In the 2000 presidential election, Democratic candidate Al Gore carried all of the New England states except for New Hampshire, and in 2004, John Kerry, a native New Englander himself, carried all six New England states for the Democrats. New Hampshire and Connecticut are the only New England states with capital punishment, although New Hampshire currently has no person on death row and has not had an execution since 1939. Connecticut last had an execution in 2005, the first in New England in forty-five years.

Education

Higher education

2005.]] New England contains some of the oldest and most renowned institutions of higher learning in the United States. The first such institution, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636. According to US News and World Report, 8 of the nation's top-50 universities and 13 of its top-50 liberal arts colleges are located in New England. These include Amherst College, Bates College, Boston College, Bowdoin College, Brandeis University, Brown University, Colby College, Connecticut College, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, Williams College, and Yale University. A number of the graduates settle in the region after school, providing the area with a well-educated population and one of its most valuable resources.

Public and private education

In terms of public education, many New England states spend higher than the national average on their students and schools. Massachusetts and Connecticut, for instance, have some of the best and highest-rated public schools in the United States. The state of Massachusetts, on average, is consistently ranked as one of the most educated states in the country. A recent government-funded survey of the 50 states ranked Massachusetts as number one in public education. The renowned Boston Latin School is the oldest public high school in America. In addition, New England is also home to many of the United States' most prominent independent schools (also known as private schools), such as Roxbury Latin and Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, St. Paul's School and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. The concept of the elite "New England prep school" and the "preppy" lifestyle is an iconic part of the region's image, especially when viewed from the rest of the United States. Culturally, education is considered to be very important, especially in the more-populated, more-urban states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Population

In 1910, 6,552,681 people lived in New England. Today, the total population of New England is 13,922,517. If New England were one state, the population would rank 5th in the nation, behind Florida. The total area in this scenario (181,440 sq km) would rank 20th behind North Dakota.

Regional population layout

North Dakota As some of the original English New England settlers migrated westward, immigrants from Canada, Ireland, Italy, and eastern Europe moved into the region. Massachusetts in particular has the highest concentration of persons of Irish heritage in the country. Rhode Island has the highest concentration of Italians (percentage-wise). Today, although the region has attracted quite a few Jewish and Asian-American residents, it remains one of the whitest parts of the nation and has a smaller proportion of African-Americans and Hispanic Americans than much of the country. Connecticut (which is adjacent to New York City) and Massachusetts (which has Boston) have higher minority populations than the rest of New England, while Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are largely populated with people of European descent. New England still retains a large English population, especially in the more rural areas. The region has remained consistently openminded towards other backgrounds however, a tradition which has continued from the abolitionist days of William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Sumner.

Southern New England

The bulk of the region's population is concentrated in southern New England, which contains Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The most populous state is Massachusetts, whose population is centered mostly around its political and cultural capital, Boston; whereas Western Massachusetts is less densely populated and more spread out. The resulting effect is a minor cultural divide between urban New Englanders, typically Bostonians, and rural New Englanders, who hail from western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Coastal New England

The coastline is more urban than western New England, which is typically rural, even in urban states like Massachusetts. These characteristics of the region's population are due mainly to historical factors; the original colonists settled mostly on the coastline of Massachusetts Bay. The only state without access to the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont, is also the least-populated. After nearly 400 years, the region still maintains, for the most part, its historical population layout. New England's coast is dotted with urban centers, such as Portland, Portsmouth, Boston, Providence, New Haven, and Bridgeport, as well as smaller cities, like Newburyport, Gloucester, and New London. The smaller fishing towns, like Gloucester, are popular tourist attractions, as they tend to retain their historical character, and often have colorful pasts. Cape Cod, also a popular tourist attraction, is lined with sandy beaches and dotted with bed and breakfasts. The rocky coast of Maine is best known for its lobster. New Hampshire, which has the smallest coastline of all of the coastal New England states, is home to Hampton Beach, also frequented by visitors to the region.

Urban New England

Cape Cod neighborhood, with Cambridge on the northern bank of the Charles River.]] Three of the four most densely populated states in the United States are in New England. In order, the four most densely populated states are: New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Indeed, southern New England forms an integral part of the BosWash megalopolis, a conglomeration of urban centers that spans from Boston to Washington, D.C. The largest cities by population in New England are: Greater Boston: approx. 5,800,000
- Boston, Massachusetts: 589,141
- Cambridge, Massachusetts: 101,355
- Lynn, Massachusetts: 88,025
- Quincy, Massachusetts: 88,025
- Newton, Massachusetts: 83,829
- Somerville, Massachusetts: 77,478
- Brookline, Massachusetts: 57,107 Brookline, Massachusetts Providence, Rhode Island: 173,618 Worcester, Massachusetts: 172,648 Springfield, Massachusetts: 152,082 Hartford, Connecticut: 141,578 Bridgeport, Connecticut: 139,529 New Haven, Connecticut: 123,626 Stamford, Connecticut: 117,083 Waterbury, Connecticut: 107,271 Manchester, New Hampshire: 107,006 Lowell, Massachusetts: 105,167

Regional nomenclature

A person from New England is known as a New Englander. Sometimes, they are also referred to as Yankees, although this term has grown to refer to the people of the greater region of the northeastern United States.

Culture

See Cuisine of New England

Historico-cultural roots

The first European colonists of New England were focused on maritime affairs such as whaling and fishing, rather than more continental inclinations such as surplus farming. As the oldest of the American regions, New England has developed a distinct cuisine, dialect, architecture, and government. New England cuisine is known for its emphasis on seafood and dairy; clam chowder, lobster, and other products of the sea are among some of the region's most popular foods.

New England's unique culture

Despite a changing population, much of the original spirit of the region remains. It can be seen in the simple, woodframe houses and quaint white church steeples that are features of many small towns, and in the traditional lighthouses that dot the Atlantic coast. New England is also well known for its mercurial weather and its crisp chill. (Mark Twain is quoted as saying "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.") For its vibrant colored foliage in autumn, the region is a popular tourist destination. As a whole, New England tends to be progressive in its politics, although somewhat Puritan in its personal mores. Due to the fact that so many recent European immigrants live in the region and due to the influence of the many universities, the region often shows a greater receptivity to European ideas and culture than the rest of the country. The region has remained consistently openminded towards other backgrounds, a tradition which has continued from the abolitionist days of William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Sumner to the region's recent controversial legal battle in regarding relationships between homosexual couples. As of 2005, Massachusetts permits same sex marriages, and Vermont and Connecticut allow for civil unions between gay couples. Although New England has always been one of the more socially progressive regions of the United States, its internal cultural and social battles have always been somewhat paradoxical. Its fervent abolitionism, for instance, was often met with intense racism on the part of the recently-immigrated Irish segment of its population, which resented the control of native born Protestants over the region, and often competed economically with African-Americans. It was Alexis de Tocqueville who noted, in 1835, that New England was the only region of the United States at the time to have properly separated religion from its government, an ironic mixture of the region's heavy Puritan heritage and strong tradition of direct democracy.

Social life in New England

Bars and pubs, especially those with Irish themes, are popular social venues. Closer to Boston, musicians from Ireland often tour pubs, playing traditional Irish folk music, usually with a singer, a fiddler, and a guitarist. In the rural parts of the region, people socialize through typical common activities such as church, sports, and town government.

The continuing European influence

The overall feeling of the region can be described as decidedly European, with the region's colonial past still alive and thriving through tourism, the hundreds of historic sites that dot the region, and the rich cultural traditions that have endured and developed over centuries. Long-time and native residents are typically knowledgeable of the history of the region, and proud of it, as well. The often-parodied dialect of the region is most commonly known as Boston English, although, in reality, this accent is reserved mostly for the coasts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. It is the result of an incomplete transition from 17th century British English, which the standard American dialect imitates, and modern British English. There are also other regional accents as well, such as the Cape Cod Brahmin accent, which is also often heavily parodied.

Intraregional cultural differences

While Boston is typically viewed as the region's cultural center, the extent to which it influences the rest of New England is debatable. Perhaps as a result of the "Hub of the Universe" mentality that is demonstrated by many Bostonians, people from Massachusetts may sometimes have a tendency to over-emphasize the importance of the role that their state and city play in New England. People from the northern parts of the region, such as northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as the southwestern part of the region, such as Fairfield County, Connecticut, may have divergent views with regard to the cultural influence of Boston, with some rejecting its influence entirely. Much of southwestern Connecticut, for example, is considered a part of metropolitan New York City. Boston, however, certainly only exemplifies, for the most part, the gritty culture of urban New England; therefore, to say that its sphere of influence does not encompass all of New England.

Economy

In the twentieth century, most of New England's traditional industries have relocated to states or foreign countries where goods can be made more cheaply. In more than a few factory towns, skilled workers have been left without jobs. Largely around Boston in the ring of Route 128, the gap has been partly filled by high technology industries, in particular biotech. Education, high technology, financial services, tourism, and medicine, continue to drive the local economy. In the southwestern Connecticut counties of Fairfield and New Haven the economy is more closely associated with New York City, and the economy is more often viewed as an extension of the New York Metropolitan Area. For years many residents of southwestern Connecticut have crossed the state line each day to work in Manhattan. More recently, New Yorkers have begun to travel into Connecticut as part of a reverse commute to many of the job centers developed in the suburbs. The GDP of New England is approximately $649 billion; per capita it is $45,786

Literature

New England has always received a great deal of attention from American writers like Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, John Updike, John Irving and Arthur Miller. Largely on the strength of local writers like Thoreau, Boston, Massachusetts was for some years the center of the U.S. publishing industry, before being overtaken by New York in the middle of the nineteenth century. Boston remains the home of publishers Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education, among others, as well as the literary magazine The Atlantic Monthly. New England is also the setting for most of the gothic horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft, most probably because he lived his life in Providence, Rhode Island. Real New England towns such as Ipswich, Newburyport, Rowley, and Marblehead are given fictional names such as Dunwich, Arkham, Innsmouth, Kingsport, and Miskatonic and then featured quite often in his stories. More recently, author Stephen King has also used the small towns of the New England state of Maine as the setting for much of his horror fiction, with much of the action taking place in or near the fictional town of Castle Rock. Modern author Rick Moody has set many of his works in southern New England, focusing on wealthy families of suburban Connecticut's Gold Coast and their battles with addiction and anomie. The novel Ethan Frome was written in 1911 by Edith Wharton. It is set in turn-of-the-century New England, in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Like much literature of the region, it plays off themes of isolation and hopelessness.

Notable New Englanders

All of the following people were born in New England or spent a significant portion of their life in New England, making them a well-known figure in the region. Some of them, like Robert Frost, who was actually born in California, emigrated to New England and are now considered to be icons of the region. All of them exemplify some aspect of the region in one way or another.
- John Adams
- John Quincy Adams
- Samuel Adams
- Some members of Aerosmith
- Trey Anastasio
- Susan B. Anthony
- Crispus Attucks
- Clara Barton
- Katharine Lee Bates
- Bill Belichick
- Lizzie Borden
- Amar Bose
- Edward Brooke
- Bobby Brown
- Dan Brown
- Charles Bulfinch
- James J. "Whitey" Bulger
- William "Billy" Bulger
- Leonard Bernstein
- George Herbert Walker Bush
- George W. Bush
- David Byrne
- Calvin Coolidge
- John Singleton Copley
- Norm Crosby
- E.E. Cummings
- Richard Cardinal Cushing
- Dick Dale
- Howard Dean
- Emily Dickinson
- Ronnie James Dio
- Frederick Douglass
- Rachel Dratch
- Michael Dukakis
- Mary Dyer
- Kevin Eastman
- Jonathan Edwards
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Patrick Ewing
- Bobby Farrelly
- Peter Farrelly
- Doug Flutie
- John Ford
- Benjamin Franklin
- Robert Frost
- Richard Buckminster Fuller
- Robert Goulet
- Spalding Gray
- Anthony Michael Hall
- Elizabeth Hasselbeck
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Winslow Homer
- John Irving
- Edward "Ted" Kennedy
- Ethel Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy
- Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
- Patrick J. Kennedy
- Robert Kennedy
- Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
- Rosemary Kennedy
- John Kerry
- Stephen King
- King Philip
- Jack Kerouac
- Stephen King
- Peter Laird
- Denis Leary
- Jay Leno
- Joseph Lieberman
- Robert Lowell
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Rowland Hussey Macy
- Aimee Mann
- Massasoit
- Cotton Mather
- Will McDonough
- Seth Meyers
- Mandy Moore
- Ephraim Morse
- James Naismith
- New Kids On The Block
- Leonard Nimoy
- Conan O'Brien
- Ric Ocasek
-

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