To the People of the State of New York:
I PROCEED now to trace the real characters of the proposed Executive, as they are marked out in the
plan of the convention. This will serve to place in a strong light the unfairness of the representations
which have been made in regard to it.
The first thing which strikes our attention is, that the executive authority, with few exceptions, is to be
vested in a single magistrate. This will scarcely, however, be considered as a point upon which any
comparison can be grounded; for if, in this particular, there be a resemblance to the king of Great Britain,
there is not less a resemblance to the Grand Seignior, to the khan of Tartary, to the Man of the Seven
Mountains, or to the governor of New York.
That magistrate is to be elected for four years; and is to be re-eligible as often as the people of the United
States shall think him worthy of their confidence....
To the People of the State of New York:
DURATION in office has been mentioned as the second requisite to the energy of the Executive
authority. This has relation to two objects: to the personal firmness of the executive magistrate, in the
employment of his constitutional powers; and to the stability of the system of administration which may
have been adopted under his auspices. With regard to the first, it must be evident, that the longer the
duration in office, the greater will be the probability of obtaining so important an advantage. It is a
general principle of human nature, that a man will be interested in whatever he possesses, in proportion to
the firmness or precariousness of the tenure by which he holds it; will be less attached to what he holds by
a momentary or uncertain title....
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To the People of the State of New York:
THERE is an idea, which is not without its advocates, that a vigorous Executive is inconsistent with the
genius of republican government. The enlightened well-wishers to this species of government must at
least hope that the supposition is destitute of foundation; since they can never admit its truth, without at
the same time admitting the condemnation of their own principles. Energy in the Executive is a leading
character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against
foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of
property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary
course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction, and
of anarchy. Every man the least conversant in Roman story, knows how often that republic was obliged to
take refuge....
To the People of the State of New York:
THE administration of government, in its largest sense, comprehends all the operations of the body
politic, whether legislative, executive, or judiciary; but in its most usual, and perhaps its most precise
signification. it is limited to executive details, and falls peculiarly within the province of the executive
department. The actual conduct of foreign negotiations, the preparatory plans of finance, the application
and disbursement of the public moneys in conformity to the general appropriations of the legislature, the
arrangement of the army and navy, the directions of the operations of war -- these, and other matters of a
like nature, constitute what seems to be most properly understood by the administration of government.
The persons, therefore, to whose immediate management these different matters are committed....
 
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