Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress, 1789-1791 | Next Page
An Imperial Presidency?

Rep. Tucker's letter to his brother
Rep. Tucker's letter to his brother, May 13, 1789
(Courtesy of the College of William and Mary)

Full text transcript of Rep. Tucker's letter.

As reported in a letter from South Carolina's Rep. Tucker, the Senate committee eventually decided that the president should be called, "His Highness the President, Protector of the Liberties of the United States." (to St. George Tucker, May 13, 1789, College of William and Mary) In the same letter he tells his brother, "Our new government is now in full Operation, but how it will move or what will the the End of it I can scarcely conjecture. I am not yet in Love with it, & I doubt if I ever shall be. With Concern I perceive that it has infused into the Minds of People here the most intolerable Rage for Monarchy that can be imagined. Verily I believe that a very great proportion are ripe for a King & would salute the President as such with all the Folly of Enthusiasm." (July 24, 1789, Massachusetts Historical Society)


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