First Principles of the American Founding

Essay #1 – INTRODUCTION

• Introduction: First Principles of the American Founding by Adam M. Carrington, Associate Professor of Politics, Hillsdale College; Author, Justice Stephen Field’s Cooperative Constitution of Liberty: Liberty in Full.

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Essay #2 – Principle of government exists to secure liberty of the people rather than government existing to benefit itself. “We ought to consider, what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form.” – John Adams, Thoughts on Government, in a letter in reply to William Hooper 1742-1790, North Carolina Continental Congress Delegate and John Penn 1740-1788, North Carolina Continental Congress Delegate, written spring 1776 in reply to NC delegates Hooper and Penn requesting Adams’ considerations on republican government for America upon gaining independence from Great Britain.

• Principle of Governing to Secure Liberty of the People, Not Government by George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom.

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Essay #3 – Principle of regard for history, order, and tradition.

• Essentially Bound: The Principle of Regard for History, Order, and Tradition by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #4 – Further on drawing from history, order and tradition in the formation of America’s founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution of the 1700s. In 1639, a new colony, Connecticut, later a state gaining the motto “The Constitution State,” was founded by Reverends Thomas Hooker and John Davenport. Along with others, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were drafted, forming what is considered the first constitution in America. “…so to order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connecticut and the lands thereunto adjoining; and well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established…General Assemblies or Courts…Court of Election…Magistrates…liberty of speech…Governor…promote the public good and peace of the same…maintain all lawful privileges of this Commonwealth; as also that all wholesome laws that are or shall be made by lawful authority here established, be duly executed…” – segments from the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, January 1639.

• History, Order and Tradition in the Formation of America’s Founding Documents by Ron Meier, West Point Graduate and Vietnam War Veteran; Constituting America Senior Essay Contest Winner; Author, Common Sense Rekindled: A Rejuvenation of the American Experiment.

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Essay #5 – Principle of classical history discussed by the American founders for the purpose of applying its lessons toward a new and different governing system devoted to freedom and independence.

• Principle of Applying Lessons from Classical History toward New Governing Devoted to Freedom and Independence by Winfield Rose, Distinguished Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Murray State University.

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Essay #6 – Further on the principle of classical history discussed by the American founders for the purpose of applying its lessons toward a new and different governing system devoted to freedom and independence. In 1641, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties was written by a Puritan minister, Nathaniel Ward, considered the first bill of rights in America, continuing influences gained from those such as Magna Carta and others in the 1600s and into the 1700s for American law to come, and recognizing one is born with rights no government may take away. “The free fruition of such liberties, immunities and privileges as humanity, civility, and Christianity call for as due to every man in his place and proportion without impeachment and infringement hath ever been and ever will be the tranquility and stability of churches and commonwealths. And the denial or deprival thereof, the disturbance if not the ruin of both. We hold it therefore our duty and safety whilst we are about the further establishing of this government to collect and express all such freedoms as for present we foresee may concern us, and our posterity after us, and to ratify them with our solemn consent…” – With enumerated sections, in its original English spelling, the document was entitled, A Coppie of the Liberties of the Massachusets Collonie in New England, December 1641.

• Classical History and Governing Devoted to Freedom and Independence Through Restraining Power of Elected Representatives by Winfield Rose, Distinguished Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Murray State University.

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Essay #7 – Classical history and significance of republican government as adopted by the United States and its influence during the American Revolutionary War.

• Republic or Democracy? Classical History, Republican Governing as Adopted by the United States, and the American Revolutionary War by Jay McConville, Military Veteran; Aerospace and Defense Industry Executive; Certified Personal Trainer, and Doctoral Candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Essay #8 – Principle of constitutional restraints to prevent the undermining of interests of the entire Union. The Founders’ Join or Die efforts to protect the new Union of colonies to become a United States with state governments and one federal government with limits, resulted in Benjamin Franklin’s editorial cartoon running May 9, 1754 in his Pennsylvania Gazette, a picture of a snake cut in pieces representing the colonies. It served as a warning to join together or be destroyed by opponents of America. During tumultuous events of the French and Indian War, fighting the Stamp Act, and working toward independence from Britain, Americans agreed on protecting the Union.

• Principle of Constitutional Restraints To Prevent the Undermining of Interests of the Entire Union by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #9 – Principle of natural law opposition to tyranny that binds a free people together and cannot disjoin them. “When the law is the will of the people, it will be uniform and coherent: but fluctuation, contradiction, and inconsistency of councils must be expected under those governments where every revolution in the ministry of a court produces one in the state. Such being the folly and pride of all ministers, that they ever pursue measures directly opposite to those of their predecessors…We shall neither be exposed to the necessary convulsions of elective monarchies, nor to the want of wisdom, fortitude, and virtue, to which hereditary succession is liable. In your hands it will be to perpetuate a prudent, active and just legislature, and which will never expire until you yourselves lose the virtues which give it existence…Our Union is now complete; our constitution composed, established, and approved. You are now the guardians of your own liberties.” – Samuel Adams, Speech on American Independence, August 1, 1776.

• Keeping a Free People Securely Bound Together Through the Principle of Natural Law Opposition to Tyranny by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #10 – Further on principle of appropriate role and purpose of government in protecting liberty of the citizenry and the function of running their own government.

• Principle of Appropriate Role and Purpose of Government in Protecting Liberty of the Citizenry by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #11 – Principle of educating based on ethical, philosophical self-evident truths of good government, designed for a free people, recognized as important for acquiring civic virtue. “when the legislative or executive functionaries act unconstitutionally, they are responsible to the people in their elective capacity. the exemption of the judges from that is quite dangerous enough. I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society, but the people themselves: and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their controul with a wholsome discretion, the remedy is, not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. this is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.” – Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Charles Jarvis, Monticello, September 28, 1820.

• Civic Virtue and a Free People: Principle of Educating on Ethical, Philosophical, Self-Evident Truths of Good Government by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #12 – Principle of educating based on ethical, philosophical self-evident truths of self-government and a good system of government for the country, designed for a free people, recognized as important for securing and continuing the blessings of liberty for future generations of Americans. The New England Primer, published in 1690, served as the main textbook through the nineteenth century. It was used to educate Americans on virtue, morals, and how to read.

• Educating a Free People to Secure the Blessings of Liberty for Future Generations of Americans by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #13 – Principle of civic duty, civic engagement. In a letter, John Adams wrote from Philadelphia to his wife, Abigail, April 26, 1777. Battle weary, Adams stated as he closed, “Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it.” Adams hoped future Americans would accept responsibility to preserve what was being established in his day. Declaration of Independence grievance: “He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.”

• Principle of Civic Duty, Civic Engagement by Joseph M. Knippenberg, Professor of Politics, Oglethorpe University.

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Essay #14 – Principle of civic duty to petition their own government for a redress of grievances.

• Principle of Civic Duty to Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #15 – Principle of civic duty to rein in overreaching government. “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?” – Patrick Henry, speech delivered at St. Johns Church, Richmond, Virginia, March 23, 1775 (“Give me liberty” quote was attributed to Patrick Henry, believed originally from William Wirt).

• A Founding Built Against Unbridled Power: Principle of Civic Duty to Rein In Overreaching Government by Scot Faulkner, Served as Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff; Financial Adviser; President, Friends of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

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Essay #16 – Principle of citizenship, love of country. “The Unity of Government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main Pillar in the Edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home; your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness” – George Washington, Farewell Address, first published September 19, 1796 in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser and given the date September 17, 1796.

• Principle of Citizenship and Love of Country by Tom Hand, Creator and Publisher, Americana Corner; West Point Graduate; Serves on the Board of Trustees, American Battlefield Trust and the National Park Foundation’s National Council.

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Essay #17 – Principle of America’s national sovereignty. “That these are our grievances which we have thus laid before his majesty, with that freedom of language and sentiment which becomes a free people claiming their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate: Let those flatter who fear; it is not an American art. To give praise which is not due might be well from the venal, but would ill beseem those who are asserting the rights of human nature. They know, and will therefore say, that kings are the servants, not the proprietors of the people.” – Thomas Jefferson in his pamphlet, “A Summary View of the Rights of British America” July 1774, Williamsburg, Virginia.

• Principle of America’s National Sovereignty by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #18 – Further on principle of America’s national sovereignty upon preventing loss of independence to foreign or global governments acting as with binding authority in attempts to undermine the United States.

• Preventing Loss of Independence to Foreign or Global Governments by Upholding the Principle of America’s National Sovereignty by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #19 – Principle of peace through strength. “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?…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, speech delivered at St. Johns Church, Richmond, Virginia, March 23, 1775 (“Give me liberty” quote was attributed to Patrick Henry, believed originally from William Wirt).

• Principle of Peace Through Strength by Robert Brescia, Board Director, Past Chairman, Basin PBS Television; Top Leadership Roles in Education, Corporate Business, Nonprofit, and Defense; Twenty-Seven Years of Public Service as an Airborne Ranger Cavalry Soldier, NCO, Commissioned Officer, U.S. Army; Appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, State Board for Educator Certification.

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Essay #20 – Principle of foreign policy based on a standard of freedom and independence. Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, December 19, 1776, Pamphlet 1, speech on “These are the times that try men’s souls” – not quitting in their fight for independence, writing how tyranny is not easily conquered, “Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but “to bind us in all cases whatsoever.”

• Principle of Foreign Policy Based on a Standard of Freedom and Independence by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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Essay #21 – Principle of Creator-endowed unalienable rights.

• Human Flourishing and the Principle of Creator-Endowed Unalienable Rights by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.
  

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Essay #22 – Principle of natural law as the foundation for constitutional law. “government by election and representation has its origin in the natural and eternal rights of man” – Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, 1795.

• Principle of Natural Law as the Foundation for Constitutional Law by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #23 – Principle of appropriate role and purpose of government upon protection of unalienable rights, unchangeable, inherent, natural rights. The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. – Alexander Hamilton in his pamphlet, The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775, New York.

• Principle of Appropriate Role and Purpose of Government Upon Protection of Natural, Unchangeable, Unalienable Rights by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.

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Essay #24 – Principle of a written United States Constitution that is the supreme law of the land, designed for the preservation of liberty for each generation of future Americans since its ratification. “…a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices…” After high winds blew the ship off course landing the Pilgrims hundreds of miles off their destination, the first American document designed for self-governing, called the Mayflower Compact, was signed November 21, 1620 (November 11, old calendar) aboard the Mayflower ship at Cape Cod, what is now Massachusets. With an understanding, from experience about tyrannical rule, the early American settlers knew the importance of good governing and that a document to form it should be written for doing so themselves at the place they landed. Forty-one men signed the agreement that would help lay the framework for the new nation’s future Constitution.

• Principle of a Written United States Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land, Designed for the Preservation of Liberty by Benjamin Slomski, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Ashland University.

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Essay #25 – Further on the principle of a written United States Constitution, a contract allowing, under strict limits, a government to run under the authority of the American people within the states. “There are in the productions of all of them, among many excellent things, some sentiments, however, that it will be difficult to reconcile to reason, experience, the constitution of human nature, or to the uniform testimony of the greatest statesmen, legislators, and philosophers of all enlightened nations, ancient and modern.” – John Adams in his 1787-1877 A Defense of the Constitution of Government of the United States of America, Letter I, Volume I, Preliminary Observations, Grosvenor-Square, October 4, 1786, part of a three-volume response sparked by a 1778 letter degrading American constitutions as not enough in republican form for the people to remain in control but were only repeating dictatorships America was trying to escape. Adams argues this is not the case.

• Under Strict Limits: Principle of a Written U.S. Constitution, a Contract Allowing Government to Run Under Authority of the American People by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #26 – Principle of self-governing. “Let us also be mindful that the cause of freedom greatly depends on the use we make of the singular opportunities we enjoy of governing ourselves wisely; for if the event should prove, that the people of this country either cannot or will not govern themselves, who will hereafter be advocates for systems, which however charming in theory and prospect, are not reducible to practice. If the people of our nation, instead of consenting to be governed by laws of their own making, and rulers of their own choosing, should let licentiousness, disorder, and confusion reign over them, the minds of men every where, will insensibly become alienated from republican forms, and prepared to prefer and acquiesce in Governments, which, though less friendly to liberty, afford more peace and security…Receive this Address with the same candor with which it is written; and may the spirit of wisdom and patriotism direct and distinguish your councils and your conduct.” – John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in his pamphlet, A Citizen of New York: An Address to the People of the State of New York, April 15, 1788.

• Principle of Self-Governing by Josh Herring, Dean of Classical Education, Director of Debate, Thales Academy.

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Essay #27 – Principle of decision making by the majority within a constitutional framework.

• Principle of Decision Making by the Majority Within a Constitutional Framework by Eric C. Sands, Department Chair, Pre-Law Advisor, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Berry College.

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Essay #28 – Principle of law and order based on immutable, constant laws of nature and of nature’s God rather than the arbitrary will of any human ruler or mob rule. “I am an Enemy to Vice, and a Friend to Vertue. I am one of an extensive Charity, and a great Forgiver of private Injuries: A hearty Lover of the Clergy and all good Men, and a mortal Enemy to arbitrary Government and unlimited Power. I am naturally very jealous for the Rights and Liberties of my Country; and the least appearance of an Incroachment on those invaluable Priviledges, is apt to make my Blood boil exceedingly.” Silence Dogood, a pseudonym used by Benjamin Franklin, No. 2, April 16, 1722, New-England Courant.

• Principle of Law and Order Based on Immutable Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God, Not Arbitrary Will or Mob Rule by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #29 – Principle of constitutional law and a foundation of a virtuous and moral people.

• Corruption and the Constitution: Principle of Constitutional Law and a Foundation of a Virtuous and Moral People by Will Morrisey, Professor Emeritus of Politics, Hillsdale College; Editor and Publisher, Will Morrisey Reviews.

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Essay #30 – Principle of one nation under God.

• Principle of One Nation Under God by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.

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Essay #31 – Principle of consent of the governed, that government without consent is overreaching its appropriate bounds, having moved from governing to tyranny. “…that the King with and by the authority of parliament, is able to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to limit and bind the crown, and the descent, limitation, inheritance and government thereof” is founded on the principles of liberty and the British constitution: And he that would palm the doctrine of unlimited passive obedience and non-resistance upon mankind, and thereby or by any other means serve the cause of the Pretender, is not only a fool and a knave, but a rebel against common sense, as well as the laws of God, of Nature, and his Country…These are their bounds, which by God and nature are fixed, hitherto have they a right to come, and no further…The sum of my argument is, That civil government is of God…That this constitution is the most free one, and by far the best, now existing on earth: That by this constitution, every man in the dominion is a free man: That no parts of his Majesty’s dominions can be taxed without their consent: That every part has a right to be represented in the supreme or some subordinate legislature…” – James Otis, Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved, pamphlet, 1763.

• Principle of Consent of the Governed: Upholding Appropriate Boundaries Against Governing by Tyranny by Winfield Rose, Distinguished Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Murray State University.

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Essay #32 – Principle of decentralized government where power is on the local level with each individual American and the states. “Sir, I contemplate the abolition of the state constitutions as an event fatal to the liberties of America. These liberties will not be violently wrested from the people; they will be undermined and gradually consumed. On subjects of the kind we cannot be too critical…Will it not give occasion for an innumerable swarm of officers, to infest our country and consume our substance? People will be subject to impositions which they cannot support, and of which their complaints can never reach the government.” – Melancton Smith, Delegate, First Provincial Congress in New York; June 27, 1788 Notes during days beginning the New York Ratifying Convention.

• Principle of Decentralized Government: Keeping Power on the Local Level With Each Individual American and the States by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #33 – Principle of limited government. “With respect to the words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.” – James Madison in a letter to James Roberts, Jr on April 20, 1831.

• Principle of Limited Government: Why the United States Constitution Is Designed To Prevent Centralized Power by Patrick Garry, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota; Author, Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.

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Essay #34 – Principle of equality over equity, equal opportunities instead of guaranteed outcomes which cannot be guaranteed unless free market choices, competition, product development and improvements are extinguished.

• Principle of Equality Over Equity by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #35 – Principle of meritocracy.

• Principle of Meritocracy and Its Importance Within the Framework of the U.S. Socio-Economic and Political Systems by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #36 – Principle of representative government under direction of the people rather than king rule, a principle applied by the American Founders in the United States Constitution. “But where says some is the King of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.” – Thomas Paine, Common Sense, February 14, 1776.

• Principle of Representative Government Under Direction of the People Rather Than King Rule by Ron Meier, West Point Graduate and Vietnam War Veteran; Constituting America Senior Essay Contest Winner; Author, Common Sense Rekindled: A Rejuvenation of the American Experiment.

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Essay #37 – Principle of representative government over a hereditary system. “…for it is impossible to discover superiority of right in any family, by virtue of which hereditary government could begin… It is one step toward liberty, to perceive that hereditary government could not begin as an exclusive right in any family…With respect to the first of these heads, that of a family establishing itself with hereditary powers on its own authority independent of the nation, all men will concur in calling it despotism…It operates to preclude the consent of the succeeding generations, and the preclusion of consent is despotism.” – Thomas Paine, Dissertation on the First Principles of Government 1795.

• Of the People, by the People, and for the People: Founding a Representative Government in America, Not Hereditary Succession by Ron Meier, West Point Graduate and Vietnam War Veteran; Constituting America Senior Essay Contest Winner; Author, Common Sense Rekindled: A Rejuvenation of the American Experiment.

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Essay #38 – Principle of free government and free society, entrusted to the hands of the American people, never confiscated by a tyrannical government system working to control rather than serve the citizenry.

• Principle of Free Government and Free Society by Adam M. Carrington, Associate Professor of Politics, Hillsdale College; Author, Justice Stephen Field’s Cooperative Constitution of Liberty: Liberty in Full.

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Essay #39 – Principle of separation of powers, involving checks and balances on those powers: maintaining separation for any power of office held in order to prevent development of tyranny, to prevent concentration where power is built up into one place which prevents checks or restraints by the people. The first grievance in the Declaration of Independence where the king refused to pass laws; The first of the seven Articles of the United States Constitution, Articles I, II, and III, show separate branches of governing and their powers including how they are chosen.

• Principle of the Separation of Powers, Involving Checks and Balances on Those Powers by Patrick Garry, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota; Author, Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.

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Essay #40 – Principle of duty of the American people to continually observe government decisions and maintain checks on government power. “Where are your checks in this government? Your strongholds will be in the hands of your enemies. It is on a supposition that your American governors shall be honest, that all the good qualities of this government are founded; but its defective and imperfect construction puts it in their power to perpetrate the worst of mischiefs, should they be bad men; and, sir, would not all the world, from the eastern to the western hemisphere, blame our distracted folly in resting our rights upon the contingency of our rulers being good or bad? Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty! I say that the loss of that dearest privilege has ever followed, with absolute certainty, every such mad attempt…The most valuable end of government is the liberty of the inhabitants. No possible advantages can compensate for the loss of this privilege.” – Patrick Henry, speech before the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1788.

• Principle of Duty of the American People to Continually Maintain Checks on Government Power by Scot Faulkner, Served as Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff; Financial Adviser; President, Friends of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

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Essay #41 – Principle of a Legislative Branch, first within a system of government closest and as local to the people as possible with a limited federal government and strong local and state governing so that the people remain in control of their own government, with the Legislative Branch having been listed first in the Constitution for this purpose and to show it as the most important, then the Executive, then the Judiciary.

• Principle of a Legislative Branch Within a System of Government Closest to the People by Scot Faulkner, Served as Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff; Financial Adviser; President, Friends of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

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Essay #42 – Principle of an Executive Branch, a strong executive but a role accountable to the people, the legislature, which seats a president and not a king, and the Executive Branch is controlled by the Legislative Branch which is closest to the people. The Executive Branch is listed second in the Constitution after the Legislative Branch.

• Principle of an Executive Branch, Strong but a Role Accountable to the People by Benjamin Slomski, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Ashland University.

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Essay #43 – Principle of a Judicial Branch, forming a Supreme Court and having the least amount of power of the three branches and no legislative power. The third branch of United States government, the Judicial Branch, is listed last in the Constitution after the Legislative and then Executive Branch.

• Principle of a Judicial Branch for Ensuring Justice Without Political Interference by Eric C. Sands, Department Chair, Pre-Law Advisor, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Berry College.

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Essay #44 – Principle of establishing justice through rule of law – guarding against gradual erosion of law and order into chaos to break down America’s system of self-governing, eventually ushering in tyranny to control the people rather than protect liberty by protecting the rule of law. “…you seem…to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions: a very dangerous doctrine indeed and one which would place us under the despotism of an Oligarchy. our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. they have, with others, the same passions for party, for power, and the privileges of their corps. their maxim is ‘boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem,’ and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life, and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective controul. the constitution has erected no such single tribunal knowing that, to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time & party it’s members would become despots.” – Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Charles Jarvis, Monticello, September 28, 1820.

• Principle of Establishing Justice Through the Rule of Law by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #45 – Principle of rule of law, not of men; careful observance of the formation and execution of laws.

• Careful Observance Upon Forming and Executing Laws: Principle of the Rule of Law, Not of Men by George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom.

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Essay #46 – Further on the principle of rule of law: difference between a mandate and a law, Founders’ warnings against arbitrary laws or mandates handed out as having the force of law which dilute the meaning of true law and order that protect the liberty of the people.

• Mandate or Law: The American Founders on Warning Against Arbitrary, Tyrannical Dictates Diluting Rule of Law by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #47 – Principle of justice for all.

• Principle of Justice for All by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #48 – Principle of equal under the law.

• Principle of Equal Under the Law by Daniel A. Cotter, Attorney and Counselor; Author of The Chief Justices; A past president of The Chicago Bar Association.

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Essay #49 – Principle of a political system with criminal and civil law, enacted by a legislative body, and accessible to all American citizens. “…it ought not to be overlooked, that such an additional accumulation of power in the judicial department would not only furnish pretexts for clamor against it, but might create a general dread of its influence, which could hardly fail to disturb the salutory effects of its ordinary functions…There is nothing, of which a free people are so apt to be jealous,, as of the existence of political functions, and political checks, in those, who are not appointed by, and mde directly responsible to themselves.” – Joseph Story, United States Supreme Court Justice appointed by James Madison, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With A Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution. Published in 1833.

• Principle of a Political System with Criminal and Civil Law by James C. Clinger, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Murray State University; Past President, Kentucky Political Science Association.

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Essay #50 – Principle of due process of law.

• Principle of Due Process of Law by James C. Clinger, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Murray State University; Past President, Kentucky Political Science Association.

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Essay #51 – Principle of innocent of any crime until proven guilty.

• Principle of Innocent of Any Crime Until Proven Guilty by Ben Peterson, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Abilene Christian University.

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Essay #52 – Principle of freedom of a person under the protection of habeas corpus.

• Principle of Freedom of a Person Under the Protection of Habeas Corpus by Eric C. Sands, Department Chair, Pre-Law Advisor, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Berry College.

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Essay #53 – Principle of courts with justices who hold their offices during good behavior; importance of the phrase “during good behavior” for public servants. “Every man ought to be amenable for his conduct, and there are no persons so proper to complain of the public officers as the representatives of the people at large. The representatives of the people know the feelings of the people at large, and will be ready enough to make complaints. If this power were not provided, the consequences might be fatal. It will be not only the means of punishing misconduct but it will prevent misconduct. A man in public office who knows that there is no tribunal to punish him may be ready to deviate from his duty; but if he knows there is a tribunal for that purpose, although he may be a man of no principle, the very terror of punishment will perhaps deter him.” – James Iredell, U.S. Supreme Court Justice placed by George Washington, North Carolina Ratification Convention, July 24, 1788.

• Principle of Courts With Justices Who Hold Their Offices During Good Behavior by Benjamin Slomski, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Ashland University.

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Essay #54 – Principle of no unreasonable searches or seizures.

• Principle of No Unreasonable Searches and Seizures by James S. Humphreys, Professor of History, Murray State University.

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Essay #55 – Principle of right to a speedy trial by a jury of peers, public, impartial, without cruel or unusual punishments, as part of the judicial system. “I consider [trial by jury] as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Thomas Paine, 1789.

• Principle of Right to a Speedy Trial by a Jury of Peers, Public and Impartial, Without Cruel or Unusual Punishments by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #56 – Principle of a Grand Jury indictment of capital crimes before a person may be held to account.

• Principle of a Grand Jury Indictment of Capital Crimes Before a Person May Be Held to Account by James C. Clinger, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Murray State University; Past President, Kentucky Political Science Association.

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Essay #57 – Principle of no passage, federal or state, of ex post facto laws of bills of attainder so that an individual is not held guilty of a crime and inflicted a punishment without a trial, to prevent abuse of the law.

• Principle of No Passage, Federal or State, of Ex Post Facto Laws by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #58 – Principle of republican and limited form of government, representative through American citizens voting in free and frequent elections. “There are however some things deducible from reason, and evidenced by experience, that serve to guide our decision upon the case. The one is never to invest any individual with extraordinary power; for besides his being tempted to misuse it, it will excite contention and commotion in the nation for the office. Secondly, never to invest power long in the hands of any number of individuals. The inconveniences that may be supposed to accompany frequent changes are less to be feared than the danger that arises from long continuance.” – Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, 1795.

• Principle of Republican and Limited Form of Government, Representative Through American Citizens Voting in Free and Frequent Elections by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #59 – Principle of free, fair, independent elections involving preservation of the electoral college.

• Principle of Free, Fair, Independent Elections Involving Preservation of the Electoral College by Tara Ross, Nationally Recognized Expert on the Electoral College, Author of Why We Need the Electoral College; The Indispensable Electoral College: How the Founders’ Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule; Prager University video, Do You Understand the Electoral College?

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Essay #60 – Further on principle of representative government only under authority of the American people.

• Principle of Representative Government Only Under Authority of the American People by J. Eric Wise, Partner, Alston & Bird.

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Essay #61 – Principle of a United States Constitution prescribing within itself the only lawful methods of amendments by its keepers, the American people.

• Principle of a United States Constitution Prescribing Within Itself the Only Lawful Methods of Amendments, by Its Keepers, the American People by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.
  

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Essay #62 – Upholding the Principle of Amending the United States Constitution by the American People, Its Rightful Keepers.

• Upholding the Principle of Amending the United States Constitution by the American People, Its Rightful Keepers by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.

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Essay #63 – Principle of maintaining freedom and independence through an armed citizenry, right to protect one’s person and property by the personal keeping and bearing of arms. “to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms.” – Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer XVIII, January 25, 1788.

• Principle of Maintaining Freedom and Independence Through an Armed Citizenry: Right to Protect One’s Person and Property by the Personal Keeping and Bearing of Arms by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #64 – Principle of peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none. The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith…Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements…Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.” – George Washington, Farewell Address, first published September 19, 1796 in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser and given the date September 17, 1796.

• Principle of Peace, Commerce and Honest Friendship With All Nations, Entangling Alliances With None by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #65 – Principle of civil over military authority – protection against corruption, foreign or domestic attempts to divide and destroy America. The way is plain, says the anonymous Addresser. If War continues, remove into the unsettled Country; there establish yourselves, and leave an ungrateful Country to defend itself. But who are they to defend? Our Wives, our Children, our Farms, and other property which we leave behind us. or, in this state of hostile separation, are we to take the two first (the latter cannot be removed), to perish in a Wilderness, with hunger, cold and nakedness? If Peace takes place, never sheath your Swords Says he until you have obtained full and ample justice; this dreadful alternative, of either deserting our Country in the extremest hour of her distress, or turning our Arms against it…what can this writer have in view, by recommending such measures? Can he be a friend to the Army? Can he be a friend to this Country? – George Washington, Speech to the Officers of the Army at Newburgh, in response to petitions for the United States military to protest in mutiny. March 15, 1783.

• Principle of Civil Over Military Authority: Protection Against Corruption, Foreign or Domestic Attempts To Divide and Destroy America by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #66 – Principle of unity as Americans, preventing faction or division through election only of representatives who understand the United States Constitution and are willing to uphold it. “They were likewise sensible that on a subject so comprehensive, and involving such a variety of points and questions, the most able, the most candid, and the most honest men will differ in opinion…Although many weeks were passed in these discussions, some points remained, on which a unison of opinions could not be effected. Here again that same happy disposition to unite and conciliate, induced them to meet each other; and enabled them, by mutual concessions, finally to complete and agree to the plan they have recommended, and that too with a degree of unanimity which, considering the variety of discordant views and ideas, they had to reconcile, is really astonishing…Reflect that the present plan comes recommended to you by men and fellow citizens who have given you the highest proofs that men can give, of their justice, their love for liberty and their country, of their prudence, of their application, and of their talents. They tell you it is the best that they could form; and that in their opinion, it is necessary to redeem you from those calamities which already begin to be heavy upon us all.” – John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in his pamphlet, A Citizen of New York: An Address to the People of the State of New York, April 15, 1788.

• Principle of Unity as Americans, Limiting Faction Through Election Only of Representatives Who Understand and Will Uphold the United States Constitution by Ron Meier, West Point Graduate and Vietnam War Veteran; Constituting America Senior Essay Contest Winner; Author, Common Sense Rekindled: A Rejuvenation of the American Experiment.

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Essay #67 – Principle of strong defense capability to protect the United States against the danger and severity of treason.

• Principle of Strong Defense Capability To Protect the United States Against the Danger and Severity of Treason by James P. Pinkerton, Senior Fellow, America First Policy Institute; White House Domestic Policy Staff for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; Senior Advisor to the 2008 Mike Huckabee Presidential Campaign.

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Essay #68 – Principle of appropriate role and purpose of government upon protecting the people from violence and fraud. “I do believe that men of genius will be deterred unless possessed of great virtues. We may well dispense with the first characters when destitute of virtue I should wish them never to come forward–But if we do not provide against corruption, our government will soon be at an end: nor would I wish to put a man of virtue in the way of temptation. Evasions, and caballing would evade the amendment. Nor would the danger be less, if the executive has the appointment of officers. The first three or four years we might go on well enough; but what would be the case afterwards? I will add, that such a government ought to be refused by the people–and it will be refused.” – George Mason, Farrand’s Records, Federal Convention, Saturday, June 23, 1787, regarding provisions against fraud and corruption regardless of an invasion’s origin slowly eroding the United States.

• Principle of Appropriate Role and Purpose of Government Upon Protecting the People From Violence and Fraud by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #69 – Principle of distinguishing between purpose of federal, and governments of the states: maintaining the Union while preventing federal encroachments on the states and individual Americans. Though we might give to such a government certain powers with safety, yet to give them the full and unlimited powers of taxation and the national forces would be to establish a despotism, the definition of which is, a government in which all power is concentrated in a single body. To take the old Confederation, and fashion it upon these principles, would be establishing a power which would destroy the liberties of the people… It was seen that the necessary powers were too great to be trusted to a single body; they, therefore, formed two branches, and divided the powers, that each might be a check upon the other…The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendency over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation. – Alexander Hamilton, Speech, Compromises of the Constitution, June 20, 1788.

• Principle of Distinguishing Between Purpose of Federal, and Governments of the States: Maintaining the Union While Preventing Federal Encroachments on the States and Individual Americans by Amanda Hughes, 90-Day Study Director, Constituting America; Author, Who Wants to Be Free?

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Essay #70 – Principle of private property ownership of land to encourage self-reliance for maintaining and strengthening individual liberty and American independence.

• Principle of Private Property Ownership of Land To Encourage Self-Reliance for Maintaining and Strengthening Individual Liberty and American Independence by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #71 – Principle of secure borders.

• Principle of Secure Borders by Kevin Portteus, Professor of Politics, Director of American Studies, Lawrence Fertig Chair in Politics, Hillsdale College.

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Essay #72 – Further on principle of private property ownership to protect liberty and encourage commerce, independence, personal growth and wealth without a requirement of royal or other position of gain. “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own… That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties.” Property, an essay by James Madison, March 29, 1792.

• Principle of Private Property Ownership To Sustain Liberty, Encourage Commerce and Independence by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #73 – Principle of individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of one’s own happiness, to make and reach one’s own goals. “That property will ever be unequal is certain. Industry, superiority of talents, dexterity of management, extreme frugality, fortunate opportunities, or the opposite, or the means of those things, will ever produce that effect, without having recourse to the harsh, ill-sounding names of avarice and oppression; and besides this there are some men who, though they do not despise wealth, will not stoop to the drudgery or the means of acquiring it, nor will be troubled with it beyond their wants or their independence; while in others there is an avidity to obtain it by every means not punishable; it makes the sole business of their lives, and they follow it as a religion. All that is required with respect to property is to obtain it honestly, and not employ it criminally; but it is always criminally employed when it is made a criterion for exclusive rights.” – Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, 1795.

• Principle of Individual Rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of One’s Own Happiness by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.

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Essay #74 – Principle of individual free enterprise.

• Principle of Individual Free Enterprise by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #75 – Principle of money with intrinsic value and standards of weights and measures, printing money. “And since a Plentiful Currency will be so great a Cause of advancing this Province in Trade and Riches…I cannot think it the Interest of England to oppose’ us in making as great a Sum of Paper Money here, as we, who are the best Judges of our own Necessities, find convenient. And if I were not sensible that the Gentlemen of Trade in England, to whom we have already parted with our Silver and Gold, are misinformed of our Circumstances, and therefore endeavour to have our Currency stinted to what it now is, I should think the Government at Home had some Reasons for discouraging and impoverishing this Province, which we are not acquainted with…” – Benjamin Franklin, A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of Paper Currency, Benjamin Franklin, April 3, 1729.

• Principle of Money With Intrinsic Value and Standards of Weights and Measures, Printing Money by Robert E. Wright, Senior Research Fellow, American Institute for Economic Research.

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Essay #76 – Principle of making personal contracts.

• Principle of Making Personal Contracts by James C. Clinger, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Murray State University; Past President, Kentucky Political Science Association.

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Essay #77 – Principle of free market trade, industry, innovation and competition. “That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the general sense of the word; but are the means of acquiring property strictly so called.” – Property, an essay by James Madison, March 29, 1792.

• Principle of Free Market Trade, Industry, Innovation and Competition by Stephen Tootle, Professor of History, College of the Sequoias; Honored Visiting Graduate Faculty in History and Government, Ashland University.

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Essay #78 – Principle of keeping the fruits of one’s own labor. “A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species: where arbitrary taxes invade the domestic sanctuaries of the rich, and excessive taxes grind the faces of the poor; where the keenness and competitions of want are deemed an insufficient spur to labor, and taxes are again applied, by an unfeeling policy, as another spur; in violation of that sacred property, which Heaven, in decreeing man to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, kindly reserved to him, in the small repose that could be spared from the supply of his necessities.” – Property, an essay by James Madison, March 29, 1792.

• Principle of Keeping the Fruits of One’s Own Labor by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #79 – Principle of defending liberty and rights in property through the fruits of one’s own labor.

• Principle of Defending Liberty and Rights in Property Through the Fruits of One’s Own Labor by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #80 – Principle of constitutional limits on the United States government to tax. “How then will it be possible, under these circumstances, to endure this Tax which is laid upon us by Parliament? –Add to this, that it will drain the Province of the little Cash left among us, which at present barely serves for a Medium of Trade…And if you should be active in bringing this Tax upon yourselves, at it will inevitably destroy our constitutional Privileges, so it will perpetuate to the latest Posterity, a most despicable Opinion of the civil Principles of their Ancestors…But should your Representatives be instructed by you, (which God forbid!) by a solemn and public Act to promote the Operation of this Law, you will implicitly declare that you resign that inestimable Right; and, in Consequence of such Resignation, you may next expect a Tax on your Lands; and after that one Burthen on the Back of another, till you are reduced to a State of the most abject Poverty…The Effects I presage are dreaded far and wide. –Would to God our Terror was merely panic, and that the Disagreeableness of the Act arose only from its Novelty. –But our Fears are founded on Reason and universal Experience…Consider gentlemen, that the least infraction of your Liberties is a Prelude to Encroachments…Indolence –Indolence has been the Source of irretrievable Ruin –Languor and Timidity, when the Public is concerned, are the origin of Evils mighty and innumerable” –A letter authored only using the initials W.B. “To the Inhabitants of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay,” concerning the Stamp Act, appeared in The Boston-Gazette and Country Journal, October 7, 1765.

• Principle of Constitutional Limits on the United States Government To Tax by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #81 – Principle of freedom of speech in a marketplace of ideas.

• Principle of Freedom of Speech in a Marketplace of Ideas by Patrick Garry, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota; Author, Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.

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Essay #82 – Principle of free thought and speech. “The freedom of speech is a principal Pillar in a free Government: when this support is taken away the Constitution is dissolved, and Tyranny is erected on its Ruins.” – Pennsylvania Gazette, November 17, 1737, printed by Benjamin Franklin, later reprinted in the Barbados Gazette, 1738, and attributed to Pennsylvania Lawyer and Pennsylvania Colonial Representative as having possibly been the author of the article.

• Principle of Free Thought and Speech, a Core Component of a Self-Governing People by Tony Williams, Author of six books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America; Senior Teaching Fellow, Bill of Rights Institute; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #83 – Principle of freedom of association, undissolved and unweakened, either to associate or not associate and neither under coercion nor force. “…there must be Associations of Men of unshaken Fortitude. A general Dissolution of Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy.” – Samuel Adams, in a letter to James Warren, Philadelphia, February 12, 1779.

• Principle of Freedom of Association, Undissolved and Unweakened, Either to Associate or Not, and Neither under Coercion nor Force by George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom.

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Essay #84 – Principle of freedom of the press. “Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech” – Part of an article by Benjamin Franklin, under the pseudonym Silence Dogood, a name he used due to threats against free speech. Franklin wrote it on freedom of speech and of the press; it published in a newspaper: No. 8 on July 9, 1722, The New-England Courant.

• Principle of a Free Press by Patrick Garry, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota; Author, Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.

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Essay #85 – Principle of freedom of assembly.

• Principle of Freedom of Assembly by Scot Faulkner, Served as Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff; Financial Adviser; President, Friends of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

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Essay #86 – Principle of civil discourse to keep representative government, unhindered freedom of speech in the airing of grievances. “To suppress Enquiries into the Administration is good Policy in an arbitrary Government: But a free Constitution and freedom of Speech have such a reciprocal Dependence on each other that they cannot subsist without consisting together.” – Pennsylvania Gazette, November 17, 1737, printed by Benjamin Franklin, later reprinted in the Barbados Gazette, 1738, and attributed to Andrew Hamilton, a Pennsylvania Colonial Representative, and lawyer who defended John Peter Zenger who was arrested for criticizing the government, as having possibly been the author of the article.

• Principle of Civil Discourse To Keep Representative Government, Unhindered Freedom of Speech in the Airing of Grievances by Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; Chairman and Founder, Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement.

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Essay #87 – Further on principle of free civil discourse and public debate without censorship – American government based on opportunities to discuss political and policy issues by reflection and choice rather than by accident and force. And what a Compliment does he pay to our Understandings, when he recommends measures in either alternative, impracticable in their Nature?…for if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led like sheep, to the Slaughter. – George Washington, Speech to the Officers of the Army at Newburgh, the Newburgh Address, March 15, 1783.

• Upholding the Principle of Free Civil Discourse and Public Debate Without Censorship by Gary Porter, Executive Director, Constitution Leadership Initiative.

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Essay #88 – Principle of freedom of religion. “Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was in his Almighty power to do;…that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical;…and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:…Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or Ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief;” – Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, January 16, 1786.

• Principle of Freedom of Religion by Patrick Garry, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota; Author, Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.

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Essay #89 – Principle of a nation’s longevity upon consisting of public and private virtue. Religious freedom, assembling, speaking freely and defending the nation’s liberty. “While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader. How necessary then is it for those who are determind to transmit the Blessings of Liberty as a fair Inheritance to Posterity, to associate on publick Principles in Support of publick Virtue. I do verily believe, and I may say it inter Nos, that the Principles & Manners of New England produced that Spirit which finally has establishd the Independence of America; and Nothing but opposite Principles and Manners can overthrow it.” – Samuel Adams, in a letter to James Warren, Philadelphia, February 12, 1779.

• Principle of a Nation’s Longevity Upon Consisting of Public and Private Virtue by Joerg W. Knipprath, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Constituting America Fellow.

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Essay #90 – CONCLUSION

• Conclusion: Preserving the First Principles of the American Founding by Christopher C. Burkett, Associate Professor of History and Political Science; Director, Ashbrook Scholar Program, Ashland University.

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