Executive Mansion, Washington,  December 6th. 1862. Brigadier General H.H. Sibley St. Paul Minnesota.  Ordered that of the Indians and Half-breeds sentenced to be hanged by the Military Commission, composed of Colonel Crooks, Lt. Colonel Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey, and Lieutenant Olin, and lately sitting in Minnesota, you cause to be executed on Friday the nineteenth day of December, instant, the following named, towit“Te-he-hdo-ne-cha.”  No. 2. by the record.“Tazoo” alias “Plan-doo-ta.” No. 4. by the record.“Wy-a-tah-to-wah” No. 5 by the record.“Hin-han-shoon-ko-yag.” No. 6 by the record.“Muz-za-bom-a-du.” No. 10. by the record.“Wah-pay-du-ta.” No. 11. by the record.“Wa-he-hud.” No. 12. by the record.“Sna-ma-ni.” No. 14. by the record.“Ta-te-mi-na.” No. 15. by the record.“Rda-in-yan-kna.” No. 19. by the record.“Do-wan-sa.” No. 22. by the record.“Ha-pan.” No. 24. by the record.“Shoon-ka-ska.” (White Dog). No. 35. by the record.“Toon-kan-e-chah-tay-mane.” No. 67. by the record.“E-tay-hoo-tay.” No. 68. by the record.“Am-da-cha.” No. 69. by the record.“Hay-pee-don—or, Wamne-omne-ho-ta.” No. 70. by the record.“Mahpe-o-ke-na-ji.” No. 96. by the record.“Henry Milord”—a Half-breed. No. 115. by the record.“Chaskay-don”—or Chaskayetay.” No. 121. by the record.“Baptiste Campbell” a Halfbreed. No. 138. by the record.“Tah-ta-kay-gay.” No. 155. by the record.“Ha-pink-pa.” No. 170 by the record.“Hypolite Ange” a Half-breed. No. 175 by the record.“Na-pay-Shue.” No. 178. by the record.“Wa-kan-tan-ka.” No. 210. by the record.“Toon-kan-ka-yag-e-na-jin.” No. 225. by the record.“Ma-kat-e-na-jin.” No. 254. by the record.“Pa-zee-koo-tay-ma-ne.” No. 264. by the record.“Ta-tay-hde-don.” No. 279. by the record.“Wa-She-choon,” or “Toon-kan-shkan-shkan-mene-hay.” No. 318. by the record.“A-e-cha-ga.”  No. 327. by the record.“Ha-tan-in-koo.” No. 333. by the record.“Chay-ton-hoon-ka.” No. 342. by the record.“Chan-ka-hda.” No. 359. by the record.“Hda-hin-hday.” No. 373. by the record.“O-ya-tay-a-koo.” No. 377. by the record.“May-hoo-way-wa.” No. 382. by the record.“Wa-kin-yan-na.” No. 383 by the recordThe other condemned prisoners you will hold subject to further orders, taking care that they neither escape, nor are subjected to any unlawful violence.ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. After Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of 1 U.S.C. 106b. The Archivist has delegated many of the ministerial duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register. Neither Article V of the Constitution nor section 106b describe the ratification process in detail. The Archivist and the Director of the Federal Register follow procedures and customs established by the Secretary of State, who performed these duties until 1950, and the Administrator of General Services, who served in this capacity until NARA assumed responsibility as an independent agency in 1985.

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. The original document is forwarded directly to NARA’s Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also assembles an information package for the States which includes formal “red-line” copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b.

The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the States for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or the state calls for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified. In the past, some State legislatures have not waited to receive official notice before taking action on a proposed amendment. When a State ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the State action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are found to be in good order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them. The OFR retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or fails, and then transfers the records to the National Archives for preservation.

A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.

In a few instances, States have sent official documents to NARA to record the rejection of an amendment or the rescission of a prior ratification. The Archivist does not make any substantive determinations as to the validity of State ratification actions, but it has been established that the Archivist’s certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive.

In recent history, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, which may include the President. President Johnson signed the certifications for the 24th and 25th Amendments as a witness, and President Nixon similarly witnessed the certification of the 26th Amendment along with three young scholars. On May 18, 1992, the Archivist performed the duties of the certifying official for the first time to recognize the ratification of the 27th Amendment, and the Director of the Federal Register signed the certification as a witness.

source: archives.gov/federal-register

The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service is comparable to a board of directors of a publicly held corporation. The Board normally consists of up to nine governors appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The nine governors select the Postmaster General, who becomes a member of the Board, and those 10 select the Deputy Postmaster General, who also serves on the Board. The Postmaster General serves at the pleasure of the governors for an indefinite term and the Deputy Postmaster General serves at the pleasure of the governors and the Postmaster General.

In 1970, when the Board was established by the Postal Reorganization Act, the governors of the Postal Service were appointed for terms of nine years. The first nine appointments were for staggered terms of one to nine years. Subsequent appointments were made for the full nine years. On December 20, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, P.L. 109-435, which changed the terms of subsequently appointed governors from nine to seven years. The Act also added professional qualifications for the governors. The governors are chosen to represent the public interest generally and cannot be representatives of special interests. Not more than five of the nine may belong to the same political party. They shall be chosen solely based on their experience in the field of public service, law or accounting. However, at least four of the governors shall be chosen solely based on their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) that employ at least 50,000 employees.

Appointments are made when vacancies occur or for the remainder of unexpired terms. Each governor’s term expires on December 8 of a given year. Governors may continue to serve following expiration of their term or until a successor is appointed but not for more than one year. No person may serve more than two terms as a governor.

The Board directs the exercise of the powers of the Postal Service, directs and controls its expenditures, reviews its practices, conducts long-range planning, approves officer compensation and sets policies on all postal matters. The Board takes up matters such as service standards and capital investments.

The governors employ a full-time corporate secretary who serves as the primary staff assistant to the Board and supervises other members of the staff of the Office of the Board of Governors. The secretary is generally responsible for coordinating the resources of the Postal Service so that the Board fulfills its statutory duties in the most efficient and informed manner possible. Michael J. Elston is the secretary of the Board.

The Board of Governors meets on a regular basis. Meeting locations are generally in Washington, D.C., but may be scheduled in some other city where the members can see firsthand a Postal Service or large mailer’s operation and provide access to the Board to customers from other parts of the country.

All meetings are open to the public unless the Board specifically votes to close all or part of a meeting in line with exemptions permitted by the Government in the Sunshine Act [5 U.S.C. 552b(b)].

Each governor receives $300 per day for not more than 42 days of meetings each year and travel expenses, in addition to an annual salary of $30,000.