Before the Ink Was Even Dry

[Keith Broaders]

In 1775 thirteen independent colonies formed an alliance in order to take on the British Empire. After winning the war for their independence they became a union of thirteen independent colonies. They formed a union known as the Articles of Confederation. Rather than forming one country they formed an alliance.

In order to provide for a stronger central government a convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787 to amend the Articles of Confederation. As a result the Constitution for the united States  was written which created a new form of government.

On December , 1787 Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut–ratified it in quick the proposed Constitution. Initially, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina.

On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. In June, Virginia ratified the Constitution, followed by New York in July.

On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution–the Bill of Rights–and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791. In November 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the original 13 colonies joined the United States. Today the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in operation in the world.

Before the ink on the Constitution was even dry, a group of wealthy white men who wanted to protect their positions of power and prestige began to convert the government which had just been created from a servant of the states and the people to a national government superior to both the states and the people.

This groups of financial aristocrats identified themselves as Federalists. They were in favor of a much bigger and stronger central government. They preferred a national government that would enable their class to rule and reign over the uneducated masses.

The Constitution was written to govern the government. Representatives of the states wrote the Constitution to preserve, protect and defend the rights of the states and the people. The states were t0 be the master of the states and the states were to be the master of the central government.

The Federalists wanted to turn the people's republic into a government that would allow an oligarchy of the rich and powerful individuals to control the lives, liberty and property or the people. This process began when Alexander Hamilton and George Washington created the First Bank of the United States.

Alexander Hamilton and Chief Justice John Marshall promoted the idea that in the Constitution there were implied powers which authorized the government to do what they felt was necessary and proper. The Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution could not prevent the abuse of power if the government had the authority to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

Any authority not enumerated in Article I Section 8 of Constitution is prohibited, All power not granted to the government of the United States was reserved to the states and the people. In order to achieve their objectives the Federalists need to amend the Constitution by misinterpreting the original intent of its authors.

The process of converting our Republic of states to a National took place over the next 70 years. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, he was determined to wage a war against the states who were unwilling to surrender their sovereignty to a National government.

Lincoln's War was not fought over the issue of slavery, it was fought to steal the sovereignty of  the states and the people. After Lincoln's administration the God given rights of the people became privileges granted to them by the state.

Even though Lincoln took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution he almost immediately began violating his oath. Contrary to what we have been taught, Lincoln did not save the Union, he destroyed our Constitutional Republic. He did not free the blacks, he simply made everyone slaves on a Federal Plantation.

The seeds of tyranny were planted by the Federalists and only the eternal vigilance of the American people could prevent the usurpation of power by the national government.

The Federalists wanted a bigger and stronger central government, while the Anti-Federalist wanted a smaller government with limited powers. The Anti-Federalist favored liberty, while the Federalists emphasized security.

Today both political parties have become modern day versions of the Federalist Party. When you vote for a republican or a democrat you are choosing between candidates who both favor the supremacy of the Nation over the sovereignty of the states.

[Keith Broaders]