Signing of The Marietta Declaration
EXCERPTS FROM THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE #CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
I’d like to read several excerpts from our nation’s founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
I’d like to read several excerpts from our nation’s founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence declared the principles of liberty and self-government. It is our ‘charter of liberty’. The Constitution secured these principles by establishing a framework for the structure and powers of the federal government. WE NEED BOTH. Some 200 years after their writing, they still provide inspiration and direction to us. They SHOULD be understood and implemented by our public officials today. The Constitution is what all public officials swear to uphold and defend.
First, from the Declaration of Independence, the second paragraph:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
And a few phrases down from this:
“…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
“…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Having stated our nation’s founding principles in the Declaration of Independence, it was not necessary to do so again in the Constitution. What was needed in 1787—and is still needed today—is a framework for governing. The Preamble to the Constitution, stated in clear terms the basic purposes of the federal government, beginning with who was in charge (think about the size of the font used for “We The People”). It went on to describe the structure and powers of the government it set up.
The Preamble reads:
“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Constitution is a contract between the States which created the Federal government. Its purpose is to limit the powers of the federal government and keep them in check. If “WE THE PEOPLE” don’t hold them to the Constitution, they will usurp our rights, and then we become servants of the government. Each citizen has the responsibility to work to secure the blessings of liberty today and for future generations. This is why we, the people, are here today: To restore this contract. To turn our nation from the path of heavy-handed government to the path of liberty and freedom.
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