Subjects –
Madison, James
The first House contested election
April 29, 1789
On this date, the House referred its first contested election case, Ramsay vs. Smith from South Carolina, to the Committee on Elections, a panel created on April 13, 1789, to render judgment on disputed elections in the House based on evidence and witness testimony.
The 27th Amendment
September 25, 1789
On this date, the First Congress (1789–1791) submitted the original 12 amendments to the Constitution, crafted by Representative James Madison of Virginia, to the states for ratification.
The Permanent Seat of Government Act
July 16, 1790
On this date, President George Washington signed into law the Permanent Seat of Government Act, which established the location of the federal city.
The Sedition Act of 1798
July 10, 1798
In one of the first tests of freedom of speech, the House passed the Sedition Act, permitting the deportation, fine, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat or publishing “false, scandalous, or malicious writing” against the government of the United States.
Delegate Patrick Henry of Virginia
June 06, 1799
On this date, Patrick Henry, a Virginia Continental Congress delegate and a renowned skeptic of centralized government, died at his Red Hill home near Brookneal in the Old Dominion.