About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Memorandum: October 1944 1 (1944)

handle is hein.ustreaties/moorm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: October 1944 Price: 10€ 726 .ackson Place - Washington 6, D. C. THE TWO-THIRDS SENATE TREATY RULE For many years our foreign policy has been hampered by an outmoded clause in the Constitution which states that the President shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur. The House of Representatives has no voice in treaty- making. HISTORICAL REASONS FOR THE TWO-THIRDS RULE In proposing any change in the Constitution it is advisable to go back and see why the provision was originally adopted. In this connection there are two questions: (a) Why was the House excluded from any vote and (b) Why was a two-thirds vote required by the Senate? Reasons for exclusion of the House 1. Just as national sovereignty is important now, so state sovereignty was important then, when the states were accustomed to conducting their affairs as individual units and not as a united group of states. Consequently, the treaty-making power, which had previously been a function of the states, was placed in the Senate because that body was composed of state representatives and was therefore as close a control as the states could achieve. Why this is no longer true Since the states have been fused together into one great nation, there is no longer any inclination for them to dominate our foreign relations. The representatives of all the people as well as the representatives of the states should be consulted. The Senate originally was composed of members appointed by the state legislatures. As we now have popular election of Senators, the state governments no longer have as direct a control over the Senate as previously. 2. Originallythe President was supposed to seek the advice and consent of the Senate prior to making treaties. If the House had been included, the group would have been too large for any secret nego- tiations. Why this is no longer true The Senate is now so large a body that secret negotiations are impossible. Even in the early days difficulties arose over the Senate's advisory powers. After one particularly arduous session, George Washington is reported to have said he would be damned if he'd ever go there again.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most