Archive for April 7th, 2008
The Constitution and Slavery
We the people… whenever we see it, we ask ourselves who they were. We ask ourselves about slavery. Just like the Founders did.
For people who are often accused of “not caring” about slavery, the Founders spilled a lot of ink arguing about it. Just as the Declaration of Independence dealt with slavery, so did the [...]
The Constitution: harder than it looks
We kind of hate the Constitution today. We wish it wasn’t so elastic. It allows for so many interpretations; we wish it would just tell us what to do. But of course the only reason it’s a viable document is that it doesn’t tell us what to do. It gives us a framework of justice [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The Articles of Confederation: Not Totally Lame!
The problem the Founders grappled with when writing the Articles of Confederation was how to create a workable government without authorizing a tyranny. How do you keep life, liberty, and happiness for all while subjecting all to a central authority which must make general laws?
We’re so used to hearing about this struggle that it bores [...]
Slavery and the Declaration
Let’s look at the underpinnings of the system of government the Founders created. First, one more look at the Declaration (see Truth v. Myth: The Declaration of Independence), because I said we’d come back to Locke and the line we changed to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Locke (1632-1704) was the person who [...]
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