Presidential Vetoes: The First Veto
George Washington was the first president, so it is to be expected that he would be the first to use the veto. Surprisingly perhaps (or not) Washington only used the veto twice during his presidency, which is not the least (both Presidents Adams and Presidents Jefferson, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Taylor, Fillmore and Garfield never vetoed any bills), but he was much more restrained than the leaders when it came to the power of the veto such as Franklin Roosevelt (372) and Grover Cleveland (304).
Washington first used the veto when considering the Apportionment Act of 1792. This was a bill designed to fix the formula for setting the number of members of the House of Representatives. Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution requires that the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives is to be effected on the basis of population. In February 1792, the House passed the first Apportionment Act, which was also passed by the Senate in March 1792. But on April 5, 1792, President George Washington used his veto to prevent the bill from becoming law. This was the first presidential veto of legislation in American history.
On March 26, the bill was presented to the President. His leading advisors disagreed about whether of not the bill was constitutional or not. Washington asked each of his four cabinet members, those being Attorney-General Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and Secretary of War Henry Knox, to give him their opinions of the bill. Randolph and Jefferson both gave the opinion that the bill was unconstitutional because it set the total number of representatives at 120 by dividing the aggregate of the federal census by 30,000. They argued that the Constitution required the division of the population residing in each state by a common number in order to establish the size of the United States House of Representatives. They complained that the bill gave an additional member to the eight states with the largest fraction left over after dividing by 30,000, something that Randolph called "repugnant to the spirit of the constitution". Jefferson urged that Washington veto it because it was unconstitutional. He argued that if this method was followed, it opened the door to abuse in the future.
Knox and Hamilton disagreed and urged Washington to approve the bill. Knox said that the Constitution was unclear about "whether the numbers of representatives shall be apportioned on the aggregate number of all the people of the United States, or on the aggregate numbers of the people of each state." Because of this, Knox said that it wasn't clear that the President should question the bill as passed, and that he should defer to the wisdom of Congress. Hamilton said that the bill "performs every requisition of the constitution; and it will not be denied that it performs this in the manner most consistent with equality." Hamilton said: "In cases where two constructions may reasonably be adopted, and neither can be pronounced inconsistent with the public good, it seems proper that the legislative sense should prevail" and the bill should become law.
After considering both sides of the argument, Washington decided that he preferred the logic of Jefferson and Randolph. He agreed that the bill was unconstitutional. But Washington feared that by vetoing the bill he would increase geographical tensions by siding with the south, as Jefferson and Randolph were both from Virginia. He discussed the matter with James Madison, another Virginian, but also someone who knew the mood of the house. Madison allayed Washington's concerns, and on April 5 Washington decided to return the bill to the House of Representatives with the two objections: 1) that there was "no one proportion or divisor which, applied to the respective numbers of the States will yield the number and allotment of representatives proposed by the Bill" and 2) that "the Bill has allotted to eight of the States, more than one [representative] for thirty thousand."
The next day, the House attempted to override Washington's veto, but they failed to reach the two thirds vote required. On April 10, efforts began to revise the bill to meet Washington's objections. Congress decided to redraft the bill with better math. They decided that the apportionment of representatives would work out more fairly for all of the states if they used a formula with "the ratio of one for every thirty-three thousand persons in the respective States".
The text of the final bill, which was passed on April 10, 1792, and signed into law by President George Washington on April 14, 1792, read as follows:
An Act apportioning Representatives among the several States, according to the first enumeration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the third day of March one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, the House of Representatives shall be composed of members elected agreeably to a ratio of one member for every thirty-three thousand persons in each state, computed according to the rule prescribed by the constitution; that is to say:
Within the state of New Hampshire, four; within the state of Massachusetts, fourteen; within the state of Vermont, two; within the state of Rhode Island, two; within the state of Connecticut, seven; within the state of New York, ten; within the state of New Jersey, five; within the state of Pennsylvania, thirteen; within the state of Delaware, one; within the state of Maryland, eight; within the state of Virginia, nineteen; within the state of Kentucky, two; within the state of North Carolina, ten; within the state of South Carolina, six; and within the state of Georgia, two members.
APPROVED, April 14, 1792.
Washington first used the veto when considering the Apportionment Act of 1792. This was a bill designed to fix the formula for setting the number of members of the House of Representatives. Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution requires that the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives is to be effected on the basis of population. In February 1792, the House passed the first Apportionment Act, which was also passed by the Senate in March 1792. But on April 5, 1792, President George Washington used his veto to prevent the bill from becoming law. This was the first presidential veto of legislation in American history.
On March 26, the bill was presented to the President. His leading advisors disagreed about whether of not the bill was constitutional or not. Washington asked each of his four cabinet members, those being Attorney-General Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and Secretary of War Henry Knox, to give him their opinions of the bill. Randolph and Jefferson both gave the opinion that the bill was unconstitutional because it set the total number of representatives at 120 by dividing the aggregate of the federal census by 30,000. They argued that the Constitution required the division of the population residing in each state by a common number in order to establish the size of the United States House of Representatives. They complained that the bill gave an additional member to the eight states with the largest fraction left over after dividing by 30,000, something that Randolph called "repugnant to the spirit of the constitution". Jefferson urged that Washington veto it because it was unconstitutional. He argued that if this method was followed, it opened the door to abuse in the future.
Knox and Hamilton disagreed and urged Washington to approve the bill. Knox said that the Constitution was unclear about "whether the numbers of representatives shall be apportioned on the aggregate number of all the people of the United States, or on the aggregate numbers of the people of each state." Because of this, Knox said that it wasn't clear that the President should question the bill as passed, and that he should defer to the wisdom of Congress. Hamilton said that the bill "performs every requisition of the constitution; and it will not be denied that it performs this in the manner most consistent with equality." Hamilton said: "In cases where two constructions may reasonably be adopted, and neither can be pronounced inconsistent with the public good, it seems proper that the legislative sense should prevail" and the bill should become law.
After considering both sides of the argument, Washington decided that he preferred the logic of Jefferson and Randolph. He agreed that the bill was unconstitutional. But Washington feared that by vetoing the bill he would increase geographical tensions by siding with the south, as Jefferson and Randolph were both from Virginia. He discussed the matter with James Madison, another Virginian, but also someone who knew the mood of the house. Madison allayed Washington's concerns, and on April 5 Washington decided to return the bill to the House of Representatives with the two objections: 1) that there was "no one proportion or divisor which, applied to the respective numbers of the States will yield the number and allotment of representatives proposed by the Bill" and 2) that "the Bill has allotted to eight of the States, more than one [representative] for thirty thousand."
The next day, the House attempted to override Washington's veto, but they failed to reach the two thirds vote required. On April 10, efforts began to revise the bill to meet Washington's objections. Congress decided to redraft the bill with better math. They decided that the apportionment of representatives would work out more fairly for all of the states if they used a formula with "the ratio of one for every thirty-three thousand persons in the respective States".
The text of the final bill, which was passed on April 10, 1792, and signed into law by President George Washington on April 14, 1792, read as follows:
An Act apportioning Representatives among the several States, according to the first enumeration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the third day of March one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, the House of Representatives shall be composed of members elected agreeably to a ratio of one member for every thirty-three thousand persons in each state, computed according to the rule prescribed by the constitution; that is to say:
Within the state of New Hampshire, four; within the state of Massachusetts, fourteen; within the state of Vermont, two; within the state of Rhode Island, two; within the state of Connecticut, seven; within the state of New York, ten; within the state of New Jersey, five; within the state of Pennsylvania, thirteen; within the state of Delaware, one; within the state of Maryland, eight; within the state of Virginia, nineteen; within the state of Kentucky, two; within the state of North Carolina, ten; within the state of South Carolina, six; and within the state of Georgia, two members.
APPROVED, April 14, 1792.