The Constitution and What It Means

The Constitution

and what it means

William James

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

The Constitution and What It Means

Copyright © 2012 by William James

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-3464-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3465-6 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3466-3 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012912193

iUniverse rev. date: 07/27/2012

Contents

A

Chronology

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Article I

Section 1:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Section 4:

Section 5:

Section 6:

Section 7:

Section 8:

Section 9:

Section 10:

Chapter 3

Article II:

Section 1:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Section 4:

Chapter 4

Article III

Section 1

Section 2:

Section 3:

Chapter 5

Article IV

Section 1:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Section 4:

Chapter 6

Article V:

Chapter 7

Article VI:

Chapter 8

Article VII:

Chapter 9

The Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Amendment II

Amendment III

Amendment IV

Amendment V

Amendment VI

Amendment VII

Amendment VIII

Amendment IX

Amendment X

Chapter 10

Amendments XI – XXVII

Amendment XI Ratified February 7, 1795 (340 days)

Amendment XII Ratified June 15, 1804 (189 days)

Amendment XIII Ratified December 6, 1865 (309 days)

Amendment XIV Ratified July 9, 1868 (757 days)

Amendment XV Ratified February 3, 1870 (342 days)

Amendment XVI Ratified February 3, 1913 (1,302 days)

Amendment XVII Ratified April 8, 1913 (330 days)

Amendment XVIII Ratified January 16, 1919 (394 days)

Amendment XIX Ratified August 18, 1920 (441 days)

Amendment XX Ratified January 23, 1933 (327 days)

Amendment XXI Ratified December 5, 1933 (288 days)

Amendment XXII Ratified February 27, 1951 (1,439 days)

Amendment XXIII Ratified March 29, 1961 (285 days)

Amendment XXIV Ratified January 23, 1964 (514 days)

Amendment XXV Ratified February 10, 1967 (584 days)

Amendment XXVI Ratified July 1, 1971 (100 days)

Amendment XXVII Ratified May 7, 1992 (74,003 days)

Chapter 11

Conclusion

Appendix

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution of the United States of America

The Fixed History of 435 Representatives:

The Judiciary

Thomas Jefferson

The Draft

Cafe Standards

Quotable Quotes from our Founding Fathers

Bibliography

END NOTES

The American People won’t make a mistake if they are given all the facts

Thomas Jefferson

Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.

Thomas Jeffeerson

A

Chronology

Chapter 1

For far too long the Constitution has been viewed as a complex, almost mystical document. The ensuing pages will remove the shroud of mystery surrounding it, that our Congress men and women have perpetuated. We will expose the man behind the curtain, called Congress, and let him know we figured it out. He works for us, not the other way around. We will take our lead from the recognized father of the Constitution, James Madison in Federalists¹ number thirty-seven when he said, The ultimate object of these papers is to determine clearly and fully the merits of this Constitution.

Before we can accomplish our goal we must have the courage to face the truth and let reason be our guide. For example, if you believe in manmade Global Warming, you will not believe this book; for reason does not have a prominent role in your thought process. If you hate America, you will despise this book. If Al Gore is your mentor, James Madison is your nemeses. Every man has a right to his own opinions, but no man has a right to be wrong in facts,²

Throughout the history of mankind governments have sought to control its people. For centuries that control has been accomplished through fear. Today our congressmen, unfortunately, are no different. However, our Constitution makes that control somewhat problematic. On the other hand they have hit upon one of the greatest hoaxes of all time.³ They have led us down the path to the altar of global warming. If we don’t sacrifice everything at this altar we will all surely die. The Constitution ‘be damned,’ give me your freedom, your liberty and your money for only then can you be saved. Politicians who preach at the altar of global-warming are creating the chloroform that makes the separation of man from, his money, liberty and freedom a lot more palatable. Anyone foolish enough to follow them over this cliff will have a mortal fear of a Constitution that when fully understood requires one to be a self-reliant, rugged, individual.

Although, the words Self-reliant, rugged, individual do not appear in the Constitution it becomes manifestly clear in the Declaration of Independence with the often quoted passage to …pursue life, liberty and happiness… that everyone is an individual who is the sole arbiter of what will make them happy and that happiness is determined by self-reliant, rugged, individualism. Our Constitution enshrines the concept of property rights through self-reliant, rugged, individualism. The founding fathers did not have social security, Medicare, healthcare or any form of government welfare. They were completely vested in the concept of self-reliant, rugged, individualism. To be sure, the founders were generous with their wealth but it was always an individual choice, not a government mandate. The very last sentence of The Declaration of Independence sums up the entire concept of self-reliant, rugged, individualism where those who signed their names to that document said, …we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Today’s congress has taken away our self-reliant, rugged, individualism and taxed our Lives, Fortunes and Honor.

The federal government was designed to play only a small role. As a matter of fact the federal government was so small its twenty one duties were listed in Article I, section 8, however, as we shall soon see only the legal profession demonstrated the incompetence to fully misunderstand the simplicity of the US Constitution.

To fully understand the simplicity of our Constitution we must first understand that the legal profession, both lawyers and judges are also human; like the rest of us they are subject to the weaknesses of human nature in that they too are not infallible. It has been noted that the only requirements to be a judge are (1) obtain a law degree (2) be appointed by the president and (3) be confirmed by the Senate. It is the job of the federal judiciary to focus on the constitutionality of our laws, nothing more, and nothing less. A judge that cannot separate his or her personal beliefs from the true meaning of the Constitution is a dangerous tyrant. In 2012 Ruth Bader Ginsberg while offering advice to the newly formed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood stated she would not look to the US Constitution for guidance. A Supreme Court Justice, who took an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, advises a foreign nation on foreign soil not to look toward the U.S. Constitution- a truly impeachable offense, if ever there was one, and not so much as a single eye brow was raised in Congress.

The federal judiciary, legislature or executive also have no constitutional authority to regulate our economy. Historians have exposed the disaster of government involvement in economics. More specifically, many historians today have detailed the overwhelming negative consequences of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal; a policy that not only prolonged but exacerbated the Great Depression. The New Deal was unconstitutional.

Whenever you see the word unconstitutional, it is a euphuism for supremely illegal. The Constitution is the Supreme law of the land. When our congress men and women pass unconstitutional laws, they are not simply breaking the law; they are breaking the Supreme law of the land. In other words, the petty thief is not as nearly corrupt as the well dressed Congress Man or Woman who abdicates their Constitutional responsibility.

A good leader will learn from history. However, we see our 21st century leaders making the same mistakes of the past; such actions not only demonstrate the bold ignorance of today’s leaders but also expose the complete vapidness of higher education. It is the responsibility of the institutions of higher learning to teach history. More often than not our leaders come from the Ivy League schools, a clear sign for parents to steer clear of Ivy League educations for their children. It not only appears to dumb down the individual, but it wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition fees while creating a terribly weak leadership class. Perhaps the late William F. Buckley Jr. was on to something when he said, I would rather be governed by the first two thousand people in the Manhattan phone book, than the entire faculty of Harvard.⁴ Thomas Sowell is even more succinct when he said, Academic pedigree is no grantor of useful knowledge.

Today we have a federal government (my congressman and yours) who are proudly proclaiming only they can save the economy and save the country. That is wrong on so many levels it would require another book. Suffice it to say, our congressmen are clearly driven by socialism not the tenants of the United States Constitution. It is probably all we can expect from people who tout the failed policies of the past and scorn the success of our founders. In other words let us heed the warning of Justice Robert H. Jackson when he wrote of himself and his fellow justices, We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final. This book lays bare the true meaning of our Constitution.

To fully understand the Constitution we must first disabuse ourselves of the notion that only the legal profession is qualified to explain it. The recognized father of our Constitution, James Madison, was not a lawyer. As you will soon learn it was the legal profession that created the problems with our Constitution, not solve them. John Lescroart in his novel Guilt captures the essence of the legal profession when he says, I am a lawyer…first we argue, then we deflect the direction words might be going to win, we…obfuscate. The Constitution is not a difficult document, unless of course, you are a lawyer. Just because someone speaks with an air of authority doesn’t make it so. Even Thomas Jefferson recognized the minimal ability of lawyers more than two hundred years ago when he said, If the present Congress err in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?

It is not the job of a lawyer to