"No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony.
The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country.
For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate.
It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope.
We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.
Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?
Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.
I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House.
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?
Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.
Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.
These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging.
And what have we to oppose to them?
Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years.
Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain.
Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted?
Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on.
We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrance's have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne!
In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation.
There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight!
I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary.
But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year?
Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?
Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.
Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.
Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest.
There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged!
Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come!
I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace.
The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!
Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish?
What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
-- Patrick Henry -- March 23, 1775
*************************************************
"Although all men are born free, 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?… the people ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing a government they should watch over it… It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently free." -- James Madison
*************************************************
"If I defend the whole Christian faith at every point, but if I don't defend it at the point where it is presently being attacked, then I am a coward and a traitor." -- Martin Luther
*************************************************
"Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian." -- United States Supreme Court 1892, Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States.
*************************************************
"Religion [is] the basis and Foundation of Government". June 20, 1785. He also wrote, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self - government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." -- James Madison -- known as the Father of the U.S. Constitution
*************************************************
"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." -- United States Supreme Court Justice - Robert H. Jackson
*************************************************
"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." -- Daniel Webster
*************************************************
"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance." -- James Madison
*************************************************
"A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was
believed… -- Dresden James
*************************************************
"The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists." -- J. Edgar Hoover
*************************************************
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you.
May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
-- Samuel Adams
*************************************************
"To remain silent when they should protest makes cowards of men."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
"The proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right."
-- Thomas Jefferson -- Statute for Religious Freedom, 1779. ME 2:301, Papers 2:546
*************************************************
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
-- various quotes by Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
"The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights."
-- George Washington, to the Annual meeting of Quakers, September 1789
*************************************************
"The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."
-- George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789
*************************************************
"I have often expressed my sentiments, that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience."
-- George Washington -- letter to the General Committee of the United Baptist Churches in Virginia, May, 1789
*************************************************
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men." -- Lord Acton, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton,
1887
*************************************************
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is
striking at the root." -- Henry David Thoreau
*************************************************
*************************************************
*************************************************
"It
is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and
monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution
before tomorrow morning." --
Henry Ford
*************************************************
Dr. Benjamin Rush, who trained 3,000 doctors, and helped start colleges and universities, and called for a free public education.
He stated, “The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion.
Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.
Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind.”
-- Dr. Benjamin Rush
*************************************************
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judicial, in the SAME hands, whether of one, a few, or many … may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
-- James Madison, Publius, 1788 Federalist
*************************************************
“When all governments, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington, as the CENTER OF ALL POWER, it will render POWERLESS the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as venial and OPPRESSIVE as the government from which we separated.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
“The provision in the Constitution granting the RIGHT to all persons to bear arms is a limitation upon the power of the legislator to enact ANY LAW TO THE CONTRARY.”
-- Michigan Supreme Court, 1922
*************************************************
“On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, CONFORM to the probable one in which it was passed.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
“Posterity, you will never know how much it cost my generation to preserve your freedom.
I hope you will make good use of it.”
-- John Adams
*************************************************
“The consolidation of the States into one vast Republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be [the] certain precursor of that RUIN which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded.”
-- Robert E. Lee, 1866
*************************************************
“See to the government. See that the government does not acquire TOO MUCH POWER.
Keep a check upon your rulers. DO THIS and liberty is safe.”
-- William Henry Harrison, 1840
*************************************************
545 People -- by Charlie
Reese
*************************************************
On June 20, 1676, by unanimous vote, clerk Edward
Rawson was authorized to proclaim June
29 as a day of corporate Thanksgiving. The proclamation says, in part:
*************************************************
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.
In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but
'foreign' owned private central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.
They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.
No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault.
They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.
The president can only propose a budget.
He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House?
She is the leader of the majority party.
She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.
If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security, but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess! -- Charlie Reese
-- former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel
"The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of
this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for
such his Goodness and Favour ... [T]he council doth commend it to the
Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and
seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of
God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and souls as a
living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ."
On October 3, 1789, our first (and greatest) President,
George Washington, issued his National
Day of Thanksgiving proclamation. He said (in part), "Whereas it
is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to
obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his
protection and favor .... And also that we may then unite in most humbly
offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of
Nations, and beseech him to pardon our national and other
transgressions .... To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion
and virtue ..."
With a spirit of thanksgiving, Benjamin
Franklin wrote, "And forasmuch as
ingratitude is one of the most odious of vices, let me not be unmindful
gratefully to acknowledge the favours I receive from Heaven.... For all Thy
innumerable benefits; for life and reason, and the use of speech; for health
and joy, and every pleasant hour,--My good God, I thank Thee!"
I really did not want to get into this, because from my experience, I could write a book, in fact volumes of books, but I am not interested in "compensation."
I support freedom, the right to pursue happiness, mom and pop businesses, and those who do not work shall not eat!
We need to dump the present system, and get back to the basics, living on and off the land, not government handouts!
We need land, freedom, and clean air. Not stock markets, huge bank buildings, embassies, multi-million dollar court houses,
law firms and insurance companies. We need to stay out of space, and stop polluting the air we breath, the water we
drink. We need to stop the wars to control and take over the
world. We need to stop messing with other countries and their
governments. We need to let the people of the world, live under the governments they create, and let them fight their own wars.
Have you taken the square miles of this nation, and divided it by the population?
Very interesting thing to do. But then the government can better control a population when they are confined within a "city", and not permitted to raise their own meat, vegetables, and teach their own children.
Forced to live under rules and regulations, the government owns the children, through the welfare and numbering system.
The permission to marry, gives the government a 3rd party interest in a family, and total control of everyone, how they think, act, where they work, live, raise the children, and charges them a fee for all these "privileges" called taxation!
When we get our county under control, and our freedom back, then we can be a role model for other countries, not the machine that rolls in and murders and kills the people of other nations and countries.
We can settle the national debt, and be self sustaining, when we stop spending what we do not have, instead of looking for ways to spend even more, and provide for more of the wealthy to join the ranks of the already corrupt.
Have you ever watched the movie for children " The never ending story" where the nothing is coming?
Well, you should, because with the course we are following, the "nothing" is bearing down on us.
I am very, accurately aware of the Federalist papers, ever seen the site "Constitutional Guardian"? -
constitutionalguardian.com
Ever heard of Mary Webster? Ever been to the AVALON PROJECT? Ever read completely the
"Articles of Confederation"? I have!
Sorry, I do not mean to dampen your spirits, but before you can engage in a venture, you need to research all avenues, know the answers before the questions are asked, and be ready to answer without hesitation, or "I will have to get back with you on that".
When you focus on one issue, one thought, and lose sight of the big picture, you box yourself
in. We are not dealing with the past, we are dealing with NOW, and tomorrow, and tomorrow is fast vanishing for all of us, unless we do something NOW!
Short of civil war, or the coming together of the American common man, woman and every able bodied person over the age of 18, we are doomed.
Everyone has great ideas, but no common denominator to pull the forces together.
Web sites are a tool, an aid, but they are small in the equation.
Because of getting the attention to get the traffic to the sites, it takes people working together for a common goal, and educating the public
masses. At this point in time, we do not have media support, except for public broadcasting stations, and everyone is too busy watching the sports channels, lifting the beer bottle or wine glass, or going to
Wallyworld, to listen to the ones who are trying to tell them we are in a crisis.
Sherree Lowe
oregonjail4judges.org
sherreelowe@msn.com
Second Amendment Links:
The Constitution preserves "the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." -- James Madison
*************************************************
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." -- Thomas Jefferson -- Commonplace Book, 1774-1776
*************************************************
"...arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." -- Thomas Paine
*************************************************
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington
*************************************************
"A militia when properly formed is in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of bearing arms...To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms..." -- Richard Henry Lee -- Additional Letters From the Federal Farmer #53, 1788
*************************************************
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow-citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article in their right to keep and bear their private arms." -- Tenche Coxe -- from “Remarks on First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution" Federal Gazette, 1789
*************************************************
"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." -- Samuel Adams -- During Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution Ratification Convention, 1788
*************************************************
"Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... [T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -- Tenche Coxe -- The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788
*************************************************
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops..." -- Noah Webster -- An examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution by the Late Convention, 1787
*************************************************
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson -- Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776, Jefferson Papers 344, J. Boyd, ed. 1950
*************************************************
The Constitution preserves "the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." -- James Madison -- The Federalist #46
*************************************************
"...that standing army can never be formidable (threatening) to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in the use of arms." -- Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist Paper #29
*************************************************
What about the militia?
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people...to disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
-- George Mason -- During Virginia's ratification convention,
1788
*************************************************
Note: Tenche Coxe clear statement that neither the Federal nor State government would be the possessor of this ultimate check to tyranny, but it would rest in the hands of the people.
So when they declare that the government derives its just power from the people – they clearly intended the people to in fact be possessors of real power.
Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man gainst his own bosom.
Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an
American... [T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.
-- Tenche Coxe -- The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20,
1788
*************************************************
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops..." -- Noah Webster -- An examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution by the Late Convention, 1787
*************************************************
To oblige the great body of the yeomanry, and of the other classes of the citizens, to be under arms for the purpose of going through military exercises and evolutions, as often as might be necessary to acquire the degree of perfection which would entitle them to the character of a well-regulated militia, would be a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss… Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped" -- Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist No.2
*************************************************
"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them." -- Thomas Jefferson -- to George Washington, 1796. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors
*************************************************
"Arms in the hands of individual citizens may be used at individual discretion... in private self defence." -- John Adams -- A Defense of the U.S. Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787-88
*************************************************
Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. -- Jefferson's 'Commonplace Book' -- 1774-1776, On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764
*************************************************
"...arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." -- Thomas Paine: -- Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775
*************************************************
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." -- Thomas Jefferson -- Quoting 18th Century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment, 1764
*************************************************
“The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.” -- Patrick Henry -- Give me liberty” speech
*************************************************
"Never trust your government. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. A revolution is needed every twenty years just to keep the government honest." -- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************
"Open your eyes. Accept the painful truth. Do something to correct the wrong." -- Thomas Paine
*************************************************
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." -- Ronald Reagan
*************************************************
"Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long." -- Ron Paul
*************************************************
"I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves." -- Ronald Reagan
*************************************************
Quotes from people that do not understand liberty:
"We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
-- Hillary Clinton
*************************************************
"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,
It's just a g-d piece of paper!" -- George W. Bush
*************************************************
What the Founding Fathers Meant by the "Militia"
IMPORTANT NOTE: Back in the 18th century, a "regular" army meant an army that had standard military equipment.
So a "well regulated" army was simply one that was "well equipped" and organized. It does not refer to a professional army.
The 17th century folks used the term "standing army" or "regulars" to describe a professional army.
Therefore, "a well regulated militia" only means a well equipped militia that was organized and maintained internal discipline.
It does not imply the modern meaning of "regulated," which means controlled or administered by some superior entity.
Federal control over the militia comes from other parts of the Constitution, but not from the Second Amendment.
"I ask you sir, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people."
-- George Mason -- Elliott, Debates,
425-426
*************************************************
"A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves... and include all men capable of bearing arms." -- Richard Henry Lee -- Additional letters from the Federal Farmer, at 169, 1788
*************************************************
"A WELL REGULATED militia, composed of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country." -- James Madison -- 1st Annals of Congress, at 434, June 8th 1789
*************************************************
"As the greatest danger to liberty is from large standing armies, it is best to prevent them by an effectual provision for a good militia." -- James Madison -- notes of debates in the 1787 Federal Convention
*************************************************
"The people have a right to keep and bear arms." -- Patrick Henry -- Elliott, Debates at 185
*************************************************
"...that standing army can never be formidable (threatening) to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in the use of arms." -- Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist Paper #29
*************************************************
"The militia is the natural defense of a free country against sudden foreign invasions, domestic insurrections, and domestic usurpations of power by rulers. It is against sound policy for a free people to keep up large military establishments and standing armies in time of peace, both from the enormous expenses, with which they are attended, and the facile means, which they afford to ambitious and unprincipled rulers, to subvert the government, or trample upon the rights of the people." -- Joseph Story -- Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. 3 vols. Boston, 1833
*************************************************
"...to support the Constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities; to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and to the people as equally incorporated with and essential to the success of the general system;... to keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics – that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe;..." -- President James Madison -- First Inaugural address, Saturday, March 4, 1809
*************************************************
"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -- Tenche Coxe -- The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.
*************************************************
"In the second article, it is declared, that a well regulated militia is necessary to a free state; a proposition from which few will dissent. Although in actual war, in the services of regular troops are confessedly more valuable; yet while peace prevails, and in the commencement of a war before a regular force can be raised, the militia form the palladium of the country. They are ready to repel invasion, to suppress insurrection, and preserve the good order and peace of government. That they should be well regulated, is judiciously added. A disorderly militia is disgraceful to itself, and dangerous not to the enemy, but to its own country. The duty of the state government is, to adopt such regulation as will tend to make good soldiers with the least interruptions of the ordinary and useful occupations of civil life. In this all the Union has a strong and visible interest." -- William Rawle -- "A View of the Constitution of the United States of America" 1829
*************************************************
"The project of disciplining all the militia of the United States is as futile as it would be injurious, if it were capable of being carried into execution. A tolerable expertness in military movements is a business that requires time and practice. It is not a day, or even a week, that will suffice for the attainment of it. To oblige the great body of the yeomanry, and of the other classes of the citizens, to be under arms for the purpose of going through military exercises and evolutions, as often as might be necessary to acquire the degree of perfection which would entitle them to the character of a well-regulated militia, would be a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss. It would form an annual deduction from the productive labor of the country, to an amount which, calculating upon the present numbers of the people, would not fall far short of the whole expense of the civil establishments of all the States. To attempt a thing which would abridge the mass of labor and industry to so considerable an extent, would be unwise: and the experiment, if made, could not succeed, because it would not long be endured. Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped" -- Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist No.2
*************************************************
"Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." -- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts -- (spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment, I Annals of Congress at 750, August 17, 1789.)
*************************************************
Return to iblamethepastors.com
END