Bonus Bill of 1817

E337186

The Bonus Bill of 1817 was a proposed U.S. federal law that sought to use funds from the Second Bank of the United States to finance internal improvements like roads and canals, but became historically notable when President James Madison vetoed it on constitutional grounds.

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Label Occurrences
Bonus Bill of 1817 canonical 2

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf internal improvements bill
proposed United States federal law
amountOfFund 1,500,000 dollars per year (approximately)
associatedWithPolicy American System (economic plan)
surface form: American System
associatedWithPolitician Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
branchOfGovernmentInvolved executive branch of the United States
legislative branch of the United States
constitutionalIssue federal power to fund internal improvements
interpretation of the General Welfare Clause
strict construction of the Constitution
country United States of America
surface form: United States
dateProposed 1817
era post-War of 1812 period
followedBy continuing congressional debates over internal improvements in the 1820s
fundingSourceProposed Second Bank of the United States
bonus and future dividends from the Second Bank of the United States
historicalSignificance early test of federal role in economic development
illustrated tension between nationalist and strict constructionist views
important precedent in constitutional debate over internal improvements
influencedDebateOn scope of the Necessary and Proper Clause
use of federal funds for infrastructure
intendedPurpose construct canals
construct roads
fund internal improvements
improve transportation infrastructure
introducedBy John C. Calhoun
Representative from South Carolina
introducedIn United States Congress
introducedInChamber United States House of Representatives
legislativeOutcome did not become law
legislativeStatus vetoed
opposedBy strict constructionists in Congress
presidentialTerm Presidency of James Madison
surface form: James Madison presidency
proposedSolutionByMadison constitutional amendment to authorize internal improvements
reasonForVeto James Madison believed Congress lacked constitutional authority to fund internal improvements without an amendment
relatedInstitution Second Bank of the United States
relatedTopic constitutional interpretation
federalism in the United States
internal improvements in the United States
supportedBy nationalists favoring federal support for economic development
timePeriod Era of Good Feelings
vetoDate March 3, 1817
vetoedBy James Madison
vetoType pocket veto status avoided by formal veto

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Presidency of James Madison vetoed Bonus Bill of 1817
Internal improvements debates relatedTo Bonus Bill of 1817