#Washington Administration

[deadpresidents]

GEORGE WASHINGTON •Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •George Washington: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall (BOOK)

JOHN ADAMS •John Adams by David McCullough (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •John Adams: Party of One by James Grant (BOOK)

THOMAS JEFFERSON •Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn Brodie (BOOK)

JAMES MADISON •The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President by Noah Feldman (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Madison: A Life Reconsidered by Lynne Cheney (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham (BOOK | AUDIO)

JAMES MONROE •James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon (BOOK)

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS •John Quincy Adams: American Visionary by Fred Kaplan (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics by William J. Cooper (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin (BOOK | KINDLE)

ANDREW JACKSON •American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Andrew Jackson, Volume I: The Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK) •Andrew Jackson, Volume II: The Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK | KINDLE) •Andrew Jackson, Volume III: The Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK)

MARTIN VAN BUREN •Martin Van Buren and the American Political System by Donald B. Cole (BOOK | KINDLE) •Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics by Joel H. Silbey (BOOK) •Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven (BOOK)

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON •A Child of the Revolution: William Henry Harrison and His World, 1773-1798 by Hendrik Booraem V (BOOK | KINDLE) •Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Carnival Campaign: How the Rollicking 1840 Campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" Changed Presidential Elections Forever by Ronald G. Shafer (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

[pub-lius]

do you know how hamilton felt about the madison-hamilton fallout? just realized everything i know about it is from madison’s perspective

oho boy do i

This has actually been a subject of interest of mine since I read The Three Lives of James Madison by Noah Feldman (great book, highly recommend). In the study of Alexander Hamilton, this is a crucial event that would define his proceeding political actions.

For some background for those who may not know what anon is referencing, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were colleagues and "friends" (if you could call it that) from their time in the Confederation Congress until Hamilton submitted his financial plan to Congress, which was all in all about a decade. In that time, they lobbied for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation, worked together in the Constitutional Convention, and wrote The Federalist papers together in defense of strong federal government together. The Federalist was like the manifesto of the Federalist party, which placed Hamilton at the head of that party, and, arguably, James Madison as well, until he switched to the Democratic Republican party.

Hamilton's experience was far different from Madison's, just in general, but especially when it came to close friendships between men. The closest relationship he had before James Madison was with John Laurens, who we know died tragically in 1782. Although we are all aware of my feelings on rat bastard Ron Chernow, I thought that this excerpt of his biography of Hamilton described this point very well.

"[Laurens'] death deprived Hamilton of the political peer, the steadfast colleague, that he was to need in his tempestuous battles to consolidate the union. He would enjoy a brief collaboration with James Madison... But he was more of a solitary crusader without Laurens, lacking an intimate lifelong ally such as Madison and Jefferson found in each other," (Alexander Hamilton, Chernow 172-73)

As Chernow mentioned, James Madison was already closely associated with Thomas Jefferson, who he kept well appraised of the circumstances in America while Jefferson was serving a diplomatic position in France. In my personal opinion, I think it was largely due to this that Madison began to attack Hamilton later on, since as soon as Jefferson arrived back from Paris, Madison suddenly had severe moral oppositions to Hamilton's plan, rather than just rational apprehension.

I also want to touch on Hamilton's perspective in their friendship, along with their fallout, specifically when it comes to The Federalist. Hamilton put such a high value on his work, and he held himself to a very high standard. There are a couple instances of him outsourcing his work to other men he admired, such as his last political stance, that the truth of an accusation can be used in libel cases. He asked several men to help him in writing a larger treatise on the matter than what he was able to make (due to yk the bullet that got put in his diaphragm), but these weren't just his friends. These men were very crucial figures in American law, which shows that, unlike men like Jefferson, he was very selective in who he chose to associate with when it came to his work.

This wasn't any different in 1787. When he chose John Jay and James Madison to assist in writing The Federalist, his reasons for both had nothing to do with their personal relationships. Jay was one of the most successful legal minds of the new country, and James Madison, was not only a Virginian, but was an absolute genius and fucking workhorse. If you like him or not, or if you like the Constitution or not, its undeniable that the Virginia Plan was absolute fucking genius, and Hamilton knew that.

This also shows a great amount of trust in Madison. Hamilton was an incredibly untrusting dude. He kept most of his emotions and personality away from work, and really the only people who knew who he was entirely were close family, one or two family friends included. They were the only people who knew his background, which is directly tied into his work, which was the most important thing to him. Without his work, in his eyes, he would have nothing. So for him to trust Madison with something he and the world viewed as one of his most important contributions to American history, that was incredibly significant.

Also I should mention that Hamilton definitely knew how important The Federalist would be, and this is clear in his introductory essay, which is confirmed that he himself wrote.

One thing that any Hamilton historians will agree on is that he was so set in his ways. If there was a moral or philosophical question before him, he would think about it constantly, consult his books and his peers, and once he decided on his stance, there was little to no chance of changing that. The Federalist are, if not anything else, the basis of Hamilton's political thinking. Hamilton, being the arrogant bitch that he was, assumed that every other genius would be equally steadfast in their beliefs.

But James Madison was different in that regard. He was also very tied in with his state's interest, as well as that of the planter class. Hamilton also had a strong bias towards his state and class, but not with the same attitude as someone who was born into it.

Therefore, when Madison openly opposed his Report on Public Credit with a speech in the House of Representatives, Hamilton viewed it as a deep betrayal of his trust, his work, and his principles. Hamilton saw this as a devastating insult to everything he stood for by someone he thought he could completely rely on. This was the 18th century burn book.

That speech immediately kicked off Hamilton lobbying to oppose Madison's counter-proposal, which he won because, frankly, Madison hadn't been expecting Hamilton to immediately come at him with the full arsenal, but Hamilton didn't half-arsenal anything. It was after that that Hamilton was able to process what had happened. According to one of Hamilton's allies, Manasseh Cutler, Hamilton saw Madison's opposition as "a perfidious desertion of the principles which [Madison] was solemnly pledged to defend." Ouch.

The final break between them was on the subject of the National Bank aspect of Hamilton's plan. This is when Madison redefined himself as a Democratic-Republican with a firm belief in strict construction of the Constitution, giving Hamilton free reign to take out his hurt feelings on him through the art of pussy politics* and this entirely dissolved the friendship that had once been there.

*pussy politics (noun): a form of politics in which grown men act like pussies by only supporting the governmental actions that benefit their families/wealth/land/class/etc. and it is very embarrassing and frustrating to sit through

Hamilton would spend a large part of his career battling Madison, and talking a lot of shit about him, which is what has allowed me to paint this stupid ass picture of two grown men fighting over banks. The personal language that he uses in regards to Madison is very different to the accusatory tone he took with his other enemies, and that in it of itself says a lot, but I hope this was able to shed some light on why Hamilton felt the way he did and what exactly he felt. Again, I love talking about this, so feel free to ask follow up questions!

[thedialoguedilemma]

An American Airlines commercial plane heading to Washington DC from Wichita Kansas collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter causing the plane to crash into the Potomac

Just last week, President Trump FIRED the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, and disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

Trump also froze the hiring of Air Traffic Controllers. All flights heading to Reagan National Airport have been diverted and all planes are grounded effective immediately

Devastating.

[revivefromtheashes]

We have seen what America really thinks about “traditional biblical teachings” and “Christian values” based on the response to Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde speaking truthfully, biblically, and faithfully about the love and mercy of God.

There’s a lot to unpack (politically and religiously) from the last few days. I have chosen to address two issues here: deportation and gender.

Ezekiel tells us that Sodom was destroyed due to her arrogance, gluttony, wastefulness, and being inhospitable to the stranger. [Side note: there is no mention of homosexuality as the reason for destruction.] Referencing Exodus and the story of Lot, the inhabitants of Sodom were inhospitable to two foreigners passing through their city. They were God’s angels. This was a test. They broke the “desert code of hospitality,” which is to give a stranger shelter, food, and safety when passing through your gates. This included potential enemies. Because of Sodom’s sins, God destroyed the city.

Philip was the first missionary and the first to be titled an “evangelist” in the Bible. He encountered an Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. God sent him there. [Side note: eunuchs in the Bible are neither fully male or fully female. They are outcasts in society and ostracized. Jesus speaks of them in Matthew, stating that some are born this way, some are made this way, and some choose to be this way. Meaning, some are literally born neither male nor female, some are made that way (like as punishment for a crime or because they’re showing they’re “loyal to the royals”), and some choose to be that way (like monks, priests, nuns, or celibacy, preference, health, etc.)]. The eunuch asks about scripture (reading a scroll of parts of the book of Isaiah) and what the writer means. Philip shares the good news of Jesus. The eunuch is saved. They travel the road together and come upon some water. The eunuch asks what is to keep him from being baptized right now? Philip says let’s go and baptizes the eunuch. When they come out of the water, Philip is suddenly raptured by God. The only time this occurs is when there is a higher purpose for the person or they have done so good they get a ticket to Heaven pronto (like with Elijah and his role in the End Times or Enoch because he pleased the Lord - other examples would be Paul, Jesus, etc.). Obviously, Philip did something right. [I would also like to add here that Christianity is the only monotheistic tradition that truly assigns gender to the divine. Judaism and Islam view God as genderless and regard assigning trivial human attributes like gender to God as a sin.] It’s about loving them like God does. Period. An important note here is that the eunuch changed nothing. They were authentically themselves, and they were accepted and received salvation just as any other. Philip didn’t ask questions, he didn’t judge, he didn’t take exception, he didn’t make excuses, he just said yes, you too! This is what Christianity is supposed to look like!

Bishop Budde preached and prayed from the Bible. Everything she pleaded for can be supported by scripture. If you want those verses message me. She spoke Jesus’ words to 47. If any Christian has a problem with that or doesn’t side with Christ then there seems to be a conflict between true faith and bad politics.

Additionally, for 25 years Matthew Shepard had no permanent resting place due to concerns his grave would be vandalized. Reverend Budde learned of this and invited the Shepards to inter him inside the Washington National Cathedral. She co-officiated the service which stated Matthew was now and forever home in the church where he was loved.

I’m not looking to fight. I’m stating facts and where I’m at. If this isn’t where you’re at, either get there with me or see yourself off my page! I’m so exhausted by the hate and the justification of it. There’s no place for it here!

Will you care when it’s me they’re after?

[affairsmastery]

The General Services Administration (GSA) has been directed to sell off or terminate leases for thousands of federal properties, leaving many employees puzzled amid the Trump administration’s push to bring workers back to the office. According to the Associated Press, GSA regional managers received emails this month from headquarters in Washington, D.C., instructing them to end leases at approximately 7,500 federal offices.

More recently, Wired revealed that the GSA has been tasked with selling over 500 “non-core” federal buildings, including those housing government agencies and even U.S. senators’ offices. The goal is to slash the government’s real estate footprint by 50% and reduce the number of buildings by 70%. The plan prioritizes offloading non-core office spaces, with tenants transitioning to private leased properties.

[teamrainbowus]

~-Attorney Generals pushing back against Trump Administration-~

What's happening? A coalition formed by the Attorney Generals of 22 states, led by Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan, have brought a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It aims to stop the funding cuts proposed by the TA, which would not only HEAVILY cripple a lot of the medical institutes around the country, but also violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by, quote, "ignoring the profound harms the cuts cause to research institutions as well as the directive Congress passed during President Trump’s first term to fend off his earlier proposal to drastically cut research reimbursements. That law, still in effect, prohibits the NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements." Within only a few hours of the suit being submitted, a federal judge in the District Court for Massachusetts granted the motion for a temporary restraining order, which will delay the implementation of the EO.

What does this mean? An important aspect of the aforementioned medical care is gender-affirming care for trans individuals. So along with saving necessary medical care and vaccine research, it will allow trans individuals to continue to receive gender-affirming care, whether it be surgical or medicinal.

Additional info on the case can be found here.

[themisinformer]

Trump Pisses on White House Lawn to Establish Territory

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In an effort to display dominance, President Donald Trump was seen Thursday allegedly urinating on the front lawn of the White House in an attempt to “reclaim his territory.” According to eyewitnesses, Trump was seen approaching the South Lawn in his signature black suit and red tie just after dawn.

He then looked around to make sure that no one was looking before he pulled down his pants and allegedly began relieving himself on the grass while declaring, “This is still my house!” The Secret Service, who were caught off guard by the president’s territory marking, would go on to condemn the president’s actions.

“While maintaining the president’s safety is our number one priority, public urination is still a violation of the district’s ordinances,” a Secret Service agent was quoted as saying in a statement. “Appropriate measures will be taken.”

In accordance with D.C. laws, President Trump was fined $500 for publicly urinating, something that he would call out as “unfair.” “So you’re telling me that pedophiles are allowed to rape children but I’m not allowed to whip my dick out and piss in the grass?” Trump asked. “Where’s the balance?”

This isn’t the first time the South Lawn of the White House was the victim of public urination. In 1954, during the Eisenhower administration, two teenagers managed to urinate on the lawn without incident, highlighting the stark contrast in security measures between then and now.

[in4newz]

This goes for everyone who works in writing. If you write for a website, social media, blog, if you make marketing emails, it’s called the Gulf of Mexico. If you’re company is having discuss about how to interpret the style guide on this issue, you have to double down on the Gulf of Mexico. There’s no neutral or apolitical way about writing about geography and your voice matters.

A social media business renamed itself to a single letter and everyone thought it was annoying but most writers reluctantly capitulated because they wanted to use the official name. We can’t let that happen with a sovereign country’s sovereign waters.

Follow Us: Bluesky, Threads

[victusinveritas]

[generallemarc]

Really Don?

The bodies aren't even cold yet and you're blaming DEI? Couldn't you at least wait like, half a day so that we know why this even happened before making an assumption on what you wish it was? Now you've given the inevitable "he was President so it's his fault!" criticisms more weight by giving them a sizable grain of truth to wrap any future lies or exaggerations in, not to mention giving them free clearance to start politicizing things so soon because, hey, he did it first. Just when I thought I couldn't respect the guy any less, he reminds us all that he is still the same man who called John McCain a coward for spending years getting tortured.

[pub-lius]

i heard washington was willing to give madison a bureaucratic position should he fail the house race in 1789—what do you think his politics would’ve been like if he was a member of the executive?

This is a really interesting question!! I don't think it would be very different.

So, firstly, the reason Madison wasn't considered seriously by Washington was because Washington had learned through his war experiences that giving appointments based off of seniority was very crucial to not upsetting very influential people, which is why the War and State departments went to General Henry Knox and Thomas Jefferson respectively, and Hamilton was not the first contender for Treasury Secretary. Knox would later get upset whenever Hamilton was selected for assignments before him, further demonstrating the importance of seniority.

Madison, though we know him as the fourth president and a prestigious southern landowner, did not have that kind of reputation in 1789, obviously. In the 1780s, he was still a rising star, and didn't have a whole lot of publicity in his toolbelt. He served in state committees, but only had two national positions, in the Philadelphia Convention (which was temporary) and in the Confederation Congress (but he wasn't particularly important there). While Washington respected him greatly and Jefferson was his friend, he couldn't give him a major appointment, such as being one of his ministers, without offending SOMEONE.

To get into your question, I think his politics would really depend on what department he was in charge of. We can eliminate Treasury because he didn't have any economic qualifications, and while Washington was not aware of Hamilton's financial skills when he appointed him, he intimately knew that Hamilton could manage a department, including the financial aspects. Madison was not particularly managerial, so Hamilton was more qualified in that respect, even though their experience levels were the same in Washington's perspective. And ofc, James Madison didn't know shit about war (i mean, look at how the War of 1812 went. yikes!)

Source: His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis

So this leaves the State department and Attorney General. Personally, I think Madison would only really qualify for the latter, since the only diplomatic experience he had was within the United States with the natives. However, Madison was an accomplished lawyer and the largest legal issues at this time concerned the Constitution, which Madison was THE expert of, as the author of the Virginia Plan and the most influential Federalist papers (according to Ellis, Washington was aware of the authors of The Federalist, I don't see how this is possible, but it is to Madison's credit.

Source: The Three Lives of James Madison by Noah Feldman, His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis

Madison's legal career began with the defense of freedom of religion, which we can see in the Constitution, and consistently throughout his life. This is definitely a hill he'd die on, and he was very well educated on it. Basically, just look at the Bill of Rights ("which i wrote/the ink hasn't dried"), and you can see, for the most part, Madison's key beliefs. ACTUALLY i recommend reading the original draft of the Bill of Rights because you can get a more clear picture of what Madison believed should be specified in the Constitution.

Source: The National Archives

Ron Chernow is gonna get mad at me but i KNOW, I KNOW, that Thomas Jefferson was a major influence on Madison's views in the 1790s. "Well, Jefferson wasn't even in America when Madison betrayed Hamilton" I DONT GIVE A RATS ASS RON, EVER HEARD OF A FUCKING LETTER, YOU ANCIENT BITCH?! News flash, this isn't ancient fucking Greece, you can WRITE LETTERS TO PEOPLE IN FRANCE FROM NEW YORK IN 1790 YOU DUMB ASS. Anyway.

Jefferson was a political radical (shocker! he never stopped being absolutely insane), and he definitely pushed Madison. I talked about this in my post about their relationship, however, I want to emphasize that Jefferson did have a perceivable influence on Madison's opinions, and you can see it in their correspondence. And, yes, Jefferson was a manipulative person, but he was also a fellow Virginian who took states' rights very seriously. I think that was the most influential aspect on Madison, was that someone from his home state was in his ear telling him how much injustice was being done to people from his native region, and how he should be fighting back against that. When we see Madison in the executive, he quickly realizes why Washington and Hamilton and the other guys that were in executive positions during the Revolution were Federalists. He struggled so much in 1812, because you cannot wage a war on an united platform, and thats what he and Washington had in common.

It seems like, from this perspective, that if Madison were Attorney General, or even a Secretary, he'd have that realization sooner. I don't think so. If Hamilton, in his hypothetical, was not Secretary of the Treasury, maybe he would, and maybe he'd remain a Federalist, since it was Hamilton's financial plan that caused Madison's switch in political party, but if Hamilton was still Treasury Secretary, Madison would still switch. Hamilton's Report on Public Credit said "fuck you we need to fix this crisis, facts over feelings" to states' rights activists, and Madison and Jefferson took that as a personal attack.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

To wrap things up, Madison's core values would not change, and a position in the executive would give him more of a platform to implement them, and that might have affected the judicial reforms around the turn of the century, but I really don't think we'd see a huge jump. Thank you for your question!

[thedialoguedilemma]

President Donald Trump held a press conference today to discuss the tragedy that unfolded last night when a military Blackhawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane resulting in over 60+ deaths.

During the press conference, he blamed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former President Biden and former President Obama for the crash.

President Trump fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, and disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee and fired 100 Federal Aviation Administration agents.

Elon Musk forced the FAA Administrator to resign once Trump took office because the FAA fined SpaceX for failing to get approval for launch changes causing the position to be currently vacant.

Absolutely disgusting.

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Reports are coming in of a midair collision over Reagan national airport in Washington DC between a D60 Pavehawk military helicopter and an American Airlines flight inbound from wichita. Both aircraft have crashed into the Potomac river. It is being said that the American flight was carrying 64 passengers and crew, and that the D60 was carrying 3 service members. As of now, all are believed deceased. This is just days after Donald trump fired the heads of staff at TSA, and disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, or ASAC. It is because of the defunding of critical government services like this by trump that more accidents like this will continue to happen. My heart is with the families of all who are likely dead, and I am both mournful and fascinated to see what the subsequent investigation reveals.

[affairsmastery]

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of illegitimate actions targeting the U.S. and its ally, Israel. The ICC has previously asserted jurisdiction over American and Israeli personnel, prompting strong opposition from Washington.

The U.S. has never been a state party to the Rome Statute, with past administrations refusing to ratify it. The ICC, based in The Hague, investigates genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity but faces criticism for overreach. This move further deepens tensions between the U.S. and international legal bodies.