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Articles not previously published may also be found here. Short commentary is on the blog page.
The Essence of the Constitution
"Friday Morning Group" 12October2012 - Lexington MA
Good morning.
The monthly US Constitution study group I have been running for a little over 2 ½ years now, has completed our start-to-finish run three times. Obviously, in ten minutes I cannot give any real idea of how the Constitution sets up our federal government, or how the federal and state governments were meant to interact – and how the federal government was designed to be subservient to the will of the people.
Instead, my goal is to give you a taste of the principles espoused by our Founders (for which they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred Honor), their intentions for the Constitution, and how those principles work to inform the structure of the federal government.
The Declaration of Independence first set forth the Principles upon which the new country was to be founded. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and PROPERTY. ...To secure these rights, governments are instituted... whenever ANY form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right and the Duty of the people to alter or to abolish it.
Let’s back up a wee bit. “Unalienable” is not a word commonly used today. It means un-removable. You may think “un – a – LIEN – able” as in cannot be liened, mortgaged, or assigned. Inherent; an essential part of every person, that NO government edict can remove or make less. You may also have noticed a couple of small changes: the substitution of the word “property” for “pursuit of happiness,” and the addition of “duty.” “Property” came from John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government, an essay well-known to the Founders. They changed it, in the end, to lay some groundwork for the eventual abolition of slavery. Locke is also the source of the “duty” in “right and DUTY” of the people to alter or to abolish.
“To secure these rights” – this is a statement of the ONLY legitimate function of government. It was so crucial to the Founders that abnegating this function is considered, right here in the Declaration of Independence – the very start of our nation – to be sufficient cause to alter or abolish any standing government. These are the Founding Principles of our nation, and the principles that inform and suffuse every sentence of our Constitution.
Before we go on to the Preamble of the Constitution, I ask that every one of you here take the “Recommended Reading” handout and at the very least read the first item on the list – the free pdf download from Michael Badnarik’s book, “Good To Be King.” It is an excellent exposition on the crucial difference between “rights” and “privileges” – which difference is essential to understanding the Constitution, to seeing how the use of the term “rights” is being twisted by the Left for their purposes of growing government until it enslaves us all, and to being able to demolish that twisting when you come across it.
The Preamble to the Constitution is what we would today call the “mission statement” of the document. It sets forth what they intended to do, and why.
“We the People of the united States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
If this is the mission statement, what is the mission? In essence, the “mission” is to create a country where sovereign, political power is reserved to the people, and the government is subservient to the will of the people. This country is the ONLY country in the world ever founded on the twin principles that power is sovereign in the people, (not a king, not a council, nor the government in general) and that the government is subordinate to the will of the people. That the government is our tool, our creature, dependent on us for its existence – and on our approval for continuation of its work. That we, the People, have the right and duty to alter or to abolish that government if it fails in its charge and does not obey our will.
“In order to form a more perfect union” – more perfect than the Articles of Confederation – a “perpetual union” that was falling apart after only 12 years. The central government under the Articles lacked sufficient power to function. On the rare occasions Congress and the States agreed on some action (which required unanimous agreement), they still could not get things done. The central government had NO power to tax, and had to beg and cajole money from the states. There were 14 currencies – 13 states and the “Continental Dollar” (from whose value we get the phrase, “not worth a Continental”). States imposed import tariffs against goods from other states. The new government was to be given just enough extra power to enable it to function – but NOT enough to interfere with the day-to-day lives of the citizens of the states. Jurisdiction was given only over items that required a unified, national stance in the world – national defense, dealings with other nations, or arguments between states.
The next four items, “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare” ensure a stable and peaceful society – so that people can plan and run their own lives from a firm foundation. The oft-misused term “general welfare” means those items that are good in general for all people – such as roads, bridges, mail delivery, defense – and NOT anything that benefits any one specific person. Even if you don’t drive on the highway, the truck that brings groceries to your local store does – and this is a general benefit to you, the farmer, the store’s owner, etc.
The last stated purpose, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” is the entire reason for the founding of the new country! The Founders lived under the tyranny of King George 3rd and England; they wished to live FREE – and for their children, grandchildren, and grandchildren’s children also to live free.
The very last part of the Preamble, “do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” calls upon a legal concept that pre-dates the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215: that the created entity is never greater in stature than the entity that creates it. We, the People, “ordain and establish,” therefore we, the people, are greater in legal stature and standing than the federal government that we created. This ending ties right back in to the start of the Preamble, and makes it one coherent whole.
The rest of the Constitution is the mechanics of implementing the principles upon which this country was founded. It creates a federal government. Federal: pertaining to a compact or league (not national; pertaining to a nation). It creates a republic, not a democracy. Republic: based on laws that NO vote of the majority can overturn (not a democracy, which is mob rule). It splits power among three federal branches, PLUS the states and the people. It grants federal jurisdiction over a few, carefully delimited, areas of control. It establishes duties for the several branches. It is a fascinating, brilliant, and inspired document. I hope you come and study it with our group.
I’ll close with words from the Declaration of Independence:
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States... And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The monthly US Constitution study group I have been running for a little over 2 ½ years now, has completed our start-to-finish run three times. Obviously, in ten minutes I cannot give any real idea of how the Constitution sets up our federal government, or how the federal and state governments were meant to interact – and how the federal government was designed to be subservient to the will of the people.
Instead, my goal is to give you a taste of the principles espoused by our Founders (for which they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred Honor), their intentions for the Constitution, and how those principles work to inform the structure of the federal government.
The Declaration of Independence first set forth the Principles upon which the new country was to be founded. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and PROPERTY. ...To secure these rights, governments are instituted... whenever ANY form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right and the Duty of the people to alter or to abolish it.
Let’s back up a wee bit. “Unalienable” is not a word commonly used today. It means un-removable. You may think “un – a – LIEN – able” as in cannot be liened, mortgaged, or assigned. Inherent; an essential part of every person, that NO government edict can remove or make less. You may also have noticed a couple of small changes: the substitution of the word “property” for “pursuit of happiness,” and the addition of “duty.” “Property” came from John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government, an essay well-known to the Founders. They changed it, in the end, to lay some groundwork for the eventual abolition of slavery. Locke is also the source of the “duty” in “right and DUTY” of the people to alter or to abolish.
“To secure these rights” – this is a statement of the ONLY legitimate function of government. It was so crucial to the Founders that abnegating this function is considered, right here in the Declaration of Independence – the very start of our nation – to be sufficient cause to alter or abolish any standing government. These are the Founding Principles of our nation, and the principles that inform and suffuse every sentence of our Constitution.
Before we go on to the Preamble of the Constitution, I ask that every one of you here take the “Recommended Reading” handout and at the very least read the first item on the list – the free pdf download from Michael Badnarik’s book, “Good To Be King.” It is an excellent exposition on the crucial difference between “rights” and “privileges” – which difference is essential to understanding the Constitution, to seeing how the use of the term “rights” is being twisted by the Left for their purposes of growing government until it enslaves us all, and to being able to demolish that twisting when you come across it.
The Preamble to the Constitution is what we would today call the “mission statement” of the document. It sets forth what they intended to do, and why.
“We the People of the united States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
If this is the mission statement, what is the mission? In essence, the “mission” is to create a country where sovereign, political power is reserved to the people, and the government is subservient to the will of the people. This country is the ONLY country in the world ever founded on the twin principles that power is sovereign in the people, (not a king, not a council, nor the government in general) and that the government is subordinate to the will of the people. That the government is our tool, our creature, dependent on us for its existence – and on our approval for continuation of its work. That we, the People, have the right and duty to alter or to abolish that government if it fails in its charge and does not obey our will.
“In order to form a more perfect union” – more perfect than the Articles of Confederation – a “perpetual union” that was falling apart after only 12 years. The central government under the Articles lacked sufficient power to function. On the rare occasions Congress and the States agreed on some action (which required unanimous agreement), they still could not get things done. The central government had NO power to tax, and had to beg and cajole money from the states. There were 14 currencies – 13 states and the “Continental Dollar” (from whose value we get the phrase, “not worth a Continental”). States imposed import tariffs against goods from other states. The new government was to be given just enough extra power to enable it to function – but NOT enough to interfere with the day-to-day lives of the citizens of the states. Jurisdiction was given only over items that required a unified, national stance in the world – national defense, dealings with other nations, or arguments between states.
The next four items, “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare” ensure a stable and peaceful society – so that people can plan and run their own lives from a firm foundation. The oft-misused term “general welfare” means those items that are good in general for all people – such as roads, bridges, mail delivery, defense – and NOT anything that benefits any one specific person. Even if you don’t drive on the highway, the truck that brings groceries to your local store does – and this is a general benefit to you, the farmer, the store’s owner, etc.
The last stated purpose, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” is the entire reason for the founding of the new country! The Founders lived under the tyranny of King George 3rd and England; they wished to live FREE – and for their children, grandchildren, and grandchildren’s children also to live free.
The very last part of the Preamble, “do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” calls upon a legal concept that pre-dates the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215: that the created entity is never greater in stature than the entity that creates it. We, the People, “ordain and establish,” therefore we, the people, are greater in legal stature and standing than the federal government that we created. This ending ties right back in to the start of the Preamble, and makes it one coherent whole.
The rest of the Constitution is the mechanics of implementing the principles upon which this country was founded. It creates a federal government. Federal: pertaining to a compact or league (not national; pertaining to a nation). It creates a republic, not a democracy. Republic: based on laws that NO vote of the majority can overturn (not a democracy, which is mob rule). It splits power among three federal branches, PLUS the states and the people. It grants federal jurisdiction over a few, carefully delimited, areas of control. It establishes duties for the several branches. It is a fascinating, brilliant, and inspired document. I hope you come and study it with our group.
I’ll close with words from the Declaration of Independence:
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States... And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”