The Constitution gives the President the “power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties.” The first time the President attempted to seek that advice occurred in August 1789 when first President George Washington sent a message to the Senate asking “to advise with them” on a treaty with the Southern Indians (at that time the United States treated Indian tribes as foreign nations). On August 22, 1789, Washington arrived at Federal Hall in New York City (then the capital) with Secretary of War Henry Knox, and they proceeded to read aloud a series of documents related to the various Southern Indian tribes. The incident was not recorded in the Senate Executive Journal, but Senator William Maclay of Pennsylvania kept a diary and documented what transpired: apparently the noise from the Manhattan traffic below drowned out the reading of the documents. Read the full story here: go.usa.gov/mcyB. Images: George Washington, portrait. (National Archives Identifier 532860) Henry Knox (3/4 length). (National Archives Identifier 532928)
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:45:49 +0000
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