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8-1
CHAPTER EIGHT
PROJECT PROFILE
Top-Down Budgeting
Bottom-Up Budgeting
Activity-Based Costing
Summary
Key Terms
Solved Problems
Discussion Questions
Problems
Case Study 8.1: The Hidden Costs of Infrastructure Projects – The Case of Building
Dams
Internet Exercises
Notes
TRANSPARENCIES
3. LACK OF DEFINITION
4. SPECIFICATION CHANGES
5. EXTERNAL FACTORS
Months
Name Hours Needed Overhead Personal Time Hourly Rate Total Direct Labor
Charge Rate Cost
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
8.1 Describe an environment in which it would be common to bid for contracts with low
profit margins. What does this environment suggest about the competition levels?
Low barriers to entry, a lack of economies of scale, easier access to technology and, often
times, powerful buyers commonly characterize an environment with very low profit
margins. The relative ease of competing in such industries increases competition levels
both domestically and internationally.
8.2 How has the global economy affected the importance of cost estimation and cost
control for many project organizations?
8.3 Why is cost estimation such an important component of project planning? Discuss
how it links together with the Work Breakdown Structure and the project schedule?
Cost estimation, if done correctly, enables a firm to determine if the project will be
profitable, if the company can afford the project, and if the project is worth pursuing in
general. It also provides the company with a cost range for bidding (in the case of a
customer-oriented project). With respect to Work Breakdown Structure and project
schedule, cost estimation is important because it leads to budgeting of monetary and other
resources (both material and human). These allocations must coordinate with the Work
Breakdown Structure and project schedules prepared by management to figure out if the
required resources will be available as needed.
8.4 Imagine you were developing a software package for your company’s intranet. Give
examples of the various types of costs (labor, materials, equipment and facilities,
subcontractors, etc.) and how they would apply to your project.
8.5 Give reasons both in favor of and against the use of personal time charge as a cost
estimate for a project activity.
Using a personal time charge can create a more accurate assessment of time by including
a reasonable amount of downtime in estimates of work time. By using the personal time
charge, a company can be better compensated for its labor resources, as all time
(productive or not) spent on a particular job is a use of human/intellectual resources.
However, this charge may appear unwarranted from a customer’s perspective. The
personal time charge allows time for unproductive breaks. Customers will most likely be
reluctant to pay for unproductive time, resulting in payment disputes.
This is a personal example question and should only be applied to students with some
project experience.
8.7 Suppose your organization used function point analysis to estimate costs for software
projects. How would the expertise level of a recently hired programmer affect your
calculation of their function points on a monthly basis when compared to an older,
more experienced programmer?
Function point analysis assumes that there are differential challenges with software
functions depending upon the resource. A newly hired programmer might rate more of
the functions to which he or she is assigned as “Higher Complexity,” which would add
extra hours to the time (and therefore, cost) estimates. Complexity estimates determine
the costs of variance program features, so the more seasoned and expert the programmer,
the lower the overall cost of the sequence.
8.8 Put yourself in the position of a project customer. Would you insist on the cost
adjustments associated with learning curve effects or not? Under what circumstances
would learning curve costs be appropriately budgeted into a project?
As a customer, the student may not accept fees when the repetitive work (that accounts
for the learning curve) is a routine job for the supplier. The reason for this is that the
student would be paying for learning effects from which others would reap the benefit.
Also, learning effects associated with new employees would be unreasonable to include
in project billing. On the other hand, if the repetitive work/learning curve effects were
project or customer specific, then budgeting the costs into the project would be
appropriate.
8.9 Consider the common problems with project cost estimation and recall a project with
which you have been involved. Which of these common problems did you encounter
most often? Why?
This is a personal example question and should only be applied to students with some
project experience.
8.10 Would you prefer the use of bottom-up or top-down budgeting for project cost
control? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with each approach?
Top-down budgeting would be preferred because it more often results in better cost
control. It also draws on experience of top management for reasonable project estimates
(e.g., historical costs, etc.). However, these advantages come at a cost. Top-down
budgeting can result in friction between top, middle, and lower level managers as the
approach results in a zero-sum game (i.e., what one manager receives, another loses).
Bottom-up budgeting has the benefit of being detailed from the very beginning. Costs can
be directly tied to WBS and individual tasks. Unfortunately, this process can be time
consuming and removes control from top management, which may lead to variances from
strategic goals of the project.
8.11 Why do project teams create time-phased budgets? What are their principle
strengths?
Time-phased budgets all teams to match the project schedule with the project’s budget.
They can also identify milestones for completion of work and budget expenditures. This
enables teams to see when and where money was spent. This creates a better idea of
where variances occurred and creates better control mechanisms. Moreover, time-phased
budgets result in better documentation for future project planning.
8.12 Project contingency can be applied to projects for a variety of reasons. List three of
the key reasons why a project organization should consider the application of
budget contingency.
First, changes in scope and specifications can occur, creating increased costs. Secondly,
rework and interaction fees can be difficult to predict in the initial planning stages. For
example, a project may require communication between departments or office branches,
which may lead to travel and coordination costs that are unseen prior to implementation
(e.g., shipping, etc.). Lastly, uncertainty (especially related to the environment or politics)
is a known complication of project work. Changes can occur that restrict the use or
availability of resources, which may cause delays in production or create the need for
additional accommodations.
CASE STUDIES
Case Study 8.1: The Hidden Costs of Infrastructure Projects – The Case
of Building Dams
A fascinating study that was recently completed by a research group at Oxford University
(headed by Professor Bent Flyvbjerg) found that many developing countries engage in
large infrastructure projects under the assumption that these are the key to future
economic success. A particular case in point is building large scale dams. Demand for
electricity has gone up dramatically, particularly in third world countries that are assumed
could benefit greatly from the hydropower generated by dams. Flood control, crop
irrigation, transportation, and other reasons support the idea that large dams are a
universal benefit. However, research suggests that the enormous costs of dam projects are
such that countries simply cannot afford them. Close analysis of benefits and drawbacks
shows that rarely do countries and contractors take a hard look at the “real” costs of large
infrastructure projects like dams; if they did, they would be much more wary of engaging
in these projects. This case concludes with some alternatives, such as the policy pursued
in Norway of smaller, more eco-friendly dam projects that can produce needed energy
but are affordable and environmentally sound.
Questions:
1) Given the history of large cost overruns associated with megadam construction,
why do you believe they are so popular, especially in the developing world?
One obvious answer is the prestige they offer, especially in regard to presenting evidence
of development and improvement to the national economy. Some developing countries
pursue them as a sign of international legitimacy. There is also the darker reason that
large projects offer the opportunity for large-scale graft and corruption, as has been
rumored with the Sochi Olympics construction projects.
This question works well for setting up an in-class debate between groups. The best
approach is to first assign students to teams and have them research this question so they
come prepared with actual evidence, rather than simple opinion. There are multiple
arguments on both sides of the debate, and a thorough response should consider both the
benefits and drawbacks of such massive construction projects, though the current longer-
term evidence suggests that they are more a curse than a benefit.
The Boston “Big Dig” is a class case of a project that was a monumental failure in terms
of cost and duration estimation, as well as a continued problem from a quality
perspective. The project was initiated with very questionable estimates for the expected
costs, became a “white elephant” in the Boston area, and finally staggered to completion
after several years and billions of dollars over budget. This case analyzes the narrative of
the development of the “Big Dig” and also looks at several of the chief culprits in its
failure, including the general contractor, whose lack of oversight led to cost-cutting and
poor quality, the local and state agencies, who routinely looked the other way and were of
almost no help with oversight, and the contractors themselves, who used shoddy practices
and fraudulent bookkeeping to keep costs down and profits high. The case has been
updated to include the tragedy that occurred in 2006 when ceiling bolts gave way in a
tunnel and killed a commuter passing underneath. This is a great case for general class
discussion, to consider the role that each of the major stakeholders played in the project.
Questions:
This question asks us whether or not the standard rules of oversight apply to special
projects, sometimes termed “prestige projects,” such as the “Big Dig,” the Channel
Tunnel, and the Sydney Opera House. The issue is whether we willingly should ignore
standard estimation and oversight procedures due to the special nature of these projects.
As there is no obvious right or wrong answer, the question leads to good discussion of the
benefits and drawbacks of these types of project.
Clearly, there is very little to recommend the “Big Dig” from any of the standard success
criteria. If the tunnel system had performed adequately, perhaps a case may have been
made that eventually it would be seen as a success in spite of terrible cost and schedule
overruns. However, once the ceiling tiles starting falling and actually killed a passerby,
the charge could be made that the project failed on all possible levels of project success.
3) What are the lessons to be learned from the “Big Dig” project? Was this a failure
of project estimation or project control by the contractors and local government?
This question has no obvious answer and students should bring in evidence to support
either position. Overall, based on the Project Management Research in Brief case in the
chapter, Flyvbjerg’s research argues that large capital projects are rife with the potential
for fraud and have to be evaluated carefully on that score. The Project Management
Research in Brief vignette makes a nice supplement to answering this question.
PROBLEMS
8.1 Calculate the fully loaded cost of labor for a project team member using the following
data:
Hourly rate: $35/hr.
Hours needed: 150
Overhead rate: 55%
Solution: The formula for calculating fully loaded cost of labor is:
Hourly rate Hours needed Overhead charge Total direct labor cost
($35) x (150) x (1.55) = $8,137.50
8.2 Calculate the fully loaded cost of labor for your Project Engineer using the following
data:
Hourly rate: $40/hr
Estimated hours of work: 120
Overhead rate: 65%
Personal time: 15%
Solution: The formula for calculating fully loaded labor costs is:
Hourly rate Hours needed Overhead charge Personal time Fully loaded labor cost
($40) x (120) x (1.65) x (1.15) = $9,108.00
8.3 Calculate the direct cost of labor for the project team using the following data. What
are the costs for the individual project team members? What is the fully loaded cost
of labor?
Solution:
8.4 Assume that overhead is charged on a flat-rate basis. Each member of the project is
assigned an overhead charge of $150/week. What would the fully loaded cost of labor
be for an employee, given that she is assigned to the project for 200 hours at
$10.50/hour?
Solution:
The hours that the employee works (200 hours) would equate to 5 weeks, thus the
calculation would show:
Hourly rate Hours needed Overhead charge Total direct labor cost
($10.50) x (200) + $750 = $2,850
8.5 Calculate the fully loaded labor costs for members of your project team using the
following data. Who is the most expensive member of your team? What proportion of
the overall fully loaded cost of labor is taken up by this individual?
Solution:
The fully loaded costs are embedded in the table in the right hand column. The most
expensive resource for this project is Todd. His labor costs are approximately 44% of the
total fully loaded labor cost for the project.
8.6 Using the following information about work package budgets, complete the overall
time-phased budget for your project. (All cost figures are in $ 000’s.) Which are the
weeks with the greatest budget expense?
Task Budget Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
A 5 3 2
B 8 1 4 3 1
C 12 2 7 3
D 7 3 3 1
E 14 5 5 2 2
F 6 1 2 3
Plan 52 4 8 13 12 6 3 4 3
Cumulat 4 12 25 37 43 46 50 53
ive
Solution:
The plan and cumulative time-phased budget totals are shown in the bottom two rows of
the table. The weeks with the biggest planned expense are Week 3 ($13,000) followed by
Week 4 ($12,000). The total cumulative budget for the project is $53,000.
8.7 Given the following information, complete a time-phased budget for your project.
(All cost figures are in $ 000’s.) What are weekly planned and cumulative costs for
the project?
Staffing 5 4 1
Blueprinting 8 1 6 1
Prototyping 12 2 8 2
Full Design 24 4 10 10
Plan 5 9 13 12 10
Cumulative 5 14 27 39 49
Solution:
The plan and cumulative time-phased budget totals are shown in the bottom two rows of
the table. The total cumulative budget for the project is $49,000.
For the problems 8.8 through 8.10, refer to the chart of learning curve coefficients
(unit and total time multipliers) shown below.
8.8 It took MegaTech, Inc. 100,000 labor-hours to produce the first of several oil-drilling
rigs for Antarctic exploration. Your company, Natural Resources, Inc., has agreed to
purchase the fifth (steady state) oil-drilling rig from MegaTech’s manufacturing yard.
Assume that MegaTech experiences a learning rate of 80%. At a labor rate of $35 per
hour, what should you, as the purchasing agent, expect to pay for the fifth unit?
TN = T1C
Solution:
The table lists the fourth unit learning curve coefficient as .596, assuming a learning rate
of 80%. Using the formula, to produce the fifth unit takes:
TN = T1C
T5 = (100,000) (.596)
= 59,600 hours
= $2,086,000
8.9 Problem 8 identified how long it should take to complete the fifth oil-drilling
platform that Natural Resources plans to purchase. How long should all five oil-
drilling rigs take to complete?
Solution:
We can look at the total time column in the table associated with a learning rate of 80%.
The multiplier is listed as 3.738. Using this value, the total time necessary to complete the
five rigs is calculated as:
T5 = (100,000) (3.738)
8.10 Suppose that you are the assigning costs to a major project to be undertaken this
year by your firm, DynoSoft Applications. One particular coding process involves
many labor-hours, but highly redundant work. You anticipate a total of 200,000
labor-hours to complete the first iteration of the coding and a learning curve rate of
70%. You are attempting to estimate the cost of the twentieth (steady state) iteration
of this coding sequence. Based on this information and a $60 per hour labor rate,
what would you expect to budget as the cost of the twentieth iteration? The fortieth
iteration?
Solution:
T20 = T1C
= (200,000) (.214)
= 42,800 hours
T40 = T1C
= (200,000) (.150)
= 30,000 hours
The costs for the 20th and 40th iterations are found as:
8.11 Assume you are a project cost engineer calculating the cost of a repetitive activity
for your project. There are a total of 20 iterations of this activity required for the
project. The project activity takes 2.5 hours at its steady state rate and the learning
rate is 75%. Calculate the initial output time for the first unit produced, using the
learning curve formula:
Yx = aXb
where:
Yx = the time required for the steady state, x, unit of output
a = the time required for the initial unit of output
X = the number of units to be produced to reach the steady state
b = the slope of the learning curve, represented as: log decimal learning rate/log 2
Solution:
Use the formula to first determine the slope of the learning curve (log decimal learning
rate/ log 2):
b = log 0.75/log 2
= -.2877/0.693
= -.415
a = 8.667 hours
8.12 As the manager of the IT group at your insurance firm, you have been asked to
develop a cost estimate for upgrades to the computerized accident-reporting and
claims adjustment system you have in place. Your system is basic, without many
features, but it needs some general modifications, based on complaints from
customers and claims adjusters at your firm. You know that your programmer is
capable of handling 3 function points in a person-month and your programmer
makes $60,000, so her cost is $5,000 per month. The costs for the project are based
on the following requirements:
Complexity Weighting
Function Low Medium High Total
Number of Inputs 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____
= = =
Number of Outputs 2 _____ 6 _____ 10 _____
= = =
Number of 10 _____ 15 _____ 20 _____
Interfaces = = =
Number of Queries 3 _____ 6 _____ 9 _____
= = =
Number of Files 1 _____ 3 _____ 5 _____
= = =
a. Calculate the total estimated number of function points for this project.
b. What is the total expected cost of the project?
Solution:
a. Because we know the estimated complexity for each of the software functions that
must be coded and the number of screens for each function, the calculation is
relatively straightforward: multiplying, we find that the total function points for this
project are estimated to be 220.
Complexity Weighting
b. Your programmer can complete 3 function points per month, so the total number of
person-months needed to complete the project is: 220/3 = 73.33. We multiply this
value by the cost per programmer per month of $5,000 to estimate the total cost for
this project as $366,667.
8.13 You work at a regional health care center and have been asked to calculate the
expected cost for a software project in your organization. You know that
historically your programmers can handle 5 function points each person-month and
that the cost per programmer in your company is $4,000 per month. The project
whose costs you are estimating is based on the following requirements:
Input 8 Low
Output 6 Low
Interfaces 15 High
Queries 5 High
Files 25 Medium
Further, you know that the complexity weighting for these functions follows a
Complexity Weighting
a. Calculate the total estimated number of function points for this project.
Solution:
a. Because we know the estimated complexity for each of the software functions that
must be coded and the number of screens for each function, the calculation is relatively
straightforward: multiplying, we find that the total function points for this project are
estimated to be 414.
Complexity Weighting
b. Each resource can complete 5 function points per month, so the total number of
person-months needed to complete the project is: 414/5 = 82.80. We multiply this value
by the cost per programmer per month of $4,000 to estimate the total cost for this project
as $331,200.
1843.—Liberty Platform.
1844.—Whig Platform.
Baltimore, May 1.
1. Resolved, That these principles may be summed as comprising a
well regulated national currency: a tariff for revenue to defray the
necessary expenses of the government, and discriminating with
special reference to the protection of the domestic labor of the
country; the distribution of the proceeds from the sales of the public
lands; a single term for the presidency; a reform of executive
usurpations; and generally such an administration of the affairs of
the country as shall impart to every branch of the public service the
greatest practical efficiency, controlled by a well regulated and wise
economy.
1844.—Democratic Platform.
1848.—Democratic Platform.
Philadelphia, June 9.
1. Resolved, That the Whigs of the United States, here assembled
by their representatives, heartily ratify the nominations of General
Zachary Taylor as President, and Millard Fillmore as Vice-President,
of the United States, and pledge themselves to their support.
2. Resolved, That in the choice of General Taylor as the Whig
candidate for President, we are glad to discover sympathy with a
great popular sentiment throughout the nation—a sentiment which
having its origin in admiration of great military success, has been
strengthened by the development, in every action and every word, of
sound conservative opinions, and of true fidelity to the great example
of former days, and to the principles of the constitution as
administered by its founders.
3. Resolved, That General Taylor, in saying that, had he voted in
1844, he would have voted the Whig ticket, gives us the assurance—
and no better is needed from a consistent and truth-speaking man—
that his heart was with us at the crisis of our political destiny, when
Henry Clay was our candidate, and when not only Whig principles
were well defined and clearly asserted, but Whig measures depended
on success. The heart that was with us then is with us now, and, we
have a soldier’s word of honor, and a life of public and private virtue,
as the security.
4. Resolved, That we look on General Taylor’s administration of
the government as one conducive of peace, prosperity and union; of
peace, because no one better knows, or has greater reason to deplore,
what he has seen sadly on the field of victory, the horrors of war, and
especially of a foreign and aggressive war; of prosperity, now more
than ever needed to relieve the nation from a burden of debt, and
restore industry—agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial—to
its accustomed and peaceful functions and influences; of union,
because we have a candidate whose very position as a southwestern
man, reared on the banks of the great stream whose tributaries,
natural and artificial, embrace the whole Union, renders the
protection of the interests of the whole country his first trust, and
whose various duties in past life have been rendered, not on the soil,
or under the flag of any state or section, but over the wide frontier,
and under the broad banner of the nation.
5. Resolved, That standing, as the Whig party does, on the broad
and firm platform of the constitution, braced up by all its inviolable
and sacred guarantees and compromises, and cherished in the
affections, because protective of the interests of the people, we are
proud to have as the exponent of our opinions, one who is pledged to
construe it by the wise and generous rules which Washington applied
to it, and who has said—and no Whig desires any other assurance—
that he will make Washington’s administration his model.
6. Resolved, That as Whigs and Americans, we are proud to
acknowledge our gratitude for the great military services which,
beginning at Palo Alto, and ending at Buena Vista, first awakened the
American people to a just estimate of him who is now our Whig
candidate. In the discharge of a painful duty—for his march into the
enemy’s country was a reluctant one; in the command of regulars at
one time, and volunteers at another, and of both combined; in the
decisive though punctual discipline of his camp, where all respected
and loved him; in the negotiation of terms for a dejected and
desperate enemy; in the exigency of actual conflict when the balance
was perilously doubtful—we have found him the same—brave,
distinguished, and considerate, no heartless spectator of bloodshed,
no trifler with human life or human happiness; and we do not know
which to admire most, his heroism in withstanding the assaults of
the enemy in the most hopeless fields of Buena Vista—mourning in
generous sorrow over the graves of Ringgold, of Clay, of Hardin—or
in giving, in the heat of battle, terms of merciful capitulation to a
vanquished foe at Monterey, and not being ashamed to avow that he
did it to spare women and children, helpless infancy and more
helpless age, against whom no American soldier ever wars. Such a
military man, whose triumphs are neither remote nor doubtful,
whose virtues these trials have tested, we are proud to make our
candidate.
7. Resolved, That in support of this nomination, we ask our Whig
friends throughout the nation to unite, to co-operate zealously,
resolutely, with earnestness, in behalf of our candidate, whom
calumny can not reach, and with respectful demeanor to our
adversaries, whose candidates have yet to prove their claims on the
gratitude of the nation.
1848.—Buffalo Platform.
Utica, June 22.
Whereas, We have assembled in convention as a union of freemen,
for the sake of freedom, forgetting all past political difference, in a
common resolve to maintain the rights of free labor against the
aggression of the slave power, and to secure free soil to a free people;
and,
Whereas, The political conventions recently assembled at
Baltimore and Philadelphia—the one stifling the voice of a great
constituency, entitled to be heard in its deliberations, and the other
abandoning its distinctive principles for mere availability—have
dissolved the national party organization heretofore existing, by
nominating for the chief magistracy of the United States, under the
slaveholding dictation, candidates, neither of whom can be
supported by the opponents of slavery extension, without a sacrifice
of consistency, duty, and self-respect; and,
Whereas, These nominations so made, furnish the occasion, and
demonstrate the necessity of the union of the people under the
banner of free democracy, in a solemn and formal declaration of
their independence of the slave power, and of their fixed
determination to rescue the Federal government from its control,
1. Resolved, therefore, That we, the people here assembled,
remembering the example of our fathers in the days of the first
Declaration of Independence, putting our trust in God for the
triumph of our cause, and invoking His guidance in our endeavors to
advance it, do now plant ourselves upon the national platform of
freedom, in opposition to the sectional platform of slavery.
2. Resolved, That slavery in the several states of this Union which
recognize its existence, depends upon the state laws alone, which can
not be repealed or modified by the Federal government, and for
which laws that government is not responsible. We therefore propose
no interference by Congress with slavery within the limits of any
state.
3. Resolved, That the proviso of Jefferson, to prohibit the existence
of slavery, after 1800, in all the territories of the United States,
southern and northern; the votes of six states and sixteen delegates
in Congress of 1784, for the proviso, to three states and seven
delegates against it; the actual exclusion of slavery from the
Northwestern Territory, by the Ordinance of 1787, unanimously
adopted by the states in Congress; and the entire history of that
period, clearly show that it was the settled policy of the nation not to
extend, nationalize or encourage, but to limit, localize and
discourage, slavery; and to this policy, which should never have been
departed from, the government ought to return.
4. Resolved, That our fathers ordained the constitution of the
United States, in order, among other great national objects, to
establish justice, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty; but expressly denied to the Federal government,
which they created, all constitutional power to deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due legal process.
5. Resolved, That in the judgment of this convention, Congress has
no more power to make a slave than to make a king; no more power
to institute or establish slavery than to institute or establish a
monarchy; no such power can be found among those specifically
conferred by the constitution, or derived by just implication from
them.
6. Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal government to
relieve itself from all responsibility for the existence or continuance
of slavery wherever the government possesses constitutional power
to legislate on that subject, and it is thus responsible for its existence.
7. Resolved, That the true, and, in the judgment of this convention,
the only safe means of preventing the extension of slavery into
territory now free, is to prohibit its extension in all such territory by
an act of Congress.
8. Resolved, That we accept the issue which the slave power has
forced upon us; and to their demand for more slave states, and more
slave territory, our calm but final answer is, no more slave states and
no more slave territory. Let the soil of our extensive domains be kept
free for the hardy pioneers of our own land, and the oppressed and
banished of other lands, seeking homes of comfort and fields of
enterprise in the new world.
9. Resolved, That the bill lately reported by the committee of eight
in the Senate of the United States, was no compromise, but an
absolute surrender of the rights of the non-slaveholders of all the
states; and while we rejoice to know that a measure which, while
opening the door for the introduction of slavery into the territories
now free, would also have opened the door to litigation and strife
among the future inhabitants thereof, to the ruin of their peace and
prosperity, was defeated in the House of Representatives, its
passage, in hot haste, by a majority, embracing several senators who
voted in open violation of the known will of their constituents,
should warn the people to see to it that their representatives be not
suffered to betray them. There must be no more compromises with
slavery; if made, they must be repealed.
10. Resolved, That we demand freedom and established
institutions for our brethren in Oregon, now exposed to hardships,
peril, and massacre, by the reckless hostility of the slave power to the
establishment of free government and free territories; and not only
for them, but for our brethren in California and New Mexico.
11. Resolved, It is due not only to this occasion, but to the whole
people of the United States, that we should also declare ourselves on
certain other questions of national policy; therefore,
12. Resolved, That we demand cheap postage for the people; a
retrenchment of the expenses and patronage of the Federal
government; the abolition of all unnecessary offices and salaries; and
the election by the people of all civil officers in the service of the
government, so far as the same may be practicable.
13. Resolved, that river and harbor improvements, when
demanded by the safety and convenience of commerce with foreign
nations, or among the several states, are objects of national concern,
and that it is the duty of Congress, in the exercise of its constitutional
power, to provide therefor.
14. Resolved, That the free grant to actual settlers, in consideration
of the expenses they incur in making settlements in the wilderness,
which are usually fully equal to their actual cost, and of the public
benefits resulting therefrom, of reasonable portions of the public
lands, under suitable limitations, is a wise and just measure of public
policy, which will promote in various ways the interests of all the
states of this Union; and we, therefore, recommend it to the
favorable consideration of the American People.
15. Resolved, That the obligations of honor and patriotism require
the earliest practical payment of the national debt, and we are,
therefore, in favor of such a tariff of duties as will raise revenue
adequate to defray the expenses of the Federal government, and to
pay annual installments of our debt and the interest thereon.
16. Resolved, That we inscribe on our banner, “Free Soil, Free
Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men,” and under it we will fight on,
and fight ever, until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions.
1852.—Democratic Platform.
Baltimore, June 1.
Resolutions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, of the platform of 1848, were
reaffirmed, to which were added the following:
8. Resolved, That it is the duty of every branch of the government
to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting our
public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is
required to defray the necessary expenses of the government, and for
the gradual but certain extinction of the public debt.
9. Resolved, That Congress has no power to charter a National
Bank; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to
the best interests of the country, dangerous to our republican
institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place
the business of the country within the control of a concentrated
money power, and that above the laws and will of the people; and
that the results of Democratic legislation, in this and all other
financial measures, upon which issues have been made between the
two political parties of the country, have demonstrated to candid and
practical men of all parties, their soundness, safety, and utility, in all
business pursuits.
10. Resolved, That the separation of the moneys of the government
from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds
of the government and the rights of the people.
11. Resolved, That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in
the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the constitution,
which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed
of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic
faith; and every attempt to abridge the privilege of becoming citizens
and the owners of the soil among us, ought to be resisted with the
same spirit that swept the alien and sedition laws from our statute
books.
12. Resolved, That Congress has no power under the constitution
to interfere with, or control, the domestic institutions of the several
states, and that such states are the sole and proper judges of
everything appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the
constitution; that all efforts of the Abolitionists or others, made to
induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take
incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most
alarming and dangerous consequences; and that all such efforts have
an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and
endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not
to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions.
13. Resolved, That the foregoing proposition covers, and is
intended to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in
Congress; and therefore the Democratic party of the Union, standing
on this national platform, will abide by, and adhere to, a faithful
execution of the acts known as the Compromise measures settled by
last Congress, “the act for reclaiming fugitives from service labor”
included; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision
of the constitution, can not, with fidelity thereto, be repealed, nor so
changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency.
14. Resolved, That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at
renewing in Congress, or out of it, the agitation of the slavery
question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made.
[Here resolutions 13 and 14, of the platform of 1848, were
inserted.]
17. Resolved, That the Democratic party will faithfully abide by
and uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Virginia
resolutions of 1792 and 1798, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the
Virginia Legislature in 1799; that it adopts those principles as
constituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, and is
resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and import.
18. Resolved, That the war with Mexico, upon all the principles of
patriotism and the law of nations, was a just and necessary war on
our part, in which no American citizen should have shown himself
opposed to his country, and neither morally nor physically, by word
or deed, given aid and comfort to the enemy.
19. Resolved, That we rejoice at the restoration of friendly
relations with our sister Republic of Mexico, and earnestly desire for
her all the blessings and prosperity which we enjoy under republican
institutions, and we congratulate the American people on the results
of that war which have so manifestly justified the policy and conduct
of the Democratic party, and insured to the United States indemnity
for the past and security for the future.
20. Resolved, That, in view of the condition of popular institutions
in the old world, a high and sacred duty is devolved with increased
responsibility upon the Democracy of this country, as the party of the
people, to uphold and maintain the rights of every state, and thereby
the union of states, and to sustain and advance among them
constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and
exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the
many, and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles
and compromises of the constitution which are broad enough and
strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it is, and the
Union as it should be, in the full expansion of the energies and
capacity of this great and progressive people.
1852.—Whig Platform.
1852.—Free-soil Platform.