Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Howdy from Texas. Speaking of Texas, be sure to watch tonight’s behind the scene Video Podcast! I filmed it at my ranch with Juliette. It’s fun.
So today is our first day of the Federalist! Federalist Paper #1 by the brilliant Alexander Hamilton! I wrote about his mother, Rachel Lavien Fawcett in my book, “Holding Her Head High.” Historians have not been very kind to her, but read my version. It is from a woman’s point of view. There is no doubt that she planted the seeds of greatness, determination and an entrepreneurial spirit in Alexander’s character.
I want to thank Horace Cooper for writing our wonderful essay today! Thanks, Horace. I love the quote from Benjamin Franklin when asked by a woman, “What have you given us?” and Benjamin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
This is our challenge today. We must step forward and stand up for our founding principles and demand that our Republic be vital and strong and that our Constitution be protected preserved and defended. The best way for us to do this is with a basis of knowledge about our country’s thesis. How lucky we are that it is so well documented in copious documents and books – the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and The Federalist being the foundation. (We will have to continue our scholastic adventure – the same forum with different documents and books!)
I hope you read today’s reading of the Federalist with your children and/or loved one and don’t forget to sign your children up for our contests! The high school students get a trip to Philadelphia, an appearance on Governor Huckabee’s show and $2000.00 scholarships – and we have cool categories such as: best short film, best hip song, best PSA and best essay about how the Constitution is relevant today! Spread the word. Entries due July 4th!
Speaking of relevant today, we are going to be amazed at the relevancy of the Federalist papers. For those who think the Constitution is antiquated and obsolete, I dare them to read the Federalist papers with us!!
The first thing that I love is that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay came together for the good of the country. They did not agree on many things, and later became quite divided, but they united to accomplish the magnificent miracle of the Constitution and “The Federalist.” They saw the bigger picture and were able to forfeit their egos to better their country – and they had vision! They had vision and wisdom and determination and a sense of service. Great qualities that I dare say all of you have who are participating in our National Conversational/Blog Reading!
Another thing that I love is that they wrote it under the name of Publius after Publius Valerius, a founder of the Roman Republic. A Republic. They knew that they all had reputations that proceeded them for better or worse and they did not want the objectivity of their thesis to be tainted by preconceived notions. Smart. These men were very smart and they truly loved the United States of America.
This is what it’s going to take to awaken, educate and propel Americans to undertake the journey of Constituting America – a love for the United States of America and all she embodies – nobility, greatness of character, philanthropic communities with a genius for creativity and a gut for survival. We have a Republic and God save the ones who try to strip American’s of our inherent rights, rights that exist in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution and embody Americans today. God bless America.
And God bless our forefathers who sacrificed so much for their posterity – all of the great men and women who have fought throughout our history to maintain our dignity, freedom and inalienable rights.
Blessings and goodnight!
Tomorrow it’s Federalist Paper #2!
Janine Turner
6 Responses to “April 28, 2010 – Federalist No. 1 – Janine Turner”
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Harry Stumpf says:
I agree that once we are done with the Federalist Papers we should keep on going with other documents. Maybe the Anti-Federalist papers would be a good choice. I can’t say for sure, not having read them myself yet.
But the Federalist Papers argued for a central government strong enough to be able to protect our country and be effective. That was in a time when the opposition wanted a more limited government, which might not have been much better than the government provided in the Articles of Confederation.
Now our situation is different. Our government is much too large and has power over far too many aspects of our lives. It ignores our will, violates many principles that we and the founding fathers hold dear, and takes actions which weaken and endanger us.
Maybe the arguments presented in the Anti-Federalist Papers would apply today.
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Susan Craig says:
I will second Harry’s motion to do an reading of the con side to this argument!
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Fredda R. Wigder says:
I would sincerely doubt that the authors of the Federalist papers envisioned the type of big, bloated Federal Government that we have today. I have difficulty believing that they would have been in favor of that.
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Jesse Vardaman says:
The founders would not be in favor the bloated government we have today. They were definitely against any form of government that tread on the inherent rights of its people. And they would definitely be aghast at the blatant disregard that our current representatives show for our Constitution and Bill of Rights today.
As Janine quoted Ben Franklin, and I will repeat here. ” A republic if you can keep it.”
Can we keep it America?
“Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security” – Ben Franklin