Liberty Park, USA Foundation

The Liberty Collection is comprised of eight CD-ROMs. They contain over 325 volumes and thousands of historical documents. These treatises were written by the nation’s foremost educators, business leaders, government officials and scholars. They also contain the writings of the world’s leading scholars on political philosophy.

The Liberty Collection

is designed to

Preserve the Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence

of the

United States of America

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

The Liberty Collection

Executive Summary

In 1992 Arthur M. Schlesinger published a treatise entitled, The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multi-cultural Society. The splintering of America into numerous powerful self-interest and ethnic groups is creating enormous problems for our country. An ideological civil war is raging. According to Schlesinger, the “fragmentation, re-segregation, and tribalization of American life” is being reflected in elementary, high school and college curriculums and textbooks resulting in a loss of the American identity and liberty.

“Writing history is an old and honorable profession with distinctive standards and purposes,” Schlesinger stated. “The historian’s goals are accuracy, analysis, and objectivity in the reconstruction of the past. But history is more than an academic discipline up there in the stratosphere. It also has its own role in the future of nations.

“For history is to the nation rather as memory is to the individual. As an individual deprived of memory becomes disoriented and lost, not knowing where he has been or where he is going, so a nation denied a conception of its past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future. As the means of defining national identity, history becomes a means of shaping history. The writing of history then turns from a mediation into a weapon. ‘Who controls the past controls the future,’ runs the Party slogan in George Orwell’s 1984; ‘who controls the present controls the past.’” (pp. 45-46.)

American textbooks in history, government and economics began changing in 1918 when the progressive education movement, under the guidance of John Dewey, began secularizing American education from elementary schools to college and universities. The social studies curriculum is a result of their influence on education in America. The twin doctrines of secularism and socialism replaced traditional family values, basic Christian principles, free market economics and limited government. After over 80 years of textbooks with a clear bias toward secularism and socialism, we have a nation that has lost its institutional memory. And along with the loss of this memory, the American people have also lost their political, economic and religious liberties bequeathed to them by the founding fathers of the American Republic.

New textbooks are needed which promote a true understanding of American history, government and economics. These textbooks must promote basic Christian principles, free market economics, limited government and traditional family values if the nation is going to remain free and prosperous.

In Democracy at Risk: The Rising Tide of Political Illiteracy and Ignorance of the Constitution, Jerry Combee states: “The future of American education may well lie in the private sector. Certainly that is the place toward which realistic efforts to reemphasize the Constitution in civic education should be directed.... But if the precept is to be practiced, new textbooks must be developed.” (p. 35.)

A remarkable new set of textbooks has been developed in American history, government and economics. The purpose of these textbooks is to preserve the freedom, sovereignty and independence of America. These textbooks have been placed on eight CD-ROMs. The set of CD-ROMs contains over 325 volumes and thousands of historical documents. The set is entitled The Liberty Collection. The unique set of new textbooks contains the formula for political, economic and religious liberty. There are three levels of instruction on each CD-ROM: (1) high school, (2) college and university and (3) professional –government and business leaders. The latter serves as a data base for the professional group. The compilation took over 33 years to complete.

The CD-ROMs have been edited and prepared by Michael L. Chadwick, political scientist and former professional staff member, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution in Washington, D. C.

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

The Liberty Collection

The greatest collection of books, documents, speeches, sermons, and articles ever assembled on the principles of freedom and liberty

Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution, Washington, D. C.

Table of Contents

Legacy of Freedom: The Principles of Republican Government

The Principles of Federalism & State Sovereignty

Our Charter of Liberty: Commentaries on the U. S.
Constitution

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers

America's Divine Origin & Destiny: As Acknowledged by the Early Clergy and Patriots of Early America

Conceived in Liberty: The Formation and Ratification of the U. S. Constitution

Classics on Liberty: Treatises on Political, Economic and Religious Freedom

The Free Market System: The Key to Prosperity

A Unique Set of CD-ROMs for the Serious Student and Scholar of American History, Government, Economics, Law and Political Philosophy

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

The Liberty Collection

A new high school and college curriculum dedicated to preserving the freedom, sovereignty and independence of America

Part I. Topics

A. American History and Government

B. American Constitutional Law

C. Free Market Economics

D. Political Philosophy

Part II. Levels of Instruction

A. Level I High School

B. Level II College and University

C. Level III Professional – Business and
Government Officials

Part III. Instructional Material

A. Speeches

B. Articles

C. Monographs

D. Law Cases

E. Documents

F. Books

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

Legacy of Freedom:
The Principles of Republican Government

Written and Edited

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution

Legacy of Freedom outlines in a scholarly fashion the goals, objectives and principles of Republican Government as established by the early founders of the American Republic. Legacy of Freedom documents the key principles upon which the American Republic rests: self government, rule by law, written constitutions, separation of power, bill of rights, public virtue, limited government, judicial review, majority rule, frequent elections, natural rights, property rights, checks and balances and individual, local, state and national sovereignty.

Legacy of Freedom takes you back into time and allows you to witness the discovery and development of the American colonies, the monumental efforts to establish religious freedom, the implementation of natural rights in the colonies, the economic war with England, the War of Independence, the drafting of the State Constitutions, Articles of Confederation, U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, the establishment of the new federal government, the election of George Washington, the battle between the Federalists and the Whigs, and the skirmish over the Bank of the United States. The key documents of American history are also reprinted with a detailed analysis.

Legacy of Freedom contains fourteen dynamic and informative volumes for the student and scholar of American history and government. Included in this unique set is a Bicentennial edition of The Federalist and such important volumes as Democracy in America, The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy and Source of Our Liberties. Legacy of Freedom also contains a new Student Guide to the Federalist developed by one of the leading scholars in the nation.

Legacy of Freedom contains 14 textbooks on American government and history.

"I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth." --John Adams

"With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice, that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people--a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence." --John Jay

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of Republican Government

Famous Quotes

The Invisible Hand of Providence upon the People of the United States

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency.... We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven cannot be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained." --George Washington

An Asylum for Liberty in the New World

"We have had a hard struggle, but the Almighty has favored the just cause; and I join most heartily with you in your prayers that he may perfect his work, and establish freedom in the new world as an asylum for those of the old, who deserve it." --Benjamin Franklin

America--A Grand Experiment in Self-Government

"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident or force." --Alexander Hamilton

Private Property Rights Are a Key to the Survival of Liberty

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God ... anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or Liberty cannot exist." --John Adams

Separation of Powers Is Crucial to Avoid the Establishment of a Tyranny

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many ... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." --James Madison

Strong Local and State Governments Are Needed to Prevent Tyranny in America

"When all government ... shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as ... oppressive as the government from which we separated.

"What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating of all cares and powers into one body.... The way to have sage governments is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many.... It is by dividing and sub-dividing these republics, from the great national one down ... that all will be done for the best." --Thomas Jefferson

Debt Is Destructive of Liberty

". . . We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude." --Thomas Jefferson

The Doctrine of Federalism

"In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself." --James Madison

The Federal Government Should Confine Itself to Its Constitutional Powers

"It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution to those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres; avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another.--The spirit of encroachment tend to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.--A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position." --George Washington

The Federalist

"The best commentary on the principles of government which has ever been written." --Thomas Jefferson

"The Federalist ... is a complete commentary on our Constitution, and is appealed by all parties in the question to which that instrument has given birth. Its intrinsic value entitles it to the highest rank, and the part two of its authors performed in framing the Constitution put it very much in their power to explain the views with which it was framed."--Chief Justice John Marshall

"The Federalist may fairly enough be regarded as the most authentic exposition of the text of the federal constitution, as under stood by the body which prepared and the Authority which accepted it." --James Madison

"I know not, indeed, of any work on the principles of free government that is to be compared, in instruction and in intrinsic value, to this small and unpretending volume of The Federalist; not even if we resort to Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Milton, Locke, or Burke. It is equally admirable in the depths of its wisdom, the comprehensiveness of its views, the sagacity of its reflections, and the fearlessness, candor, simplicity, and elegance with which its truths are uttered and recommended." --Chancellor James Kent

The Federalist is "the most instructive work on political science ever written in the United States.... It ranks first in the world's literature of political science." --Charles Beard

Religion and Morality Are Indispensable Ingredients of Republican Government

"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.--In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens.--The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them.--A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity.--Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion.--Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure--reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." --George Washington

The Framers of Republican Government in America

"Whatever may be the judgment pronounced on the competency of the architects of the Constitution, or whatever may be the destiny of the edifice prepared by them, I feel it is a duty to express my profound and solemn conviction, derived from my intimate opportunity of observing and appreciating the views of the Convention, collectively and individually, that there never was an assembly of men more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them, than were the members of the Federal Convention of 1787, to the object of devising and proposing a constitutional system which should best supply the defects of that which it was to replace, and best secure the permanent liberty and happiness of their country." --James Madison

An Enlightened and Committed People Are the Most Effective Way of Preserving Liberty

"Although all men are born free, slavery has been the general lot of the human race. Ignorant--they have been cheated; asleep--they have been surprised; divided--the yoke has been forced upon them. But what is the lesson...? The people ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing a government they should watch over it.... It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently free." --James Madison

Americans Are the Guardians of Liberty for Mankind

"We have now lived almost fifty years under the Constitution framed by the sages and patriots of the Revolution.... Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment; and, at the end of nearly a half century, we find that it has preserved unimpaired the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property, and that our country has improved and is flourishing beyond any former example in the history of nations....

"But the Constitution cannot be maintained nor the Union preserved in opposition to public feeling by the mere exertion of the coercive powers confided to the General Government. The foundations must be laid in the affections of the people; in the security it gives to life, liberty, character and property....

"It is well known that there have always been those amongst us who wish to enlarge the powers of the General Government; and experience would seem to indicate that there is a tendency on the part of this Government to overstep the boundaries marked out for it by the Constitution. Every attempt to exercise power beyond these limits should be promptly and firmly opposed....

"Knowing that the path of freedom is continually beset by enemies who often assume the disguise of friends, I have devoted the last hour of my public life to warn you of the danger. The progress of the United States under our free and happy institutions has surpassed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the Republic. Our growth has been rapid beyond all former example, in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the useful arts ... and from the earliest age of history to the present day, there never have been thirteen millions of people associated together in one political body who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of the United States.... It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for power, that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He ... enable you, with pure hearts and pure hands and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge he has committed to your keeping.... I thank God that my life has been spent in a land of liberty...." --Andrew Jackson

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

The Principles of Federalism & State Sovereignty

Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution,Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution

The Doctrine of Federalism & State Sovereignty is a collection of the nation's foremost commentaries on the principles of federalism and state sovereignty. The Doctrine of Federalism and State Sovereignty outlines the leading issues confronting the individual states and the federal government. Current court cases are analyzed and proposals for retaining the sovereign powers of the states are outlined.

The Doctrine of Federalism & State Sovereignty takes you back to the time of the drafting and adopting of the individual state constitutions and the establishment of the federal government. It outlines in a scholarly and historical fashion the doctrine of federalism and state sovereignty developed in the early state constitutions and the U. S. Constitution. The key principles of federalism and state sovereignty are outlined by the nation's leading scholars, law professors, judges and government officials.

The Doctrine of Federalism & State Sovereignty is a handbook for students, scholars, state legislators, and government officials at the local, state and national level of government. It outlines ways in which the states may retain their freedom, sovereignty and independence and restore the correct constitutional balance between the states and the Federal government.

The Doctrine of Federalism & State Sovereignty contains over 50 leading articles, monographs and books on federalism written by the nation's foremost scholars and law professors.

"In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate governments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself." --James Madison

"The Founding Fathers' vision of a limited national government of enumerated powers has gradually given way to an expansive, intrusive, and virtually omnipotent national government. States, once the hub of political activity and the very source of our political tradition, have been reduced--in a significant part--to administrative units of the national government, their independent political power usurped by almost two centuries of centralization....

"Federalism, as understood by the Framers of the Constitution, requires a recognition that the authority of the national government extends to a few enumerated powers only and that all powers not delegated by the States to the national government, nor denied to the States by the Constitution, are reserved to the States." —Report of the Working Group on Federalism, Domestic Policy Council, White House, November 1986

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of Federalism and State Sovereignty

Famous Quotes

The Principles of Federalism

The term federalism connotates a league of States which are free, sovereign and independent. In the United States federalism refers to a constitutional division of powers between the state and national government.

"... [T]he federal legislature will not only be restrained by its dependence on the people, as other legislative bodies are, but that it will be, moreover, watched and controlled by the several collateral legislatures, which other legislative bodies are not." --James Madison, The Federalist 52:14

"These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States...." --Declaration of Independence, 1776

"The people of this commonwealth have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign and independent State, and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not, or may not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in Congress assembled." --Article IV, Massachusetts Constitution of 1780

"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States." --Article II, Articles of Confederation

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." --Tenth Amendment, U. S. Constitution

"The State governments, by their original Constitutions, are invested with complete sovereignty." --James Madison, The Federalist 31: 14

"Each state, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act." --James Madison, The Federalist 39:13

"The proposed government cannot be deemed a national one; since its jurisdiction extends to certain enumerated objects only, and leaves to the several States a residuary and inviolate sovereignty over all other objects." James Madison, The Federalist, 39:16

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs; concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State." --James Madison, The Federalist 45:12

"It may safely be received as an axiom in our political system that the State governments will, in all possible contingencies, afford complete security against invasion of the public liberty by the national authority." --Alexander Hamilton, Quoted in David Stedman, Our Ageless Constitution, p. 82

"Each state in the Union shall respectively retain every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Constitution delegated to the Congress of the United States, or to the departments of the general government; nor shall the said Congress, nor any department of the said government, exercise any act of authority over any individual in any of the said states, but such as can be justified under some power particularly given in this Constitution; but the said Constitution shall be considered at all times a solemn instrument, defining the extent of their authority, and the limits of which they cannot rightfully in any instance exceed." --James Iradall, North Carolina Ratifying Convention, Elliot's Debates 4: 248

"I consider this a declaration, not that the united colonies jointly, in a collective capacity, were independent states, &c. but that each of them was a sovereign and independent state, that is, that each of them had a right to govern itself by its own authority and its laws, without any control from any other power upon earth." --Justice Samuel Chase, 3 U. S. (3 Dall.) 199, 244 (1796)

". . . We may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority." --Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist 85:15

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

Our Charter of Liberty:
Commentaries on the U. S. Constitution

Written and Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution

Our Charter of Liberty is the finest collection of commentaries on the U. S. Constitution ever published in the United States. The U. S. Constitution is clearly the greatest political governing document in the world. In Our Charter of Liberty the nation's leading constitutional scholars and law professors review the grand principles of republican government and analyze each clause and section of the Constitution in a scholarly fashion.

Our Charter of Liberty provides the reader with a historical perspective into the development of common law and natural law in England, the birth of the colonies and colonial government, the rise of the Sons of Liberty, the War of Independence, the drafting of state constitutions, the formation of the U. S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the election of George Washington and the establishment of the Federal Government, the Judiciary Act of 1789, the establishment of the Supreme Court, and the major constitutional battles over the general welfare clause, the commerce clause, the first amendment, the incorporation clause, the rise of the political parties in the new Republic and the launching of a new foreign policy.

Our Charter of Liberty outlines how the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of the Federal government have usurped the powers of the Constitution and assumed powers that were the exclusive jurisdiction of the states. The states have been reduced to the status of administrative units in a gigantic federal structure.

Our Charter of Liberty is a handbook for scholars, state legislators, government officials and students of government who want to thoroughly understand the principles of the U. S. Constitution. The CD-ROM contains 16 government and legal textbooks on the U. S. Constitution written by the nation's leading scholars.

"The structure has been erected by architects of consummate skill and fidelity; its foundations are solid; its components are beautiful, as well as useful; its arrangements are full of wisdom and order, and its defenses are impregnable from without. It has been reared for immortality, if the work of man may justly aspire to such a title. It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by the folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only Keepers, The People." --Justice Joseph Story

"As it was more probable we were now [in the Constitutional Convention of 1787] digesting a plan which in its operation would decide forever the fate of Republican Government, we ought not only to provide every guard to liberty that its preservation could require, but be equally careful to supply the defects which our own experience had particularly pointed out." --James Madison

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of the U. S. Constitution

Famous Quotes

The Founding Fathers Were Committed to Establishing a Free Government in America

A Galaxy of Leaders Unmatched in American History

"The situation is too familiar to rehearse. In the last quarter of the century the new United States--a nation with a white population of less than three million, with a single major city, and wholly lacking in those institutions of organized society or civilization so familiar in Europe--boasted a galaxy of leaders who were literally incomparable: Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Jay, James Wilson, George Mason, Benjamin Rush, James Madison, and a dozen others scarcely less distinguished....This remarkable outpouring of political leadership, this fertility in the production of statesmen [has been] unmatched since that day.... The eighteenth century ... vouchsafed us the most distinguished leadership that any has enjoyed in modern times." --Henry Steele Commanager

An Explosion of Political Genius in Early America

"In retrospect, Americans now see the year 1787 as an explosion of political genius. One scholar has called it 'a classic perhaps even unparalleled example of the power of political leadership by intellectuals in a situation, where their understanding of human nature was firm and realistic, their grasp of earlier thinking broad and acute, their capacity to learn from their own and others' experiences discriminating,' and the time ripe for resolution of 'the problem of curbing power and protecting people's liberties.'

"'If all the delegates named for this Convention [of 1787] at Philadelphia are present,' commented the French charge d' affairs, 'we will never have seen, even in Europe, an assembly more respectable for the talents, knowledge, disinterestedness, and patriotism of those who compose it.' On the whole these men were not neophytes as the political leaders. Three had been in the Stamp Act Congress, seven in the First Continental Congress. Eight had signed the Declaration of Independence, and two the Articles [of Confederation]. Two would become President, one Vice President, and two Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. Sixteen had been or would later hold state governorships. Forty-two at one time or another had sat in one or another of the Continental Congresses, while at least thirty were Revolutionary War veterans. Many had served their states with distinction, drafting constitutions and codifying their laws." --Richard B. Morris

The Greatest Assemblage of Men in the History of World

For solidity of reason, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion under a combination of difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men can stand in preference to the General Congress at Philadelphia. The histories of Greece and Rome give us nothing equal to it..." --Prime Minister William Pitt

Appreciation and Reverence for the U. S. Constitution

"The Constitution is unquestionably, the wisest ever presented to men." --Thomas Jefferson

"If [the Constitution is] not the greatest exertion of human understanding, [it is] the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen." --John Adams

"The real wonder is that so many difficulties should have been surmounted , and surmounted with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been unexpected. It is impossible to any man of pious reflection not to perceive in it [Federal Convention of 1787 which formed the U. S. Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution." --James Madison, The Federalist 37:16

"I cannot but impute it to a signal intervention of divine providence, that a convention of States differing in circumstances, interests, and manners, should be so harmonious in adopting one grand system." –William Samuel Johnson, Connecticut Delegate to Federal Convention of 1787

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interest." --Alexander Hamilton

"When the great work was done and published, I was struck with amazement. Nothing less than the super-intending Hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war ... could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole." --Charles Pinckney

"No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men, more that the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency." --President George Washington

"As to my sentiments with respect to the merits of the new Constitution, I will disclose them without reserve.... It appears to me ... little short of a miracle, that the Delegates from so many different States (which States you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well founded objections." --George Washington

"To conclude, I beg I may not be understood to infer, that our general Convention was divinely inspired when it form'd the new federal Constitution, merely because that Constitution has been unreasonably and vehemently opposed; yet I must own I have so much Faith in the general Government of the World by PROVIDENCE, that I can hardly conceive a Transaction of such momentous Importance to the Welfare of Millions now existing and to exist in the Posterity of a great Nation, should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenc'd, guided and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent & beneficent Ruler, in whom all inferior Spirits live & move and have their Being." --Benjamin Franklin

"The hand of Divine Providence was never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and adopting of the Constitution." --Andrew Johnson

"Miracles do not cluster. Hold on to the Constitution of the United States of America and the republic for which it stands. What happened once in six thousand years may never happen again. Hold on to your Constitution, for if the American Constitution shall fail there will be anarchy throughout the world." –Daniel Webster

Liberty Park USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land:
The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers

Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land outlines in a scholarly fashion the noble principles of Republican Government developed by the founding fathers of the early American Republic. This remarkable system of government allows men to live in a state of freedom and liberty that is unparalleled in the history of the world.

Since the dawn of mankind, people have sought to devise political, economic and social systems which would improve their freedom, prosperity and happiness. Man has experimented with one system after another in a vain attempt to develop a set of precepts which would raise him from his impoverished state. All too often these systems have resulted in tyranny, oppression, economic stagnation, decay, misery and anarchy for the majority of the people. In the latter half of the 1700s, following the climax of a political, economic and social revolution which had been gestating for a century and a half, a new political, economic and social system emerged in North America. Called republicanism, it set forth a form of government which allowed for the free exercise of the natural or inalienable rights of mankind.

Many of the founding fathers felt that the American experiment in liberty and self-government would serve as a light upon the hill for the oppressed of all nations. The new system of government developed by the founding fathers was based upon natural law, rule by law, written constitutions, natural rights, separation of powers, checks and balances, individual sovereignty, state sovereignty, national sovereignty, bill of rights, limited government, common law, property rights, local self-government, enumerated powers, judicial review, equality before the law, representative government, majority rule, frequent elections and free enterprise.

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land contains 30 books on political philosophy, American government and history written by the nation's leading scholars.

"The Republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind, my prayers and efforts shall be cordially distributed to the support of that we have so deeply established. It is indeed an animating thought, that while we are securing the rights of ourselves and our posterity, we are pointing out the way to struggling nations, who wish like us to emerge from their tyrannies too. Heaven help their struggles, and lead them, as it has done us, triumphantly through them." --Thomas Jefferson

"The free system of government we have established is so congenial with reason, with common sense, and with a universal feeling, that it must produce approbation and a desire of imitation, as avenues may be found for truth to the knowledge of nations. Our Country, if it does justice to itself, will be the workshop of liberty to the Civilized World, and do more than any other for the uncivilized." --James Madison

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of History, Political Science and Philosophy

Famous Quotes

The Founding Fathers of the American Republic

"It has often been asked how it was that within a short span of time on the east coast of the North American continent there should have sprung up such a rare array of genius--men who seemed in virtual command of historical experience and who combined moral imagination with a flair for leadership."--Norman Cousins

"Surely the appearance at the birth of the nation of a constellation of statesmen of first-rate abilities prompts the query as to why such a cluster of leadership talents has never appeared again in the American skies."’–Richard B. Morris

"Yet who can doubt that in the last quarter of the eighteenth century it was the New World ... that provided the most impressive spectacle of leadership, rather than the nations of the Old World? Who can doubt, for example in the crisis of 1774-1783, the American colonies and states enjoyed far more competent leadership than the British Empire?

"What explains this remarkable outpouring of political leadership, this fertility in the production of statesmen--a fertility unmatched since that day?"--Henry Steele Commanager

... The principles of the American Revolution are well worth studying, whether by men who enjoy freedom or men who aspire to it. The Revolution was, after all, one of the longest and surest strides the world has ever taken toward the grand goal of "liberty for all mankind," and no men of good will, even those men who define liberty almost exclusively in terms of economic development and national independence, can afford to be ignorant of the faith that animated Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Dickenson, Wilson, the Lees, and the Adames. As aspiration, if not as description or prescription, the political thought of the Revolution has the ring both of eternity and universality."--Clinton Rossiter

"You and I, my dear friend have been sent into life at a time when the greatest lawgivers of antiquity would have wished to live. How few of the human race have ever enjoyed an opportunity of making an election of government.... When, before the present epoch, have three million of people full of power had a fair opportunity to form and establish the wisest and happiest government that human wisdom can contrive?"--John Adams

"In no age before, and in no other country, did man ever possess an election of the kind of government under which he would choose to live. The constituent parts of the ancient free governments were thrown together by accident. The freedom of modern European governments was, for the most part, obtained by concessions or liberality of monarchs or military leaders. In America, alone, reason and liberty concurred in the formation of constitutions."--John Adams

"This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it were the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties."--John Jay

"The foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance and superstition, but at an Epoch when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period; the researches of the human mind after social happiness, have been carried to a great extent, the treasures of knowledge, acquired by the labours of Philosophers, Sages, and Legislators, through a long succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected wisdom may be happily applied in the establishment of our forms of government.... At this auspicious period, the United States came into existence as a Nation, and if their Citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own."--George Washington

"Whatever may be the judgment pronounced on the competency of the architects of the Constitution, or whatever may be the destiny of the edifice prepared by them, I feel it is a duty to express my profound and solemn conviction, derived from my intimate opportunity of observing and appreciating the views of the Convention, collectively and individually, that there never was an assembly of men more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them, that were the members of the Federal Convention of 1787, to the object of devising and proposing a constitutional system which should best supply the defects of that which it was to replace, and best secure the permanent liberty and happiness of their country."–James Madison

The Sacred Rights of Mankind

"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments and musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased by mortal power....Upon this law depend the natural rights of man: the Supreme Being gave existence to man, together with the means of preserving and beautifying that existence. He endowed him with rational faculties, by the help of which to discern and pursue such things as were consistent with his duty and interest; and invested him with an inviolate right to personal liberty and personal safety."--Alexander Hamilton

The King of America

"But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth make havoc of mankind like the Royal--of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING.--Thomas Paine

A Noble Zeal for the Sacred Cause of Liberty

"It is an indispensable duty, my brethren, which we owe to God and our country, to rouse up and bestir ourselves, and, being animated with a noble zeal for the sacred cause of liberty, to defend our lives and fortunes, even to the shedding of the last drop of blood.... To save our country from the hands of oppressors ought to be dearer to us even that our own lives, and next [to] the eternal salvation of our own souls, [it] is the thing of greatest importance,--a duty so sacred that it cannot justly be dispensed with for the sake of our secular concerns."--Samuel West

Nations Are Rewarded or Punished According to Their General Character

"'Revelation assures us that 'righteousness exalteth a nation.' Communities are dealt with in this world by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general character. The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals."--Samuel Adams

Ignorance Breeds Tyranny

"A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins."--Benjamin Franklin

Liberty Cannot Exist Without Virtue

"Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than the body can live and move without a soul."--John Adams

Religion Is the Source of Morals

"Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God."--Gouverneur Morris

Property Is as Sacred as the Laws of God

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God and there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If THOU SHALT NOT COVET, and THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts of every society before it can be made civilized or made free."--John Adams

The Love of God and the Virtues of Christianity

"Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of the youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy, and, in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country; of instructing them in heart of self-government, without which they never can act a wise part in the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system...."--Samuel Adams

The Opening of a Grand Scene and Design in Providence

"I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth."--John Adams

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

America's Divine Origin & Destiny:
As Acknowledged by the Early Clergy and Patriots
of Early America

Written and Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution

America's Divine Origin & Destiny is one of the finest collection of books, documents, speeches, sermons, letters, and pamphlets ever assembled. This remarkable set outlines the hand of Providence in the Discovery, Settlement and Development of America from 1492 to 1865.

The early clergy and patriots believed that Providence had chosen America for a special mission to serve as the cradle of liberty and Christianity. They felt that Providence had guided the early colonists across the ocean to form a new nation dedicated to preserving and upholding the noble principles contained in the Old and New Testaments and to restore the "ancient law of liberty." They believed that Providence guided George Washington in the Revolutionary War to establish the independence of America and then inspired the founding fathers to draft the U. S. Constitution to establish a new government dedicated to the preservation of political, economic and religious liberty.

In A Dissertation on the Cannon and Feudal Law John Adams declared: "I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth." The early patriot felt, "America was designed by Providence for the theatre on which man was to make his true figure, on which science, virtue, liberty, happiness, and glory were to exist in peace."

On April 20, 1789 President George Washington declared: "When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was visibly manifested, in guiding us through the Revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the good will of the People of America towards one another after its adoption, I feel myself oppressed and almost overwhelmed with a sense of the divine munificence." In his inaugural address he stated: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

John Jay, Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court stated in 1787: "Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people--a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of governments, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence. This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it were the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties."

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of American History

Famous Quotes

Providence Selected America To Be the Home of the New Jerusalem

“In the American colonies, the idea of historical progress was very much alive as they moved toward independence. There was strong religious sentiments that America has been set apart in history and preserved for a chosen people who would bring about great things for the glory of God. Not a few believed that Providence had guarded America and had selected it to be a ‘new Jerusalem.’ They believed, writes Robert Nisbet, ‘that America was not only a destined nation, but a redeeming nation.’ Many would have agreed with de Tocqueville's vision that North America had been discovered ‘as if it had been kept in reserve by the Deity, and had just risen from beneath the waters of the Deluge,’ and that the colonists were ‘not a mere party of adventurers gone forth to seek their fortune beyond [the] seas, but the germ of a great nation wafted by Providence to a predestined shore.’ ‘I think I see,’ he continued, ‘the destiny of America embodied in the first Puritan who landed on those shores, just as the whole human race was represented by the first man.’ To Tocqueville, the ‘newness’ of America, the isolation from other powers, the heritage the colonists had brought with them, combined with ‘[a] thousand circumstances independent of the will of man [to] facilitate the maintenance of a democratic republic in the United States.’

The Puritans Come to America to Complete the Reformation

“From the 1520s onward, the Puritans had been characterized by a more radical break with the Holy Roman Empire than most other "reformed" churches and even Luther were willing to go, by their decidedly British experience. The Puritans were also attached to the concept of the covenant to a greater degree than the other Bible-reading Christian communities. The Christianity that emerged from the Reformation had carried with it a sense of mission, which prostituted by fanatical zeal, led to wars and crusades. On the other hand, this same sense of participation in the unfolding of momentous historical events for the glory of God contributed to the founding of nations and the emergence of modern self-government. The British Puritans, having arisen out of the Church of England, sought to carry the Reformation to its logical conclusion, that is, to return the mother church to the purity of sacred scripture. Thus, as Perry Miller writes, the Puritan immigrants came to America with the belief that ‘their errand was not a mere scouting expedition: it was an essential maneuver in the drama of Christendom.... These Puritans did not flee to America; they went in order to work out that complete reformation which was not yet accomplished in England and Europe.’

The Colonial Puritans Were Driven by a Sense of Mission

The colonial Puritans had a sense of mission that emerged naturally with the integrating of their religious philosophy with the new land of America; and in the wilderness of America it was not difficult for them to find a striking resemblance between themselves and ancient Israel. According to Sydney Ahlstrom, ‘That many Puritan Christians would consider themselves a “people of the Covenant” was almost inevitable. Persecuted, ridiculed, and abused during their formative period, and driven to the Old Testament by their need for historical precedents and specific legal guidance, they ineluctably came to identify their situation and their goals with those of the Chosen People, God's Israel.... In the American wilderness, the Puritan's situation and its parallel with Israel's role in history became even more striking.... And finally, given their concern for moral order, civic duty, and the general welfare, they sometimes envisaged the body politic or commonwealth as being collectively in covenant with the Lord for a special corporate task in the world.’

The Miracles Performed for Israel of Old Were Repeated Anew for the American Israel

“They came to see America as a new Promised land set apart by Providence for a new people, a new church, a new state, a new Jerusalem, in the vision of John Winthrop writing in 1630, ‘We must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.’ ‘God sifted a Whole Nation,’ cried William Stoughton, ‘that he might send Choice grain over into this Wilderness.’ It was the first-generation Puritan layman Edward Johnson who praised the colonial adventure as the settlement of a new Mt. Zion in the American wilderness, and as the Revolution began, many of the clergy used the pulpit openly and brazenly for a call to arms, typically referring to the revolutionary troops as the ‘Armies of Israel.’ ‘The finger of God,’ spoke clergyman Phillip Payson in 1782, ‘has indeed been so conspicuous in every stage of our glorious struggle, that it seems as if the wonders and miracles performed for Israel of old were repeated over anew for the American Israel, in our day.’

The American People Were Instruments of God in Establishing a New Nation

“This idea of a special people in a special land remained part of the American religious philosophy down through the Revolution and the Founding, and saturated the election sermons, which were delivered by the New England clergy. Throughout these incredible years, countless referrals to ‘Providence’ and the ‘Finger of God’ merged with the sense of mission and national deliverance. The great American adventure not only carried with it the blessings of God, the whole affair, it was reasoned, had been directed by God as a vital historical sequence in the last days. And if Providence had placed such great opportunities and blessings at their disposal, then the Americans also faced an ominous responsibility as instruments in the hand of God. Provost Smith, among others, called upon his countrymen to think solemnly of the future: ‘Look forward also to distant posterity. Figure to yourselves millions and millions to spring from your loins, who may be born freemen or slaves, as Heaven shall now approve or reject your councils. Think, that on you it may depend, whether this great country, in ages hence, shall be filled and adorned with a virtuous and enlightened people; enjoying Liberty and all its concomitant blessings, together with the Religion of Jesus, as it flows uncorrupted from his holy oracles; or covered with a race of men more contemptible than the savages that roam the wilderness.’

Providence Has Designed America To Be an Asylum of Liberty

“Samuel West's acknowledgment in 1776 of ‘the dispensations of Providence toward this land ever since our fathers first settled in Plymouth,’ and his insistence that ‘Providence has designed this continent for to be the asylum of liberty and true religion,’ were certainly not uncommon texts for the speeches and sermons of the day. In that year, Charles Chauncey preached that it was under God's ‘all-wise overruling influence that a spirit was raised up in all the colonies nobly to assert their freedom as men and English-born subjects.’ ‘In the rise and in the whole progress of the unnatural controversy between Great Britain and the now United Independent American States,’ spoke the Reverend Chauncey Whittelsey in 1778, ‘the hand of God has been, I must think, very conspicuous.’ To the New England ministry, Providence had been manifest throughout not only the colonization efforts, and the Revolution, but the coming forth of the Constitution as well. Clergyman William Rodgers was far from alone among his colleagues, nor was he speaking to uninitiated ears when he preached that the Constitution had emerged under the guidance of Providence. And when, on the fourth of July 1789, the Reverend Ashbel Green publicly gave thanks to God for the divine guidance to those who founded the Republic and sealed its glory with the Constitution, his declaration was not a revelation to his audience, but another confirmation of consensus. ‘All the forms of civil polity have been tried by mankind except one,’ offered the celebrated Ezra Stiles in his Election Sermon of 1783, ‘and that seems to have been reserved in Providence to be realized in America.... How wonderful the ... events of Providence! We live in an age of wonders; we have lived an age in a few years; we have seen more wonders accomplished in eight years that are usually unfolded in a century.’

America Had Been Set Apart by God for the Edification of the Mankind

“It was the New England ministry, not the Founders, who first announced that America had been set apart by God, and that this people had been chosen to create a new and higher community for the example and edification of mankind. This belief had become so established by the Revolution that it was in fact part of the existing political or civil orthodoxy. This sense of a ‘new way of life’ was poignantly expressed by Crevecoeur's praise of This New Man, the American, which was written some time before the Revolution....

“Since the American Founders were products of the religious environment into which they were born, nurtured, and attained manhood, they were certainly not immune from the religious concepts of the Covenant, a Chosen People, and a New Israel; for these ideas permeated the thinking of the colonies. It appears that, as events transpired leading to the Revolution, the Declaration [of Independence], and the Constitution, the founders spoke more and more in terms of a mission for the new land they occupied, and referral to an intervening Providence appeared increasingly in their writings and their spoken word. Their sense of history and belief in God combined to engender a cautious hypothesis that Providence had placed them in this place and at this time with opportunities that had great import for mankind.

“Robert A. Rutland, editor of The Papers of James Madison, insists that Madison's chief interest in life was to prove that America had been chosen by Providence for an experiment to test man's capacity for self-government. ‘The free system of government we have established,’ stated Madison, ‘is so congenial with reason, with common sense, and with a universal feeling, that it must produce appropriation and a desire of imitation, as avenues may be found for truth to the knowledge of nations. Our country, if it does justice to itself, will be the workshop of liberty to the Civilized World, and of more than any other for the uncivilized.’

“‘. . .The last hope of human liberty,’ confirmed Jefferson, ‘rests on us.’ And Paine wrote in Common Sense, ‘The cause of America is in great measure the cause of mankind.’ Both Jefferson and Adams had seen universal significance in the principles of the Declaration of Independence that went beyond the confines of the United States. ‘May it be to the world what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all),’ wrote Jefferson, ‘the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings of security and self-government.’ ... [Adams] ... warned that if America failed in her divinely appointed mission, it would be ‘treason against the hopes of the world.’”--Richard Vetterli and Gary Bryner, In Search of the American Republic. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield. 1987, pp. 47-50, 66-67.

Liberty Park USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

Conceived in Liberty:
The Formation and Ratification
of the U. S. Constitution

Edited By

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the ConstitutionCommittee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution, Washington, D. C.

Conceived in Liberty outlines the formation and ratification of one of the most remarkable documents in the history of the world--the U. S. Constitution. The U. S. Constitution has been hailed by scholars throughout the world as the most magnificent governing document ever drafted. The founding fathers were an exceptional group of distinguished and noble statesmen, scholars and patriots who possessed extraordinary vision, intellect, patriotism and dedication to the principles of freedom and liberty as embodied in the principles of natural law and republican government. The founding fathers of the American Republic guided the colonists to independence in the Revolutionary War; drafted the Declaration of Independence, the individual state constitutions, the Federal Constitution of 1787, the Bill of Rights, the Judiciary Act of 1791 and launched one the greatest nations in the history of mankind.

Concerning the character and dedication of the founding fathers, James Madison, stated: "Whatever may be the judgment pronounced on the competency of the architects of the Constitution, or whatever may be the destiny of the edifice prepared by them, I feel it is a duty to express my profound and solemn conviction, derived from my intimate opportunity of observing and appreciating the views of the Convention, collectively and individually, that there never was an assembly of men more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them, than were the members of the Federal Convention of 1787, to the object of devising and proposing a constitutional system which would best supply the defects of that which it was to replace, and best secure the permanent liberty and happiness of their country."

Concerning the U. S. Constitution, President Andrew Jackson said: "The Hand of Divine Providence was never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and adopting of the Constitution." Justice Joseph Story of the U. S. Supreme Court remarked: "The structure has been erected by architects of consummate skill and fidelity; its foundations are solid; its components are beautiful, as well as useful; its arrangements are full of wisdom and order, and its defenses are impregnable from without. It has been reared for immortality, if the work of man may justly aspire to such a title. It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by the folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only Keepers, The People." And Daniel Webster exclaimed: "Miracles do not cluster. Hold on to the Constitution of the United States of America and the republic for which it stands.--What has happened once in six thousands years may never happen again. Hold on to your Constitution, for if the American Constitution shall fail there will be anarchy throughout the world."

A New CD-ROM for Serious Students and Scholars of American History and Political Science

Famous Quotes

The Most Effective Means of Preserving Liberty Is through an Enlightened People Who Understand the Principles of the U. S. Constitution

"Although all men are born free, slavery has been the general lot of the human race. Ignorant--they have been cheated; asleep--they have been surprised; divided--the yoke has been forced upon them. But what is the lesson? ...the people ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing a government they should watch over it.... It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently free." --James Madison

The Importance of Public Instruction in the Principles of the Constitution

"America's Constitution is the means by which knowledgeable and free people, capable of self-government, can bind and control their elected representatives in government. In order to remain free, the Founders said, the people themselves must clearly understand the ideas and principles upon which their Constitutional government is based. Through such understanding, they will be able to prevent those in power from eroding their Constitutional protections.

"The Founders established schools and seminaries for the distinct purpose of instilling in youth the lessons of history and the ideas of liberty. And, in their day, they were successful. Tocqueville, eminent French jurist, traveled America and in his 1830's work, DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, wrote:

“‘. . . every citizen...is taught...the doctrines and the evidences of his religion, the history of his country, and the leading features of its Constitution....it is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is a sort of phenomenon."

"On the frontier, he noted that "...no sort of comparison can be drawn between the pioneer and the dwelling that shelters him.... He wears the dress and speaks the language of the cities; he is acquainted with the past, curious about the future, and ready for argument about the present.... I do not think that so much intellectual activity exists in the most enlightened and populous districts of France" He continued, "It cannot be doubted that in the United States the instruction of the people powerfully contributes to the support of the democratic republic; and such must always be the case...where the instruction which enlightens the understanding is not separated from the moral education...."

"Possessing a clear understanding of the failure of previous civilizations to achieve and sustain freedom for individuals, our forefathers discovered some timeless truths about human nature, the struggle for individual liberty, the human tendency toward abuse of power, and the means for curbing that tendency through Constitutional self-government. Jefferson's Bill For The More General Diffusion Of Knowledge For Virginia declared:

“‘. . . experience hath strewn, that even under the best forms (of government), those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate ...the minds of the people...to give them knowledge of those facts, which history exhibiteth. History, by apprizing them of the past, will enable them to judge of the future...it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views...."

"Education was not perceived by the Founders to be a mere process for teaching basic skills. It was much, much more. Education included the very process by which the people of America would understand and be able to preserve their liberty and secure their Creator’s endowed rights. Understanding the nature and origin of their rights and the means of preserving them, the people would be capable of self-government, for they would recognize any threats to liberty and "nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud" (Adams)"--David Stedman, Editor, Our Ageless Constitution, Asheboro, North Carolina, 1987, p. 31.

The Formation of the U. S. Constitution

"The real wonder is that so many difficulties should have been surmounted, and surmounted with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been unexpected. It is impossible for any man of candor to reflect on this circumstance without partaking of the astonishment. It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution." --James Madison, The Federalist, 37: 6.

Miracle at Philadelphia

"It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the Delegates from so many different States (which States you know are also different from each other), in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices, should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well founded objectives."--George Washington, 1787, Letter to Lafayette.

The Hand of Providence at the Constitutional Convention

"When the great work was done and published, I was ... struck with amazement. Nothing less than the superintending hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war ... could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole" --Charles Pinckney, 1787, Convention

The Constitution Was Dictated by Heaven Itself

". . . This ideal also I should think would fire your soul, to exert every nerve to adopt a Constitution, which if every circumstance is taken into view, appears to be dictated by Heaven itself."--Joseph Barrell to Nathaniel Barrell. Boston. December 20, 1787

The New Constitution Was an Act of Divine Providence

"I cannot but impute it to a signal intervention of divine Providence, that a convention of states differing in circumstances, interests, and manners should be so harmonious in adopting one grand system." William Samuel Johnson, Convention Delegate, First President of Columbia University.

Providence Has Done So Much for America

"You see I am not less enthusiastic that ever I have been, if a belief that peculiar scenes of felicity are reserved for this country, is to be denominated enthusiasm. Indeed, I do no believe, that Providence has done so much for nothing. it has always been my creed that we should not be left as an awful monument to prove, 'that mankind, under the most favourable circumstances for civil liberty and happiness, are unequal to the task of Governing themselves, and therefore made for a Master.'"--George Washington, June 19, 1788. Letter to LaFayette.

The Finger of God Led to the Drafting and Adoption of the U. S. Constitution

Your friend Colo. Humphreys informs me, from the wonderful revolution of sentiment in favor of federal measures, and the marvelous change for the better in the elections of your state, that he shall begin to suspect that miracles have not ceased; indeed, for myself, since so much liberality has been displayed in the construction and adoption of the proposed General Government, I am almost disposed to be of the same opinion. Or at least we may, with a kind of grateful and pious exultation, trace the finger of Providence through those dark and mysterious events, which first induced the states to appoint a general convention and then led them one after another by such steps as were best calculated to effect the object into an adoption of the system recommended by that general Convention; thereby in all human probability, laying a lasting foundation for tranquility and happiness; when we had but too much reason to fear that confusion and misery were coming rapidly upon us. That the same good Providence may still continue to protect us and prevent us from dashing the cup of national felicity just as it has been lifted to our lips, is the earnest prayer of, my dear sir, your faithful friend. etc."--George Washington. July 20, 1788. Letter to Jonathan Trumbull.

Divine Blessings Bestowed Upon America Throughout Its History

"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect.... No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency....We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."--George Washington, April 30, 1789.

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

Classics on Liberty:
Treatises on Political, Economic
and Religious Freedom

Michael L. Chadwick, Editor

The Classics on Liberty reach back into the past and bring to light the remarkable texts studied by the founding fathers and colonial leaders of early America at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, College of William and Mary and other leading colleges on natural law, natural rights and political and economic liberty. The writings of Burlamaqui, Grotius, Pufendorf, Locke, Montesquieu, Blackstone, Sidney, Trenchard, Gordon, Paley and other writers and philosophers of the European Enlightenment are resurrected from the dusty catacombs of the libraries in Europe and England and brought back into print for students and scholars who wish to delve into the principles of natural law, law of nations, European history, English Common Law, unalienable rights, the doctrine of resistance and revolution, political tyranny and philosophy.

The early texts on political and economic liberty instilled in the founding fathers a love of liberty that is literally unparalleled in the history of the world. The founding fathers created a system of government where the natural rights of mankind are protected, enshrined and upheld by institutions of government at all levels. The principles of political, economic and religious liberty were gleaned by the founding fathers from the Holy Bible and inspired writers in Europe and England who loved and cherished freedom and liberty. This philosophy was encoded into the early State Constitutions and the U. S. Constitution.

The philosophy of the early European and English writers was summarized by James Otis and Samuel Adams in 1772 when they wrote The Rights of the Colonists. The authors stated:

"Among the Natural Rights of the Colonists are these, First: a Right to life; Secondly to Liberty; Thirdly to Property; together with the Right to support and defend them in the best manner they can--Those are evident Branches of, rather that deductions from the Duty of Self-Preservation, commonly called the first law of nature....

As neither reason requires, nor religion permits the contrary, every Man living in or out of a state of civil society has a right peaceably and quietly to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience....

"The natural liberty of Men by entering into society is abridged or restrained so far only as is necessary for the Great end of Society [and] the best good of the whole.

"In the state of nature, every man us under God, Judge and sole judge, of his own rights....

"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth....

"It is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one or any number of men at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights when the great end of civil government from the very nature of its institutions is for the support, protection and defense of those rights: the principles of which as is before observed, are life, liberty and property....

"The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave....

"The absolute Rights of Englishmen, and all freemen in or out of Civil society, are principally, personal security, personal liberty and private property."

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student and Scholar of Political Philosophy and Government

Liberty Park, USA™ Foundation

Proudly Presents

The Free Market System: The Key to Prosperity

Edited by

Michael L. Chadwick

Former Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution,Committee on the Judiciary and Director of the National Bicentennial Program on the U. S. Constitution, Washington, D. C.

The Free Market System: The Key to Prosperity outlines in a scholarly fashion the dynamic principles of the free market system developed in America. It also exposes the fallacies of alternative economic systems such as socialism, fascism, collectivism, totalitarianism and the welfare state developed in Europe and elsewhere.

In recent years, studies by leading scholars have demonstrated that a rising tide of economic illiteracy is sweeping the nation threatening to undermine the free market system. It is apparent that we have raised a generation of Americans who do not understand that economic liberty is the mainspring of human progress and the key to our prosperity as individuals and as a nation. If we are to preserve our economic liberties, we must understand the unique power of the free market system and how it benefits every person in America.

The free market system in America is based upon nine important principles: natural law, rule by law, Christian morality, limited government, property rights, voluntary exchange of goods and services, profit motive, competition and absence of government restraints and regulations. These principles have been under attack for many years by those who do not believe in political and economic liberty.

Since the early 1900s our political and economic liberties have been slowly eroded and our prosperity undermined through a virtual explosion of government laws, regulations, agencies and spending at the state and federal level of government.

The Free Market System: The Key to Prosperity is a valuable guide for students, scholars and business leaders who want to preserve the principles of political and economic liberty.

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God ... anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secure or liberty cannot exist."--John Adams

"What has destroyed the liberty and rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.... I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. I place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest danger to be feared."--Thomas Jefferson

"Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces the area over which political power is exercised. In addition, by dispersing power, the free market provides an offset to whatever concentration of political power may arise."--Milton R. Friedman.

A New CD-ROM for the Serious Student of History, Government, Economics and Business

The Liberty Collection™

Obtain Your Individual Set

The Liberty Collection is available only as a set.

The set contains eight CD-ROMs.

This set is available for a gift of $5,000.

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