What's so funny?
By Peyton Wolcott
July 3, 2010
With three serious decades in a
row behind them, by the early 60s
Americans were ready to laugh.
The funniest, hippest and most
original humor -- Mike Nichols
and Elaine May's brilliant improv,
Bob Newhart and his telephone --
was published on LPs, many of
which my dad, a WWII veteran,
collected. Among my favorites
was Stan Freberg Presents the
United States of America, Volume
One (audio here), an irreverent
look at the founding of our
country. Back then, making fun
of the Founding Fathers seemed
cheeky, cool.
How does the humor stand up?
The Nichols & May sketches are
still funny although having now
moved to the other side of
motherhood, the side where the
teenagers didn't come home on
time late at night,the nagging
mother routine is poignant. Bob
Newhart's still great also although
as he's gotten older his jokes have
gotten bluer, bluer being easier.
Hearing Stan Freberg this morning
for the first time in decades was
disappointing; in addition to
sounding juvenile and self-
indulgent, knowing what I know
now about the winter of 1780
when a small band of soldiers
were the only thing standing
between us as a young nation and
defeat by our British overlords,
knowing that many of them froze
and starved to death while the
majority of colonists lived their
complacent lives in relative
comfort only a few miles away,
firm only in their resolve about not
wanting to be involved -- well,
jokes about cold soldiers fall flat.
Come to think of it, to compare
our Founding Fathers -- who had
the audacity to risk their lives and
fortune by taking on the world's
greatest super-power because
noble ideals such as their sacred
honor were at stake -- with the
stand-up comics who make fun of
them, well, it's lopsided.
Let's just say the joke's on the
stand -ups, not on the stand-up
kinda guys who huddled together
234 years ago today in that hot
airless room in Philadelphia. If
you've not read it lately, Rush
Limbaugh wrote a pretty good
account of the privations they
endured; scroll down to read it in
its entirety. Happy Fourth, friends.
-- Peyton Wolcott
July 3, 2010
Horseshoe Bay
By Peyton Wolcott
July 3, 2010
With three serious decades in a
row behind them, by the early 60s
Americans were ready to laugh.
The funniest, hippest and most
original humor -- Mike Nichols
and Elaine May's brilliant improv,
Bob Newhart and his telephone --
was published on LPs, many of
which my dad, a WWII veteran,
collected. Among my favorites
was Stan Freberg Presents the
United States of America, Volume
One (audio here), an irreverent
look at the founding of our
country. Back then, making fun
of the Founding Fathers seemed
cheeky, cool.
How does the humor stand up?
The Nichols & May sketches are
still funny although having now
moved to the other side of
motherhood, the side where the
teenagers didn't come home on
time late at night,the nagging
mother routine is poignant. Bob
Newhart's still great also although
as he's gotten older his jokes have
gotten bluer, bluer being easier.
Hearing Stan Freberg this morning
for the first time in decades was
disappointing; in addition to
sounding juvenile and self-
indulgent, knowing what I know
now about the winter of 1780
when a small band of soldiers
were the only thing standing
between us as a young nation and
defeat by our British overlords,
knowing that many of them froze
and starved to death while the
majority of colonists lived their
complacent lives in relative
comfort only a few miles away,
firm only in their resolve about not
wanting to be involved -- well,
jokes about cold soldiers fall flat.
Come to think of it, to compare
our Founding Fathers -- who had
the audacity to risk their lives and
fortune by taking on the world's
greatest super-power because
noble ideals such as their sacred
honor were at stake -- with the
stand-up comics who make fun of
them, well, it's lopsided.
Let's just say the joke's on the
stand -ups, not on the stand-up
kinda guys who huddled together
234 years ago today in that hot
airless room in Philadelphia. If
you've not read it lately, Rush
Limbaugh wrote a pretty good
account of the privations they
endured; scroll down to read it in
its entirety. Happy Fourth, friends.
-- Peyton Wolcott
July 3, 2010
Horseshoe Bay
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
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| Copyright 1999-2010 Peyton Wolcott |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . F o l l o w t h e m o n e y , h o n e y ! |
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| Bringing you the information and tools you need in order to improve public education and lower taxes and spending; during the past two decades of the voucher debate an entire generation has grown up in the public school system. If you don't think this is important look at the Nov. 2008 election where folks voted based on emotions and hope rather than facts. Let's put a stop to the school-to-prison pipeline -- and keep our public schools locally run, strong and free.. |
| The Declaration of Independence & the U.S. Constitution |
Preamble We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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. ------------------------------------------ Article I - The Legislative Branch Section 1 - The Legislature All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 2 - The House The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of t wenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. (Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section 3 - The Senate The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 17th Amendment, section 2.) No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Section 4 - Elections, Meetings The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 20th Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section 6 - Compensation (The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. Section 8 - Powers of Congress The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Section 9 - Limits on Congress The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. (No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses clarified by the 16th Amendment.) No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State. Section 10 - Powers prohibited of States No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article II - The Executive Branch Note Section 1 - The President Note1 Note2 The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. (The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was superseded by the 12th Amendment.) The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. (In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.) (This clause in parentheses has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments.) The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section 2 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Section 3 - State of the Union, Convening Congress He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States. Section 4 - Disqualification The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article III - The Judicial Branch Note Section 1 - Judicial powers The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Section 2 - Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials (The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.) (This section in parentheses is modified by the 11th Amendment.) In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Section 3 - Treason Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article IV - The States Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. Section 2 - State citizens, Extradition The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. (No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.) (This clause in parentheses is superseded by the 13th Amendment.) Section 3 - New States New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section 4 - Republican government The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article V - Amendment The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article VI - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article VII - Ratification Documents The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names. Note Go Washington - President and deputy from Virginia New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King Connecticut - Wm Saml Johnson, Roger Sherman New York - Alexander Hamilton New Jersey - Wil Livingston, David Brearley, Wm Paterson, Jona. Dayton Pensylvania - B Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris Delaware - Geo. Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco. Broom Maryland - James McHenry, Dan of St Tho Jenifer, Danl Carroll Virginia - John Blair, James Madison Jr. North Carolina - Wm Blount, Richd Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson South Carolina - J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler Georgia - William Few, Abr Baldwin Attest: William Jackson, Secretary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| American warriors defending our U.S. Constitution in Iraq |
| Ben Franklin |
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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 the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. 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, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — 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. — John Hancock New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton |
| IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America |
| The Constitution of the United States |
| Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull; commissioned by Congress, the painting is 12' x 18' |
| The Declaration of Independence |
| King George III in Coronation Robes by Allan Ramsay |
| The Amendments The following are the Amendments to the Constitution. The first ten Amendments collectively are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings. Ratified 12/15/1791. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791. In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Ratified 12/15/1791. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 11 - Judicial Limits. Ratified 2/7/1795. Note History The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 12 - Choosing the President, Vice-President. Ratified 6/15/1804. Note History The Electoral College The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865. History 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870. History 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified 2/3/1913. Note History The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913. History The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 18 - Liquor Abolished. Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment 21, 12/5/1933. 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920. History The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 20 - Presidential, Congressional Terms. Ratified 1/23/1933. History 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified. 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them. 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article. 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 21 - Amendment 18 Repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933. History 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. 3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 22 - Presidential Term Limits. Ratified 2/27/1951. History 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 23 - Presidential Vote for District of Columbia. Ratified 3/29/1961. History 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 24 - Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964. History 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 25 - Presidential Disability and Succession. Ratified 2/10/1967. Note History 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President. 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971. History 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment 27 - Limiting Changes to Congressional Pay. Ratified 5/7/1992. History No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. |
| Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Luetze |
| British Massachu- setts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, exposed as a Tory sympathizer by Ben Franklin |
| William Franklin, New Jersey's last Loyalist governor -- and son of Benjamin Franklin. |
| Mexican Reconquista student protesters Montebello USD, California |
| Without vote by Congress, President Obama has proposed permanent UN standing armies; hen there's AG Eric Holder's overturning of the Black Panther/Philadelphia polling place (Nov. 2008) case exposed by DOJ whistleblower J. Christian Adams. |
| Gen. George Washington |
The Americans Who
Risked Everything
by Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.
It was a glorious morning. The
sun was shining and the wind was
from the southeast. Up especially
early, a tall, bony, redheaded
young Virginian found time to buy
a new thermometer, for which he
paid three pounds, fifteen shillings.
He also bought gloves for Martha,
his wife, who was ill at home.
Thomas Jefferson arrived early at
the statehouse. The temperature
was 72 and the horseflies weren't
nearly so bad at that hour. It was a
lovely room, very large, with
gleaming white walls. The chairs
were comfortable. Facing the
single door were two brass
fireplaces, but they would not be
used today.
The moment the door was shut,
and it was always kept locked, the
room became an oven. The tall
windows were shut, so that loud
quarreling voices could not be
heard by passersby. Small
openings atop the windows
allowed a slight stir of air, and also
a large number of horseflies.
Jefferson records that "the
horseflies were dexterous in
finding necks, and the silk of
stocking was as nothing to them."
All discussion was punctuated by
the slap of hands on necks.
On the wall at the back, facing the
President's desk, was a
panoply--consisting of a drum,
swords, and banners seized from
Fort Ticonderoga the previous
year. Ethan Allen and Benedict
Arnold had captured the place,
shouting that they were taking it
"in the name if the Great Jehovah
and the Continental Congress!"
Now Congress got to work,
promptly taking up an emergency
measure about which there was
discussion but no dissension.
"Resolved: That an application be
made to the Committee of Safety
of Pennsylvania for a supply of
flints for the troops at New York."
Then Congress transformed itself
into a committee of the whole, The
Declaration of Independence was
read aloud once more, and debate
resumed. Though Jefferson was
the best writer of all of them, he
had been somewhat verbose.
Congress hacked the excess away.
They did a good job, as a
side-by-side comparison of the
rough draft and the final text
shows. They cut the phrase "by a
self-assumed power." "Climb" was
replaced by "must read," then
"must" was eliminated, then the
whole sentence, and soon the
whole paragraph was cut.
Jefferson groaned as they
continued what he later called
"their depredations." "Inherent and
inalienable rights" came out
"certain unalienable rights," and to
this day no one knows who
suggested the elegant change.
A total of 86 alterations were
made. Almost 500 words were
eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last,
after three days of wrangling, the
document was put to a vote.
Here in this hall Patrick Henry had
once thundered: "I am no longer a
Virginian, Sir, but an American."
But today the loud, sometimes
bitter argument stilled, and without
fanfare the vote was taken from
north to south by colonies, as was
the custom. On July 4, 1776, the
Declaration of Independence was
adopted.
There were no trumpets blown.
No one stood on his chair and
cheered. The afternoon was
waning and Congress had no
thought of delaying the full
calendar of routine business on its
hands. For several hours they
worked on many other problems
before adjourning for the day.
Much to lose...
What kind of men were the 56
signers who adopted the
Declaration of Independence and
who, by their signing, committed
an act of treason against the
Crown? To each of you the names
Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and
Jefferson are almost as familiar as
household words. Most of us,
however, know nothing of the
other signers. Who were they?
What happened to them?
I imagine that many of you are
somewhat surprised at the names
not there: George Washington,
Alexander Hamilton, Patrick
Henry. All were elsewhere.
Ben Franklin was the only really
old man. Eighteen were under 40;
three were in their 20s. Of the 56,
almost half--24--were judges and
lawyers. Eleven were merchants, 9
were land-owners and farmers,
and the remaining 12 were
doctors, ministers, and politicians.
With only a few exceptions, such
as Samuel Adams of
Massachusetts, these were men of
substantial property. All but two
had families. The vast majority
were men of education and
standing in their communities.
They had economic security as
few men had in the 18th century.
Each had more to lose from
revolution than he had to gain by
it. John Hancock, one of the
richest men in America, already
had a price of 500 pounds on his
head. He signed in enormous
letters so "that his Majesty could
now read his name without glasses
and could now double the reward."
Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed
we must all hang together,
otherwise we shall most assuredly
hang separately." Fat Benjamin
Harrison of Virginia told tiny
Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts:
"With me it will all be over in a
minute, but you, you will be
dancing on air an hour after I am
gone."
These men knew what they risked.
The penalty for treason was death
by hanging. And remember: a great
British fleet was already at anchor
in New York Harbor.
They were sober men. There were
no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or
draft card burners here. They
were far from hot-eyed fanatics,
yammering for an explosion. They
simply asked for the status quo. It
was change they resisted. It was
equality with the mother country
they desired. It was taxation with
representation they sought. They
were all conservatives, yet they
rebelled.
It was principle, not property, that
had brought these men to
Philadelphia. Two of them became
presidents of the United States.
Seven of them became state
governors. One died in office as
vice president of the United States.
Several would go on to be U.S.
Senators. One, the richest man in
America, in 1828 founded the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One,
a delegate from Philadelphia, was
the only real poet, musician and
philosopher of the signers (it was
he, Francis Hopkinson--not Betsy
Ross--who designed the United
States flag).
Richard Henry Lee, a delegate
from Virginia, had introduced the
resolution to adopt the Declaration
of Independence in June of 1776.
He was prophetic is his concluding
remarks:
"Why then sir, why do we longer
delay? Why still deliberate? Let this
happy day give birth to an
American Republic. Let her arise
not to devastate and to conquer
but to reestablish the reign of
peace and law. The eyes of Europe
are fixed upon us. She demands of
us a living example of freedom that
may exhibit a contrast in the
felicity of the citizen to the ever
increasing tyranny which desolates
her polluted shores. She invites us
to prepare an asylum where the
unhappy may find solace, and the
persecuted repose. If we are not
this day wanting in our duty, the
names of the American legislators
of 1776 will be placed by posterity
at the side of all of those whose
memory has been and ever will be
dear to virtuous men and good
citizens."
Though the resolution was
formally adopted July 4, it was not
until July 8 that two of the states
authorized their delegates to sign,
and it was not until August 2 that
the signers met at Philadelphia to
actually put their names to the
Declaration.
William Ellery, delegate from
Rhode Island, was curious to see
the signers' faces as they
committed this supreme act of
personal courage. He saw some
men sign quickly, "but in no face
was he able to discern real fear."
Stephen Hopkins, Ellery's
colleague from Rhode Island, was
a man past 60. As he signed with a
shaking pen, he declared: "My
hand trembles, but my heart does
not."
"Most glorious service"...
Even before the list was published,
the British marked down every
member of Congress suspected of
having put his name to treason. All
of them became the objects of
vicious manhunts. Some were
taken. Some, like Jefferson, had
narrow escapes. All who had
property or families near British
strongholds suffered.
Francis Lewis, New York
delegate, saw his home plundered
and his estates, in what is now
Harlem, completely destroyed by
British soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was
captured and treated with great
brutality. Though she was later
exchanged for two British
prisoners through the efforts of
Congress, she died from the
effects of her abuse.
William Floyd, another New York
delegate, was able to escape with
his wife and children across Long
Island Sound to Connecticut,
where they lived as refugees
without income for seven years.
When they came home, they found
a devastated ruin.
Phillips Livingstone had all his
great holdings in New York
confiscated and his family driven
out of their home. Livingstone died
in 1778 still working in Congress
for the cause.
Louis Morris, the fourth New
York delegate, saw all his timber,
crops, and livestock taken. For
seven years he was barred from
his home and family.
John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey,
risked his life to return home to
see his dying wife. Hessian
soldiers rode after him, and he
escaped in the woods. While his
wife lay on her deathbed, the
soldiers ruined his farm and
wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65,
slept in caves and woods as he
was hunted across the
countryside. When at long last,
emaciated by hardship, he was
able to sneak home, he found his
wife had already been buried, and
his 13 children taken away. He
never saw them again. He died a
broken man in 1779, without ever
finding his family.
Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was
president of the College of New
Jersey, later called Princeton. The
British occupied the town of
Princeton, and billeted troops in
the college. They trampled and
burned the finest college library in
the country.
Judge Richard Stockton, another
New Jersey delegate signer, had
rushed back to his estate in an
effort to evacuate his wife and
children. The family found refuge
with friends, but a sympathizer
betrayed them. Judge Stockton
was pulled from bed in the night
and brutally beaten by the arresting
soldiers. Thrown into a common
jail, he was deliberately starved.
Congress finally arranged for
Stockton's parole, but his health
was ruined. The judge was
released as an invalid, when he
could no longer harm the British
cause. He returned home to find
his estate looted and did not live to
see the triumph of the revolution.
His family was forced to live off
charity.
Robert Morris, merchant prince of
Philadelphia, delegate and signer,
met Washington's appeals and
pleas for money year after year.
He made and raised arms and
provisions which made it possible
for Washington to cross the
Delaware at Trenton. In the
process he lost 150 ships at sea,
bleeding his own fortune and
credit almost dry. George Clymer,
Pennsylvania signer, escaped with
his family from their home, but
their property was completely
destroyed by the British in the
Germantown and Brandywine
campaigns.
Dr. Benjamin Rush, also from
Pennsylvania, was forced to flee to
Maryland. As a heroic surgeon
with the army, Rush had several
narrow escapes.
John Morton, a Tory in his views
previous to the debate, lived in a
strongly loyalist area of
Pennsylvania. When he came out
for independence, most of his
neighbors and even some of his
relatives ostracized him. He was a
sensitive and troubled man, and
many believed this action killed
him. When he died in 1777, his last
words to his tormentors were:
"Tell them that they will live to see
the hour when they shall
acknowledge it [the signing] to
have been the most glorious
service that I rendered to my
country."
William Ellery, Rhode Island
delegate, saw his property and
home burned to the ground.
Thomas Lynch, Jr., South
Carolina delegate, had his health
broken from privation and
exposures while serving as a
company commander in the
military. His doctors ordered him
to seek a cure in the West Indies
and on the voyage he and his
young bride were drowned at sea.
Edward Rutledge, Arthur
Middleton, and Thomas Heyward,
Jr., the other three South Carolina
signers, were taken by the British
in the siege of Charleston. They
were carried as prisoners of war
to St. Augustine, Florida, where
they were singled out for
indignities. They were exchanged
at the end of the war, the British in
the meantime having completely
devastated their large land holdings
and estates.
Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia,
was at the front in command of
the Virginia military forces. With
British General Charles Cornwallis
in Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy
American guns began to destroy
Yorktown piece by piece. Lord
Cornwallis and his staff moved
their headquarters into Nelson's
palatial home. While American
cannonballs were making a
shambles of the town, the house
of Governor Nelson remained
untouched. Nelson turned in rage
to the American gunners and
asked, "Why do you spare my
home?" They replied, "Sir, out of
respect to you." Nelson cried,
"Give me the cannon!" and fired
on his magnificent home himself,
smashing it to bits. But Nelson's
sacrifice was not quite over. He
had raised $2 million for the
Revolutionary cause by pledging
his own estates. When the loans
came due, a newer peacetime
Congress refused to honor them,
and Nelson's property was
forfeited. He was never
reimbursed. He died,
impoverished, a few years later at
the age of 50.
Lives, fortunes, honor...
Of those 56 who signed the
Declaration of Independence, nine
died of wounds or hardships
during the war. Five were
captured and imprisoned, in each
case with brutal treatment. Several
lost wives, sons or entire families.
One lost his 13 children. Two
wives were brutally treated. All
were at one time or another the
victims of manhunts and driven
from their homes. Twelve signers
had their homes completely
burned. Seventeen lost everything
they owned. Yet not one defected
or went back on his pledged word.
Their honor, and the nation they
sacrificed so much to create, is
still intact.
And, finally, there is the New
Jersey signer, Abraham Clark. He
gave two sons to the officer corps
in the Revolutionary Army. They
were captured and sent to the
infamous British prison hulk afloat
in New York harbor known as the
hell ship "Jersey," where 11,000
American captives were to die.
The younger Clarks were treated
with a special brutality because of
their father. One was put in
solitary and given no food. With
the end almost in sight, with the
war almost won, no one could
have blamed Abraham Clark for
acceding to the British request
when they offered him his sons'
lives if he would recant and come
out for the King and parliament.
The utter despair in this man's
heart, the anguish in his very soul,
must reach out to each one of us
down through 200 years with his
answer: "No."
The 56 signers of the Declaration
of Independence proved by their
every deed that they made no idle
boast when they composed the
most magnificent curtain line in
history. "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."
Risked Everything
by Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.
It was a glorious morning. The
sun was shining and the wind was
from the southeast. Up especially
early, a tall, bony, redheaded
young Virginian found time to buy
a new thermometer, for which he
paid three pounds, fifteen shillings.
He also bought gloves for Martha,
his wife, who was ill at home.
Thomas Jefferson arrived early at
the statehouse. The temperature
was 72 and the horseflies weren't
nearly so bad at that hour. It was a
lovely room, very large, with
gleaming white walls. The chairs
were comfortable. Facing the
single door were two brass
fireplaces, but they would not be
used today.
The moment the door was shut,
and it was always kept locked, the
room became an oven. The tall
windows were shut, so that loud
quarreling voices could not be
heard by passersby. Small
openings atop the windows
allowed a slight stir of air, and also
a large number of horseflies.
Jefferson records that "the
horseflies were dexterous in
finding necks, and the silk of
stocking was as nothing to them."
All discussion was punctuated by
the slap of hands on necks.
On the wall at the back, facing the
President's desk, was a
panoply--consisting of a drum,
swords, and banners seized from
Fort Ticonderoga the previous
year. Ethan Allen and Benedict
Arnold had captured the place,
shouting that they were taking it
"in the name if the Great Jehovah
and the Continental Congress!"
Now Congress got to work,
promptly taking up an emergency
measure about which there was
discussion but no dissension.
"Resolved: That an application be
made to the Committee of Safety
of Pennsylvania for a supply of
flints for the troops at New York."
Then Congress transformed itself
into a committee of the whole, The
Declaration of Independence was
read aloud once more, and debate
resumed. Though Jefferson was
the best writer of all of them, he
had been somewhat verbose.
Congress hacked the excess away.
They did a good job, as a
side-by-side comparison of the
rough draft and the final text
shows. They cut the phrase "by a
self-assumed power." "Climb" was
replaced by "must read," then
"must" was eliminated, then the
whole sentence, and soon the
whole paragraph was cut.
Jefferson groaned as they
continued what he later called
"their depredations." "Inherent and
inalienable rights" came out
"certain unalienable rights," and to
this day no one knows who
suggested the elegant change.
A total of 86 alterations were
made. Almost 500 words were
eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last,
after three days of wrangling, the
document was put to a vote.
Here in this hall Patrick Henry had
once thundered: "I am no longer a
Virginian, Sir, but an American."
But today the loud, sometimes
bitter argument stilled, and without
fanfare the vote was taken from
north to south by colonies, as was
the custom. On July 4, 1776, the
Declaration of Independence was
adopted.
There were no trumpets blown.
No one stood on his chair and
cheered. The afternoon was
waning and Congress had no
thought of delaying the full
calendar of routine business on its
hands. For several hours they
worked on many other problems
before adjourning for the day.
Much to lose...
What kind of men were the 56
signers who adopted the
Declaration of Independence and
who, by their signing, committed
an act of treason against the
Crown? To each of you the names
Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and
Jefferson are almost as familiar as
household words. Most of us,
however, know nothing of the
other signers. Who were they?
What happened to them?
I imagine that many of you are
somewhat surprised at the names
not there: George Washington,
Alexander Hamilton, Patrick
Henry. All were elsewhere.
Ben Franklin was the only really
old man. Eighteen were under 40;
three were in their 20s. Of the 56,
almost half--24--were judges and
lawyers. Eleven were merchants, 9
were land-owners and farmers,
and the remaining 12 were
doctors, ministers, and politicians.
With only a few exceptions, such
as Samuel Adams of
Massachusetts, these were men of
substantial property. All but two
had families. The vast majority
were men of education and
standing in their communities.
They had economic security as
few men had in the 18th century.
Each had more to lose from
revolution than he had to gain by
it. John Hancock, one of the
richest men in America, already
had a price of 500 pounds on his
head. He signed in enormous
letters so "that his Majesty could
now read his name without glasses
and could now double the reward."
Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed
we must all hang together,
otherwise we shall most assuredly
hang separately." Fat Benjamin
Harrison of Virginia told tiny
Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts:
"With me it will all be over in a
minute, but you, you will be
dancing on air an hour after I am
gone."
These men knew what they risked.
The penalty for treason was death
by hanging. And remember: a great
British fleet was already at anchor
in New York Harbor.
They were sober men. There were
no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or
draft card burners here. They
were far from hot-eyed fanatics,
yammering for an explosion. They
simply asked for the status quo. It
was change they resisted. It was
equality with the mother country
they desired. It was taxation with
representation they sought. They
were all conservatives, yet they
rebelled.
It was principle, not property, that
had brought these men to
Philadelphia. Two of them became
presidents of the United States.
Seven of them became state
governors. One died in office as
vice president of the United States.
Several would go on to be U.S.
Senators. One, the richest man in
America, in 1828 founded the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One,
a delegate from Philadelphia, was
the only real poet, musician and
philosopher of the signers (it was
he, Francis Hopkinson--not Betsy
Ross--who designed the United
States flag).
Richard Henry Lee, a delegate
from Virginia, had introduced the
resolution to adopt the Declaration
of Independence in June of 1776.
He was prophetic is his concluding
remarks:
"Why then sir, why do we longer
delay? Why still deliberate? Let this
happy day give birth to an
American Republic. Let her arise
not to devastate and to conquer
but to reestablish the reign of
peace and law. The eyes of Europe
are fixed upon us. She demands of
us a living example of freedom that
may exhibit a contrast in the
felicity of the citizen to the ever
increasing tyranny which desolates
her polluted shores. She invites us
to prepare an asylum where the
unhappy may find solace, and the
persecuted repose. If we are not
this day wanting in our duty, the
names of the American legislators
of 1776 will be placed by posterity
at the side of all of those whose
memory has been and ever will be
dear to virtuous men and good
citizens."
Though the resolution was
formally adopted July 4, it was not
until July 8 that two of the states
authorized their delegates to sign,
and it was not until August 2 that
the signers met at Philadelphia to
actually put their names to the
Declaration.
William Ellery, delegate from
Rhode Island, was curious to see
the signers' faces as they
committed this supreme act of
personal courage. He saw some
men sign quickly, "but in no face
was he able to discern real fear."
Stephen Hopkins, Ellery's
colleague from Rhode Island, was
a man past 60. As he signed with a
shaking pen, he declared: "My
hand trembles, but my heart does
not."
"Most glorious service"...
Even before the list was published,
the British marked down every
member of Congress suspected of
having put his name to treason. All
of them became the objects of
vicious manhunts. Some were
taken. Some, like Jefferson, had
narrow escapes. All who had
property or families near British
strongholds suffered.
Francis Lewis, New York
delegate, saw his home plundered
and his estates, in what is now
Harlem, completely destroyed by
British soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was
captured and treated with great
brutality. Though she was later
exchanged for two British
prisoners through the efforts of
Congress, she died from the
effects of her abuse.
William Floyd, another New York
delegate, was able to escape with
his wife and children across Long
Island Sound to Connecticut,
where they lived as refugees
without income for seven years.
When they came home, they found
a devastated ruin.
Phillips Livingstone had all his
great holdings in New York
confiscated and his family driven
out of their home. Livingstone died
in 1778 still working in Congress
for the cause.
Louis Morris, the fourth New
York delegate, saw all his timber,
crops, and livestock taken. For
seven years he was barred from
his home and family.
John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey,
risked his life to return home to
see his dying wife. Hessian
soldiers rode after him, and he
escaped in the woods. While his
wife lay on her deathbed, the
soldiers ruined his farm and
wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65,
slept in caves and woods as he
was hunted across the
countryside. When at long last,
emaciated by hardship, he was
able to sneak home, he found his
wife had already been buried, and
his 13 children taken away. He
never saw them again. He died a
broken man in 1779, without ever
finding his family.
Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was
president of the College of New
Jersey, later called Princeton. The
British occupied the town of
Princeton, and billeted troops in
the college. They trampled and
burned the finest college library in
the country.
Judge Richard Stockton, another
New Jersey delegate signer, had
rushed back to his estate in an
effort to evacuate his wife and
children. The family found refuge
with friends, but a sympathizer
betrayed them. Judge Stockton
was pulled from bed in the night
and brutally beaten by the arresting
soldiers. Thrown into a common
jail, he was deliberately starved.
Congress finally arranged for
Stockton's parole, but his health
was ruined. The judge was
released as an invalid, when he
could no longer harm the British
cause. He returned home to find
his estate looted and did not live to
see the triumph of the revolution.
His family was forced to live off
charity.
Robert Morris, merchant prince of
Philadelphia, delegate and signer,
met Washington's appeals and
pleas for money year after year.
He made and raised arms and
provisions which made it possible
for Washington to cross the
Delaware at Trenton. In the
process he lost 150 ships at sea,
bleeding his own fortune and
credit almost dry. George Clymer,
Pennsylvania signer, escaped with
his family from their home, but
their property was completely
destroyed by the British in the
Germantown and Brandywine
campaigns.
Dr. Benjamin Rush, also from
Pennsylvania, was forced to flee to
Maryland. As a heroic surgeon
with the army, Rush had several
narrow escapes.
John Morton, a Tory in his views
previous to the debate, lived in a
strongly loyalist area of
Pennsylvania. When he came out
for independence, most of his
neighbors and even some of his
relatives ostracized him. He was a
sensitive and troubled man, and
many believed this action killed
him. When he died in 1777, his last
words to his tormentors were:
"Tell them that they will live to see
the hour when they shall
acknowledge it [the signing] to
have been the most glorious
service that I rendered to my
country."
William Ellery, Rhode Island
delegate, saw his property and
home burned to the ground.
Thomas Lynch, Jr., South
Carolina delegate, had his health
broken from privation and
exposures while serving as a
company commander in the
military. His doctors ordered him
to seek a cure in the West Indies
and on the voyage he and his
young bride were drowned at sea.
Edward Rutledge, Arthur
Middleton, and Thomas Heyward,
Jr., the other three South Carolina
signers, were taken by the British
in the siege of Charleston. They
were carried as prisoners of war
to St. Augustine, Florida, where
they were singled out for
indignities. They were exchanged
at the end of the war, the British in
the meantime having completely
devastated their large land holdings
and estates.
Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia,
was at the front in command of
the Virginia military forces. With
British General Charles Cornwallis
in Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy
American guns began to destroy
Yorktown piece by piece. Lord
Cornwallis and his staff moved
their headquarters into Nelson's
palatial home. While American
cannonballs were making a
shambles of the town, the house
of Governor Nelson remained
untouched. Nelson turned in rage
to the American gunners and
asked, "Why do you spare my
home?" They replied, "Sir, out of
respect to you." Nelson cried,
"Give me the cannon!" and fired
on his magnificent home himself,
smashing it to bits. But Nelson's
sacrifice was not quite over. He
had raised $2 million for the
Revolutionary cause by pledging
his own estates. When the loans
came due, a newer peacetime
Congress refused to honor them,
and Nelson's property was
forfeited. He was never
reimbursed. He died,
impoverished, a few years later at
the age of 50.
Lives, fortunes, honor...
Of those 56 who signed the
Declaration of Independence, nine
died of wounds or hardships
during the war. Five were
captured and imprisoned, in each
case with brutal treatment. Several
lost wives, sons or entire families.
One lost his 13 children. Two
wives were brutally treated. All
were at one time or another the
victims of manhunts and driven
from their homes. Twelve signers
had their homes completely
burned. Seventeen lost everything
they owned. Yet not one defected
or went back on his pledged word.
Their honor, and the nation they
sacrificed so much to create, is
still intact.
And, finally, there is the New
Jersey signer, Abraham Clark. He
gave two sons to the officer corps
in the Revolutionary Army. They
were captured and sent to the
infamous British prison hulk afloat
in New York harbor known as the
hell ship "Jersey," where 11,000
American captives were to die.
The younger Clarks were treated
with a special brutality because of
their father. One was put in
solitary and given no food. With
the end almost in sight, with the
war almost won, no one could
have blamed Abraham Clark for
acceding to the British request
when they offered him his sons'
lives if he would recant and come
out for the King and parliament.
The utter despair in this man's
heart, the anguish in his very soul,
must reach out to each one of us
down through 200 years with his
answer: "No."
The 56 signers of the Declaration
of Independence proved by their
every deed that they made no idle
boast when they composed the
most magnificent curtain line in
history. "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."
| GOOD POINT: Judge Edward Butler points out, that "our founding fathers did not create the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights in a vacuum. Their concepts of liberty and freedom were developed through their education, personal experiences and political beliefs. That education and those experiences and beliefs were forged during thousands of years of political dialogue and experiments" -- with which they were intimately familiar thanks to a classical education in which they learned sufficient objective facts to work out their own critical thinking skills. |
| our lives, our fortune, |
| Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. - o - |
our sacred honor . . . .
| Thomas Jefferson By Charles Willson Peale |
| John Adams (center, in tan suit) as portrayed by actor Paul Giamatti in HBO series. |
| Rough draft of the Declaration of Independence |
| On June 11, 1776, in anticipation of the impending vote for independence from Great Britain, the Continental Congress appointed five men — Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston — to write a declaration that would make clear to people everywhere why this break from Great Britain was both necessary and inevitable. The committee then appointed Jefferson to draft a statement. Jefferson produced a "fair copy" of his draft declaration, which became the basic text of his "original Rough draught." The text was first submitted to Adams, then Franklin, and finally to the other two members of the committee. Before the committee submitted the declaration to Congress on June 28, they made forty-seven emendations to the document. During the ensuing congressional debates of July 1-4, 1776, Congress adopted thirty-nine further revisions to the committee draft. The four-page "Rough draught" illustrates the numerous additions, deletions, and corrections made at each step along the way. Although most of these alterations are in Jefferson's own distinctive hand — he later indicated the changes he believed to have been made by Adams and Franklin — he opposed many of the revisions made to his original composition. Late in life Jefferson endorsed this document: "Independence. Declaration of original Rough draught." SOURCE FOR THE ABOVE: The Constitution Society. |
| John Trumbull's original painting Declaration of Independence. |
The failure of Woodrow Wilson's nanny state amendment (#18) Amendment 18 - Liquor Abolished. Ratified 1/16/1919. Repealed by Amendment 21, 12/5/1933. 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. |
| Disqualification The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors - o - |
