The Foundation of the Nation

[Keith Broaders]

God created man and endowed him with a long list of natural or unalienable rights. Among those rights were the right to life, liberty and property. We the people are his subjects and are accountable to him. In order to secure these rights governments were instituted among men.

Initially each of the 13 colonies were separate and independent nations. The governments in each of the states were defined in their state constitutions. In these constitutions the people of the states organized their respective states and delegated certain powers to the states. It was understood that all powers not granted to the states would be retained by the people.

In 1787 a new form of government was proposed by representatives of the people. Once again the people were the creators and organized a national government with powers that were specifically delegated to them.

Both the state and the national government were created by the people to be the servants of the people. We granted to the national government a short list of enumerated powers and then delegated all remaining powers to the states.The states were granted far more power than the national government and it was understood that states would need to prevent the national government from usurping powers that had been delegated to the states. 

The framers of the Constitution wanted a series of checks and balances. They wanted the states to hold the national government accountable and the national government was assigned the task of protecting the people against the potential abuse of power by the states.

The people were supposed to have an employer-employee relationship with both the state and the national governments. It is our responsibility as the employer to elect representatives that will be the guardians of our liberty and the defenders of our Constitution.

We must demand that all of the laws passed by the state and national governments are just. In Marbury versus Madison the Supreme Court ruled that any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is null and void. We must obey laws that promote justice, equality and liberty and refuse to comply with laws that are unconstitutional.