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The Constitutional Literacy Project
“The liberties of our
country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all
hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have
received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they
purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and
blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an
everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is,
if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a
struggle, or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing
men.” – Samuel Adams
Many Americans know the
preamble to the United States Constitution and the second paragraph of the
Declaration of Independence. They also may be able to recite at least some
of the enumerated Bill of Rights. But few know these documents are
considered our Founding Documents, documents that carry equal importance in
the creation and execution of our government. Even fewer understand the
principles, history and philosophy surrounding the creation of these
remarkable documents. To be an American is to understand and to have a
reasonable commitment to the ideas in America's founding documents. |
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A Constitution
"Let it [the Constitution] be taught in
schools, seminaries and in colleges; let it be written in primers, in
spelling books and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit,
proclaimed in legislative halls, enforced in courts of justice. In short,
let it become the political religion of the nation." -- Abraham Lincoln
When writing the US Constitution, reliable
evidence shows that the Framers relied on their understanding of political
teachings, drawing from contemporary influences and past history. However,
perhaps of equal importance, was the religious influence on the political
writings of their time.
"80 percent of the political pamphlets written in the 1770s and 1780s were
written by ministers and when all references from the political writings of
this time period are taken into account, a staggering 34 percent of
references made are to the Bible. In fact, Deuteronomy by itself ranks as
the most cited book during this era." (American Political Thought)
Indeed, there are many parallels, similarities, between Deuteronomy and the
US Constitution. Credit for much of how Deuteronomy is explained in this
chapter must be given to Daniel J. Elazar, who provides an excellent
interpretation of this book of the bible in his essay, Deuteronomy as
Israel's Ancient Constitution: Some Preliminary Reflections.
Read more... |
¨Reading:
The Internet Is Not
Government's to Regulate
Jim Harper, The Cato Institute
Imagine that Congress passed a law setting
up a procedure that could require ordinary citizens like you to remove telephone
numbers from your phone book or from the "contacts" list in your phone. What
about a policy that cut off the phone lines to an entire building because some
of its tenants used the phone to plot thefts or fraud? Would it be okay with you
if the user of the numbers coming out of your phone records or the tenants of
the cut-off building had been adjudged "rogue" users of the phone.
Cutting off phone lines is the closest familiar parallel to what Congress is
considering in two bills nicknamed "SOPA" and "PIPA" -- the "Stop Online Piracy
Act" and the "Protect IP Act.".
¹Viewing:
Understanding Our Government
Many people in the United States -- and around the world -- believe that the
United States is a Democracy. It is not, and for good reason. Our Framers
and Founders bequeathed to the citizens a Constitutional Republic, doing so
for some very good reasons, chief among them was to avoid the tyranny of the
majority, or mob rule. |
It is the mission of BasicsProject.org to make sure that every American is
afforded the opportunity of understanding these remarkable documents, the
covenant between citizen and the uniquely American form of government. We
believe that through a greater understanding of the principles on which our
government was built our citizenry will better understand that e pluribus
unum, the idea that we are out of many, one. Through our representative
form of government and through the rule of law created by our Framers,
common ground can be found and solutions can be crafted for each critical
issue that may arise before the people of the United States. We believe that
by understanding these invaluable tools bequeathed to us for our
stewardship, we will successfully maintain and bequeath them, yet again, to
future generations so the great American experiment can continue.
Examinations
Explore the basic elements of the philosophy used by our
Founders and Framers to craft the Charters of Freedom
and our unique American system of government; our
Constitutional Republic.
Curriculum
Further your knowledge of the Charters of Freedom -- The
Declaration of Independence, The United States
Constitution and The US Bill of Rights by engaging our
Constitutional Literacy Program. Included are an
examination of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers
and much more. |
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Click here to find
out how you can help or to make a donation |
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