Family Heritage Series on the Declaration and Constitution

8/6/2019 Family Heritage Series on the Declaration and Constitution

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/family-heritage-series-on-the-declaration-and-constitution 1/28

Camp

ConstitutionPresents

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution



Camp Constitution is pleased to be able

to reprint excerpts of the Family Heritage

Series which was originally published in the

early 1970’s in a weekly newsletter format.

Te newsletters were meant to be read

at the family dinner table. Te six issues

reprinted here concern the Declaration of

Independence and the U.S. Constitution.



able of Contents:

Te Birth of Independence Page 1

Te Declaration of Independence Page 5 Tey Signed For Us Page 9

Revolutionaries Page 14

Te Constitutional Convention Page 18

Checks and Balances Page 22

Price $4.00 eachQuantity discounts available

For orders visit campconstitution.net or call (704) 288-7270





Journa, publsher Wllam Bradord prnted a skull

and crossbones n the spot reseed or the Brtsh

stamp On the ront page he explaed hs stua

on o hs sbscrbers

I am sorry," he wroe, to be oblged o

acquant my readers hat as the Stamp Act s

eared to be oblgatory upon us ate the rst o

November ensung (he aal tomorrow), the publsher o ths paper unable to bear the burden has

thought expedent to stop awhle, n order to

delberate whether any methods can be ound o

elude the chans orged or us and escape the

nsupporable slavery, whch t s hoped, rom the

last represenaton now made aganst the act, may

be eected"Mr Bradord urged hs subscrbers to pay wha

they owed so tha he could no only survve durng

the nerval but be beer prepared to proceed

agan wth hs paper whenever possble whch he

hoped would be soon

And t was soon a short ourandonehal

months or the news o the colonsts' anger had

traveled the ocean and caused Parlament to change

ts mnd about stamps Bu no abou taxes

Stubbornly he nglsh Lords declared ther rght

to tax colonal subjects drectly even hough no

Amercan was allowed to vote on how much or

what knd Amercans volently dsagreed It wasn't

tha hey were unwllng to pay taxes Colonalassembes and town meetngs had been levyng

taxes or years But t was colonal money voted by

colonal represenatves and n most colones, t

pad the governor's salay Whch meant hat he

Kngs executve n Amerca opposed the wll o the

colonsts, t was a smple mater to orget o

vote he governor's pay and thus o brng hs

actons no lne

FOR NGLAND suddenly to transer taxng

power rom Amercan hands nto ts own was an

ourage and Brn's dea o represenaton was

an nsult The royal argument was that the col

onsts were as well represented n Parlament as

the people o ngland because there were arm

ers, docors lawyers merchants and tradesmenamong ts members Whch meant, by Brtshreasonng, hat all armers, all doctors, all law

yers, al merchants and all tradesmen were repre

sen ted whether they lved n ngland or t

colones

Applyng that thnkng today would mean t

UN General Assembly n New York o whch ocountry beongs would have the rght to t

Amercans drectly smply because members o t

Unted Natons have the same ypes o obs

proessons that people n our counry have Howould you lke to have hal o your allowan

taken n N taxes and told you were repr

sented" because some o the people n the Gener

Assembly were students? Regardless o how mu

or how ltte was taken would you thnk t a

Name the specfc amunt f each famy mem

ers allance an ask each hat he ul thn

f the UN tk half f t r mre Make t cle

that there ul e n chance t say "yes

n t the UN ta cllectr nr t the amu

that he cul take So t was not so much h

amount o money that ngland demanded o h

colonsts whch upse hem, but the act that w

aken wthou ther consent

A new nglsh axng scheme called t

Townshend Acs started n 1 767 Now an ex

premum was requred or the purchase o glas

paper pnts, and tea In protes, more and mo

colonsts reused to buy anything that was Brts

made Patrots wore homespun clothes and scorn

those who dressed n lnens and woolens mporterom nglad

PROTST OR NOT, the taxes stayed as eeln

grew more explosve each year Town meetn

were called patroc groups organzed nd new

was carred by rders rom colony to colony ovcountry roads and woodland rals

In December, 77, three Brtsh shps moore

n Boston harbor loaded wth three hundred an

ortytwo chests o tea tea that could not unloaded unl the royal tax was pad and tea th

merchans dared not accep wth the tax, regardle

o ts low prce or to do so would be to r

publc ourage The dlemma was solved on D

cember 6 under cover o nght by about

young men dressed as wld Indans" Joh

Hancock was one o them who boarded the sh

and dumped the untaxed tea nto he water Th

was the amous Boston Tea Party; and Samu



Adam th riginatr f th patritic Cmmitt

f Crrpndnc nt mngr dahing in all

dirctin with nw f it A ppular ditty cl

brating th vnt ndd with th lin

We made a paguey mess of tea

In one of the biggest dishes

I mean we steeped it in the seaAnd treated a the fishes!

Fiv mnth latr in May 774 England rtali

atd with th Prt Bill Th harbr f Btn wa

t b cld t all hipping n th r day f Jun

if th itizn did nt pay fr th ta dtryd by

th wild Indian" T d o wuld b to admit

that Parliamnt had th right t ta th clnitand thi admiion th Maachtt Committ

of Corrpondnc would nvr mak SamulAdam wrot a circular lttr ntifying th thr

clni f th wdntintndtpay" d

ciin All rallid t th nd f Btn ralizing

that if Maachtt lt it frdm thr wuld

uffr th am fat Clni a far away a

Gorgia nt ric mny and ppli chrch

bll tlld ; JagL .alf-mat ._ [AskJ.miJymemes o picue ha oul happen in ou

on f he UN ee o close he haos o

hihas ecause a a on coffee ha no een

pai Ho oul i affec he ail ouine?Eplan ha ea as as popula h he coloniss

as coffee is ih us oa

Th cloing of th Boton harbor wa th f

that ignitd th pwdr kg f prtt and ld t

th calling f th Firt Cntinntal Cngr in

Philadlphia in Sptmbr 1 774 Evry clny

cpt Grgia (which wa parly populatd and

F SEIUS SUDENS

dmund Burke was one of seera gish states men who were sympatheti to the merian ause in1 77 Ho weer, i n 789, Burke opposed the FrenhReoution as ferenty as he supported the mer ian

fight for independene Why he reasons for hisoppostion are detaied in his essay, Refections on

he Rvoluion in Franc, aaiabe at most pubibrar ies. nourage oder students to read i t a ims

by today's eftwing reoutionsts that they aremodrn Gorg Wshngtons n b ountrd bymany of Burkes obseratons.

mr dpndnt n England than th thr)

dlgat t th Cngr mn lik Samu

Adam Grg Wahington Patrick Hnry a

Jhn Adam

FTER DAS f dbat th patritic lad

iud a tatmnt f thir right a Britih ubjand a dmand t b tad by thir wn lct

ambli N mntin wa mad f parati

frm th mthr cuntry but th lat fw lin

th ptitin t th King carrid a vild thrat

rlv nt t buy r u gd mad in Engla

until th unt law wr rpald

Th Amrican ptitin dclaratin and r

ltin fr utic wr lickd aid by th Briti

ing and Parliamnt lik o mch wat papr

Fbrary th Engih govmnt had dclar

Maachutt t b in a tat f rbllin and

Salm had mad an unuccful attmpt t i

clnial military uppli

On March 2 2, 1 77 frm th Britih id f t

can Edmnd Brk longtim find of Amri

in Parliamnt mad hi famu appal t th Ki

fr rcnciiatinTh fllwing ain Ari

Patrick Hnry trd t th pulpit of St JhnChrch in Richmnd Virginia t dlivr h

piritd W Mut Fight pch t th c

rvltinary cnvntin f VirniaBginning with a rcap f wrng uffrd

th clnit th fry Virginian ndd hi pby dmoliing th argmnt for pac with th

nw famu wrd

Gentemen may cry peace peace - but

there is no peace. The ar is atuay egun

The next gae that seeps from the North wi

bring to our ears the cash of resounding arms!

Our brethren are aready in the fied! Why

stand we here ide? What is it that gentemen

wish? What woud they have? Is /ife so dear or

peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price

of chains and savery I know not what

course others may take; but as for me gie me

ierty or give me death

RITISH TROOPS wr quartrd in th city

Btn th trubl cntr and Britih warh

wr anchord in th bay Samul Adam and J



Hanok, sought by England as traitors, were in

Lexington ready to leave for the May 1 0 meetingof the Seond ontinental ongress in Philadel

hia On Aril 1 4 the British ommander Genral

Gage, was ordered to break u the olonial

rebellion Four nights later British troos were on

the marh to atre guns and owder whih the

olonits had stored at on ord a move whih theBoston atriot� were exeting The only question

was wih route wold be taken land or water

From the tower of Bostons North hurh a

wathman eyed the British movement and ashed

the lantern signal whih sent William Dawes and

Paul Revere riding to Lexington and onord to

awaken the eole, warn Adams and Hanok, and

all out the militia As Aril 1 9 drew to a lose,

most of the olonists' guns and owder were

sere Adams and Hanok were sael on their

way to Philadelhia shots had been exhanged

and the War for Indeendene had begun

In Phladelhia, ongress frmed the ontin

ental Army and aointed George Washington its

ommanderinhief Three months later, on July

3 1 77 Washington rode int o ambridge om

mon in Boston to take ommand of an army ofntrained men from every olony and all walks of

life At the same time, ongress was sending the

Olive Branh Petition to King George a final

aeal for eae and justieIn August England smashed the Amerian hoes

for eae by dereeing that the olonies were in

oen rebellion British troos still ontrolled Bos

ton ashingtons volunteer army was amed on·

the outskirts and Benedit Arnold was rearing

an exedition to nada to atre the British fort

at Quebe In Otober, ongress athorized a navy

and in November began a searh for allies among

Englands enemies in Eroe King George ignored

the Olive Branh Pettion and issed a royal

rolamation in late 1 77 losing the olonies toall trade effetive Marh 1 1 776

Still the talk of indeendene a total break

with England was slow to ome It was a

diffilt deision for the olonists to make To do

so meant to beome traitors and, hene, riminals

in the orts of Englan

Concluding Thought

There is nothing in the stor of the Amerian

revolution to indiate that the olonists at

hastily or hotheadedly Ten years elased rom ttime of the Stam At in 1 76 to the rst battle

the Revolutio nar War in 1 77 Dring tose t

years, every lawful means was tried to orre

English injusties, all without suess Even as t

olonial army trained for battle, ongress e

tioned for reforms and another year lased befothe final break ame

Lookn Aead

Next week well take a loser look at t

dramati events in July of 1 776 that marked o

indeendene and birth as a nation

DUNG THE WEEK

fer he esson onigh sk ech member of he fmo memorize ll or pr of rick Henrys quoe or Boson e Pry diy. rds for hs purpose hould prepred prior o he lesson nd he quoes djused lengh or kind o su he ge nd cpbiiies of he fmUse he dinner or brekfs hours o es he memorizi

progress nd o revew he evens described in his lesson.

For parents who wish to teach their childre the tmeaning of liberty, reponsibility, and ou Americaheritage.

T Fy H is an outtanding eiesweely leon for he home, wren o mulae neand spark dicussion about the legacy we have received

T Fy H i fo all paent with choolchildren It i ure to be valued by all Americans wparticipate in its Heritage Hour discussions, and wouldepecaly welcomed a a ft

F H S is pubished by he MovementRestore Decency, a project of The Joh Brch Socey The an

subscpton ae s twele doas fo f-wo lessons mmony. Idvdua essos may be purchased any quai

fo copes fo one dolla. Addess all odes and subcponThe John Brch Socety 39 Concord Aveue Bemo Massasets @93 by The John Birch Soet



�CiJe .Seie§ "_r

un uly, 973

A wkly discussion of Amricnist truths n

trditions for thos "hirs of ll th gs who w

hv to rsrv tht most mportnt nhritnc o

l frdom

Writtn by ildrd Tnny Hndyditd by Wlis W Wood

Produd by th ovmnt To Rstor Dcncy

proct of Th John Birch Socity

Volume I, Lesson Fteen

D Of Ip

LESSN DEA

a show ha he Delaraio of Ideedee is basedo Godgie o goermege, righs.

PEPAANMake oies of he frs wo aragrahs of h

Delaraio of deedee (see las age, so ha eahmember of he famly a sdy he words as hey are readi he esso

* * * * *

LETS GO BACK to the tme trp we started last

week and nd out what happened ater England

went to war aganst the colonal army o musket totng armers, woodsmen and merchants In 1 775

and the early months o 177, t was stll a Brtsh

amly ght wth the solders and shps o the

Englsh ant lodged n Boston and Washngtons

army o volunteers rmmng the west edge o the

cty each watng or the other to back down

Nether dd

As the Second Contnental Congress, stll nsesson n hladelpha, struggled to nd ood,unorms, and ammunton or Washngtons

troops, the talk ew o cuttng all tes wthEngland In anuary, Massachusetts passed a resolu

ton or ndependence In Apl, North Carolna

took the bold step Then, Rhode Island; and one

month later, Vrgna declared her own ndepen

dence rom England New ork and Pennsylvana

opposed the break but n other colones, the dea

began to gan momentumFnally, on une 7 Rchard Henry Lee o

Vrgna asked the Congress to vote on the resol

ton, That these Unted Colones are, and o rgh

ought to be, ree and ndependent States, that they

are absolved rom all allegance to the Brtsh

Crown, and that all poltcal connectons between

them and the State o Great Brtan s, and oughto be, totally dssolved

HE TIME FOR decson had come, but t hadto be unanmous I some colones voted yes

whle others voted no, England would take

advantage or the dvson, and deeat would be

certan Rather than press or a mmedate dec

son, the colonsts delayed votng untl uly 2

But to save tme n the event the resolutonpassed unanmously, Congress apponted a commt

tee o ve ohn Adams, Beamn Frankln

Thomas eerson, Roger Sherman and Rober

Lvngston to prepare a declaraton detalng the

reasons or the break wth England Even an

unanmous yes to Lees resoluton was no

enough The delegates wanted a ormal statemen

that all men and governments could read, makng

lear that ther uarrel wth Enand was much

bgger than a tax dspute or a ght over who had

what rghts They meant to ueston the rgt o akng to be a kng the dea o a man beng a god

o government who could gve and take lbertes a

he saw f For many thousands o years kngs

pharaohs, and emperors had been venerated aneven worshped as the source o rghts Few

persons had dared look such deed bengs sragh

n the eye and say Behnd your ermne, velverobes, and amond crowns, you are man no

m ore or less kngly than any one o us Any rght



you ave come rom te same place ours do te

Supreme Beng wo created you And because o

ts we ave gts by brt not by your

dcrees.

Te dea o Godgven not knggven or govern

mntgven lbertes ad sparked te drve or

ndependence and natonood It was te only

reason mportant enoug to cause colonal leadersto pull away rom te protecton o te Engls

empr and to rsk deeat and deat by callengng

te Brts army and navy

HE FIVEMAN COMMTTEE apponted to

prepare te Declaraton o Independence asked

Tomas eerson o Vrna to do te wrtng

Te tall reckled sandyared eson was

known or hs asty o t languag A spakr

e was not n act e adn't attmptd a sngle

spec durng s year n Congress but wt pen

and paper e ad ew euals

For tree weeks te Vrgnan worked dlgently

on te Declaraton usng a portable wrtng desk

e ad nvented Hs lodngs were smple a second

loor parlor and bdroom n te ouse o a

Pladelpha bcklayer

We eeson searced or te exact words to

set te dea o Godven gts beoe te world

te speecmakrs and debaters persuasve menlke on Adams and s cousn Samuel am

mered ome te logc o ndependence to unde

cded and unwllng delegats partcularly rom

Pennsylvana Sout Carolna and New York

Snce eac colony ad a sngle vot determned

by te majorty o ts delegates te task was not to

convnc every delegate but a majorty o eac

colonal delegaton By uly Pennsylvana S outCarolna and even ew ork were Brts snt

ment was strongest looked avorable Te only

delegaton stll n doubt was Delaware wc ad

FO SEOUS SUDENS

What were the s harges the oonsts madeaganst the Kng H ow d o they omar e to the absesof the eete banh o goernment today Make

yor own st and omre them wth the hargessted n the Dearaton. (See age 1 19 of Qus

Hmph. )

W k

remedy the nstes What an we do today

te representatves Tomas McKean and C

sar Rodney wo were or ndependence a

George Read wo elt te move was premature a

would vote no But Rodney was not n Plad

pa He ad been called ome to suelc

proBrts uprsng To make te egtymle r

to Pennsylvana n tme or te uly vote wa

great deal to expect o anyone partculaly a mn Rodneys condton Te ortyegtyear

bacelor suered almost constant pan rom

cancer tat ad spread over al s ac Py

cans ad advsed m to sek treatment n Euro

but e reused to leave te colones n ter c

On te evenng o uly Rodney was rd

toward Pladelpa troug a blndng tund

storm stoppng only long enoug to cange or

at te omes o rends On te mornng o uly

only a w mnuts bor on Hancock P

dent o te Congress called te sesson to ord

Rodney arved at te meetng room weary a

mudsplattred stll sod n boots and spus

HE ROLL CALL vote began Two Penns

vanans wo couldnt brng temselves to vo

yes ad stayed away rom te State Hou

nablng ter delegaton to vote or ndependen

New York declned to vote eter way Sou

Carolna gave n or te sake o unanmty WDelaware was calld Caesar Rodney pulled ms

to s eet to say As beleve te voce o m

consttunts and o all snsbl and nst n

n avor o Independence and my judgme

concurs I vote or Indepndence Te ssue w

decdd Twelve colones ad voted unanmou

or natonood and separaton rom England N

York te colony te Brts ad counted on

vot aganst ndpendenc ad rmand slent

As soon as Les resoluton was adopted Co

gress took up debate on te Declaraton Independence wc erson ad nsed a

Adams Frankln erman and Lvngston

proved ow te arguments began over t spec

words and prases tat eerson ad penn

From uly 2 to te evenng o uly 4, te debwent on untl te document met te approval

llt's look at t nal product t rd

dclaraton tat brougt souts o approval a



te rngng of te Lberty Be n Juy, 776 Tere

are tree man part frt, te reaon for te

Decaaton beng wrtten econd, te eart of te

argument, wc wa te dea of Godgven rt

ntead of Knganted or govementgven ber

te and nay, a t of pecc carge agant

Kng George Here' te openng paaap Dis

tiute copies of the fst to paagaphs to eachmeme of the fam Seeing the os as the ae

ea leaves a moe lasting impact than meel

heang them

hen n the coure of human eent t become neceary for one people to dole

the poltcal band whch hae connected

them wth another and to aume among the

Power of the earth the eparate and equal

taton to whch the Law of Nature and of Nature' God enttle them a decent repect to

the opnon of manknd requre that they

hould declare the caue whch mpel them

to the eparaton

Can you put tat dea n your own word? Wat

te reaon for wrtng te Decaraton? he

anse is that such seous action as eaking aa

fm an estalishe govement equies that an

eplanation e given

Now te econd paragrap, wc te mot

mportant part of te Decaraton, gve te reaon

for ndependencee hold thee truth to be elfedent

Wc mean tat wat to foow are trt

tat oud be obvou to everyone

that all men are created equal

Stop and tnk tat troug Wat te dffer

ence between a men beng created equa and a

men beng equa? Encouage iscusson aout this

impont point f a men are equa, eac woudave te ame taent, tate, and ambton.

Terefore, eac oud receve te ame amount of

money regarde of te ob e a. Beng created

equa ometng very dfferent t a to do wt

our avng qua mportance n te gt of God,

our Creator Te fe of eac peron ut a acred

a te fe of any oter eac a eacty te ame

natura Godgven rgt

Te net prae read: Tat tey are en

dowed by ter Creator wt certan unaena

Rgt

Agan, t goe back to te dea tat rg

come from God and not from kng or gov

ent or predent of te Unted State T

rgt are permanent and cannot be taken aw

wc wat unaenabe mean

Wat are tee Godgven rgt tat are perment? Te net prae te u Lfe, Lbe

and te purut of Happne Wat ng

not mentoned? he ght to a ten thousan o

income hich e have to ok to get he igh

a jo hich e have to seek he ight to t

something that elongs to someone else eve

the govemen t oes the taking calling

taes an gives it to us calling it elfae

Bu t we do ave te rgt to fe and to av

protected A kng or a predent oud not be a

to order u ot or anged becaue we crtcze

acton However, f we deberatey dobey a

for wc we know te penaty deat, ten

fe no onger protected

We ao ave te rgt to berty tat

ead te knd of fe tat we fee w peae

Creator and to purue appne -The e

ton doent guarantee or prome u appne

ocdotaoee. Our

rgt to be abe to work for appne n te w

tat we ee ftTe net entence epan ow tee Godg

rgt are protected t ay Tat to ec

tee rgt Govement are nttuted am

Men, dervng ter ut power from te conen

te goveed

Te enre purpoe of avng a government

any knd to protect not to ve or cang

our Godven rgt

SUPPOS W MOVD to a newydcove

and n te mdde of te Atantc wt ot

fame and began to ave dfference o opn

a to wo owned wat and or ow to make a

cam or were to bud a road and wat de o

to drve on We woud need ome re a

omeone o enforce tem tat wa not on etde of te dpute We woud need a refereetere were many fame vng tere and m

dpute arng, we mgt conder rng a f



im rfr wic w mig call gvmn

Sinc w wuld b paying i rfr r gvrn

mn d jb w wand dn, i wuld b

ur ran T nly pwr i wuld av i

pwr w agrd giv i

Wa wuld w d if rfr w ird

gvrnmn bgan d ing i wa n paid

d? Fr xampl: frbid u driv n radr wn land r frly mv abu Supp i

rand ak ur liv if w diagrd wi

dcr? Encouage eas fom al memes he

smple soluon oul e ehe o ge govemen

ack on he gh ack o he a ne one ha

oul o he jo n he gh a Ti i

way Dclarain pu i

That whenever any Frm f Gvement

becme detructive f thee end it i theRiht f the Peple t alter r t ablih it

and t intitute new Gvernment layin it

fundatin n uch principle and ranizin

it pwer in uch frm a t them ha eem

mt likely t effect their Safety and Happi

ne udence indeed will dictate that Gv

ernent ln etablihed huld nt be

chaned fr liht and tranient caue

I wa bcau Engli gvmn wa

drying Gdgivn libri f clni

in fac i did n vn rcgniz a r wr

uc rg and a r wa n p fr

canging ir King r arliamn ( m vry

man ad bn rid fr mr an n yar) a

mad indpndnc and a nw gvmn nc

ary

T Dclarain n li numbr f wa in

wic King ad akn away libri f

clni and cnclud wi vry lmnwrd: And fr uppr f i Dclarain,

wi a firm rlianc n prcin f Divin

rvidnc w muually pldg to ech r ur

Liv, ur Frun and ur acrd Hnr

Wud ac f yu b willing giv yur lif,

all a yu av uppr ida w av

dicud? u mig l a gra dal Many f men who siged the Delarato dd. Next week

w'll alk abu wa appnd m f m

oncding hogh

T m impran pin rmmbr i

ur rig lif, lbry, and purui

appin ar Gdvn, n gvmngiv

and a w uld nvr lk gvrnmn

givr f rig bu a an agncy w ir

prc m

DURING HE WEEK

s a family roject we recommend urchasing a coy the Declar ation of ndeendence to frame Suroundyour fam il y with isual remi nders of our merican heritareinforces learning archmen reroductions of the Decration are aai able for less than fifty cents

lso recommended for urchase is the book, Th

Signed For Us an outstanding mericanist study bMerle Sincl ai r and nnabel Mcrthur which tel ls more d

tai ls of the sig nng of the Declaration and the fate of tsigners. t is aai lable at most merican Oin ion Bookstor

for $295 or from merican Oinion, Belmont, Masschusetts

OPENNG PARAGRAPHS OF HE

DECLARAION OF INDEPENDENCE

"When in the ourse of human eents it becomes nece

sary for one eoe to dissoe the oitical bands whichae connected them with another, and to assume amon

the owers of the earth, the searate and equa station which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entit them a decent resect to the oinins of mankind requr that they should decare the causes which ime them

the searation"We hod these truths to be selfeident that al men a

created equal , that they are endowed by the r reator wicertain unaienable Rights, that among these are Life, ierty and the ursuit of Hainess. hat to secure therights Goerments are instituted among Men derin

their ust owers from the consent of the goerned. hwheneer any For m o f Goernment becomes destructie these ends, it is the Right of the eole to alter or to abish it and to nstitute new Goernment aying its found tion on such rinciles and organizing its owers in suform as to them shall seem most likey to effect their Saf

ty and Hainess"

For parents who wish to teach their chidren the trmeaing of liberty, responsbiity, and ou Americanheritage.T Fm Htg s publsd by t Movmnt Rsto Dny pot o T Jon Soty T nnu

subspton t s twv dols o tytwo lssons mmonty ndvdul lssons my b pusd n ny untty or cos o o do Addss l odrs d subsrptonsT on Soty 3 Conod Avnu lmont Mssstts © 3 by T on Soty



WePetag .��Sere�

JuneJuy 1 973

A weeky discssio o Ameicast tths a

taditios o those "heis o a the ages who w

have to peseve that most impotat heitace

a - eedom

Witte by Mided Teey HadyEdited by Wais W Wood

Podced by the Movemet To Restoe Decec

a pojec o The Joh Bich Society

Volume I Lesson Sixtee

y g U

LESSON IDEA

he ourage, harater and sarfes of the men whosgned te Delaraton of Indeendene

AAIONPrere ards for eah member of the famly ontanng

the frs two aragrahs of John dams' Snkorswm"seeh See last age.)

* * * *

� GHEN JOHN ADAMS ste New Englne

stoo befoe the econCont inentl Congess to

gue fo inepenence fom Engln he put intowos the thoughts tht must hve been in the

mins of mny of the suppotes of the Decl

tion

Sin o swim live o ie suive o peish

thunee Ams I give my hn n my het

to this vote You n I inee my ue it We

my not live to the time when this Decltion

shll be me goo We my ie ie colonists ie

slves ie it my be ignominiously n on the

scffol

e it so be it so

If it be the plesue of Heven tht my county

shll equie the poo ofeing of my life thevictim shll be ey ut while I o live let

me hve county o t lest the hope of

county n tht fee county

Si befoe Go 1 believe the hou is comeM y

ugment ppoves this mesue n my whole

het is in t All tht I hve n ll tht I m n

ll tht I hope in ths life 1 m now ey hee to

tke upon it n eve off begn tht ive oie suvive o pesh m fo the Decltion t is

my living sentiment n by the blessing of Go

shll be my ying sentiment Inepenence no

n nepenence foeve

Detemintion n bness wee not Am

lone John Hncoc Pesient of the Congews hnsome young bchelo with sizeb

fotune n pice of ve hune pouns on h

he Do you now wht itish poun ws?

s a asc mone unt lke a ollar In colon

times a Bri tish pound equaled three and one-thi

d olas. So the ewad offe ed fo Hancock

capture was approxi mately $1,6 65 - a lar

amount fo that tme If cptue Hnco

woul be tie in Engn fo teson n po

bly hnge No pon ws possible s it ws fothe ebels

YET HANCOCK SIGNED the Decltion o

July 4, 776 - the y it ws ppove b

Congess without hesittion In fct Hncock

nme s Pesient of the Congess n Chl

Thomson's s Secety wee the only signtu

to ppe on the ogin ocument Wen t

Decltion ws enosse on pchment

signe by ll tysix of the Congessionl egtes on August Hncoc jo e bout the lg

she lettes of his signtue John ull (me

ing King Geoge) he si cn e my nm

without spectcles n my now ouble h

ew of £500 fo my he That is my efince

All membes of Coness who signe fo in

penence wee me by the itish fo specvgc o thei fii thi popti

n thei busi nesses The nge ws getest





barracks; his estate on Brooklyn Heights was made

into a Royal Navy hospital. In the months that

followed, he sold the properties he owned in other

parts of the S tate to help maintain the cedit of the

United States. Two years later, in 1 778, he died,

deplete of income and separated from his f amily

THOMAS NELSON, JR. of Virgnia was another

of the wealthy merchants who did not hesitate to

give whatever was required in the ght f or indepen

dence. In 1 775 when the British Navy was threat -

ening to bombard Yorktown Nelson had property

and family in the target area and vast sums o

money in English banks but his reaction to the

threat was bold and decisive

"Let my trae perish he thundered o the

delegates of the House of Burgesses "I call God to

witness that f any British troops are landed in the

County of York of which I am Lieutenant I wilwait no orders but will smmon the milita and

drve the invaders into the sea!

Nelson meant what he said. In October of 1 78 1

when the tide of the war tued in Amerca's favor



te Brts were cornered n orktown under

bombardment rom seventy coona cannons Ne

son knowng tat te ngs were eadquartered

n s ome watced rom te Amercan nes as

te rng began n s own negbrood

Wy do you spare my ouse? e demanded o

a gunner.

Out o respect to you sr" te soder rped.

Gve me te cannon! Neson ordered He

drected te re upon s own statey dweng

Beore te war Neson ad been one o te

rcest men n Vrgna Wen t was over s

ncome was one o te most modest In 1 778 e

rased a company o Vrgna cavary to gt n

Pennsyvana He was ts commander and banker

most o te unds or ts ood unorms and

ammunton comng out o s own pocket In

addton e pad te bs or two oter regmentsone n York and one n Wamsburg. He strpped

s pantaton o ne

untng and carrage orses

to gve to te army ed ungry soders rom s

own granary and negected s tobacco crops to

send saves and tenants to arvest te crops o

sma armers wo were servng n te mta and

ad no red ep

Wen money was desperatey sort Neson

rased two mon doars amost overngt by

oerng s own propertes as a guarantee or te

oans Tese e oreted wen te oans came due.

Hs government never rembursed m At war's

end s eat broken and ortune gone Neson

retred to a sma ouse n Hanover ounty

Vrgna wt s we and cdren. He ded egt

years ater

oncluding hought

Virtually all of the sgners would have been

better o nancay and personay tey never

ad been n ongress O te tysx wo pedgedter ves ter ortunes and ter sacred onor

or ndependence nne ded o wounds or ard

sps durng te war. ve were captured and

mprsoned sometmes brutay treated. Te wves

sons and daugters o oters were ked jaedmstreaed and left pennless. The houes of tweve

sgners were bued to te ground. eventeen osteveryng hey owed Oe wa dive om hi

we's deatbed

very sgner was procamed a trator and eac

was unted by te Brts Most were at one tm

or anoter barred rom ter ames or ome

Most were oered brbes pardons rewards or t

reease o oved ones tey woud break te

pedged word or take te Kng's protecton But n

sgner deected or canged s stand trog t

darkest our Wat dd ter acts o sacrce ancourage gan? In te end onor remaned and

new naton was bo Tat was a tey asked

Looking Ahad

Today we see anoter group o revoutonar

o our country Tey cam to be modern Georg

Wasngtons and Tomas Nesons makng a stan

aganst Amerca just as te sgners o te Decar

ton o Independence dd aganst ngland n 77

Next week we tak about tese mode revou

tonares and see ter cams are true or as* * * * * *

DRNG HE WEEK

Aftr th sson tonght ask ah mmbr of t fam

to mmor al or part of ohn Aams' "Snkorswsph Cars for ths prpos shol b prpar pro th lsson an th qot ajst n lngth to st th aan apabts of th famy Us th nr or rakfaho to tst th mmoraton progrss

OHN ADAM QUOT

nk or swm ve or de survve or pers

gve my and and eart to ts vot e ou anI ndeed may rue tWe may not ve to te tm

wen ts Decaraton sa be made good We ma

de; de coonsts; de saves; de, may b

gnomnousy and on te scaodBe t so be t so

I t b e te peasure o Heaven tat my count

sa requre e poor oerng o my e t

vctm sa be ready But we I do ve me have a contr, or a east the hope of

country and tat a ree country "

For parnt who wih to tach hir crn th trmanin o ir rponiiit an or Aricanhritah F Htg pubhd by h Momnt Ro Dny, pojt of h ohn h oty h nnu

ubpt tv do fo ftto on mmonthy. nddu on my b puhd n ny unyfou op fo on do Add od nd ubpto h John h oty 9 ono Avnu mon, Mtt © 9 by Th John rh oty



WeCami W e rit ag �4h:

SerieuJuly 1973

A wkly dsussn Amanst tuths an

adtns ths hs all th ags wh w

hav t sv that mst mtant nhan

al dm

Wttn by Mldd Tnny HandyEdtd by Wlls W Wd

Pdud by th Mvmnt T Rst ny

Th Jhn Bh Sty

Volum I Lsso Svt

Rr

SSON DA

T o ow t d ffnc btwn Amcan vo tona and ntday voltonit and to xo tfad tat modn bl can b comad avoably w it

o Fonding Fat

PRPARATON

Rvw t dicion at of t on and adat tm to t ndtandng of yo family Fo yong cildncli ict of ntday votionai fom nwa ad magain Coma w t ict of Waing

ton Adam and ot gn of t Dcaaton

* * * * *

SINCE THE TIME of h Amrica Rvolutio

th m who ld it hav b hoord as hros

throughout th world Why do you thk so may

rsos i so may diffrt coutris shar ouradmiratio for Gorg Washigto Joh Adams

Thomas ffrso Joh Hacock, ad othr

Foudig Fathrs? Encouage each chil to an

se_

Prstday rvolutioaris oft claim to b

lk ths Amrica hros I coutry aftr

coutry rbl adrs ar calld Gorg Washig

tos" by thmslvs ad thir admirrs Whywould hs rvolutioais wat to b cosidrd

lik Gorg Washigto?" Do you thik this

woul hl thm attract mor folowrs ad gai

mor suort? Again ask each family meme to

epess an opinion_

Fidl Castro for xaml was itroducd as th

Gorg Washigto of Cuba" to millios ofAmricas who watchd him o tlvisio durig

th Cuba rvolutio Do you cosidr th com

ariso fact or oss? Why? Encouage eve

one to anse Many teenages ill have hea th

compaison in classoom iscussions o conves

tions ith othe stuents Although they kno it

false they may not e pepae to ispove i

Othes may e oneng aou t its valiity

LETS LOOK at Washgto first of all as th

rim xaml of a Amrica ladr of 1776. W

kow of cours, h livd a comoab lif as

latatio owr i coloial Amrica His custom

mars drss ad sch wr attrd af

thos of a Eglish gtlma H ha o hatrd o

thigs Eglish or of th ricils of hosthoor ad fairss that wr art of th civiliz

tio of his day If h had h woud hav rbll

i th styl of Castro or of todays hii

drssig i shabby clothig livig i squalo

stalig from th Kig's officials ad lyig abou

his ittios whvr it suitd his urosCastro as a rbl agaist all of socity did all o

ths thigs Washigto did o Th cod ohoor itgrity tru thfulss ad ustic o

oly of Eglish socity but also of Wstr

Civilizatio wr valus h watd to rsrvot dstroy

Why th if Washigto was ot at war wit

th valus to which th Eglish subscribd did h

lad a army i a war of iddc agas

Britai? Why b iddt of a atio tha

taught its citizs to striv for itgrity truthfu

ss ad utic? What wr Washigto ad thothr rvolutioary adrs agaist Encouag

iscussion Some points that shoul e mae: h



American leaers ere against kingcentere gov

ement not the values of English societ Even

though justice as the goal of English civil la it

as not practice the King or Parliament

HY WAS WASHINGTON agaist Eglads

kigceteed govemet yet ot its code ovaues? A deep eligious covictio was the dete

miig acto He was agaist the Eglish Kig as a

give o libeties because he ecogized that God

was the oly give o ights. He was o the hoo

hoesty ad justice o Eglish society because

such values wee based o Sciptual teachigs

ad tue o all societies ad atios

Casto as a Commuist deied the eistece o

God ad declaed wa o all the eligious values aswll as t gomt o Cuba. yig stalig

ad assassiatio became tools to uthe the goals

o his evolutio Casto believed ad taught his

olowes the ed justiies the meas What

does thi phase mea? Explain the phrase Help

fam memers to unerstan it emolishes al/

stanars o f right an rng ver act is juge in

terms of hether or not it orks not hether it

is ght or rng To Casto it meat lyig,

stealig ad mudeig i act al kids o evil

acts wee ight ad pope i they beeited his

evolutio Do you thik Washigto ad the othe

FO YONG SDNS

If he dscussons n hs esson e beyond heundesndng of he chlden in you fmly weecommend skppng hem nd concenng on hesory of he myhc kingdom of hud Some

uesios you mgh wn o sk fer reding heory

If you hd ived n he counry of hud wouldyou hve oned he ebes of he non of Oppor·uny who were fighing fo feedom? Why?

Wee he yrns who overhrew he k ng hones?Dd hey fgh fly? Who heped hem Coud heyhve ken over he counry wihou he he p of someof he Kings own mnses?

Wh es do you suppose he yns old hepeople o ge hem fghng ech oher?

If you hve been ivng n he kingdom would youhve been more fghened f he yrns killed onyher enemes or if hey hd come down o sreekilng evey fourh peson hey me Why did heydo his?

Ameica evolutioaies believed the ed jus

ties the meas?

Deceit was a paticula Casto speciality Whe

skig this couty o moey ad weapos Casto

assued Ameicas he was ot ad eve had bee,

a Commuist Ate the evoutio he told the

Cuba people ad the wold he was, ad always

had bee a Commuist.Did Washigto o othe Ameica leades ty to

coceal thei motives om Euopea atios du

ig the Revolutio? What did they do to make

thei itetios kow? Point out the American

mo tives for revolution ere simpl an openl

state in the Declaration o f Inepenence Eventu

a France an other European nations aie the

Americans What would have happeed i Casto

had bee as hoest i statig his motives o

evolutio? Would he have eceived Ameica

suppot? Why ot? What did he have to hide?

Make clear that the methos an tactics of

Communists ere ell knon ecause of the

takeovers in other countries Castro oul not

have succeee if he honestl ha state his case

Whe Casto took ove the Cuba govemet

iig squads bega liig up victims. Thousads

wee mudeed as eemies o the evolutio

ot because they had opposed it but because they

wee popety owes o leades who might do so

i the utue. The gaves o wealthy Cubas weeopeed ad eveythig o value stole Chuches

wee closed miistes piests, ad missioaies

totued Bibles destoyed amilies sepaated ood

atioed. Why wee these thigs doe? A fter some

ansers are given ask if these acts of terror oul

encourage or iscourage opposition to the ne

govement? Woul Castros poer e increase or

ecrease? Help famil memers to unerstan

hen life an liert are attacke or people

terrorize the govemen t has ecome a icator

ship no mater hat it chooses to call itsel

WHAT HAENED i Ameica whe the Wa

o Idepedece was wo? Thee wee eemies

o the evolutio to be sue Almost a thid o

the coloists ha mai loyal to gla, a

some had give iomatio to the Bitish that costAmeica patiots thei lies. Wee they le up

beoe iig squads? So me patiots thought it



wold be only far; bt Wahngton a well a

other leader ted a deaf ear to tal of revenge

No pnhment wa legal There wa no conca

ton of property followng vctory Some of the

prorth colont called Tore were badly

treated b neghbor or former frend ome lot

property throgh the ravage of war and wanton

act of hotheaded mlta bt none faced anAmercan frng qad or hangman' nooe In fact

the ontnental one refed to cancel debt

owed to rth merchant and revoltonary

leader le Thoma Nelon r efferon and

Lew Morr men who had empted ther own

pocet to pay the expene of Amercan troop

and ambaador old what lttle remaned of

ther property or poeon to pay ther perona

debt to the rth

At war' end the Amercan revotonare

formed a new government one wth e powerthan any other n htory. Gone wa the throne

that ha been reerved for ng and dctator In

t place wa a legatre a cort ytem and an

exectve branch three eparate enter each

degned to checmate the growth of the other

The rht of the eo e to lfe lberty and the

pt of happne were garanteed n a wrtten

contract caled the onttton owereeer

were hamtrng by the retrcton that were

wrtten nto that htorc docment

It cold have been otherwe Wahngton f he

had whed cold have taen advantage of h

power a the commander of a vctor army toet p a trong central government. Sch wa h

poplarty that many rged hm to become ng.

t he wa not eeng peronal glory or power

Government wa n h word a dangero

ervant and a fearfl mater" an ntrm ent that

hold be regarded wth dtrt and held n chec

S S S DENS

Bc nc ppd mony nd mn o t Amcn Rvoton nd only gt y tdtod own kng mny pop tnk t Amcn nd Fnc Rvoton w m Yt ty w l k t Cbn Rvolton motxct oppot To ndtnd t d tctcnd go o t Fnc voltont w com mnd dng Seeneen Egy-Nne vb oon dol om mot Amc Opno Booktoo om Amcn Opnon Bmont Mctt.

Had he been another atro he wold have

grabbed the opportnty and abandoned h con

vcton

Do yo thn Fdel atro or any of the

preentday revoltonare can be compared favor

aby wth George Wahngton? Why not? Ask

fam memes to compae the to n tems of

moal conuct elefs aout Go popet angovement

What abot the leader of rot n Watt Detrot

and hcago revoltonare le obby Seale

Hey Newton and Angela Dav? Are thee rebe

behavng le atro or Wahngton? Agan ask

fo compasons Casto s methos the en

justfes the means shoul e contaste th

Washngton s honest an faess o ounge

stuents en the lesson th the fol/ong sto

compang to tpes of evolutons

IS STORY of the mythcal ngdom of Thd

mght gve a better dea of the dfference

between the wo type of revol ton Kng Naty

wa the rler of Thd H bject thoght hm a

tyrant and pladed wth h mnter for far and

jt treatment

t Kng Naty ony laghed Let them com

plan" he ad I am the ng and they are my

ervant What I wh hall be law

t n the far corner of the Thd ngdom

troble wa brewng for the haghty ng. After

year of jorneyng to the palace to beg Kng Natyto let them chooe ther own mnter a h father

had done thee dtant bject began to qetonthe Kng athorty.

I he not made of fleh" they ad jt a we

are? Wee we not created at brth wth the ame

rght a he? What mae hm thn he ng and

we are ervan?"

Kng Naty ent h army to pt an end to therebellon t the bject banded together to

defend ther home and famle We want to be

free to pre the lfe lberty an d happne that

are or rght from or reator they told hm

And we are wllng to fght yor army and de f

neceary for or freedom

Fght they dd for eght long year an d fnallythey won The rebel eaders ormed a new naion,

called Opportnty tzen were choen to mae



th laws and Oppotunty bgan to gow and

posp Oth popl lft th homs n Thud to

com to th nw naton and lv as f mn

Manwhl n th palac of Kng Naty anoth

goup of bls som of thm mnts of th

Kng bgan to mt plottng to tak ov th

kngdom Nothng n Thud plasd thm vy

thing thy dcdd must b changd Only thnthy sad would pac gn and vyon b

happy

Wth mony and potcton fom th Kngs

mnsts th bls movd fom cty to cty tllng

th popl such ls that soon all w qualng

No on notcd that Kng Nasty was thown n th

dungon and th bls now known as Tyants

took ov hs palac

On t fst day n pow th Tyants od

though th countysd collctng guns Th sd

thy wantd to kp th svants of th kngdomfom ghtng ach oth Ths would bng pac

thy sad

Wth all th popls guns stod n th palac

th Tyants dmandd th popl gv up th

land houss shops and factos Som fusd so

vy fouth pson n th kngdom was klld Th

fghtnd popl quckly gav up th popty

and possssons Now vythng bongd to th

Tyants Soon th popl of Thud w focd to

jouny to th palac to bg fo a plac to lvfood to at and clothng to wa

Y ou a now ou slavs th Tyants told th

hungy popl and w wll gv you food only f

you wok fo us makng thngs w can sll to mak

us ch

vyon was snt to wok n th flds and

factos ach was gvn a gy sut o wa and

on potato ach monng to at May popl tid

to lav th county but th Tyants ult an on

wall aound t and shot thos who cam na Kng

Nasty was hangd and th Tyants uld thpopl of Thud as slavs

Wh would you choos to lv n th naton of

Oppotunty o n th county of Thud? Why?

Ask each memer of the famil h he oul

choose as he i Depening on the age of the

chilren eplain in more etail ho the reelion

that prouce the nation of Opportunit as like

the revolution that create America Also compare

the suversive techniques of the rants in hu

to Castro i Cua an to the Bo Seales an

Hue Netons in our countr toa ]

oncluding Though

Washngton and th lads of th Amca

Rvoluton w bllng aganst th fom o

govnmnt that gav a kng unlmtd pow t

ul as f h w God whl psntday volutonsts a attmptng to dstoy ou nt

socty and all of ts lgous valus Unlk Fd

Casto who blvd th nd jus ts th mans

ths Amicans w mn of hono and ntgt

who catd a nw govnmnt and lmtd

pows to pvnt th s of a dctatoshp

Nxt wk w want to tak a clos look at th

lf of on o f th gnals of th Amica

Rvoluton

Fo paens who wish o teach thei cien he tmean of bety esponsbity an o Ameanheitae

T Fy H s otstann ees weeky esson fo the home, witten to stimate intee

and spak dscssion abot the eacy we have eceivedT Fy H is fo a paents wth shoo-aen It se to be ae by a Ameans whpaticipate in its Heitae Ho iscssions, an wod especiay weomed as a ft.

H S i pubid by t ovmt TRtor ccy, proct o T Jo Birc Socity. T u

ubcriptio rt i twv dor or tytwo o mioty Idividu o y b purcd i y tity o cop or o dor. Addr ordr d ubcriptio T Jo Bic Socity 5 Cocord Avu Bmot, c

t 02178 © 7 by T o Bic Socity



W e Paeritag erie§

September 973

A weeky disussi Ameriis ruhs

rdiis r hse "heis he ges wh wi

he resere h ms imr iherie

- reedm.

Wrie y Midred Teey Hdy

Edied y Wis W Wd

Prdued y he Meme T Resre Deey

re The h Birh Siey

Volume I Lesson Twentyou

The Constitutional Conventio

ESSON EA

To sow ow deleaes from een searae adsscos saes nally areed o a nqe orm of

overnmen wc wod roec e rs of e mores w le be n far o maores.

PREPARATON

ead e wo secons of Your Rugged Constitution

descrbed n rn Te Week ad decde wc woldbe mos arorae for yor am ly o sdy follo wn slesson.

* * * * *

H ATMOSPHR WAS TS nd tempers

were touchy when delegates began to arrve n

Phladelpha n May of 1 787 to decde how to

revse the Artcles of onfederaton. Some felt

strongly that the Artcles should be forgotten not

revsed. Others were determned to accept nothng

more than mnor revsons of the Artcles ach

suspected the others of wantng to favor ther own

states or busness nterests at the expense of therest of the country. Men from the Southern States

for exampl e thought th e New ngladers would

be nterested only n protectng ther manufacturng nterests. Whle the Massachusetts men hadthe same uneasy feelngs about the Vrgnans and

ther plantaton culture. Delegates from small

states mstrusted those from the large states

fearng that ther ndependence would be threat

ened by the sze and nuence of the bgger

delega tons Those of lke mnd gathered n small groups At

some dnner tables the dscusson centered on the

phlosophy of ocke the hstory of Greece an

the laws of Rome. At others debates raged on how

many reforms people would accept and wha

compromse measures could be adopted.

H ONVTIO whch began on May

1 787, coud have bec ome a frutless effort n fa

tonal debate nstead t became one of the maj

events of hstory. One o f the reasons was the unan

mos choce of George Washngton as presdng ofcer Washngton's farness hs patence n hearn

all sdes of an ssue and hs skll n preventng se

ous dsagreements from turnng nto fata battl

guded the delegates through four months of meengs to a fnal consensus n September

At the very start of the onventon Washngto

ade bref but powerful speech Wth a fe

wellchosen words he stopped all talk of wea

compromses and avodng major ssues because

fear o f publc reacton

It was etrely possble sad the former om

mandernhef that n o plan [ of governmen

we propose wl be adopted Perhaps anoth

dreadful conflct s to be sustaned If to please th

people we offer what we ourselves dsapprove hocn we afterward defend our work? Let us rase

standard to whch the wse and the honest ca

repar the event s n the hands of God"

Washngtons words remnded the delegates

the serousness of ther task Suggestons of com

pomse mesures and advce to avod major ssu

were forgotten.The frst few days of meetngs were devote

to establshng rules for the onvento



On was to dbat n scrt until th dlgats

rachd a fnal dcison. Today narly 200 yars

latr many librals who ridcul th Constituton

and suggst rlacing it with som ty of social

stc ols rublic rtnd to bliv th

Philadlhia dlgats wr all rich and slfish mn

who mant to stablish a govmnt which would

hl thm gt richr at th xns of h ctiznsthy rrsntd. Th scrcy rul say th librals

rovd th dlgats wr trying to hid thir tru

intntions. his ln of rasonng has svral srious

aws. Dos anyon know what thy ar

[Discuss secrec in govement as it is practice

toa such as the secrec of Presient Nixon in

keeping White House conversations about Water

gate from the public or the secrec b govement

officials in traing ith Communist nations hich

supplie our enemies in Vietnam he secrec of

these ecisions as to be permanent; hoever the

secrec rule of the Constitutional Convention as

to last onl unt the meeting ene ts purpose

as to allo elegates to iscuss all tpes of

government from monarch to emocrac ithout

fear of being quote publicl in the rong a an

at the ng time Dai nes healines like

Convention Argues Merits o f Monarch oul

have totall misle the aiting public an create

unnecessar fear t is one thing or electe

officials to keep govement ecisions foreversecret from the public an quite another to keep

ebates secret onl until a finishe plan can be

submitte to the people fo appoval or isap

provalWhn th dlgats to th Philadlhia Convn

tion bgan to dbat th ty of govrnmnt bst

suitd to thir infant nation thy had thr lansto consdr th Virgina lan th Hamilton lan

and a third roosal for mnor changs n th

xistng Articls o f Confdratio n.

� VIRGNIA PLAN which was rsntd by

dmund Randolh roosd much mor cntral

ization of owr n a fdral govrnmnt than th

dlgats fnally acctd Thr wr othr d

fcts and aftr thorough considration t was

rctd Th sam fat was in stor for Hamlton'slan which rovidd for mor cntralization of

owr than th Virgna Plan and vn th stab

lshmnt of a nw monarchy. Hamilton had ro

osd that rsidnts b lctd for lif Th thir

lan making rvisions in th Artcls of Confdra

tion was also dbatd at lngth and rctd.

As th dbats and dscussions continud th

dlgats from small and larg stats from Nort

and South larnd to rsct ach othrs oin

ions Washington's scial ty of ladrsh hradinss to listn his willngnss to allow vr

dlgat to xrss himslf at lngth and hi

atinc in rmitting a dlgat to ron th

sam subjct as many tims as h wishd ths

qualits also had a noticably good ffct on th

Convntion. Charls Cotsworth Pinckny from

South Carolina was on of thos who notd th

chang in attitud I will confss h wrot

that I had rjudics against th astrn Stat

bfor I cam hr but hav found thm a

libral and candid as any man whatvr. [A

liberal of the 1700s as a man ho value

iniviual freeom especiall freeom from

govement ictates he toas liberal favor

more govement controls hich he calls progres

sive thinking at the expense of iniviual fre

oms]Th dlgats had gnrally acctd th art o

th Virginia Plan which dividd govrnmnt ow

into thr ars Who can nam ach of ths thr

arts? Ys on was th lgslatv branch whicwould mak th laws Th scond was th xcu

tiv to nforc th laws And th third was th

udicial to intrrt th laws according to th

Constitution Th major disagrmnt was on thqustion of rrsntation n th national lgisl

OR SRIOUS STUDNTS

A trstig stdy i t istory of govrmtsfrom acit to modr tims ca b od i The

Manspring Of Human Progress by Hry rady

Wavr Wavr asks ts stios: Wat as mad

som atios stagat or log priods o timwitot makg ay progrss watsovr wil Amricas trasformd a wildrss ito t mostprospros ad prodctiv atio i t world lss

ta yars? How do yo xpla i t di frc?Wat dd is t masprig (or prim movr) ofm a progrss?

Mnng Hmn ogss s aai al i

a attractiv paprbod ditio or i tyiv ctsrom mos Amrica io oostors or rom Amrica Opi io mot Massacstts 2 8



te The irginia eegation was aamant that

reesentation sho be base on oation Bt

the smaler states feare they wo be totaly

ominate in sch a sitation an refse to agree.

t seeme lie a hoeess eaoc

Lets iscss the elegates ilemma by sing a

secific eamle oting on an increase in taes

f or state ha ony si otes to ew orsthirtynine or aifonias fortythree, wo it be

fair fo s to be otote by ew or an

aifornia simy becase they ha more eole

an more reesentaties Why not What are the

angers of sch majority re s the majority

always right [Explain the dangers to minorities of

majority rule. The Amish, for example constitute

a ver small percent o f our population With a

culture different from the mjorit, the would

lws be outvoted nd conceivabl might not be

permitted live in their chosen wa Suppose as a

farfetched exmple that the majorit decided to

eliminate or imprison all redheded people or

Lutherans or Baptists How could these minorities

be protected against the majorit?]

SHNGTO RW TTTON to theinherent weaness of arbitrary majority re ny

system which wol ermit a majority to imose

its wil on a minority, he warne, wol iolate the

ery rights roclaime in the Declaration of ne

enence Two years before the onention he

ha oose sch maority le" in irginia

when the Hose of Brgesses was consiering a ta

on a ersons, regaress of thei faith, to sort

the iscoa hrch. lthogh the iscoal

hch was the largest chrch in irginia an was,

in fact, the chch to which Washington belonge,

he strongy oose the measre arging that sch

a ta wo be nfair to the membes of other

faiths. Liewise, at the onstittional onentionhe wo not sort his fellow irginians in their

emans tha both banches of the Legislatre

Hose an Senate be organize on the basis of

oation

t was a thorny oblem so seios that all

attems to form a new goement wol colase

if it wee not soe. Bt how co it be resoleto every elegates satisfaction f the smal stateswo not toeate the stct majoity e o

, ' .

ROER SHERMA ator o t roosal wc sov t qsto o a rrstato Cogrss, s t oma wo a t rvlg o sgg all or o t gr ocmts o Amrcas arly story s wr t A tcls o Assocato o t st Cottal Cogrss, tDcarato o I c t Artcls o Coratoa t Costtto

ose by the large states, neither wol the mor

ensely settle states agree to roosals by the

smaler breten that each state be gien the sam

nmber of otes. On a ta isse, for eamle th

larger states wol be aying moe becase the

wo hae more taabe citizens yet their o

wol be eqal to the smallest state who

citizens wo ay onl y a faction of te s

neee to finance goernment This is the sitatio

in which we n orseles in the Unite Nation

en thogh we are assesse twentyfie ercent the UN bget eey year, or ote is eqal to th

ote of scores of mininations which ay ittle o

nothing.

The nal soltion to the robem of fa

reresentation for al states ha been roose t

the eegates at the stat of the conention an

om tly forgotten t one o f the rst meeting

Roge Sheman of onnectict h sggestebasing the membeshi in the Hose of Reresent



ties on olation an organizing the Senate with

eal otes for eery state. The elegates ha

rejecte the iea Two months later howeer

attites ha change reconceie ieas ha been

moie by ebate new thoghts an new ways

of iewing goernment ha begn to tae root an

the fiftyfie elegates were willing to reconsier

Shermans nie roosal t mst hae seeme tosome to be a last resort the only way ot of a

hoeless ealoc ctally it was a aring sol

tion to the ageol roblem of rotecting minor

ities wile being fair to majorities n the Senate

each state wol hae the same nmber of otes

no matter how large or small; in the Hose of

Reresentaties reresentation wol follow o

lation one oting member for eery thirty tho

san citizens ach branch of the legislatre wol

hae secial owers an each was esigne to

chec an balance the otherThe ote on Shermans roosal was not nani

mos bt his iea was finally accete by all. The

ealoc was broen an the wor of the eleates

moe to a iscssion of salaries ties terms of

office rae slaery an cort systems o ecision

was eer ic or simle Sity otes or eamle

were taen before the onention col ecie on

a meth of selecting the Presient t the atti

te of the elegates ha change from ssicon

an hostility to consieration an conciliation

The fnal roct of for months of concerte

effort by some of the eenest mns on the

merian ontinen was reay or its bli

unveiling on September 1 7 , 1 787. Citizens from

northern Main to southern Georgia were to

scrutinize the proposed Constitution line by line

from Preamble to inal paragraph. They were

encouraged to examine it sentence by sentence and

phrase by phrase Ministers and diplomats from all

over Europe studied it carefully As years passed,

the Constitution sto od the test of time b etter thanany other similar document in th e history of the

world. Wil liam E Gladstone, Prime Minister of

England in the 1 800's , echoed the verdict o f many

when he called it , "th e greatest work of its kind

ever trned out by the mind and purpose of man."

Cod o

When the ityie eegates met in hiaelha

in May of 7 8 7 they were as iie in thoght

an as SUSPCOUS of each other as any gro

men col be b t after for months of ebate

iscssion ner the leaershi of George Washi

ton they emerge as a gro nite in a comm

rose. ogether they ha hammere ot

written contract for a aring new system

goernment which garantee freeom fairne

an oortnity to the eole they reesentThe elegates scceee in eeing goernm

ower within roer an wellefine bonar

Look Aead

Net wee well see how this written contr

calle the onstittion limite the ower

goernment by iiing it incororating caref

lanne checs into it an conining its athor

to secic areas Most goernments fnction

the theory that they may o anything they wish

any area of blic life ness seciically rohite by some legislatie act The merican goe

ment o n the other han was esigne to ee

electe oficials from oing anything in any a

nless secically instrcte to o so by t

onstittion n what a crcial ifference it w

URING H W

Cot t sty of t Consttton sst wk T qrmnts for com a Snato o

mmr of Hos of Rprstatvs ar scrpas 4 to 33 of Yur Rugged Cttu w

t wrs ra t to t lslators ar xpla o pa6 to 9 . Pc wcr scton s most trstnyor famy a ask val mmrs to ra a part scton ac ay an xpla t to otrs rn r o

Fo paen wo wi o ea e ilden e

eanng of ibey eponbiiy and o Aeiaheiage

Fy H an oandng eeweey en o he hoe wien o lae neand pa dion abo e egay we ave eeived

F S s ublshed by he MovemenResoe Deency a roe o The John ch Socey The an

subsro ae elve dollar or yo leo mohly. dvdual lessos may be uhased any ua

o coes o oe doar ddess al orders ad subsrohe Joh rch Socey oncod ve ue emo t, Maases © by The ohn rh Socey



WerCertag Sere§

Seteber 3

A weeky discussio o Amecas uhs a

adios o hose hes o all he ages who w

have o eseve ha mos moa heace o

al - eeom

Wie by Milded Teey Hady

Edied by Wallis W Wood

Poduced by he Moveme To Resoe ececy

a oec o he Joh ich Sociey

ole I , Lesson Twen tyi

Cecks And Balances

ESSON EA

o sow ow e Consiuon ou a om lelaicewok of cecks an alances was secificaly e·sine o een e m suse of oenmen owe

PEPAAONMae enou coies of e Wasinon qoe on ae

fou o siue o �ac meme of e famiy afe islesson. Suy e secion of Your ugged Constitution

suese n Duin e Week an ecie ow o use ifo ome suy

* * * * *

H OSTTUTO o the Unte States

which was aote by the thirteen ormer British

colones create a niqe system o goernen tshoce the rlers o roe rom the to o their

crowns to the ts o ther jewele ngers eer

they sa ha goernment been so baly treate.

The mercans they storme ha ct ts

ower e t nto arts an chece an

conterchece each art aganst the other They

ha hamere t an hamstrng it ntl it looe

le a gant hellessly inne to the gron byillons o small roes. How i they eect t toncton

Why was the onstittion sch a shoc to the

rlers o roe Why nt they aot a slarocment or ther contres coue evey

oe o ive opiio

oernment in the mins o ngs an cort

nsters was eant to be nlite in ower an

able to amble abot the contry oing as it lease

wth ts sbjects t was n the hikg o kgs a

iine owerhose whch they hae been aoint

e to hea as earthly abassaors or o Himsel

Shol ther menal sjects ail to arecate the

ngs ealte oston as sorces o all wsom

hysical orce lie arental sclne was

orer Oten ths eant rng sqas gllotnehangmens nooses rison terms an beatngs

may neer hae occrre to some rlers that sc

reasonng was nonsense an ecse to coer the

own lsts or ower. ertanly the eole who ha

been beaten an mrsone ha no sch elsion

NTHR eorge Washington. He we

nerstoo the tenency or goernment to wo

sh tsel an brtally msse ts owers oern

ent" he sa emhatcally s not reason; t not eloqence t s orce Le re t is

angeros serant an a earl master"

o yo thin Washngtons escriton wa

accrate Why he comare goernment to re

Why s re a angeros serant When s t a ear

master coue discussio Mke sue evey

oe udesads ha al-poweful oveme

such s Nazism i Gemy o Commuism i h

Sovie Uio is as feaful a mase o i sujecs a

a ai foes fie Also make he poi h eve

whe o veme is held i check s h

Ameica oveme was ude he Cosiio

fo may yeas i is like a bofie Whe i seve

s a ecessy souce of he ad lih i c

quickly become a foes fie if lef uaeded a

uchecked

Le Washington many o the onstittionaCoveo eegaes wae o a o ea

another earl master" to be ae to th



governments o the worl. hey believe govern

ment shol be a servant o the citizenry a legal

apparats which col act as a reeree between

inivials an grops eeping the rles air an

the game clean or each citizen to enjoy reeom in

his own way n while it was not esigne to

protect an inivial rom the olly o his own

mistaes it was intene to protect the nationagainst threats rom oreign powers

et creating a eeral government with even the

minimm o power was a angeros aventre as

Washington ha inicate Power, in any antity

oes strange things to the men who hol it s

Lor cto n ha so sccinctly phrase t Power

tens to corrpt ; absolte power corrpts abso

ltely" Or oning athers beleve it was

entirely possible or the champions o reeom in

to ecome the ictators o the 1 00s i givn

nlimite power not to mention what col

happen 1 00 20 0 or 300 years later nowing this

the elegates to the Philaelphia onvention estab

lishe a nie constittional system which enie

power to everyone ncling themselves

� SR to limiting the power o gove

ment was to esign it so that no part o it was

concentrate in one place or the se o one man

or a small grop o men. his is why theonstittion ivie eeral power into three

maor parts legislative to mae the laws

eective to enorce the laws an icial to

interpret laws accoring to a written onstittion

HE SES SDEN

F ind out more abot the mn who attnded the

Constttonal Conventon Bref descrptons and

its f t f th mst mit lgts

ncluded n Quest Of A Hemsphee, pages 0through 86 Some questions that mght be of

nteest ncl de: Wh ch delegate had the dstin cton of

bng the o nly man who signed a ll four of the gat

docmnts of Ameria's arly hstoy? How many of

the delegates had foght n the Revolutoary War?

How many were lawyers? What was the averge age of

the delgates? Who was the oldest? The yougest?

Quet Of A Hemsphee by Donzella Cross Boyle is

avalable at most Amecan Opinion Bookstores o

fm m in, Bmt, Msshustts,

0 8 $00 Habnd; $00 Paebond.

ach branch they hope wo ealosly gar it

own powers an ee the other two at bay

ongress wol chec the Presient the resen

wol chec ongress an the eeral cort

wol chec both an be chece in retrn

EXL HOW DOS this wor Sppose th

Presient wante to bil a thosanroom man

sion with golplate wals an iamon oor

nobs. s a ing or emperor or espot he col

mae his esire nown to his cort in the morning

an in the aternoon ispatch his ta collectors o

hs army, to tae the money or his pleasrabl

palace by orce rom the citizens. Bt as the hea

o the eective branch o the merican govern

ment he col o nothing more than sen h

reest to the leslative arm o government an

as it to please pass a bill to rase the sms neee

or his pleasre palace.Hs problem wo be ae even ore ii

clt becase all bils nvoving money have to pas

the Hose o Representatives irst t is in

this partclar ass em by that the legislators armost sympathetc to tapayers or the peopl

who wol pay the bills or any propose legisla

tion he reason is simply that tapayers ar

voters an voters ecie elections an every two

years m em bers o the Hos e o Representativehave to please the voters or be replace by

someone who can. Moreover, even thogh th

plics memory is short it can generally remem

ber or two years how its electe representative

vote on money isses. Senators on the othehan have a siyear term an the tapayers

wrath sally cools an aes in that length o

time. hs the ramers o the onstittioecie all money ills mst originate in th

Hose o Representatives

Bt sppose or some strange reason the Hoso Representatives i ecie to pass the resient

reest or a thosanroom mansion with go

pate wals an amon oornobs t wol

then have to win the approval o the Senate wher

two men ro every Stat e have a vot e. s t iey

yo t hin that more than hal o the 435 men in th

Hose o Representatives an more than ha o th

one hnre Senators a minimm o 2 electe

legislators wol agree to sch an otanis



reest Wy not s tere any way te Presient

o ore Congress to grant is wis

Make i clea he Pesiden has no oe unde

he Consiuion o essue Congessen ino

voing his a Bu if he is a an of fe o no

inciles he can use such acics as blacka o

bibe Fo exale he a hie invesigaos o

dig u scandalous gossi abou indiidual legislaos and heaen o ake such infoaion

ublic Then again he can offe one o favos

a fedeal gan o he Congessan's hoe on

fo exale He can oise eesenaies a

oinens as abasados o diloas in foeign

counies o highaing jobs in one of he an

goeen bueaus An of hese ises ould

ceainl be eing o a Congessan ehas

so uch so ha he ould decide o oe as he

Pesiden ished kno ing ha if he ee defeaed

in he nex elecion a glaoous ne job ould be

aiing fo hi in he execuive banch of gove

en

How o sh bamai an bribery be

stoppe The anse is o elec hone en ho

ae no subjec o blacka and ho ould

ulic denounce aes a bibe} Then kee

he ale o hei duies b close scuin Eeal

igilance b each axae is he ice of

feedo

H CHCK ND BLNC o te U

onstittion aso eep onges r eveoping

esions o aner ppose, or eampe Congress passe a aw recing a newyeecte Presi

ents saary to one oar per year an enying

im the igt to ave more tan two cabinet

oicers to assist him in eecting te aws o the

an is wo be a eibeate attept to tea

power rom the eective branh o government

an inrease that o the egisative Co it beone Wy not Exlain ha he Pesiden has

he Consiuional igh o eo an bil b efusing

o sign i Wihou he chief execuie s signaue

no bill can becoe la unless i goes back

hough Congess and is assed again b o-hids

of he eesenaies and ohids of he Sena

os This checks he oe of Congess and

evens has and unise acions b eihe he

legislaos o b he Pesiden

ppose on te other an bot ongress an

the Presient want to reate tites o nobiity o

themseves. Te Presient migt sbmit a bi

reiring everyone to a im His Maesty an

te ongress migt agree to this provie t

Presient wo si a bi giving eah Congressma

the tite o ar" Te two branes o govern

ment wo be onspiring against te citizens treate a monachy in meria o this happen

Wy not Exlain ha he Consiuion secifi

ll fobids he ganing of an ile of nobi

Thus he oosed la even hough assed b

boh Houses of Congess and signed b h

Pesiden ould be declaed illegal b he judic

a banch he edeal cous hose job i is

inee las accoding o he Consiuion

hR R MN oter hes bit into th

Constittion or eam pe te Presient as th

power to mae treaties with oreign nations b

eac treaty mst have the approva o twotirs o

te enators present in ongress to bec ome eec

tive e Presient can appoint anyone e choose

to ertain hig positions in the eective branc

o government bt te appointments are no

vai i the enate isapproves he Congres

can pass any w it ies bt any itize

who ees s a aw is iega an appea to tjiciary branch (the corts an ave te onstit

tionaity o te aw teste The Presient is t

ommanerinie o te naton army an nav

bt ony Congress an ecare war Te eec

tive branch o te government spens money b

ony i ongress says so Members o the jicia

branc are appointe or ineinite perios o tim bt any one o the jges an be remove rom

oice at any time by te ongress i he is on

gity o treason, bribery or oter igh cimes an

misemeanors This same is tre or te appointemembers o e eective branch

Consiering a these checs an baances b

tween the tree brances o government w

wo ave to say the ramers o t onstittio

create the most cmbersome an ineiien

government mecanism ever pt into operatio

n they meant to o so e men wo wore siigenty in Phiaephia ring the smmer o

1 8 were thining o or ie, iberty an prs



of happiness Their chief concern was not with the

efciency of government but with the freedom of

each and every citizen .

If they had wanted the most efficien t" govern

ment on earth, what would they have created?

[Ask for opinions. ] Yes, it would have been a

dic tatorship , because laws under such an unre

stricted government can be ma de each morn ing

aer breakfast and executed before lunch. No one

checks or balances a des pot ; no one dares. But

under such efficient" systems, the rights and

liberties of the individual rapidly wither and

disappear. Which would you prefer? [ Encourage

everyone to answer. ] Would the opposite extr eme

anarchy, or no government be better?

Cncludng Thought

To sum up our lesson, the Consttutional dee

gates steered a balanced course between the anar

chy which threatened the thirteen independent

states under the Articles of Confederation, and the

eficient, fastmoving, brutal operation of a mon

arch or despot What they created was a servant

a government loaded with limitations and restric

tions calculated to prevent it from using its power

to destroy what it was created to preserve. The

Framers of our Constitution made sur the rights

of each citizen would be protected not only againstother men, but also against the power of govern

en t itself.

Looking Ahead

When the Constitutional Convention adjourned,

one o f the ctzens who was watng outsde the

Phaepha State House, anx ously asked Ben

jamn Frank n, What knd of government have

you gven us, a republic or a monarchy? "

I'We have gven you ," the weary a n d aged

deegate reped, a repub c - f you can keep t . "

What d o you thnk Frank n meant when he

d, f you can ke ep t "? What s a repub c and

why shoud t be so had to keep? These are the

questons that we ' try to answer next week when

we tak about the dfference between a republic

and a democracy.

DRING HE WEEKHave fam i ly membes memor ze Washington's famo

quote abo ut the danges of goven ment. Use te d n n

ho ur to test the memori zaton progess of each

einforce the dea , you may a lso want to pi nt th e quotelarge letters on a 5 by 8 "card or a sheet of white papand post o the fam ly bu letn board o nea ttelephone.

Continue the sect ion by sect ion study of Your Rugg

Constitution, stat ing w ith Atcle " on duties powean d requ irements for the executive branch. (See pages through 1 4 1 of Your Rugged Constitution by Bruce aEsthe F nday $2 45 paperbound avai abl e at moAmerican O p no n Boo kstores or from Amercan Op ino

Bel mont , Massachustts, 021 78.)

WASH INGTON'S QUOE

"Government is not reason ;

it is not eloquence;

it s force! Like fre,

it s a dangerous seantn a fearfu master.

s

For parents who wish to teach ther chidren the trmeaning of liberty, responsibity and or Americanheritage.

The Family Heritage Seri is an otstanding series weeky essons or the home, written to stimlate interand spark disssion about the egacy we have received

The Family Heritage Seri is for all parents with school-acldren. It is sure to be valed by all Americans w

paticipate in its Heitage Hor discussions, and wold

especiay wecomed as a ft

The Family Heritage Series s published by the Movemen

Restore Deceny, a project of The John Birch Society . h ann

subsripton rate s twelve dollars f or fty-wo lessons, ma

onthy. Individual essons may b prchasd in any qantty

for copes for one dollar. Address orders ad subscrptons

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Documents

Family Heritage Series on the Declaration and Constitution