Congress

"In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which created a system for converting that side into tidy farms and future states. The ordinance said Native land would “never be taken from them without their consent.” But that was the theory of America’s political elites. The practice of America’s settlers was that, almost immediately, thousands of them began pouring into Shawnee territory, squatting where they wanted and daring the Natives or, for that matter, their own government to do something about it."

"That summer, while Congress was out of session, Jefferson read a book that suggested the someone would be British: *Voyages from Montreal* by Alexander Mackenzie. In the book, which quickly dominated imperial conversations around the globe, Mackenzie described leading a small group across the northern part of North America, negotiating the Rockies and reaching the Pacific. This time, Jefferson didn’t need to rouse his imperial paranoia. Mackenzie spelled his plans out, urging Britain to build a series of trading posts. The region, he wrote, was “fit for colonization.”"

"Jefferson borrowed the next part of his plan from Gallatin. For only the second time in his presidency, he wrote a secret message to Congress. This choice hinted at his urgency, but Jefferson focused the text on a popular and bipartisan policy, a policy he wanted Congress to continue: Native trading posts. These posts, he wrote, provided America with a peaceful way to acquire land, “which the rapid increase of our numbers will call for.” They could even help with New Orleans by lining the Mississippi’s American side with “the means of its own safety.”"

"Lewis’s intelligence and drive led Jefferson to expand his duties, especially regarding Congress. The Capitol sat a mile and a half from the White House, connected by a mostly empty Pennsylvania Avenue that alternated between dusty and marshy, depending on the rain. Lewis carried messages back and forth, noting the partridges that resided along the avenue. (Legislators loved to hunt them.) He tracked congressional debates and met privately with key figures. His demeanor, remembered a charmed senator, was “easy and unaffected.”"

"Another reason economies are impossible to model involves the messy presence of human beings. Financially massive organizations warp the environment they inhabit much like the way gravitationally massive bodies warp space-time in physics: Normal rules do not apply to them. Giant companies influence Congress, the executive branch, and local governing bodies to pass legislation they want—granting them subsidies, protection, environmental relief, favorable tax status, and so on—and otherwise treat them in ways that are perfectly legal, but outside what the equations of economics predict."

"Rather than resorting to bribery, John Jacob Astor gained political influence by lending generously to the United States government during the War of 1812. Once peace was restored, he cashed in his favors by in¬ ducing Congress to ban noncitizens from competing in the fur trade. As¬ tor quickly pushed out British and Canadian operators and obtained a near monopoly.13"

"How can the United States do better? As a starting point, it could develop a better understanding of how China has grown into a technology superpower. If members of Congress continue to resort to the laziest explanations (“they’re just stealing all our IP”), then the United States will never grasp the importance of building up process knowledge. And it will fail to gain urgency to fix its technological deficiencies."

"Young people soured on politics and politicians, and I can’t say I blamed them. Washington had become an elitist, self-absorbed city that cared little for the values of everyday Americans who believe deeply in the work ethic and in family, freedom, and faith in God. Behind those majestic monuments in the backrooms of Congress, self-serving politicians were busily spending and borrowing America ever deeper into debt. The country was at a critical juncture and I felt that, perhaps, I could make a contribution."

"Churchill recognized the value of accountability and opposed efforts to add layers of advisers who lacked actual responsibility. “Lots of people can make good plans for winning the war if they have not got to carry them out,” Churchill pointedly noted when he addressed a Joint Session of Congress in 1943. “I dare say if I had not been in a responsible position I should have made a lot of excellent plans.”"