American Principle Seven: Interpreting the Constitution Is Predicated By Morality

"We hold these truths to be self-evident …"

Declaration of Independence

 

"Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.  Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with

indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?"

George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

 

Declaration-of-independence
The Founding Fathers wrote God-honoring natural-law philosophy into the Declaration of Independence.  Morality inherent in natural law is the underpinning of the Constitution.  Persistence in upholding this perspective separates the Constitution as a tool from defilement by the adherents of man-made law (Alexander Hamilton, Tully Papers, in Philadelphia newspapers 1794).

 

Natural law reflects the common-sense separation of wrong from what is right, as does man's God-given conscience.  In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 1, Paul rejoices in "the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward."

 

Provisions that distinguish the application of American Constitutional law include not destroying innocent life, not stealing and not being untruthful.  Following through on one example, lying when a person gives evidence in a court of law is the crime of perjury.  Liberal law professors avoid discussions about the origin of natural law because that requires an acknowledgment that the predicate for Constitutional interpretation--"government of laws, and not of men"-- resides in higher biblical authority.

 

The impartial "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God"* are the moral connectors that uphold the work ethic, prosperity, and civil community.  When we speak of morality here, we are speaking of what John Marshall wrote in the Marbury v. Madison opinion.  He said, "The government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws, and not of men."

 

It is this bold rejection of the foundational history of law by atheistic-secular authoritarians and the elevation of natural-law philosophy that caused immigrants, by countless millions, to come to America.  And it is the ironclad benefit resulting from applying the impartial "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" that cause them to stay in America.

Prog1sm

*The phrase "Nature's God" used in the Declaration of Independence did not originate with Americans.  The laws of nature's God include the biblical standards of morality.  When the bond between God and man was broken in the Garden of Eden, the forces of evil that seek to defy creation's nature were unleashed.  "The law of nature was a common term used by historic legal writers such as Grotius, Burlamaqui, Blackstone and others.  The law of nature's God, a lesser used term, was more commonly called the divine law, or the revealed law"

(Loning Historical Reference Works).

 


 

 

A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.

 

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American Principle Six: The Written Constitution Established By Americans Is a Tool For Governing

Governments derive "their just powers

from the consent of the governed."

Declaration of Independence

Image_consent_of_governed

We, the people, have as our guide God-honoring principles for directing the use of government power.  When, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dedicated the field where thousands gave their lives at Gettysburg, he concluded, "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" (The Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863).

 

Americans established government when covenanting to share a small portion of their God-given rights to use force and keep thieves out of the corncrib.  It is the tax revenues provided by the people that give government its power.  

 

The tool is to be used in ways to achieve the goals spelled out philosophically in the 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 defense, promote the general Welfare [meaning common needs that do not conflict with or hamper the development of the work ethic and personal self-reliance] and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

 

Some delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed these principles of the Declaration of Independence for guiding government action would prevail without amending the Constitution because many states had already adopted a Bill of Rights.  Obviously the delegates did not anticipate the pervasiveness of the federal judiciary as it has since developed.  Ultimately the Founding Fathers at the state level made a most significant contribution by insisting that the nation's Constitution be amended by a Bill of Rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.

 

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American Principle Five: Liberty Is Vital

"Unalienable Rights,

That among these are … liberty."

Declaration of Independence

 

Liberty--from oppression by big government and nongovernment authoritarians--is vital.  "Liberty and life are the gratuitous gifts of heaven.   I shall certainly be excused from adducing any formal arguments to evince, that life, and whatever is necessary for the safest of life, are the natural rights of man.  Some things are so difficult; others are so plain, that they cannot be proved" (Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, Lectures, delivered in the College of Philadelphia 1790-1791, volume II, part II, chapter 1, Lorenzo Press, 1804).

 

Liberty and self-reliance for independence are God's gifts for man to claim.  Liberty in the context of the Declaration of Independence and Preamble to the Constitution means freedom from government activity that would undermine the development of citizen self-reliance.  Accepting promises of politicians who use the public treasury to provide things that replace personal responsibility is a trap. Helping those who are incapable for reasons beyond their control is, of course, man's duty and beneficial to all, but paternalistic government services attract and enlarge an irresponsible voting block. When reduced to dependence, this cannot be reversed.  

 

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God?  That they are not violated but with His wrath?  Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just:  that His justice cannot sleep forever" (Thomas Jefferson:  signer and principle author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, Notes on Virginia Q.XVIII, 1782, ME 2:227).

Jefferson_quote1

 

The Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson's Quote From the Northeast Interior Wall


A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.

 

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American Principle Four: All Men Are Equal In the Sight of God and the Law

"that all men are created equal …"

Declaration of Independence

 

People of different faiths, with different racial and cultural backgrounds, and people who are gifted in different ways are created equal and deserve to be treated equally by the civil and criminal justice systems.  Any concept of authoritarianism that presumes to override the sovereignty of man under God over government is a violation of "equal in the sight of God and the law."

 

"The multitude I am speaking of is the body of people--no contemptible multitude--for whose sake government is instituted; or rather, who have themselves erected it, solely for their own good--to whom even kings and all in subordination to them, are strictly speaking, servants and not masters" (Samuel Adams, essay in the Boston Gazette, 1771).

Samadams

Samuel Adams

1722-1803

Founding Father of the United States

 

 

 

 

A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.  For more information or to purchase the book:

 

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American Principle Three: Upholding the Traditional Family Is Paramount

"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."

Declaration of Independence

 

Protecting the traditional family as a distinct institution is among the highest priorities for a nation's laws.  This historic arrangement has proven overwhelmingly to be the best setting for raising children to live healthy, responsible and productive lives (Genesis 2:23-24).

 

"That government is instituted and ought to be exercised for the benefit of the people; which consists in the enjoyment of life and liberty, and generally of pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety" (James Madison in the first session of the US Congress, proposing the Bill of Rights amendments be added to the Constitution of the United States).

James_madison

James Madison

1751-1836

Fourth President of the United States,

key author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

 

 

"The most important consequence of marriage is, that the husband and wife become in law only one person" (James Wilson, Natural Rights of Marriage, 1792, teachingamericanhistory.org).

James_wilson

James Wilson

1742-1798

Signer of the Declaration of Independence, twice member of the

Continental Congress, one of six original Supreme Court justices

appointed by George Washington

 

 

American Principle Two: God Is the Source of Unalienable Rights

“All men are … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Declaration of Independence

 

“We The People Of The State Of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the State of Iowa …”

Preamble, Constitution of Iowa, adopted in 1846—

seventy years after the Declaration of Independence

Image_patch

Belief in a Higher Authority also believes in the opposite side of the coin:  that man does not originate law, God does.  Legislators articulate this pre-existing law and give it particular applications to changing circumstances.

 

During the 1765 crisis caused by the king's Stamp Act, John Adams, when writing the Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, August 12, 1765, the Boston Gazette, pointed out that liberty was not man's creation or something radically new to the world, but rights "derived from our Maker," rights "indisputable, unalienable," "inherent," "essential," "divine" and even acknowledged since the Middle Ages by British law.

 

"We further recommend the most clear and explicit assertion and vindication of our rights and liberties to be entered on the public records, that the world may know, in present and all future generations, that we have a clear knowledge and a just sense of them, and, with submission to Divine Providence that we never can be slaves" (John Adams, pictured below, adopted on October 14, 1765, by the town meeting of Braintree, Massachusetts, and sent to their representatives in the Massachusetts state legislature).

 

Those who reject God's authority and proceed to fix the rights of others are, by definition, false gods and, in practice, become tyrants.  Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist, No. 78, says:  "A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law."  When a particular statute violates the meaning of the Constitution, it is the duty of judicial tribunals to disregard it and adhere to the Constitution.  

 

"The sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records.  They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or voided or obscured by mortal power" (teachingamericanhistory.org, Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775).

 

Education in America today is energizing the enemies of the family, self-rule, prosperity and liberty because it does not emphasize that man’s unalienable rights are the gift of God.

Inalienable_rights

A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.  For more information or to purchase the book:

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Censorship of Christmas in Public Schools

Antichristmastree

Permit me one interruption of my discussion of immortal American Principles ...

 

Secular militants have shut down ideological competition by preventing religious, political and academic freedom on many campuses throughout the nation.  Haters of citizen self-government in America are effectively muting the voices of tens of thousands of concerned citizens.  

 

The war against the Judeo-Christian foundation for American law, self-government and the spirit of liberty extends beyond leftist radical censorship of American history and foundational American beliefs from public school textbooks.  "A decorated pine tree in the Ames High School cafeteria has been taken down because of complaints from a high school employee and some parents" (The Tribune, December 4, 2010).  Reporting the words of the school Superintendent, "We are in the business of educating students.  I didn't want this [decorated pine tree] to become a distraction … so we decided it would be best to take down the tree."  His frankness about a few people who were intolerant of a pine tree within the sight of students is commendable.  The tree was in the school for the traditional Christmas season, but apparently they dared not even call it a Christmas tree.

Hh_dp19755592

It is needful that we reject the spirit of rebellion and enjoin the spirit of truth that empowers man to storm the strongholds of evil.  It is spiritual wisdom that enabled this nation to become the most blessed civilization in history.  The restoration of spiritual glory--the potential to reassert our culture's values of freedom, education, prosperity, and truth--is at hand.

Merry Christmas to all"In this was manifested the love of God toward us,

because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world,

that we might live through Him."

(I John 4:9)

American Principle One: The Spiritual Nature of Man is Supreme

There is a definite, unique, American belief that translates into specific principles for the establishment and workings of our government.  It can be found in the Declaration of Independence. 

James Wilson was one of six men who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.  Addressing the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention for the new constitution, Wilson read the Declaration of Independence and then he stated:  “This [Declaration] is the broad basis on which our independence [from authoritarian rule] was placed; on the same certain and solid foundation this [the Constitution of the United States] system is erected.”*

 

Declaration_of_independence
This begins a discussion of immortal principles central to liberty and American greatness as found in the Declaration of Independence.   Compromise of any of the following principles leads to harmful consequences.

American Principle One:  The Spiritual Nature of Man Is Supreme

“All men are created ... endowed by their Creator …”

Declaration of Independence

Foundational to liberty and the American approach to government is the fact that man is of divine origin.  His spiritual or God-honoring nature is held as being of supreme importance.  Upholding man’s God-given “rights” from abuses sanctioned by governments makes liberty possible.  The divine quality of these rights calls for the unequivocal rejection of the authoritarian entitlements claimed by elitists of all stripes—kings, authoritarian politicians, clergy, educators, and militarists.  This principle enshrines certain limits that must, for the sake of liberty, be placed upon the use of the law and government power.

Humble support for the sovereignty of man under God over government is the guarantor of freedom for family wholeness, self-reliance, and prosperity.  People who know the truth can reject, without fear, the alarming chatter of atheistic sectarians.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry:  American Principle Two.

 *(cited in John Elliot, Elliot’s Debates, The Debates In The Several State Conventions Adoption Of The Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 11-20-1787, Book I, published 1836, 457).

 

 

 

In God We Trust (Except In Public Schools)

In-god-we-trust-1

Having confronted the barriers to success imposed by the British Crown at the First Continental Congress, the Founding Fathers needed to address the following questions:

I.               How do we bring into focus the justification for independence that can, in fact, support the life, liberty and happiness that the colonists found possible?

II.             How do we declare the sovereignty of man under God over government, upon which respect for impartial law, citizen self-rule and liberty are justified?

III.           How do we emphasize the need for strict separation from the British king and other pretender gods, who have managed to betray and exploit mankind down through history?

IV.            What must we proclaim that will convince other nations to have confidence in the United States as a sovereign entity?

The answers to these questions became the basis for the unique principles for government in America.  The Declaration of Independence provided a moral and just basis for law as no other document before or since.  These principles were adopted unanimously by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776.  On July 4, 1776, the delegates signed their names to the Declaration, and the new nation—independent from Great Britain—was born.

What is the common bond that enabled Americans to establish the greatest nation on earth?  The USA Today/Gallup Poll published May 6, 2010 reports that 92 percent of Americans believe in God and only 5 percent said they oppose the National Day of Prayer.  The problem is that public schools stopped teaching how the basic American belief “In God We Trust” translates into principles for political decisions that made America the overwhelming choice of immigrants from around the world. 

In-god-we-trust_large1

 

Wake Up, America!

“Although all men are born free, and all nations might be so, yet too true it is, that slavery has been the general lot of the human race.  Ignorant—they have been cheated; asleep—they have been surprised; divided—the yoke has been forced upon them.  But what is the lesson?  That because the people may betray themselves, they ought to give themselves up, blindfolded, to those who have an interest in betraying them?

 

Rather conclude that the people ought to be enlightened,

to be awakened, to be united.”

 

James Madison, Essay:  Who Are the Keepers of the People’s Liberties?  Madison served as the fourth president of the United States (1809-1817) and is considered the principal author of the United States Constitution.  In 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, still the most influential commentary on the Constitution.  Madison was responsible for writing the first ten amendments to the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights.

 

James_madison

James Madison

1751-1836

Fourth President of the United States,

"Father of the Constitution" and

key author of the United States' Bill of Rights


If you know you need to "wake up" or want to know how to be united with other freedom-loving Americans, take a look at the book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.  It can be purchased at:

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