By Henry Lamb
In hopes of returning to a previous, “better” condition, millions of Americans will resolve to: quit smoking, lose weight, or engage in some other activity to make their life better in some way. Suppose there were an activity in which Americans could engage that would make the entire world better, especially that portion of the world we call the United States of America. There is!
We can resolve to restore the original, unique Republic created by our founders.
George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison and the handful of other great Americans who assembled in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, used nearly half of the Convention time debating the single issue of representation in the new government. Shall the new government be a government of the states, or a government of the people?
The Articles of Confederation created a government of the states, and any amendment to the Articles required unanimous approval. This arrangement was inadequate; no state could be compelled to comply with any directive from the government. James Madison’s Virginia Plan proposed a new government of the people; Andrew Hamilton wanted a strong central government, with the President to be elected for life.
Small states argued that The Virginia Plan would essentially erase the small states because the large states would always have more delegates to the new government and could always outvote the small states. Delaware delegate John Dickenson, nearly ended the Constitutional Convention by declaring that Madison’s plan would exchange the tyranny of the king for the tyranny of the large states - tyranny to which small states would never submit.
Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, of whom Thomas Jefferson once said: “… here is a man who never said a foolish thing in his life,” suggested a compromise. His compromise would make the lower legislative chamber consist of representatives elected by the people based on population; the upper chamber, the Senate, would consist of two representatives from each state, chosen by the state legislature.
Madison compared such a government to a Centaur – half man and half horse. Sherman’s compromise government would be empowered half by the people and half by the states. This new form of government – unique in the world – would allow competition between the two sources of power which would serve as a check and balance on each other to ensure that neither became domineering or tyrannical.
No nation has ever prospered so profoundly and as rapidly as did the United States during the 19th century. Millions of European immigrants poured into the “New Country,” bringing with them the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their Communist Manifesto was widely embraced by a continent that had suffered for generations under one form of despotism or another.
The idea of people-powered government-control of society offered by Marx ran head-on into the unregulated activities of laissez faire capitalism. This produced a new system of political thought dubbed “Progressivism” by Theodore Roosevelt, and others, in the late 19th century. This new hybrid political system pursued government policies that regulated economic and social activity without the government actually owning the sources of production – as Marx advocated.
Woodrow Wilson, a champion of Progressivism, ushered in the Federal Reserve, the income tax, and the 17th Amendment – which destroyed the carefully balanced, unique structure of the American government. The 17th Amendment removed the states from the federal government altogether by allowing Senators to be elected directly by the people rather than by the state legislatures.
Since 1913, the states have had no voice at all in the approval of executive appointments of federal judges or cabinet officials.
Since the 17th Amendment, the states have had no voice at all in the approval of international treaties.
Since the Progressives sent Wilson to the White House, the states have had no voice in the approval of federal law to which states must conform.
These are the functions of the Senate that provides the check and balance on the federal government that our founders fought so hard to get right, in Philadelphia in 1787. This is the genius of the original government that our founders gave us. This is the government that can be restored.
America’s collective New Year’s resolution should be to restore that wonderful, original, unique government our founders gave us by repealing the 17th Amendment.
There is a widespread and growing coalition of individuals and organizations working to achieve this goal. The story of why the 17th Amendment should be repealed is convincingly told in this video. An overview of how this incredibly ambitious objective can be achieved is explained in this video.
Already, property rights groups, second amendment groups, Tea Party and 9.12 groups, flat- tax groups, and many others are responding to this 17th Amendment initiative. Should America get serious about restoring the republic our founders gave us, and adopt the repeal of the 17th Amendment as its New Year’s’ resolution, the United States would indeed, become a better place for all the world to enjoy.
New year, new challenge!
The new year brings hope for a return to reason, at least in the House of Representatives. The lame- duck session of Congress was almost as bad as it could be, with the outgoing majority hell-bent on cramming down the throat of America as much government-control as possible. The new food safety bill was enacted through a procedure that’s best described as “criminal.” The “Start” treaty should have been stopped, and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” fiasco demonstrates the need to reexamine the Republicans in the Senate before their next election.
Nevertheless, there is good reason to hope things will improve in the 112th Congress. Not only are there many new faces in Washington, there is a growing army of Washington-watchers who may be able to keep the new good guys from going bad. In addition to our ongoing efforts to protect private property rights and individual freedom by exposing the goals and dangers of Agenda 21 and sustainable development, we are launching a campaign to repeal the 17th Amendment.
We know full well that this is an ambitious undertaking that could take several years. We know too, that this is the perfect time to launch the campaign. There has never been as much enthusiasm for returning to the Republic our founders gave us than has been demonstrated in the last year. The rise of the Tea Party and 9.12 groups is evidence that the people are hungry for a return to the freedom that once defined America.
Every person has a role to play. Some people can write letters to the editor; some can call talk radio programs; some can organize educational workshops in their home, or neighborhood. Some people may be able to do nothing but write a check to support the work. But everyone can do something – and we all must do whatever we can to restore the Republic.
Opponents will ridicule the campaign and say we are trying to deny the people their right to elect their Senators. Yes, we are! We are trying to restore the right of the states to elect their Senators – as was provided by our founders in the Constitution. The people exercise their right to elect their representative to the House; the states must have a seat at the table of the federal government if the federal government is to be constrained from becoming the despot the Progressive Democrats have designed.
It will be a busy year, a year of challenges and opportunities. We are most grateful for your support in the past, and are confident that together, we can make a difference in the new year. The Board of Directors and the staff of Freedom 21 are eager to meet the challenge.
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