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7.2 Civil War At the beginning of the war Mexican forces were divided between the permanent forces (permanentes) and the active militiamen (activos) the permanent forces consisted of 12 regiments of infantry (of two battalions each) three brigades of artillery eight regiments of cavalry one separate squadron and a brigade of dragoons the militia amounted to nine infantry and six cavalry regiments in the northern territories of Mexico presidial companies (presidiales) protected the scattered settlements there. 4.2.4 Lobbyists Historian Richard B Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as key Founding Fathers: John Adams Benjamin Franklin Alexander Hamilton John Jay Thomas Jefferson James Madison and George Washington. Jefferson Madison and Washington were slave owners Franklin Hamilton and Jay were leading opponents of slavery Adams Jefferson and Franklin were members of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence Hamilton Madison and Jay were authors of the Federalist Papers advocating ratification of the Constitution the constitutions drafted by Jay and Adams for their respective states of New York (1777) and Massachusetts (1780) were heavily relied upon when creating language for the U.S Constitution. Jay Adams and Franklin negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) that would end the American Revolutionary War. Washington was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and was president of the Constitutional Convention All held additional important roles in the early government of the United States with Washington Adams Jefferson and Madison serving as president Jay was the nation's first chief justice Hamilton was the first secretary of the treasury and Franklin was America's most senior diplomat and later the governmental leader of Pennsylvania. . When the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10 1775 it essentially reconstituted the First Congress Many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting participated in the second. New arrivals included Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania John Hancock of Massachusetts and John Witherspoon of New Jersey Hancock was elected Congress president two weeks into the session when Peyton Randolph was recalled to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses Thomas Jefferson replaced Randolph in the Virginia congressional delegation the second Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence Witherspoon was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration He also signed the Articles of Confederation and attended the New Jersey (1787) convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. .

When Jefferson ran into Hamilton at President Washington's residence in New York City in late June 1790 Jefferson offered to host a dinner to bring Madison and Hamilton together Subsequently a compromise was reached in which the northern delegates would agree to the southerly Potomac River site and in return the federal government would assume debts accumulated by the states during the American Revolutionary War Jefferson wrote a letter to James Monroe explaining the compromise. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation: Kathmandu One of Congress's foremost non-legislative functions is the power to investigate and oversee the executive branch. Congressional oversight is usually delegated to committees and is facilitated by Congress's subpoena power. Some critics have charged that Congress has in some instances failed to do an adequate job of overseeing the other branches of government in the Plame affair critics including Representative Henry A Waxman charged that Congress was not doing an adequate job of oversight in this case. There have been concerns about congressional oversight of executive actions such as warrantless wiretapping although others respond that Congress did investigate the legality of presidential decisions. Political scientists Ornstein and Mann suggested that oversight functions do not help members of Congress win reelection Congress also has the exclusive power of removal allowing impeachment and removal of the president federal judges and other federal officers. There have been charges that presidents acting under the doctrine of the unitary executive have assumed important legislative and budgetary powers that should belong to Congress. So-called signing statements are one way in which a president can "tip the balance of power between Congress and the White House a little more in favor of the executive branch" according to one account. Past presidents including Ronald Reagan George H W Bush Bill Clinton and George W Bush have made public statements when signing congressional legislation about how they understand a bill or plan to execute it and commentators including the American Bar Association have described this practice as against the spirit of the Constitution. There have been concerns that presidential authority to cope with financial crises is eclipsing the power of Congress in 2008 George F Will called the Capitol building a "tomb for the antiquated idea that the legislative branch matters". .