“Every citizen owes to the country a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its public servants and a fair and reasonable estimate of their fidelity and usefulness.”
– Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) served as President of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897. He was also governor of New York from 1883 to 1885.
The Guardian has taken the time to round up some of the new state laws across the US that will take effect on January 1, 2015.
New US state laws taking effect on Thursday give livestock in California more living room, approve direct-to-consumer wine shipments in Massachusetts and levy the ultimate punishment on wannabe teenage drivers in Nevada by denying them licenses if they skip too much school.
Other laws will allow Louisiana teens as young as 16 to register to vote, crack down on meth dealers in Michigan, end tax breaks for Hollywood in North Carolina and raise the minimum wage in Ohio, New York, Rhode Island and elsewhere.
And, although it doesn’t take effect until early February, a new New York law takes out this year’s “Who knew?” prize by banning tiger selfies, which have been used by young men as profile photos on social media and dating sites.
via New York to ban tiger selfies – and
other new laws taking effect in 2015.
Some of the highlights from their extensive list:
The US Constitution makes no specific provision for a cabinet. But Article II, Section 2 does provide for the presidential appointment of department heads and other officials with the advice and consent of the Senate.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The Secretary of State holds a position whose roots predate the Constitution and even independence.
On 29 November 1775 the Second Continental Congress set up a committee of five to engage in secret diplomatic contacts with potential allies in Europe. In March of 1776 the committee sent Silas Deane to Paris where obtained armaments for the Colonies and recruited figures like the Marquis de Lafayette for the cause. In 1777 the committee conducting these operations was named the Committee for Foreign Affairs.
On 10 January 1781 the Continental Congress formally established the Department of Foreign Affairs. 20 days later Maryland became the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. The United States was now unified (if loosely) internally with a formal diplomatic apparatus for dealing with the rest of the world.
New Yorker Robert R. Livingston was chosen as the first Secretary for Foreign Affairs in October. But he lasted only until 07 June 1783, resigning out of frustration over lack of clarity about his position under the Articles and because Congress meddled with his duties and authority. The following year the Confederation Congress picked John Jay to succeed Livingston.
Four rooms in Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan served as headquarters for the Department of Foreign Affairs during much of Jay’s tenure.
Jay, another New Yorker, was as frustrated as Livingston was with the position. But he stuck with it until the current Constitution fully replaced the Articles of Confederation.
Along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, John Jay penned the essays we now know as the Federalist Papers which urged ratification of the Constitution. Of the five essays composed by Jay, four had to do with foreign affairs.
With the Constitution in effect, Jay declined an invitation from President George Washington to continue as the nation’s chief diplomat. But he agreed to remain as a caretaker.
On 27 July 1789 President Washington signed a bill creating an executive run Department of Foreign Affairs. But just two months later Congress passed and the president signed a bill which added a number of domestic responsibilities to the department. Because of those responsibilities the name was changed to the Department of State.
Thomas Jefferson was nominated by President Washington and confirmed by the Senate to officially become the first Secretary of State. He served from 22 March 1790 to 31 December 1793.
TL;DR Civics 