"Whither is the spirit of America gone? Whither is the genius of America fled?"

This story began in No. 15. Subscribers can get back numbers.

Sydney Stone, Anti-Federal.

Copyright 1895,

By G. C. CLEMENS,

(Author of "The Dead Line.")

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER III.

FEDERALISM WINS.

   Constitutions, charters, petitions of right, declarations of right, representative assemblies, electoral colleges, are not good government; nor do they, even when most elaborately constructed, necessarily produce good government. Laws exist in vain for those who have not the courage and the means to defend them. Electors meet in vain where want makes them the slaves of their landlord, or where superstition makes them the slaves of the priest."--Macaulay.

Woe worth the hour when it is crime
To plead the poor dumb bondman's cause;
When all that makes the heart sublime.
The glorious throbs that conquer time,
Are traitors to our cruel laws!
--Lowell.

   The end had come. The day had arrived when the mighty question which had been three weeks under discussion was to be decided forever. The event was still in doubt. Neither side was certain of victory, and the greatest anxiety disturbed every mind. Ills emotion roused to the uttermost by the actual coming of the hour which was burdened with the announcement of the momentous decision, Patrick Henry, pale, serious and agitated, rose to make what he knew was to be his final effort to save the liberties of his country from those who purposely or ignorantly sought to destroy them.

   "The honorable gentleman said that great danger would ensue if the convention rose without adopting this system. I ask, Where is that danger? I see none. Other gentlemen have told us within these walls that the Union is gone or that the Union will be gone. Is not this trilling with the judgment of their fellow citizens? Till they tell us the ground of their fears, I will consider them as imaginary. I rose to make inquiry where these dangers were. They could not answer. I believe I shall never have that answer. Let not gentlemen be told that it is not safe to reject this government. Wherefore is it not safe? We are told there are dangers; but those dangers are ideal; they cannot be demonstrated. Some minds are agitated by foreign alarms. Happily for us, there is no real danger from Europe; that country is engaged in more arduous business. From that quarter there is no cause of fear; you may sleep in safety forever for them.

   "But, If, sir, there were danger, I would recur to the American spirit to defend us that spirit which has enabled us to surmount the greatest difficulties. It was but yesterday when our enemies marched in triumph through our country. Yet the people of this country could not be appalled by their pompous armaments; they stopped their career, and victoriously captured them. Where is the peril now compared to that ?

   "Whither is the spirit of America gone? Whither is the genius of America fled? To that illustrious spirit I address my most fervent prayer to prevent our adopting a system destructive of liberty." During the speech, of which but extracts have been given, an incident occurred which illustrated the firm hold superstition retains upon even the most cultivated minds. Patrick Henry's biographer shall tell the story:

   "The question of adoption or rejection was now approaching. The decision was still uncertain, and every mind and every heart was filled with anxiety. Mr. Henry partook most deeply of this feeling; and while engaged, as it were, in his last effort, availed himself of the strong sensations which he knew to pervade the house, and made an appeal to it which, in point of sublimity, has never been surpassed in any age or country of the world. After describing, in accents which spoke to the soul, and to which every other bosom deeply responded, the awful immensity of the question to the present and future generations, and the throbbing apprehensions with which he looked to the issue, he passed from the house and from the earth, and looking, as he said, 'beyond that horizon which binds mortal eyes,' he pointed with a countenance and action that made the blood run back upon the aching heart--to those celestial beings who were hovering over the scene, and waiting with anxiety for a decision which involved the happiness or misery of more than half the human race. To those beings with the same thrilling look and action he had just addressed an invocation that made every nerve shudder with supernatural horror, when, lo! a storm at that instant arose which shook the whole building, and the spirits whom he had called seemed to have come at his bidding. Nor did his eloquence or the storm immediately cease, but; availing himself of the incident with a master's art, he seemed to mix in the fight of his ethereal auxiliaries, and rising on the wings of the tempest, to seize upon the artillery of heaven and direct its fiercest thunder against the heads of his adversaries. The scene became insupportable."

   Members rushed from their seat in confusion and dismay; and but for the timely arrival of a Federalist, who had been absent during the excitement, there would have been no one sufficiently collected to proceed with the debate.

   Nor was this the only exciting episode. The Virginia anti-Federals had even contemplated a resort to arms rather than yield, and it was perfectly understood by the Federalists that the man whose eloquence had hurled the Colonies against Great Britain's trained forces was amply able, if he chose, to rouse his countrymen again. Hence, it is little wonder that Madison and others were startled and grew pale with apprehension when, while declaring that the Constitution would make an end of jury trial and put every champion of liberty at the mercy of the government, the fiery patriot declared he would not submit, and exclaimed:

   "Old as I am, it is possible I may yet have the appellation of rebel!"

   And, with a look of defiance, added suggestively: But my neighbors will protect me!"

   A Federalist replied that "Virginia would be in arms to support the Constitution," but the others knew better, and, instead of replying, set themselves to work getting Patrick Henry's friends to induce him in to entertain more pacific sentiments.

   "Their efforts succeeded; and in closing a brief address, just before the question was put, he thus quieted the fears of the opposition and allayed the war like spirit he had awakened in his followers:

   "I beg pardon of this house for having taken up more time than came to my share, and I thank them for the patience and polite attention with which I have been heard. If I shall be in the minority, I shall have the painful sensations which arise from a conviction of being overpowered in a good cause. Yet I will be a peaceable citizen! My head, my hand and my heart shall be free to retrieve the loss of liberty, and remove the defects of that system in a constitutional way. I wish not to go to violence, but will wait with hopes that the spirit which predominated in the Revolution is not yet gone, nor the cause of those who are attached to the Revolution yet lost. I shall, therefore, patiently wait, in expectation of seeing that government changed so as to be compatible with the safety, liberty and happiness of the people."

   The vote was taken; and in the convention of a hundred and and sixty-eight members, the Constitution was ratified by a majority of only ten. But that sufficed. The government of the United States of America had begun to exist.

   The people, however, now showed their hostility to the Constitution by electing a Legislature made up of anti-Federals more than two to one; and Patrick Henry was allowed to name both United States Senators. Madison, who was Washington's candidate for the Senate, was overwhelmingly defeated. The
Assembly passed resolutions demanding that Congress should call a new federal convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution, sent copies of proposed amendments and of the resolutions to Governors and Legislatures of all the States, and instructed the Virginia Senators and Representatives to act in the meantime as if those amendments were already part of the Constitution.

   The proposed amendments related to trial by jury, the right of the people to assemble, freedom of speech and of the press, the right to bear arms, and other matters proper in a bill of rights.

   These amendments, soon after the organization of the government, were added to the Constitution. But what availed they? Mason, of Virginia, had proposed the same bill of rights to the Philadelphia convention, and it was rejected by a unanimous vote of the States. The same party which rejected those. restraints upon tyranny, organized the new government; and, save for rare and brief intervals, has controlled it to this day; and notwithstanding the amendments inserted by the people, a Federalist Supreme Court has, this very year (1895), declared that American citizens may be imprisoned without a jury trial for constructive treason; that it is a crime to advise a citizen to "buy a gun" to resist usurpation, and that Patrick Henry correctly judged that, under the Constitution, "a few neighbors can not assemble without the risk of being shot by a hired soldiery the engines of despotism!" That Federalist Supreme Court has declared that under that Constitution, notwithstanding its amendments, the federal standing army may serve as a national police force in any city or hamlet, regardless of the protests of the Governor of the invaded State. Notwithstanding those amendments, a federal standing army has this very year filled with hungry workingmen some graves in the State of Abraham Lincoln. Not far from Lincoln's tomb some American workingmen languish in prison for that crime abhorred by lovers of liberty constructive treason; and they were sent there by the will of a Judge--a tool of despotism-- without a trial by their peers. When the members of that Virginia convention refused to heed honest, patriotic Patrick Henry's warning, they gave us what we have to-day; a republic in name, a military despotism, in fact; a government by the people in form; in reality, a government of the people by the most contemptible among the rich;--a government of which even the President is but a salaried clerk, through whom the chiefs of great plundering organizations of corrupt wealth reign as absolute over the people as ever did Eastern despot reign; and spy upon their subjects as contemptibly and oppress them as mercilessly as ever did Dionysius the Tyrant spy upon and oppress the people of old Syracuse.

   Alas! We cannot now go back to that old church in Richmond and undo the work of 1788! Nor have we the spirit to do so were it in our power. Could Patrick Henry come among us to-day and look upon the degeneracy of the people for whose good he labored and dared, would he not with tenfold emphasis again exclaim:

   "Whither is the spirit of America gone? Whither is the genius of America fled?"

[The Advocate, Topeka, Kansas, August 7, 1895. Vol. VII., No. 32. Pg. 2]

"He said the constitution guaranteed the right to bear arms, and persons have the right to arm themselves...."

SENATOR STANLEY* FLAYS THE
"THIRD DEGREE."

   Bitterly assailing what in police circles is called "the third degree," Senator A.O. Stanley, Democrat, of Kentucky, intimated to the District of Columbia committee of the Senate that he proposes to offer a bill prohibiting this police method of obtaining confessions of guilt. The power of the police is often violated by them, he said, and numerous cases of the kind have been brought to his attention. He said these methods are especially high-handed. usually when the man they have in their power is poor and without influence.

   Senator Stanley also voted as a member of the committee against a "gun-toting" bill for the District of Columbia. He said the constitution guaranteed the right to bear arms, and persons have the right to arm themselves under certain circumstances.

[The Bourbon News, Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, Tuesday, December 19, 1922. Volume XLII Pg. 6]

* - Augustus Owsley Stanley I, (May 21, 1867 – Aug. 12, 1958), was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A Democrat, he served as the 38th Governor of Kentucky and also represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. From 1903 to 1915, Stanley represented Kentucky's 2nd congressional district in the House of Representatives, where he gained a reputation as a progressive reformer. Beginning in 1904, he called for an antitrust investigation of the American Tobacco Company, claiming they were a monopoly that drove down prices for the tobacco farmers of his district. As a result of his investigation, the Supreme Court of the United States broke up the American Tobacco Company in 1911. Stanley also chaired a committee that conducted an antitrust investigation of U.S. Steel, which brought him national acclaim. Many of his ideas were incorporated into the Clayton Antitrust Act.

During an unsuccessful senatorial bid in 1914, Stanley assumed an anti-prohibition stance. This issue would dominate his political career for more than a decade and put him at odds with J. C. W. Beckham, the leader of the pro-temperance faction of the state's Democratic Party. In 1915, Stanley ran for governor, defeating his close friend Edwin P. Morrow by just over 400 votes. It was the closest gubernatorial race in the state's history. Historian Lowell H. Harrison called Stanley's administration the apex of the Progressive Era in Kentucky. Among the reforms adopted during his tenure were a state antitrust law, a campaign finance reform law, and a workman's compensation law. In 1918, Stanley was chosen as the Democratic nominee to succeed the recently deceased senator Ollie M. James. Stanley was elected, but did not resign as governor to take the seat until May 1919 and accomplished little in his single term. He lost his re-election bid to Frederic M. Sackett in the 1924 Republican landslide and never again held elected office. He died in Washington, D. C. on August 12, 1958.

   Not bad, for a democrat, eh? Although I'll dispute the Senators claim that "persons have the right to arm themselves under certain circumstances." And contend that We The People have a right to keep and bear arms under ALL "circumstances". As well as the fact that the right "shall NOT be infringed" upon.

"Given a free press, free speech and the right to carry and bear arms, a people worthy of liberty can secure and maintain it...."

Patrick Henry, the "forest-born Demosthenes*"

   FREEDOM OF SPEECH.--When Lord Byron's "forest-born Demosthenes" thundered against Virginia's acceptance of the "constitution of 1787," until his amendments, which guaranteed free speech, free assemblage, etc., were embodied in it, he did so in the beli[e]f, which was general then, that such constitutional safe-guards would prove-sufficient to protect posterity in its "inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and I think they would have been if federalist judges had not twisted and tortured the whole instrument into a slave-making and slave-perpetuating machine.

   Given a free press, free speech and the right to carry and bear arms, a people worthy of liberty can secure and maintain it, but in the absence of these essentials liberty is but a name, a mere ghost....

[The Day Book, Chicago, Friday, January 21, 1916. Last Edition, Vol. 5, No. 97 Pg. 23]

* - "Note 19. Page 489. Henry, the forest-born Demosthenes. Patrick Henry, of Virginia, at leading member of the American Congress, died in June, 1797. Lord Byron alludes to his famous speech in 1765, in which, on saying, “Caesar had his Brutus--Charles the First had his Cromwell-and George the 'l‘hird——” Henry was interrupted with a shout of “Treason! treason! !”—but coolly finished the sentence with—“ George the Third may profit by their example.”-E."--George Noël Gordon Byron (Baron Byron), The Complete Works of Lord Byron Including His Suppressed Poems, With Several Pieces In Prose And Verse Volume 4. Paris, BAUDRY’S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, Rux Du Coq, Near The Louvre. SOLD ALSO BY THEOPHILE BARROIS, JUN., RUE RICHELIEU; TRUCHY, BOULEVARD DES ITALIENS; AMYOT, RUE DE LA PAIX; LIBRAIRIE DES ETRANGERS, 55, RUE NEUVE SAINT-AUGUSTIN; AND FRENCH AND ENGLISH LIBRARY, RUE VIVIENNE. 1833.

   Patrick Henry was one of the most influential orators during the American Revolution. And during the period of the formation of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. Mr. Henry can very well be considered as one of the most ardent supporters of the rights of We The People. He had been a U.S. Representative and the Governor of Virginia. As well as having been asked to run for President of the United States. Which he declined due to the mental illness and poor health of his wife. As well as his skepticism of the course which the new American Constitutional Republican form of government seemed to be on.

"that every man is a sovereign citizen having the right to bear arms...."

   Excerpted from the article;

"The Most Efficient Army For Our Nation "The Existence of a Free Government Depends Upon the Principles and Character of Its National Defenders" By Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles"

 The Plan of the People

In the United States our people have acted of a higher and better principle, that every man is a sovereign citizen having the right to bear arms and that only a small percentage of the physical force is required in practical military service. Our principle has been to maintain only a small standing army, and to rely on the militia of the several states as a grand reserve that could be utilized, and within a short time efficiently organized for use in time of war. Yet all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five could be made available in case of a serious war, such as the invasion of the country.

[New-York Tribune, New-York, Sunday, February 17, 1907. Vol. LXVI....No. 22,008. Pg. 27]

"Were the muskets of the freemen of this country indicted as nuisances?"

Excerpted from the article; "ABSURDITIES OF DOUGLASISM. Speech Of Mr. Trumbull* Of Ill., In the Senate on June 9, on the Bill to Annex Kansas to Nebraska."

"...What more has the party calling itself the law and order party done? They went into Lawrence and required the citizens there , within a certain time, to deliver up their arms, and it was done. Was that by virtue of an indictment for carrying arms? Were the muskets of the freemen of this country indicted as nuisances? I have not heard that they were I read in the highest law of the land that the right to bear and keep arms shall not be infringed. There is no pretense of any law for this outrage. No law exists or can exist in these United States which will authorize a Sheriff--admitting now that he is the valid Sheriff--or a Marshal, to go to a town and demand from its citizens their arms. I should like to know from my colleague whether he justifies this in the name of law and order? Many citizens have been shot down in Kansas; others have been set afloat on the river; others have been tarred and feathered, and all sorts of indignicies have been heaped upon the people in that Territory. These things cannot be unknown to my colleague. Can it be that it gives him pleasure to see them enacted, or to see printing presses destroyed, and hotels burned down in the name of law and order? Why, Sir, it is under the color of law that outrages are nearly always perpetrated. It is in the sacred name of Liberty that the rights of men have ever been trampled under foot. Oppressors call themselves the Law and Order party; they seek for a color of law for all their illegal acts, and all their outrages; but so far from sanctifying the illegal deeds, it adds to their infamy. It is calculated to bring all law into disrepute, when the officer pretending to be clothed with its authority make it a cover for their illegal acts...."

[New-York Daily Tribune, New-York, Saturday, June 14, 1856. Vol. XVI......No. 4,729. Pgs. 9 & 10]

* - TRUMBULL, Lyman, a Senator from Illinois; born in Colchester, Conn., October 12, 1813; attended Bacon Academy; taught school in Connecticut 1829-1833; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Greenville, Ga.; moved to Belleville, Ill., 1837; member, State house of representatives 1840-1841; secretary of State of Illinois in 1841 and 1843; justice of the supreme court of Illinois 1848-1853; elected to the Thirty-fourth Congress in 1854, but before the beginning of the Congress was elected to the United States Senate; reelected in 1861 and again in 1867, and served from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1873; was at various times a Democrat, then Republican, then Liberal Republican, then Democrat; chairman, Committee on the Judiciary (Thirty-seventh through Forty-second Congresses); resumed the practice of law in Chicago, Ill.; unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Illinois in 1880; died in Chicago, Ill., June 25, 1896; interment in Oakwoods Cemetery. 

"Where the government fears the people you have liberty."

"Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty."--John Basil Barnhill, Barnhill-Tichenor Debate on Socialism, As It Appeared in the National Rip-Saw. Saint Louis, Mo.: The National Rip-Saw Pub. Co., 1914, 34.

"He that would make his own liberty secure...."

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."--Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, The Writings of Thomas Paine, ed. Moncure D. Conway, vol. 3, p. 277 . Originally published in 1795.

"We do not wait till a boy is eighteen years old . . . before we give him a rifle..."

KIPLING AS A STATESMAN

By L.L.

"There is nothing which the dear public will forgive less easily than being made fun of."

   The thing which ruins Mr Kipling as a statesman is his sense of humor. This is distinctly proved by the performances which he has gone through in that line since the beginning of the Boer war. One may contend that a sense of humor is not fatal to statesmanship but it must be remembered that the Hon. Thomas B. Reed's definition of a statesman as a politician who dead has never been invalidated and that Mr. Reed is himself a shining and conspicuous example of the truth that a keen wit punctures political ambitions. If a man is truly ambitious to serve his country in prominent places he had better make up a serene but unsmiling visage and wear it reserving all eye-twinkles for other people's jokes. There is nothing which the dear public will forgive less easily than being made fun of.

   The sense of humor which is one of the salient characteristics of Rudyard Kipling crops out in his latest speech. He made the speech in opening a rifle range at Sydenham and took occasion to have a little gentle fun with those who violently oppose the idea of having boys taught to handle firearms. He says:

   "We do not wait till a boy is eighteen years old and thinks he would like to be lord chancellor before teaching him the alphabet. Similarly we ought not to wait till a boy is eighteen and thinks he would like to die for his country before we give him a rifle and teach him to stand straight in a line. We should catch the boy bright and early, when he is about twelve. The man who can read and write does not persecute his neighbors by immediately writing a book. Similarly a man does not run about the streets firing his rifle because he is a volunteer; nor does he fall into military formation whenever he wants to get on an omnibus."

   And he remarked in closing:

   "So we may hope that the next time the nations see fit to love us with the love which has found such perfect expression during the last thirty months, we may not be wholly ignorant of one or two of those less spiritual accomplishments, which, if they do not secure affection, at least command respect."

   For something over a hundred and fifty years the great British nation has gone on in the solemn conviction that pretty uniforms, "formation," style social prestige, and absolute obedience to system would take the place of marksmanship and brains in the British army; and if there had been half as much of a fallacy in its diplomacy as in its military system the nations of Europe would long ago have given Britain "what for." The British nation might have forgiven Mr. Kipling for being practically the first man to state bluntly that there is a hole in its military conviction, if he only had been straight faced about it, but it never will forgive him for his grin.

   The great British nation does not insist on being thought perfect, but it violently objects to being represented as ridiculous, even when it is. Mr. Kipling has not only shown his superiors their failings, but has sharpened his criticisms with an impertinent colonial satire which makes them felt. Despite itself, the British nation is going to remember the things he has said, and think about them, and act upon them. The pith of the matter is that if you want to guide the policy of a large country from the position of figurehead it is wise not to be facetious, but if your desire is satisfied with having it do as you wish and kick yon for your pains, there is no better road than that of wit.

[The Washington Times, Washington, Tuesday, August 19, 1902. Number 2990. Pg. 6]

Concerning obama's new adiser making [false] comparison that the G.O.P. is ‘Cult Worthy Of Jonestown’

   No, Mr. John Podesta, actually it is the Democrat party that is more like a "cult worthy of Jonestown". To Wit:

The move of Peoples Temple headquarters to San Francisco in 1975 invigorated Jones' political career. After the Temple served an important role in the mayoral election victory of George Moscone [Democrat] in 1975, Moscone appointed Jones as the Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.[43]

Unlike most other figures deemed as cult leaders, Jones was able to gain public support and contact with prominent local and national United States politicians. For example, Jones and Moscone met privately with vice presidential candidate Walter Mondale [Democrat] on his campaign plane days before the 1976 election and Mondale publicly praised the Temple.[44][45] First Lady Rosalynn Carter [Democrat] also personally met with Jones on multiple occasions, corresponded with him about Cuba, and spoke with him at the grand opening of the San Francisco DEMOCRATIC Party Headquarters where Jones garnered louder applause than Mrs. Carter.[44][46][47]

In September 1977, Willie Brown served as master of ceremonies at a large testimonial dinner for Jones attended by Governor Jerry Brown [Democrat] and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally [Democrat] and other political figures.[48] At that dinner, while introducing Jones, Willie Brown [Democrat] stated "Let me present to you what you should see every day when you look in the mirror in the early morning hours.... Let me present to you a combination of Martin King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein... Chairman Mao."[49] Harvey Milk [Democrat], who spoke at political rallies at the Temple,[50] wrote to Jones after a visit to the Temple: "Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave."[51][52]

In his San Francisco Temple apartment, Jones hosted San Francisco radical political figures such as Angela Davis for discussions.[53] He spoke with friend and San Francisco Sun-Reporter publisher Dr. Carlton Goodlett about Jones' remorse regarding not being able to travel to socialist countries such as People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, speculating that he could be Chief Dairyman of the Soviet Union.[54] After his criticisms caused increased tensions with the Nation of Islam, Jones spoke at a huge rally healing the rift between the two groups in the Los Angeles Convention Center attended by many of Jones' closest political acquaintances.[55]

While Jones forged media alliances with key columnists and others at the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets,[56] the move to San Francisco also brought increasing media scrutiny. After Chronicle reporter Marshall Kilduff encountered resistance to publishing an exposé, he brought his story to New West Magazine.[57] ...

[From the Wikipedia article: Jim Jones]

      Clearly it is the Democrat party that has far more to do with Jim Jones and Jonestown than the Republicans.

John M. Browning: "Dad, I want a gun...."

[The Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore, Oklahoma, Wednesday, March 23, 1921, Vol. 28. No. 138. Pg. 9]

"...exposed to be insulted and silenced by the sycophants votaries of tyranny and usurpation."

   "Let it be remembered finally, that it has ever been the pride and boast of America, that the rights for which she contended, were the rights of human nature. By the blessing of the author of these rights, on the means exerted for their defence, they have prevailed against all opposition, and form at this time the basis of thirteen independent states. No instance has heretofore occurred, nor can any instance be expected hereafter to occur, in which the unadulterated forms of Republican government can pretend to so fair an opportunity of justifying themselves by their fruits. In this view the citizens of the United States are responsible for the greatest trust ever confided to a political society. If justice, good faith, honor, gratitude and all the other virtues qualities which ennoble the character of a nation, and fulfil the ends of government, be the fruits of our establishments, the cause of liberty will acquire a dignity and lustre which it has never yet enjoyed; and an example will be set which cannot fail to but have the most favourable influence on the rights of mankind. If on the other side, our governments should be unfortunately blotted with the reverse of these cardinal and essential qualities virtues, the great cause which we have engaged to vindicate will be dishonored and betrayed; the last and fairest experiment in favour of the rights of human nature will be turned against them, and their patrons and friends exposed to be insulted and silenced by the sycophants votaries of tyranny and usurpation."--Mr. James Madison, Mr. Oliver Ellsworth and Mr. Alexander Hamilton, Saturday, April 26, 1783, Address To The States, By The United States In Congress Assembled. [This report, in the writing of James Madison, except as noted, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 24, folio 335. It is indorsed in the handwriting of Madison.] [Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Pg. 283]

"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty"

"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence ag[ain]st. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."--James Madison, Friday, June 29, 1787, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 [Farrand's Records, Volume 1, Pg. 465]

"the people shall have arms, and a right to bear and use them to preserve the peace and good order of society...."

"...Sec. 26. That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense.

   "Mr. Gardner said, that within a few years past, there has been a fearful and alarming increase in the number of high crimes such as murders and robberies committed by means of violence, and by the use of arms, in this State. This evil has grown into frightful proportions, and the public peace, and private security, demand the most rigorous measures o[f] repression. The members of the Legislature are impressed with the importance of this subject, but, I understand, they are restrained from providing efficient remedies, from a doubt they entertain as to the extent of their power in this direction, Under the provisions of the 26th section of the Bill of Rights. This power, I consider, is secured for the common, and not for individual defense as when the peace and safety of the people of the whole State, or of a county, or even a single neighborhood, is threatened, the people shall have arms, and a right to bear and use them to preserve the peace and good order of society. I would not, however, interfere with, or in the slightest degree abridge, the citizen's right of self-defense."--[Joshua Gardner, Thursday, Jan. 20, 1870, In [Tennessee Constitutional] Convention.] 

[Nashville Union and American, Nashville, Tenn., Friday, January 21, 1870. New Series, No. 435. Pg. 1]

We The People are GUILTY for violation of duty....

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."--Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, 1791.

 And is not that PRECISELY what has happened? Mr. Paine had also stated:

     "These people are either too superstitiously religious, or too cowardly for arms; they either can not or dare not defend ; their property is open to anyone who has the courage to attack them... The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."--Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine (July 1775); signed "A Lover Of Peace".

"Women may assist in their own protection by becoming familiar with the use of firearms, and having them at hand when the occasion demands..."

"...Former Governor William J. Northen expresses himself as follows: "My first suggestion is that all homes should be made miniature arsenals, at least to the extent of one good Winchester and one good pistol; that women be allowed to carry weapons upon their persons, concealed, if so desired, and that they be taught the use and handling of firearms, so that they may become their own protectors in the absence of the husband and master of the house...."

"...Inspector General O'Bear: "The Sheriff of each county should organize a regular posse of competent and determined men, who would be ready at a moment's notice to respond to his call and in addition thereto should maintain a pack of trained dogs to follow the trail when a crime is committed in his county. No expense or effort should be spared to discover the criminal and bring him to justice. Women may assist in their own protection by becoming familiar with the use of firearms, and having them at hand when the occasion demands. It is not the duty of the militia to hunt crimes, but to assist the civil authorities in protecting them when called upon."

[The Record-Union, Sacramento, Tuesday Morning, April 25, 1899. Volume 97.--No. 63. Pg. 1 - Excerpted from the article; "People Of Georgia Greatly Stirred. Atlanta, April 24."]

"That no man shou'd scruple, or hesitate a moment to use a[r]ms in defence of so valuable a blessing..."

Mount Vernon 5th April 1769.

Dear sir,
Herewith you will receive a letter and sundry papers which were forwarded to me a day or two ago by Doctor Ross of Bladensburg. I transmit them with the greater pleasure, as my own desire of knowing your sentiments upon a matter of this importance exactly coincides with the Doctrs inclinations.

At a time when our lordly Masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing less than the deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary that something shou'd be done to avert the stroke and maintain the liberty which we have derived from our Ancestors; but the manner of doing it to answer the purpose effectually is the point in question.

That no man shou'd scruple, or hesitate a moment to use a[r]ms in defence of so valuable a blessing, on which all the good and evil of life depends; is clearly my opinion; Yet A[r]ms I wou'd beg leave to add, should be the last resource; the de[r]nier resort. Addresses to the Throne, and remonstrances to parliament, we have already, it is said, proved the inefficacy of; how far then their attention to our rights & priviledges is to be awakened or alarmed by starving their Trade & manufactures, remains to be tryed.

The northern Colonies, it appears, are endeavouring to adopt this scheme--In my opinion it is a good one; & must be attended with salutary effects, provided it can be carried pretty generally into execution; but how far it is practicable to do so, I will not take upon me to determine. That there will be difficulties attending the execution of it every where, from clashing interests, & selfish designing men (ever attentive to their own gain, & watchful of every turn that can assist their lucrative views, in preference to any other consideration) cannot be denied; but in the Tobacco Colonies where the Trade is so diffused, and in a manner wholly conducted by Factors for their principals at home, these difficulties are certainly enhanced, but I think not insurmountably increased, if the Gentlemen in their several counties wou'd be at some pains to explain matters to the people, & stimulate them to a cordial agreement to purchase none but certain innumerated articles out of any of the Stores after such a period, nor import nor purchase any themselves. This, if it did not effectually withdraw the Factors from their Importations, wou'd at least make them extremely cautious in doing it, as the prohibited Goods could be vended to none but the non-associater, or those who wou'd pay no regard to their association; both of whom ought to be stigmatized, and made the objects of publick reproach.

The more I consider a Scheme of this sort, the more ardently I wish success to it, because I think there are private, as well as public advantages to result from it--the former certain, however precarious the other may prove; for in respect to the latter I have always thought that by virtue of the same power (for here alone the authority derives) which assume's the right of Taxation, they may attempt at least to restrain our manufactories; especially those of a public nature; the same equity & justice prevailing in the one case as the other, it being no greater hardship to forbid my manufacturing, than it is to order me to buy Goods of them loaded with Duties, for the express purpose of raising a revenue. But as a measure of this sort will be an additional exertion of arbitrary power, we cannot be worsted I think in putting it to the Test. On the other hand, that the Colonies are considerably indebted to Great Britain, is a truth universally acknowledged. That many families are reduced, almost, if not quite, to penury & want, from the low ebb of their fortunes, and Estates daily selling for the discharge of Debts, the public papers furnish but too many melancholy proofs of. And that a scheme of this sort will contribute more effectually than any other I can devise to immerge the Country from the distress it at present labours under, I do most firmly believe, if it can be generally adopted. And I can see but one set of people (the Merchants excepted) who will not, or ought not, to wish well to the Scheme; and that is those who live genteely & hospitably, on clear Estates. Such as these were they, not to consider the valuable object in view, & the good of others, might think it hard to be curtail'd in their living & enjoyments; for as to the penurious man, he saves his money, & he saves his credit; having the best plea for doing that, which before perhaps he had the most violent struggles to refrain from doing. The extravagant & expensive man has the same good plea to retrench his Expences--He is thereby furnished with a pretext to live within bounds, and embraces it--prudence dictated hconomy to him before, but his resolution was too weak to put it in practice; for how can I, says he, who have lived in such & such a manner change my method? I am ashamed to do it: and besides, such an alteration in the System of my living, will create suspicions of a decay in my fortune, & such a thought the world must not harbour; I will e'en continue my course: till at last the course discontinues the Estate, a sale of it being the consequence of his perseverance in error. This I am satisfied is the way that many who have set out in the wrong tract, have reasoned, till ruin stares them in the face. And in respect to the poor & needy man, he is only left in the same situation he was found; better I might say, because as he judges from comparison, his condition is amended in proportion as it approaches nearer to those above him.

Upon the whole therefore, I think the Scheme a good one, and that it ought to be tryed here, with such alterations as the exigency of our circumstances render absolutely necessary; but how, & in what manner to begin the work, is a matter worthy of consideration; and whether it can be attempted with propriety, or efficacy (further than a communication of sentiments to one another) before May, when the Court & Assembly will meet together in Williamsburg, and a uniform plan can be concerted, and sent into the different counties to operate at the same time, & in the same manner every where, is a thing I am somewhat in doubt upon, & shou'd be glad to know your opinion of. I am Dr Sir Your most Obt humble Servant

G: Washington

[George Washington to George Mason 5, April, 1769. University of Virginia, The Papers of George Washington, LB, DLC:GW. From The Papers, Colonial Series, 8:177-80.]

 

"Possessing these rights of which we cannot deprive them...."

   "But by what provision of the constitution is that right conferred which does not equally apply to the amendment in question? The plain truth is, that a law authorising the people of a territory to form a constitution and state government, partakes of the nature of propositions to form with them a treaty or compact. The citizens of Missouri have certain rights, of which congress cannot deprive them. The following are examples: a right of protection in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion; a right of trial by jury; of the writ of habeas corpus; of freedom of speech and a free press, of petitioning government for a redress of grievances; of keeping and bearing arms; of security in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures; and many more that might be mentioned. Possessing these rights of which we cannot deprive them, they petition for a grant of others. In deciding on their application, we are bound to consider the subject in relation to the general welfare, embracing that of the particular territory. We grant the application upon specified conditions, not inconsistent with the principles of the constitution. The people of the territory examine these conditions and decide thereon; if approved they ratify the treaty, and succeed to its advantages; if rejected, they continue in the enjoyment of all the rights previously possessed."--U.S. Representative Mr. John W. Taylor*, Thursday, January 27, 1820 Debate In The United States House Of Representatives, [Niles' Weekly Register, FROM MARCH TO SEPTEMBER, 1820--VOL. XVIII. OR, VOLUME VI.--NEW SERIES Supplementary To No. 1--Volume VI..--New Series. March 4, 1820, Missouri Question. Baltimore: Printed For The Editor By William Ogden Niles, At The Franklin Press, Water-Street, East Of South-Street. Pg. 19]

* - John W. Taylor, (March 26, 1784 – September 18, 1854), was an early 19th-century U.S. politician from New York. And the 11th & 14th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

He was born in 1784 in that part of the Town of Ballston, then in Albany County, New York, which was, upon the creation of Saratoga County in 1791, split off to form the Town of Charlton. He received his first education at home.

Taylor graduated from Union College in 1803 as valedictorian of his class. Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and practiced in Ballston Spa, New York. In 1806, he married Jane Hodge (d. 1838), of Albany, New York, and they had eight children. He was a member from Saratoga County of the New York State Assembly in 1812 and 1812-13.

Taylor served in the United States House of Representatives for 20 years, from 1813 to 1833, and served twice as Speaker of the House. He also was a representative of New York in the Missouri Compromise, where he took a stance against the extension of slavery along with people such as John Quincy Adams.

After leaving Congress, Taylor resumed his law practice in Ballston Spa, and was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) in 1841 and 1842. He resigned his seat on August 19, 1842, after suffering a paralytic stroke. In 1843, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to live with his eldest daughter and her husband William D. Beattie, and died there 11 years later. He was buried in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

"By the principles of the American revolution, arbitrary power may, and ought to, be resisted even by arms, if necessary."

   "By the third section of this article, it is declared that treason against the United States shall consist in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort.

   "By the principles of the American revolution, arbitrary power may, and ought to, be resisted even by arms, if necessary. The time may come when it shall be the duty of a state, in order to preserve itself from oppression of the general government, to have recourse to the sword; in which case, the proposed form of government declares, that the state, and every one of its citizens who acts under its authority, are guilty of a direct act of treason; reducing, by this provision, the different states to this alternative,--that they must tamely and passively yield to despotism, or their citizens must oppose it at the hazard of the halter, if unsuccessful; and reducing the citizens of the state which shall take arms to a situation in which they must be exposed to punishment, let them act as they will-- since, if they obey the authority of their state government, they will guilty of treason against the United States; if they join the general government, they will be guilty of treason against their own state...."[Pg. 382]

"...The state of Georgia is larger in extent than the whole island of Great Britain, extending from its sea-coast to the Mississippi, a distance of eight hundred miles or more: its breadth, for the most part, about three hundred miles. The states of North Carolina and Virginia, in the same manner, reach from the sea-coast unto the Mississippi.

   "The hardship, the inconvenience, and the injustice, of compelling the inhabitants of those states who may dwell on the western side of the mountains, and along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, to remain connected with the inhabitants of those states respectively on the Atlantic side of the mountains, and subject to the same state governments, would be such as would, in my opinion, justify even recourse to arms, to free themselves from, and to shake off, so ignominious a yoke."[Pg. 383]

[The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL CONVENTION AT PHILADELPHIA, IN 1787. TOGETHER WITH THE JOURNAL OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION, LUTHER MARTIN'S LETTER, YATES'S MINUTES, CONGRESSIONAL OPINIONS, Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of '98-'99, AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION IN FIVE VOLUMES. VOL. I. SECOND EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS. COLLECTED AND REVISED FROM CONTEMPORARY PUBLICATIONS, By JONATHAN ELLIOT. PUBLISHED UNDER THE SANCTION OF CONGRESS. PHILADELPHIA: J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 189l. "Luther Martin's Letter"]

"for every man to take his arms into the field with him when he went to his plough..."

"There was a vast difference between the right of the citizen to bear arms, and dragging them through streets, or across fields, some with and some without arms, merely to render themselves ridiculous. The man is no better fitted to use his arms after he has performed service in the militia trainings, than he was before he attended them; and if there had been no others at Plattsburg and Baltimore, than those who had received these militia trainings, the enemy had less to apprehend from the use of those arms, than those who held them. There was a great difference between the present time, and the period when the Constitution of the United States and of this State were adopted. It may be well enough for the citizens of the southern and western States to keep and bear arms. It was necessary in this State at one time for every man to take his arms into the field with him when he went to his plough, but what citizen would think of doing this now?"--Mr. Charles Brown, delegate from Philadelphia county, PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, COMMENCED AT HARRISBURG MAY 2 1837 VOL. IV. Reported by JOHN AGG, Stenographer: Assisted By Messrs. Wheeler, Kingman, Draks, and McKinley. HARRISBURG: PRINTED BY PACKER, BARRETT, And PARKE. 1838. Pg. 131]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely...."

   "But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions...."--James Madison, The Federalist No. 51, Independent Journal, Wednesday, February 6, 1788. 

   "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."--John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton, letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887. 

   "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it."--William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, speech to the UK House of Lords in 1770. 

   "It is not only the slave or serf who is ameliorated in becoming free... the master himself did not gain less in every point of view,... for absolute power corrupts the best natures."--Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine. (English translation of Lamartine's essay France and England: a Vision of the Future, 1848.