Political Power

                    The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday is that the ideal circumstances for freedom is for the political power to be in the center and not either far "right" or far "left."  Our Founding Fathers had a way to measure the political power of any selected type of government that is different than the "yardstick" we use today.  The Founders did not measure political issues in the terms we use today.  When we think of Democrats being on the left and Republicans being on the right or in terms of leftist or rightist, do we really understand what we are talking about?

                    The terms "Left" and "Right" refer to the way the various parties are seated in the European parliaments.  The radical revolutionaries sit on the far left, and the military dictators sit on the far right; all other parties sit somewhere in the middle.  The people in the farthest left group are usually communists, and the people in the farthest right group are usually fascists - even though communists and fascists are simply two different names for the police state and are practically identical.

                    Government is considered to be a "system for ruling or controlling."  Since the Founders understood this meaning of the word, they realized that the yardstick to measure any system of government was political power.  The Founders took their imaginary yardstick and marked one end anarchy and the other end tyranny.  The Founders considered anarchy to be the name or description of no government, no law, and no control, and they considered tyranny to be the opposite extreme or too much government, control, and oppression.  The Founders wanted to establish a government that was mid-way between the two extremes; they wanted a system where there was "enough government to maintain security, justice, and good order, but not enough government to abuse the people."

                    Our Founders wanted their fellow Americans to recognize the "subversive characteristics of oppressive Ruler's Law which they identified primarily with a tyrannical monarchy.  Here are its basic characteristics:  1) Authority under Ruler's Law is nearly always established by force, violence and conquest.  2) Therefore, all sovereign power is considered to be in the conqueror or his descendants.  3) The people are not equal, but are divided into classes, and are all looked upon as subjects of the king.  4) The entire country is considered to be the property of the ruler, who speaks of it as his `realm.'  5) The thrust of government power is from the top down, not from the people upward.  6) The people have no unalienable rights.  The King giveth and the King taketh away.  7) Government is by the whims of men, not by the fixed rule of law which the people need in order to govern the affairs with confidence.  8) The Ruler issues edicts which are called `The Law,' who then interprets the law and enforces it, thus maintaining tyrannical control over the people.  9) Problems are always solved by issuing more edicts or laws, setting up more bureaus, harassing the people with more regulators, and charging the people for these `services' by continually adding to their burden of taxes.  10) Freedom is never looked upon as a viable solution to anything.  11) The long history of Ruler's Law is one of blood and terror, both anciently and in modern times.  Under it, the people are stratified into an aristocracy of the Ruler's retinue while the law to the common people is one of perpetual poverty, excessive taxation, stringent regulations and a continuous existence of misery."

                    When I read through those characteristics for a tyrannical monarchy, I realized that our government is slowly - and lately not so slowly - moving towards tyranny.  Our government has not yet conquered us by force or violence, but more and more the people in Washington, D.C., considered themselves to be more knowledgeable and better than the common citizen.  President Obama works at keeping the citizenry divided between races, between economic levels, between education levels, etc.  The continual increase in regulations is forcing the government to be from the top down rather than people up.  Our rights are being steadily eroded in the name of "security."  The Constitution apparently doesn't mean much to the Obama Administration, and our President rules by Executive Order or "recess" appointments and not by law.

                    While typing this article, I've been thinking about the differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution.  The American Revolution consisted of the people rising up against tyranny, establishing independence, and then organizing a government "of the people by the people and for the people."  The French Revolution became anarchy with no law, no control, and no government.  Control and more tyranny came to France in the name of a conqueror.

                    As Americans we need to measure the political power in our nation by the "yardstick" used by the Founders.  Do you think we are moving towards tyranny or anarchy?  What do you think is the best way to keep our government in the center where the political power is in the people?  When the political power is in the center with the people, there is total freedom.

                    Many of the ideas and all of the quotes for this article are from W. Cleon Skousen in The Five Thousand Year Leap - 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World, pp 11-12.  If you do not yet own a copy of this book, I suggest that you purchase a copy of it as soon as your finances will permit.  This book is very informative as to the principles of freedom and will increase your knowledge of freedom.  Any group of people who desires freedom should at least know what freedom is!

                   

                   

Annual Sessions

The principle for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.4.2, "The Congress, consisting of both the House and the Senate, shall meet automatically once every year, on the first Monday in December unless they shall by law appoint a different day." This principle gives the people the Right to expect their representatives in Congress to automatically meet each year on a specific date. (Section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment, passed in 1933, changed the date to January 3.)

The writers of the U.S. Constitution were well aware that the king in England convened and dissolved Parliament whenever he chose to do so, and they wanted to avoid the conflicts caused by such behavior. The Founders wanted the annual sessions of Congress to occur automatically each year, and they wrote specific instructions to do so.

An interesting side note: At the time George Washington became President of the United States, the States General of France had not been called together by the king for 175 years. King Louis convened the French States General one month after Washington was inaugurated - and the French Revolution was the result of their meeting.

John Adams

John Adams (1735-1826) played a leading role in the early years of our nation. He was a leader in opposing British colonial policies in America, starting when the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. He called the Boston Tea Party "the most magnificent movement of all" (December 16, 1773). He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the First Continental Congress (1774). He was active in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and signed the historic document (1776). He was elected as commissioner to France to negotiate a treaty of alliance (1777). He obtained recognition of American independence from the Netherlands (1780-1782). He served on the commission that negotiated peace with Great Britain (1782-1783). He was appointed minister to Great Britain (1785). He returned to the United States just prior to being elected to serve as Vice President of the United States (1789) and was re-elected Vice President in 1792. He was elected President of the United States in 1796. John Adams was born October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father, also named John Adams, was a farmer, a deacon in his church, and a militia officer. His mother, Susanna, was from a leading family of merchants and physicians. The family farm was at the foot of Penn's Hill. The house where John was born is now a memorial and is close to the place where his great-great-grandfather, Henry Adams, settled before 1640. Henry came to America from Somersetshire, England, as one of the thousands of Puritans escaping religious persecution in their homeland. John helped with chores on the farm and studied hard in the village school. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, with the social - not academic - rank of 14 out of 24 students. He apparently was one of the best scholars in the group. John taught school for a short time before studying law. He started practicing law in Braintree in 1758 and moved to Boston ten years later where he became a leading attorney. John was short and stout with a ruddy complexion. He tended to be blunt, impatient, and vane and made more enemies than friends, but those who knew him well loved him for his genial, affectionate, and playful nature. He married Abigail Smith in 1764. She was the daughter of a minister. She did snot receive much public schooling but read widely and became one of the most informed women of her day. Abigail and John apparently had a very happy marriage and wrote many letters to each other during their many separations. Abigail's letters to John were published in 1840 and provide colorful pictures of life in colonial times. The Adams' oldest son, John Quincy Adams, was elected as the sixth President of the United States the year before his father died. They had a total of five children: Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna (died in infancy), Charles (died while his father was President), and Thomas. Just prior to the end of the Administration of President Adams, his family moved into the unfinished White House, which stood alone in a swampy landscape. In a letter from Abigail Adams to her sister, she wrote, "As I expected to find it a new country, with houses scattered over a space of 10 miles, and trees and stumps in plenty with a castle of a house - so I found it." There were about six rooms in the White House which were finished. Abigail used the East Room to dry her laundry because there was no other place yet provided for it. Because the White House was unfinished, the Adams struggled to hold social functions. They felt a great responsibility as the first occupants of the White House to set a proper social tone for in the home of the President of the United States. Because she admired social engagements of Martha Washington, Abigail tried to follow her example. During the Administration of Adams, the government faced many domestic problems as well as an unsettled situation in Europe. Adams could not count on support from his own party or his Cabinet because there was great disagreement over foreign policy. Adams was part of the more moderate members of the Federalist Party, and Alexander Hamilton led the other group. Most of the problems faced by President Adams were caused by the French Revolution. Adams insisted that the United States remain neutral in case of war in Europe, but this position was difficult to maintain due to the fact that European warships attacked ships from America. Both England and France claimed the right to seize American ships, and the United States was forced to defend itself. The United States launched several new warships, including the Constitution ("Old Ironsides"). Thomas Jefferson and his party sympathized with the French people because they likened the French Revolution to the Revolutionary War in America. They wanted to give support to the French people, but the group of Federalists headed by Hamilton demanded a war against France. The Federalist Party split over the issue of war or neutrality - an irreparable split which later cost Adams a second term as President. Adams was determined to maintain peace and send commissions to France. Even though this bold act cost him the support of his party, he believed that avoiding war was his most important achievement. Hamilton criticized Adams for not fighting France, and his arguments convinced many Federalist voters. The Democratic-Republicans criticized Adams for his hostility toward France. In the 1800 election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes while Adams received only 65. The election was decided by the House of Representation. The seat of government moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in June 1800, and Congress began meeting there in November 1800. Adams was still making appointments on his last day in office. The appointment of John Marshall as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court was one of his most important. History has shown that Adams was right in the great decisions of his political life. Adams left the White House just before he turned 66 years old. He grieved over his defeat and left Washington, D.C., prior to Jefferson's inauguration. He returned to his home in Quincy where he studied history, philosophy, and religion. Some the historical events that happened during the time of Adams are as follows: 1) The first woolen mills began operating in Massachusetts. 2) Congress established the Department of the Navy and the Marine Corps. 3) Johnny Appleseed wandered through Ohio and Indiana, planting apple seeds and preaching the Bible. 4) A group of shoemakers in Philadelphia organized the first labor strike in 1799 when they refused to work for nine days until they received higher wages. 5) Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799 to begin his reign as dictator. 6) The Library of Congress was established in 1800 when Congress appropriated $5,000 to buy books and to furnish a room in the Capitol to house the library. 7) In 1800 France secretly reacquired Louisiana from Spain, but the United States learn of the transaction until the following year. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson met in congress in 1775 and became good friends. Their friendship cooled after 1790 because of their different ideas about the French Revolution. After they both retired from political life, they forgot their quarrels and renewed their friendship. These two great Americans, one of the North and one from the South, both signed the Declaration of Independence. They both died on July 4, 1826. Not knowing that Jefferson had already died, Adams' last words were: "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Adams died four months prior to his 91st birthday and was buried in Quincy, Mass. Facts for this post came from an article by James H. Hutson in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp 34-39.