Our forefathers bequeathed to us more than a republic. They willed to us an enduring constitution that incorporates more thought and brainpower than any document ever written by man. After fifty-five convention delegates worked ceaselessly for four months, three million people argued about it for up to two years, then it was ratified by conventions of the people, and after it was put in force, Congress immediately acceded to popular demand by proposing ten amendments that restricted the government from abridging the rights of the governed.   Read the rest of this entry »

An incredibly prescient letter from Madison to Jefferson, in which Madison offers his observations on the dangers of a tyrannical majority in a democratic system. Madison explains his views on the proposed Bill of Rights and one of the reasons for his reticence was simply because he didn't care for all those who supported it! "At the same time I have never thought the omission [of a Bill of Rights] a material defect, nor been anxious to supply it even by subsequent amendment, for any other reason than that it is anxiously desired by others."   Read the rest of this entry »

A little background on the nation's second president. Adams was a champion of the founding principles, a firm proponent of Enlightenment teachings, and a constitutional scholar. He was a pious man of honor and character.   Read the rest of this entry »

“Let it be known that British liberties are not the grants of princes and parliaments.” John Adams

Bills of rights were not new at the time of the Founding.  The 1215 Magna Carta forced King John to respect specified rights, …

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Concentrated political power frightened the Founders. They believed that only by limiting government could liberty survive the natural tendency of man to dictate the habits of other men. The balanced separation of power with checks was designed to prevent tyranny. The first outsized words of the Constitution read We the People. It’s our document. It was always meant to be ours, not the government’s. It is each and every American’s obligation to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.   Read the rest of this entry »

In the first of our Constitution Day (week) posts, Jim looks at the speed bumps specified by the nation's charter document to restrain government.   Read the rest of this entry »

If you read the financial press, you can almost hear the gurus scratching their heads. They study past business cycles and can’t understand why robust growth isn’t the order of the day. Since WWII, strong recoveries have always followed recessions. And the deeper the recession, the faster the climb back to prosperity. Considering the depth of our latest crash, we should be rip-roaring into the stratosphere by now. What’s going on?   Read the rest of this entry »

In 1934 with the Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell ruling, the Supreme Court arbitrarily overrode the Constitution and gave the states permission to violate private contracts. In setting this precedent, the FDR courts and those that followed now had license to ignore the wording and intent of the Constitution.   Read the rest of this entry »

WWTFT blogger Michael E. Newton has recently published his second book, Angry Mobs and Founding Fathers: The Fight for Control of the American Revolution. Michael is a great researcher and his non-fiction books are filled with rare facts and tidbits that surprise the reader.   Read the rest of this entry »

The only way to repair our Constitution is with justices that have a deep-seated loyalty to the founding principles. The founders may have underestimated the capacity for judicial activism by a highly politicized court.   Read the rest of this entry »