736 



VETO. 



1RR2 and that of 1CS3 the governor had the initiation 

 of measures of legislation, which was equivalent to nil 

 absolute veto, while under the charter of I7ol he had 

 n absolute veto given in terms, of IK-IS tending to 

 change that organic law. Hy tin 1 BOMtitutlOa of IT'.Hl 

 tin- |ni>vi>ion as to tlic veto was adopted in tin- form 

 in which it had been adopted by Massachusetts in 

 ITxi. and this provision was continued in the const i- 

 tut ion of 1 



The Massachusetts clause was adopted in the con- 

 stitution of New York in IS'JI, and was continued in 

 the constitution of isld. Connecticut adopted the 

 provision in the panic general form, but Mowed a 

 mere majority to overcome the veto in the constitu- 

 tion of Isls. Virginia did not embody such a clause 

 in her constitution until 1S70. 



The executive veto of legislation may he retarded 

 us a fixed part of our system of government, but re- 

 duced from an absolute negative of legislation to a 

 check that may be overcome by the vote of a majority 

 or a larger proportion of the legislative body. In most 

 of the States two-thirds of the quorum Is necessary, 

 but in sonic a mere majority is sufficient. 



At the present day the executive veto is recognized 

 by the Ignited States and all of the Stales except 

 North Carolina, Ohio, Delaware, and Khode Island. 

 In every instance where the veto exists it may be 

 overcome by a competent proportion of the legislative 

 body. A vote of three-fifths is necessary for the pur- 

 pose in Maryland and Nebraska. Two-thirds of the 

 whole number elected is required for that purpose jn 

 Missouri. Two-thirds of a quorum is necessary in 

 California. Colorado, Florida, (icorgia, Illinois, Iowa, 

 Kansas. I/ouisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, 

 Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, 

 Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, 

 and Wisconsin. A majority of all persons elected i.s 

 required in Tennessee, West Virginia. Alabama, Ar- 

 kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and New Jersey. A ma- 

 jority of a quorum is required in Connecticut. In 

 Vermont the vote is a merely suspensory act, subject 

 to the action of the next session, and proceeds liom 

 the governor and council. 



The Constitution of the United States provides that 

 a bill presented to the President for his signature shall 

 become a law unless returned in ten days, unless Con- 

 gress by its adjournment prevents such return, and the 

 States generally that have veto provisions have a 

 similar clause varying as to the time within which the 

 bill must be returned. 



The Articles of Confederation did not provide for a 

 veto, for that form of government did not admit of its 

 application as an executive act, the States being repre- 

 eentcd in the system a.s sovereign communities. The 

 Constitution of the United States followed the form 

 originally adopted by Massachusetts requiring two- 

 thirds to overcome the veto of the President. The 

 discussion in the convention that framed the national 

 Constitution exhibits differences of opinion on this 

 subject, three plans being suggested one for an abso- 

 lute veto by the President, another proposed revision 

 by the President and judiciary, and the third that 

 which was finally adopted. The preponderating influ- 

 ence was in favor of a two-thirds vole. An nttempt 

 was made to confer a veto over laws of the States upon 

 the Federal Government, hut in its place power was 

 conferred upon the federal judiciary to declare laws of 

 States that were not in conformity with the. Constitu- 

 tion of the United States of no effect. The question 

 of vesting the veto power was dismissed upon proposi- 

 tions to place the whole in the executive or partly in 

 that officer and partly in the judiciary, but the final 

 result was its being placed in the executive alone, quali- 

 fied by the authority conferred on two thirds of Con- 

 gress to destroy its effect 



According to existing practice, the two-thirds of 

 Congress competent to enact a law notwithstanding 

 the President's veto u two-thirds of the number act- 



ing as a quorum of the respective houses of Congress, 

 and not two-thirds of the persons qualified to sit in 

 those houses. 



llnring the first half century under the Constitution 

 . power was used tor enforcing the executive. 

 views of the limitations of the Constitution upon tln> 

 authority of Congress. The c-taMishnu nt of the Hank 

 of the 1'nilcd Slates at the commencement of the 

 government divided opinion on the question pf its 

 constitutionality, which culminated in the exercise of 

 the \etii power by I'ns. Jackson to prevent the re- 

 charter of that institution. Another subject of grave 

 differences was the constitutionality of any attempt on 

 (he part of Congress to create and maintain inl'Tiial 

 improvements wil hin the territory of the Slates. Both 

 Madison and Jackson applied the veto to prevent the, 

 exercise by Congress of such power, which I hey re- 

 garded as infringing upon the sovereign ics of the, 

 States, neither, as they legardcd the matter, expressly 

 conferred upon Congress nor necessary lor the cxcu-ise 

 of such as had been expressly conferred. 



The frequent use by Pres. Jackson of the veto power 

 produced a political reaction against its employment in 

 the manner that was by many regarded as tending to 

 suppress efforts for the development of the material re- 

 sources of the country. The creation of internal im- 

 provements to connect together the great water-ways 

 of the country, the magnitude and interstate relation- 

 ships of which were regarded as rendering the action of 

 the general government essential to their institution, 

 gave prominence to the discussion of the question of 

 the veto power. 



Another interest that gave animation to the discus- 

 sion was the growing opinion that the revenues of the 

 country should to the largest extent be obtained from 

 imposts, duties upon imported goods, as means of de- 

 veloping the material resource s of the country. The 

 rigid const ruction of the powers of Congress that was 

 insisted upon by those who adhered to the school of 

 strict construction of the Federal Constitution had 

 found expression in the exercise of the veto power pro- 

 fessedly for the vindication of the limitations imposed 

 by the Constitution upon the powers of Congress. 



Another subject that has induced the active exer- 

 cise of the veto power was the interests connected 

 with the institution of slavery', that culminated in the 

 rebellion of 18C1. The period of reconstruct ion that 

 followed the close of tins rebellion brought into con- 

 flict local and general interests, and the veto power was 

 used by Pres. Johnson to enforce his views of the 

 constitutional relations of the States to the Federal 

 Government. Prior to the close of the period of re- 

 construction the absorbing political topic in the United 

 Slates was the balance 01 power between the general 

 government and the States, and the form in which the 

 veto power was placed by the Constitution, and the 

 mode of its subsequent exercise may be regarded as 

 largely influenced by the pendencv of tiiat fundamen- 

 tal Question. To reach a balance between national and 

 local sovereignties that should give efficacy and unity 

 to the national government without suppressing or im- 

 pairing the efficiency of the States in the exercise and 

 development of their internal powers and resources, 

 was a problem that had neither upon theoretical or 

 practical grounds been solved in the experience of 

 mankind, and if, while engaging the profound thought 

 of -talesmen, it should happen to excite jealousy among 

 ivniing the one or the other source of public 

 authority, it ought not to be retarded with surprise. 



While the question of the balance of power between 

 -is and the national government must remain 

 indefinitely subject at any time to produce animated 

 discussion and contrarieties of opinion in the I'mied 

 Stales, slill the occasion that gave the irrealesl inlen st 

 to this discussion has passed with the abolition of 

 slavery, which by dividing the country upon lines that 

 expressed fundamental differences in their social and 

 economic structure gave direct interest to every sug- 



