|
The U.S. Constitution Page
"... All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void..."
--Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (2 Cranch) 137 (1803).
- "If the Constitution is to be construed to mean what the majority at any given period in history wish the Constitution to mean, why a written Constitution?"
- --Frank J. Hogan, President, American Bar Assn. (1939)
"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."- --U.S. Supreme Court (339 U.S. 382,442)
[ Original Intent ] [ Federalist Papers ] [ Powers of the Federal Government ] [ Read the Documents ]
On ORIGINAL INTENT...
It was - typically still is - a fundamental maxim of law to determine the intent of the authors of a statute before attempting to apply it.
- Founder Noah Webster "Not only misinterpretation but even serious error can result when original meanings are ignored."
- Justice Joseph Story's father (was an 'Indian' at the Boston tea party) founder of Harvard law School, called the foremost of Amerian legal writers, Supreme Court Judge - "The first and fundamental rule in the interpretation of all instruments [documents] is to construe them according to the sense of the terms and the intentions of the parties."
- Justice James Wilson - one of only Founding Fathers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, second most active member of the Constitutional Convention, speaking 168 times, original Supreme Court justice, co-author of America's First Legal Commentaries on the Constitution - "The first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to discover the meaning of those who made it."
- Thomas Jefferson - President - "On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable on in which it was passed."
- James Madison - I entirely concur in the proprietary of restoring to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the Nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. And if that be not the guide in expounding it, there can be no security for a consistent and stable, more then for a faithful, exercise of its powers
what a metamorphosis would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology were to be taken in its modern sense.
- Noah Webster, first to call for the Constitution Convention, responsible for the copyright and patent protection clause in the Constitution, compiled the first dictionary defining over 70,000 works, and a master of language learning over 20 languages In the laps of two or three centuries, changes have taken place which in particular passages
. Obscure the sense of the original languages
The effect of these changes is that some words are
being now used in a sense different from that which they had
[and thus] present wrong signification or false ideas. Whenever words are understood in a sense different from that which they had when introduced
mistakes may be very injurious.
TOP
How can the 'common citizen' determine the Founders' Original Intent, in authoring the U.S. Constitution?
The Federalist Papers -
The Papers were written in the words, the spirit, and the 'flavor' of the times.
The Federalist Papers are, as expert Clinton Rossiter once said, "... the most important work in political science that has ever been written, or is likely ever to be written, in the United States." Their impact on American life is incalculable.
The Papers were written to encourage ratification of the new United States Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. They appeared in New York newspapers between the end of the Constitutional Convention in September, 1787, and New York's vote to ratify the Constitution the following spring. Any encyclopedia can provide a deion of what happened there and the details of how the Papers came to be written. Scholarly treasures on the text, meanings, problems and misinterpretations are abundant.
TOP
Powers of the Federal Government
John Marshall, constitutional scholar, third Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme court held the view that power sought by government had to be specifically stated or expressly implied in the Constitution before they could be taken. Section 8, Powers Delegated to Congress lists 20 and only 20 powers. Marshall said; When the Constitution is silent on a power and it is not incidental to another power, nor is it an expressly implied power, it is a prohibition [inhibition of that power].
Principle from the Preamble this Constitution is designed to promote those practices and policies which shall be for the general welfare of the whole nation.
This provision, according to Cleon Skousen, PhD anticipates the Right of Americans to have its government serve the welfare of the people in their collective needs that is, their General welfare - and not use the resources of the people for the benefit of certain states or certain people, which would be Special welfare.
The Term general welfare was used in the Articles of Confederation and elsewhere in State charters to refer to the well being of the Whole people. One of the most objectionable elements of other forms of government was the discriminatory manner in which favors and privileges were extended. It was fundamental therefore to a Constitutional Republic that the national government administer its power without prejudice, discrimination,. Or favoritism. The Founders did not want the power and resources of the Federal government to be used for the special benefit of any one region or State. Nor were the resources of the people to be extended for the benefit of any particular group or special class of citizens.
In 1999, Representative Ellen Tauscher Democrat Congresswoman from California, is quoted as saying -
the Constitution is like my old blue dress
it doesnt fit anymore.
-
[So much for words we pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor
So much for the oath of office to support the Constitution and support the state Constitution as well!]
- TOP
We, of Restoring America , invite you to continue your 'furthering education' by visiting our links to the actual documents and the men who produced them.
Read about ...
|
|
TOP
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, government education, political, human rights, economic, republic Vs. democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
web pages produced for RestoringAmerica.org by:
©2001 The CustomCode Group, All Rights Reserved.
Hosted by ThoughtProcess.net
|
