Protect Our Futures
The purpose of this page is to make comparisons concerning the different interpretations of the American Constitution. Most people in our country have never studied or even read our basic law document and have no understanding about the intentions of our forefathers when they adopted it. We hope to give you at least a small insight into what the original document was designed to be for our country.
To read the entire Constitution, click on this web site: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
We will start with the Preamble to the Constitution --
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.
There are listed in the Preamble six reason for the establishment of our Constitution:
Think about it!! Our forefathers were not only thinking about themselves when they established our form of government, but they were thinking of the future generations who came after them. Their vision included us as recipients of a government that cared about justice, peace on our lands and protection from attack from other nations, our general welfare and our liberty from the formation throughout future generations. The men who gave us this valuable document were well-educated, religious men who had left oppression in other nations to come to America and form a "more perfect Union." They had seen firsthand what can happen to a nation when government oppresses its people by making them slaves to a government religion as in England, France and Germany or slaves to controlling land owners who over-taxed the people both physically and monetarily. Our forefathers believed strongly that every man has the right to work and reap the rewards of his own labor. In the Constitution the forefathers limited the Federal government only to those powers specifically itemized in the Constitution. All other powers were given to the citizens and to the individual states.
I suppose I would have to ask myself, and you as well, if we still hold to these reasons for the existence of our form of government. Are we still maintaining those goals in our country? It seems that the Federal Government for the last 70 years or so has trampled on the intent of the Constitution as the forefathers intended it to be and have taken on the powers that originally were designed to remain with the individual states and their citizens.
Now let us look at the original Bill of Rights, of which there were ten in 1791; the number of amendments has now reached twenty-seven.
Amendment 1
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. [This amendments says absolutely nothing about the so-called "separation of church and state". Our government was set up not to separate church from the government, but to keep the government from establishing a state religion. It is interesting to note that this is the very first amendment to the Constitution. To learn more about the intentions of our forefathers concerning government and religion see the web site http://www.wallbuilders.com.]
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. [Throughout history the only reason that a nation required its people to turn in their weapons and become defenseless was to be able to oppress those people and to be able to control those who did not want to be slaves to the government. We can look at the history of Nazi Germany and Socialist Russia to see that the first step for both of those controlling governments was to make the people helpless for defending themselves. When an authority determines that the citizens are not capable of handling their own protection and their defense depends on trained law-enforcement agents, the citizens have begun to lose their individual liberty. When the individual comes to believe that the government is their protector rather than God, that individual quickly turns over his right to self-defense and becomes a slave to his government. According to our forefathers the individual is responsible to "keep and bear Arms" and the government is responsible to enforce the written laws set forth in our Constitution to and maintain a common defense for our entire nation.]
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. [Before the American Revolution the British government sent troops into Boston and forced the people to quarter them in the homes of the people, pay for their expenses while living there, and in a sense support the British control of their own homes. This was during a supposed time of peace, but it was a way to keep the people under their control. Americans were very sensitive to the fact that having foreign soldiers in your home, even in peace time, is a loss of freedom to make personal decisions without threats.]
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. [The privilege to own and maintain the use of private property was one of the most important rights that the founding fathers supported. They realized how quickly this right could be taken from the people if law did not protect them from unreasonable searches and seizures. Two things have affected this amendment - property tax that can now tax a family off their own property and the laws that have been made under the guise of controlling drug traffic. Even the innocent land owner can lose his property if someone is trafficking in drugs or growing substances used to make drugs on his property unknown to him. Both of these are unjust laws and threaten the right to protection of property. Homes of the innocent are invaded by drug enforcement officers without just cause. People are now assumed guilty before just cause is given to prove otherwise.]
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 offence 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. [Has eminent domain been abused toward property owners in our communities?].
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. [In a nation protected by God, justice is swift and penalties are fair and consistent because the wisdom of God is used in the practices of law. In a nation under the judgment of God justice is in confusion, rogue judges use their own bias and opinions to determine outcomes of law. Our nation now has a lack of justice that is rampant because this amendment is being ignored in many areas. Trial cases are drawn out for years; witnesses no longer seem to care if they tell the truth. In fact, dishonesty in courts seems to be the rule, not the exception. Judges are chosen based on their own personal ideologies or their associations with influential friends, rather than their understanding of the law.]
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.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. [Any rights not mentioned in the Constitution belong to the people. For example, for the Federal Government to deny parents the right to educate their own children in the way they see fit is not Constitutional. God tells the fathers that they are responsible for the education of their children. This responsibility is not given to the Federal Government or state governments, it was given to the fathers. Our society has lived with mandatory government education for so long that we have come to believe the responsibility belongs to the government, but God says "No." Until Horace Mann came up with the idea of public day schools in the mid-1800s education was the responsibility of the parents, either by home schooling or by private tutors. The parents chose the person/persons who would teach their children based on the individual needs of the child. Now many home-schooling parents have taken back that responsibility, but now the government is saying, "No, you are not allowed to do that." The state has come to believe that children belong to the state and must be trained to serve the state in the way the state sees fit. To do this, the government appointed, non-elected bureaucrats step in to what In some places parents are not even allowed to come to the schools and observe what their own children are learning. The parent must accept the curriculum that the government schools sees as best for their child.]
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. [Any powers not specifically delegated to the Federal Government by the Constitution are given to the individual states and their citizens. Limits are not put on the rights of the people; the limits are put on the powers of the Federal Government. For example, health care provision for Americans is not given as a power to the Federal Government; it is a provision left to the individual to determine for himself. It is not up to the Federal Government to determine how a state's National Guard is to be used; that delegation belongs to the state that formed the Guard for its protection.]
Other helpful links concerning America's Constitution and other important Documents
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/ (Links are very small on this site, but are worth the trouble finding them)
http://www.EagleForum.org/
http://www.wallbuilders.com/links.asp#educational
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/about
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/10th-amendment-resolution/
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