The ineligibility clause's lost history: Presidential patronage and congress, 1787-1850

Harvard Law Review

Volumn 123, Issue 7, 2010, Pages 1727-1748

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EID: 77955529134     PISSN: 0017811X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (206)

1. U.S. CONST, art. I, § 6, cl. 2 ("No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time."). The Ineligibility Clause is also known as the Emoluments Clause.
2. See Memorandum from Christopher Schroeder, Acting Assistant Att'y Gen., Office of Legal Counsel, to the Counsel to the President (July 26, 1996), available at http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/peterfinal.htm (discussing Memorandum from Antonin Scalia, Assistant Att'y Gen., Office of
3. See John F. O'Connor, The Emoluments Clause: An Anti-Federalist Intruder in a Federalist Constitution, 24 HOFSTRA L. REV. 89, 93 (1995).
4. See, e.g., MARK TUSHNET, TAKING THE CONSTITUTION AWAY FROM THE COURTS 33-53 (1999) (using the Ineligibility Clause as a paradigmatic example of a constitutional provision that a "constitutionally conscientious" official may legitimately disregard, id. at 51).
5. Roderick M. Hills, Jr., Federalism and Distrust 2-3 (Oct. 14, 2009) (unpublished manuscript, on file with the Harvard Law School Library) (using the clause as an example of a provision that is ignored).
6. Posting of Sarah Wheaton to The Caucus: The New York Times Politics Blog, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com (Dec. 11, 2008, 16:59 EST).
7. Posting of Peter Baker to The Caucus: The New York Times Politics Blog, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com (Dec. 2, 2008, 20:56 EST).
8. JOSEPH STORY, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States § 864, at 330 (1833).
9. Letter from Andrew Jackson to the Tennessee Legislature (Oct. 7, 1825), in 29 NILES' Wkly. Reg. 156,157 (1825).
10. See CONG. GLOBE, 27th Cong., 2d Sess. 376 (1842) (statement of Sen. Clay).
11. Even Professor David Currie's four-volume history of the Constitution in Congress devotes only a sentence to the Ineligibility Clause amendments.
12. DAVID P. CURRIE, THE CONSTITUTION IN CONGRESS: THE JEFFERSONIANS 336 (2001).
13. See, e.g., Steven G. Calabresi & Joan L. Larsen, One Person, One Office: Separation of Powers or Separation of Personnel?, 79 CORNELL L. REV 1045, 1063-64 (1994) (discussing the Ineligibility Clause in reference to the Incompatibility Clause).
14. Zephyr Teachout, The Anti-Corruption Principle, 94 CORNELL L. REV 341, 358-61 (2009) (discussing the clause as one of many clauses geared to prevent corruption).
15. Adrian Vermeule, Veil of Ignorance Rules in Constitutional Law, in YALE L.J. 399, 400 (2001) (treating the clause as one of many "veil of ignorance rules").
16. See, e.g., O'Connor, supra note 3 (discussing the Saxbe fix and the clause's Antifederalist roots).
17. Michael Stokes Paulsen, Is Lloyd Bentsen Unconstitutional?, 46 STAN. L. REV 907 (1994).
18. For example, Professor Daryl Levinson has assumed that the "kinds of economic selfdealing that the Framers tried to guard against with 7mellip; the Emoluments Clause ⋯ have mostly failed to materialize." Daryl J. Levinson, Empire-Building Government in Constitutional Law, 118 Harv. L. Rev. 915, 926 (2005).
19. Many antebellum MCs thought otherwise. Also, in their Incompatibility Clause article, Professors Steven Calabresi and Joan Larsen offer a "Scorecard on 'Corruption'" for "the last two hundred years" by analyzing ''patronage appointments," Calabresi & Larsen, supra note 11, at 1078, yet they cite evidence from only the last century.
20. Id. at 1078-85.
21. See, e.g., 2 REG. DEB. 1740 (1826) (statement of Rep. Mitchell). Letter from Andrew Jackson to the Tennessee Legislature, supra note 8, at 157.
22. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, at 20-21 (Max Farrand ed., rev. ed. 1966) (proposed May 29, 1787).
23. Id. at 235 (proposed June 13, 1787).
24. Id. at 379 (statement of Pierce Butler on June 22, 1787).
25. Id. at 380 (statement of George Mason on June 22, 1787).
26. 2 id. at 288 (statement of James Wilson on Aug. 14, 1787).
27. 1 id. at 388 (statement of James Madison on June 23, 1787).
28. Id. at 386.
29. 2 id. at 491 (statement of George Mason on Sept. 3, 1787).
30. Id. at 490 (statement of Roger Sherman on Sept. 3, 1787).
31. 1 id. at 390 (June 23, 1787).
32. Id. at 429 (June 26, 1787).
33. 2 id. at 289 (Aug. 14, 1787).
34. Id. at 492 (Sept. 3, 1787).
35. Letters from the Federal Farmer, Letter XIII (Jan. 14, 1788), reprinted in 2 THE Complete Anti-Federalist 301,303 (Herbert J. Storing ed., 1981).
36. Luther Martin, Mr. Martin's Information to the General Assembly of the State of Maryland, reprinted in 2 THE COMPLETE ANTI-FEDERALIST, supra note 28, at 27, 52 (emphasis omitted).
37. 3 The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 368 (Jonathan Elliot ed., Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Co. 2d ed. 1891) [hereinafter ELLIOT'S DEBATES].
38. Id. at 375.
39. Id. at 373.
40. Cf. THE FEDERALIST No. 77, at 459 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed., 1999).
41. 3 Elliot's Debates, supra note 30, at 659.
42. 1 id. at 330 (New York).
43. 4 id. at 245 (North Carolina).
44. See 1 ANNALS OF CONG. 762 (Joseph Gales ed., 1834).
45. JOURNAL OF THE SENATE 125 (Ist Cong., Ist Sess. 1789).
46. See 3 Annals of Cong. 663 (1793).
47. See Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash, The Executive's Duty To Disregard Unconstitutional Laws, 96 GEO. L.J. 1613, 1660 (2008)
48. Id.
49. see also H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 6 (1826).
50. See Vermeule, supra note 11, at 422.
51. See Charlene Bangs Bickford & Kenneth R. Bowling, Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress, 1789-1791, at 46 (1989).
52. H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 6.
53. See Arthur Scherr, The Limits of Republican Ideology: James Monroe in Thermidorian Paris, 1794-1796, Mid-Am.: An HIST. Rev., Winter 1997, at 5, 34.
54. Joseph M. Lynch, Negotiating the Constitution 166 (1999).
55. See 7 ANNALS OF CONG. 875-77 (1798) (statement of Rep. Harper).
56. See H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 6, 8.
57. See Bickford & Bowling, supra note 41, at 46.
58. See H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 6-12.
59. See Ida A. Brudnick, Cong. Research Serv., Salaries of Members of CONGRESS 4 (2008), available at http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/ 97-1011.pdf.
60. Average salary may be calculated by multiplying the per diem rate by the number of days that a Congress was in session and dividing by two. For session lengths, see Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Session Dates of Congress, http://clerk.house.gov/art-history/house-history/session-dates/ sessionsall.html (last visited Mar. 27, 2010).
61. See Robert V. Remini, Henry Clay 143-48 (1991).
62. Cf. 2 REG. DEB. 1740-41 (1826) (statement of Rep. Mitchell) (observing that an office "the fees of which are above 1200 dollars annual income ⋯ is better than a seat here, in a pecuniary point of view").
63. Hubert Bruce Fuller, Congressional Salary Legislation, 188 N. AM. REV. 539, 540 (1908).
64. See Mary L. Hinsdale, A History of the President's Cabinet 274 (1911).
65. See Fuller, supra note 53, at 547.
66. See id. at 542.
67. see also REMINI, supra note 51, at 134 (describing Clay's salary as minister plenipotentiary at the Ghent peace negotiations ending the War of 1812).
68. See LYNCH, supra note 44, at 169-75.
69. H.R. DOC. NO. 19-164, at 6, 8 (1826).
70. See 7 ANNALS OF CONG. 849-52 (1798) (statement of Rep. Nicholas).
71. See id. at 859-62 (statement of Rep. Sitgreaves).
72. id. at 867-69 (statement of Rep. Smith).
73. id. at 890-93 (statement of Rep. Griswold).
74. Id. at 849 (statement of Rep. Nicholas).
75. Id. at 850.
76. Id. at 851.
77. Id. at 889 (statement of Rep. Gallatin).
78. Id. at 897 (statement of Rep. Bayard).
79. Id. at 875 (statement of Rep. Harper).
80. 8 Annals of Cong. 1234 (1798).
81. See generally O'Connor, supra note 3.
82. H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 6, 8 (1826). Two MCs declined their appointments.
83. See Robert V. Remini, The House 80 (2006).
84. See Edward J. Larson, A Magnificent Catastrophe 262-68 (2007).
85. John Ferling, Adams vs. Jefferson 189-91 (2004).
86. Larson, supra note 71, at 267.
87. LARSON, supra note 71, at 267-68.
88. 11 ANNALS OF CONG. 640 (1802) (statement of Rep. Bayard).
89. Id. at 640-41.
90. H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 9 (1826).
91. See H.R. DOC. No. 19-164, at 9.
92. LARSON, supra note 71, at 244.
93. H.R DOC. No. 19-164, at 6, 8-9.
94. Id. at 7, 9.
95. See id. at 7.
96. ROBERT V. REMINI, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 39-41 (2002).
97. H.R DOC. NO. 19-164, at 7, 9-10.
98. 21 ANNALS OF CONG. 2028 (1810) (statement of Rep. Macon).
99. 22 ANNALS OF CONG. 454 (1810) (statement of Rep. Macon).
100. Id.
101. Id. at 455.
102. Id. at 458 (statement of Rep. Smilie).
103. Id. at 456 (statement of Rep. Burwell).
104. Id. at 842 (1811) (statement of Rep. Sawyer).
105. Id. at 455 (1810) (statement of Rep. Boyd).
106. See, e.g., id. at 841 (1811) (statement of Rep. Hubbard).
107. Id. at 845 (statement of Rep. Quincy).
108. Id. at 846.
109. Id. at 899.
110. Id. at 843 (statement of Rep. Sawyer).
111. See 32 ANNALS OF CONG. 1744-45 (1818).
112. 35 ANNALS OF CONG. 935 (1820).
113. 39 ANNALS OF CONG. 1752 (1822).
114. 36 ANNALS OF CONG. 1849 (1820) (statement of Rep. Cobb).
115. id.
116. Id. at 1859.
117. Id. at 1856 (statement of Rep. Simkins).
118. See CQ PRESS, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, 1789-2000, at 13, 17 (2002).
119. See 39 ANNALS OF CONG. 1752 (1822).
120. 40 ANNALS OF CONG. 489, 509-10 (1823) (statement of Rep. Smyth).
121. See REMINI, supra note 51, at 253-60.
122. See id. at 258.
123. HARRY L. WATSON, LIBERTY AND POWER 81 (1990).
124. REMINI, supra note 51, at 262-64.
125. Id. at 265-68.
126. See Journal of the House of Representatives 109 (19th Cong., 1st Sess. 1826).
127. Journal of the Senate 74 (19th Cong., 1st Sess. 1826).
128. Letter from Andrew Jackson to the Tennessee Legislature, supra note 8, at 157.
129. 2 Reg. Deb. 19-20(1825).
130. Id. at 1740 (1826) (statement of Rep. Mitchell).
131. Id.
132. Id. at 1744.
133. S. DOC. NO. 19-52, at 1-2 (1826).
134. Id. at 2-3.
135. Id. at 5.
136. See 2 REG. DEB. 114 (1826) (statement of Sen. Dickerson).
137. id. (statement of Sen. Randolph).
138. See generally CURRIE, supra note 10, at 341-43.
139. See 2 REG. DEB. 868-72 (1826).
140. 5 REG. DEB. 119(1828).
141. Id. at 123 (statement of Rep. Smyth).
142. Id. at 124.
143. 4 REG. DEB. 1447 (1828) (statement of Rep. Wright).
144. 5 REG. DEB. 125 (1828) (statement of Rep. McDuffie).
145. See H.R. DOC. No. 22-76, at 2-3 (1833).
146. See REMINI, supra note 51, at 264 & n.43.
147. See generally CURRIE, supra note 10, at 335-43.
148. See JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 78 (20th Cong., 2d Sess. 1828).
149. 5 REG. DEB. 367 (1829) (statement of Rep. Wright).
150. Id. at 371 (statement of Rep. Smyth).
151. Id.
152. See H.R. DOC. No. 22-76, at 2, 4 (1833).
153. Journal of THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 16 (21st Cong., 1st Sess. 1829).
154. See id. at 31, 242.
155. CONG. GLOBE, 25th Cong., 2d Sess. app. at 326 (1839) (statement of Rep. Slade).
156. See H.R. DOC. No. 22-76 (1833).
157. 8 REG. DEB. 2412 (1832) (statement of Rep. Pearce).
158. 13 REG. DEB. 1258 (1837) (statement of Rep. Robertson).
159. 12 REG. DEB. 3692 (1836) (statement of Rep. French).
160. CONG. GLOBE, 26th Cong., 2d Sess. app. at 201 (1841) (statement of Sen. Buchanan).
161. CONG. GLOBE, 25th Cong., 2d Sess. app. at 561 (1838) (statement of Rep. Bell).
162. 12 REG. DEB. 2896 (1836) (statement of Rep. Allan).
163. 9 REG. DEB. 893-94 (1832).
164. Id. at 906 (statement of Rep. Adams).
165. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, AN EULOGY ON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JAMES MADISON 28 (1836).
166. CONG. GLOBE, 23d Cong., 2d Sess. 52 (1834).
167. id. at 181 (1835).
168. CONG. GLOBE, 24th Cong., 1st Sess. 165 (1836).
169. CONG. GLOBE, 25th Cong., 2d Sess. 190 (1838).
170. CONG. GLOBE, 25th Cong., 2d Sess. 134-35 (1838).
171. Id. app, at 33 (statement of Rep. Wise).
172. Id. app. at 561 (statement of Rep. Bell).
173. Id. app. at 33 (statement of Rep. Yell).
174. See id. app. at 34 (statement of Rep. Wise).
175. Id. (statement of Rep. Underwood).
176. CONG. GLOBE, 27th Cong., 2d Sess. 69 (1841) (statement of Sen. Clay).
177. See, e.g., REMINI, supra note 79, at 74.
178. WATSON, supra note 103, at 82.
179. See REMINI, supra note 51, at 272.
180. See id. at 597-98.
181. CONG. GLOBE, 27th Cong., 2d Sess. 164-66 (1842) (statement of Sen. Clay).
182. See id. at 376.
183. Id. app. at 162 (statement of Sen. Woodbury).
184. CONG. GLOBE, 27th Cong., 2d Sess. 350 (1842).
185. CONG. GLOBE, 29th Cong., 1st Sess. 226 (1846).
186. CONG. GLOBE, 31st Cong., 1st Sess. 631 (1850).
187. See, e.g., ROBERT F. WILLIAMS, THE NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION 67 (1990).
188. E.g., DEL. CONST, of 1831, art. II, § 12.
189. N.J. CONST OF 1844, art. IV, § 5, cl. 1.
190. PA. CONST. of 1838, art. I, § 19; WIS. CONST of 1848, art. IV, § 12.
191. N.Y. CONST, of 1846, art. III, § 7.
192. See ILL. CONST, of 1848, art. III, § 7; MD. CONST, of 1851, art. III, § 24; MICH. CONST, of 1850, art. IV, § 18.
193. MICH. CONST, art. IV, § 9 ("No person elected to the legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this state from the governor, except notaries public, from the legislature, or from any other state authority, during the term for which he is elected.").
194. Mark V. Tushnet, The Hardest Question in Constitutional Law, 81 MINN. L. REV. I, 29 (1996).
195. MICHAEL J. GERHARDT, THE FEDERAL APPOINTMENTS PROCESS 147 (2000).
196. From 1789 through 1848, only five out of the sixty-four victorious or runner-up presidential or vice-presidential candidates were current MCs or had left congressional office within the previous year. During the equivalent span, from 1948 through 2008, twenty-four of the candidates were current MCs or had left congressional office within the previous year.
197. See Letter from Andrew Jackson to the Tennessee Legislature, supra note 8, at 157.
198. JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 16 (21st Cong., 1st Sess. 1829) (quoting Jackson).
199. CONG. GLOBE, 26th Cong., 2d Sess. app. at 201 (1841) (statement of Sen. Buchanan).
200. Cf. Daryl J. Levinson & Richard H. Pildes, Separation of Parties, Not Powers, 119 HARV. L. REV. 2312.
201. Many observers fear that this new political culture will result not in accountability but in instability. In the face of a Taliban insurgency and a still-fragile democratically elected government, the Supreme Court's ruling on the NRO has raised the specter of political chaos and a weakened executive. Cf. Editorial, Pakistan: Supreme Court Chaos, GUARDIAN, Dec. 18, 2009, at 40 ("[T]he jubilant lawyers should be wary of getting what they wish for. They could be preparing not just the ousting of the PPP from power, but the re-entry of the army into it.").
202. Interview with Khawar Mumtaz, supra note 108.
203. Interview with Ghazala Minallah, supra note 48.
204. Aitzaz Ahsan, Panel Discussion on Pakistan's ludiciary and Media, Harvard Kennedy School of Government (Oct. 26, 2009).
205. Telephone Interview with Muneer Malik (Aug. 2008).
206. Interview with Ghazala Minallah, supra note 48.