230 WRIGHT— POSITION OF FOREIGN RELATIONS 



" Mr. President, I do not stop at this moment to cite authorities in sup- 

 port of the proposition, that so far as the conduct of our foreign relations is 

 concerned, excluding only the Senate's participation in the making of treaties, 

 the President has the absolute and uncontrolled and uncontrollable au- 

 thority. . . . 



" We as the Senate, a part of the treaty-making power, have no more 

 right under the Constitution to invade the prerogative of the President to 

 negotiate treaties, and that is not all — the conduct of our foreign relations is 

 not limited to the negotiation of treaties — we have no more right under the 

 Constitution to invade that prerogative than he has to invade the prerogative 

 of legislation. . . . 



" I do not know whether it will be any ' light ' to the Senator from South 

 Carolina, but in Mr. Jefiferson's opinion on the Powers of the Senate, a very 

 celebrated document, which he gave at the request of the President, this lan- 

 guage was used : ' The transaction of business with foreign nations is execu- 

 tive altogether. It belongs, then, to the head of that department, except as to 

 such portions of it as are especially submitted to the Senate. Exceptions are 

 to be construed strictly.' " 



79. Theory of Essentially Legislative Nature. Early Opinion. 



Hovv^ever, supporters of the essentially legislative character of 

 the foreign relations power are not without ammunition. Whatever 

 may have been the opinion of theoretic writers and the practice of 

 European nations, the fact is undoubted that the first American 

 Government vested all foreign relations powers in Congress and the 

 Constitutional Convention started from the assumption that these < 

 powers were legislative. The particular powers in the field which 

 they delegated to the President in part or in full may have been 

 in view of particular expediencies. But the most important for- 

 eign relations powers were left largely legislative. The power to 

 declare war, to define piracies and offenses against the law of 

 nations and to regulate foreign commerce are left with Congress 

 and the power to make treaties and to appoint ambassadors, 

 public ministers and consuls requires the consent of the Senate. 



Furthermore, whatever Jefferson may have said or done at 

 other times, certainly he denounced Hamilton's theory of the 

 essentially executive nature of the foreign relations power in I793 

 and urged Madison to " take up your pen, select the most striking 

 heresies, and cut him to pieces in face of the public." '^^ Madison 

 i'^ Jefferson, Writings, P. L. Ford, ed., 6: 338. 



