Mr. Constitution, Douglas V. Gibbs

10 Planks of Communism - (see Karl Marx’s 10 Planks of Communism)

2016 Election – Republican Donald J. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton on November 8, 2016.  Trump was inaugurated as the forty-fifth president on January 20 alongside his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.  Trump was elected with an Electoral College majority of 304 votes to Clinton’s 227.  Trump received 45.95 percent of the popular vote (63.0 million votes) compared to 48.04 percent (65.8 million) for Clinton.  Allegations of fraud led to investigations which revealed 7.2 million duplicate voter registration forms, usually in one or more States, allowing a voter to vote in person in one state and fraudulently by absentee in another.  Twelve States allowed illegal aliens to obtain drivers' licenses, likely resulting in over 800,000 ballots cast by non-citizens.

A

 

A Time for Choosing – One of President Reagan’s best known conservative speeches given in support of Barry Goldwater’s campaign for President in 1964. 

Abolitionist Movement – A movement to end slavery, whether formal or informal.  The abolition of slavery gained early success in Western Europe.  Anti-slavery sentiments were widespread by the late 18th century.  Various colonies and emerging nations used slave labor largely for financial reasons, using the inexpensive workforce to keep up with agricultural demands.

Activist Judge – A public officer charged with applying the law in order to administer justice, but also interprets the law, and modifies the law according to his opinion; a judge who legislates from the bench.

Adams, Abigail – Born: November 22, 1744, Weymouth, Massachusetts.  Died: October 28, 1818, Quincy, Massachusetts.  First Lady of the U.S., 1797-1801.  Her letters are considered to serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War.  Closest advisor of President, and mother of President John Quincy Adams.  Abigail was so active in politics that her political opponents came to refer to her as Mrs. President.  She was the first First Lady to reside in the White House.

 

Adams, John – Second President of the United States, only Federalist Party candidate to achieve the presidency.  Born: Quincy, Massachusetts; October 30, 1735.  Death: Quincy, Massachusetts; July 4, 1826 (50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, same date as death of Thomas Jefferson).  John Adams and his son were only one of two father-son presidents in American history. The other presidential father-son pair is George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.  John Adams was the first U.S. president to actually live in the White House, having moved in before it was finished.  He called Washington D.C. a “mosquito infested muddy cesspool”.  Adams defended British soldiers charged with murder from the Boston Massacre to show The Crown that The Colonies abided by the rule of law.  He assisted in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which influenced the writing of the United States Constitution, as did his “Thoughts on Government”, published in 1776. 

 

Adams, John Quincy – 6th President of the United States, March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829.  Born: July 11, 1767, Braintree, Massachusetts; Death: February 23, 1848, Washington D.C.   Education: Harvard University (BA, MA).  The son of John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States.  He served as U.S. Minister to the Netherlands (1794-1797), U.S. Minister to Prussia (1797-1801), U.S. Senator (1803-1808), U.S. Minister to Russia (1809-1814), U.S. Envoy to the United Kingdom (1815-1817), U.S. Secretary of State (1817-1825), Member U.S. House of Representatives Massachusetts 11th District: 1831-1833; Massachusetts 12th District: 1833-1843; and the Massachusetts 8th District: 1843-1848.  Adams contested the 1824 Presidential Election, of which no candidate had won a majority of the electoral vote.  The House of Representatives, as per Article I. of the U.S. Constitution, held a contingent vote to determine the president, and Adams won.  Though a Jeffersonian Republican, his roots in his father’s Federalist Party left Adams with big government aspirations.  He called unconstitutionally federally funded infrastructure projects, and the establishment of a national university.  Many of his ambitious projects were rejected, partly because of the civil war being waged in the party between the National Republicans (of which Adams supported) and the Democratic Party (a push for democracy led by Andrew Jackson).  When Jackson decisively defeated Adams in the 1928 presidential election, the Democrats took over the party, and changed its name to the Democratic Party.  After his presidency, Adams remained in public office, serving in the House of Representatives, where he joined the Whig Party and remained an opponent to the Jacksonian Democrats.  Adams also became a vocal opponent of slavery, and the Southern power structure he believed was controlling the Democratic Party.

 

Adams, Samuel – Born: September 27, 1722; Boston, Massachusetts; Died: October 2, 1803; Cambridge, MA.  Adams served as Governor of Massachusetts, Delegate to the Continental Congress, and he was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence.  He was a leader in the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the principle architects of what would become the American System of Liberty.  , and was the cousin of the second President of the United States, John Adams.  Adams was an Anti-Federalist, viewing the Constitution as the creation of a national government, rather than a federal union of States, as it was being called.  He participated in the Massachusetts ratifying convention, listening more than raising objections.  He later supported the Constitution, provided that some amendments would be added later, which ultimately became the Bill of Rights.  He was known for his frugal lifestyle, even when later in life he became relatively wealthy as a result of land investments, some of which were given to him by his son when the younger Adams died at the age of 37.  Upon Samuel Adams’ death, the Independent Chronicle eulogized him as the “Father of the American Revolution.”  William Gordon and Mercy Otis Warren, two historians who knew Adams, wrote of him as a man selflessly dedicated to the American Revolution.

 

Agnew, Spiro – Born: November 9, 1918, Baltimore, Maryland; Died: September 17, 1996, Berlin, Maryland.  Vice President of the United States, January 20, 1969 until he resigned October 10, 1973.  He is only the second Vice President in American History to resign from the V.P. position.  The other was John C. Calhoun in 1832.  Agnew served as Governor of Maryland, 1967-1969.  He was a World War II and Korean War Veteran.

 

Alinsky, Saul – Born: January 30, 1909; Chicago, Illinois; Death: June 12, 1972; Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  Education: University of Chicago.  Alinsky considered himself a Community Organizer (Alinsky coined the term).  He was viewed as being a radical Marxist activist.  He authored, Rules for Radicals, Reveille for Radicals, and Thirteen Tactics for Realistic Radicals (published posthumously).

Amendment Process – Process that may be used to change the U.S. Constitution.  The proposal process may be initiated by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by an Article V. convention upon application by two-thirds of the State legislatures.  In both cases, ratification of the proposals require a three-quarters approval by the States, either through a vote by their State legislatures, or by ratification convention.

American Revolution – Revolt of the Colonies against the British Empire, 1765-1783.  Armed conflict resulting from more than a decade of tensions building between the Colonists and Great Britain.  The American war for independence.

American Temperance Society – A nationwide organization founded on February 13, 1826 in Boston, Massachusetts whose mission was to outlaw alcohol in the United States.  Within five years of its founding, there were 2,220 local chapters in the U.S. with 170,000 members who had taken a pledge to abstain from drinking distilled beverages.

 

Americanism – A philosophy of freedom that actively seeks less government and more personal responsibility.

Anarchy – Zero government.  Supporters of anarchy believe that from chaos rises order.  They seek to destroy the old system so that a new political system may rise up from the rubble.  Anarchy is a transitional state of governance, transitioning whatever it destroys into oligarchy, or a similar centralized system, where the powerful few rule over the many.

 

Antebellum Period – A period in the history of the United States (largely focusing on the Southern United States, where the period is also known at The Plantation Period) from the late 18th century until the start of the American Civil War in 1861.  The era’s end coincides with the end of slavery in the United States.

Anthony, Susan B. – Born: February 15, 1820, Adams, Massachusetts.  Died: March 13, 1906, Rochester, New York.  American Women’s Rights Activist and Social Reformer.  Co-Founder American Equal Rights Association, 1866.  Co-Founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association, 1869.  In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in Rochester, New York.  Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is also known as the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment.”

Anti-Federalists – Opposed to formation of a federal government, particularly by adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

Aristocracy – Rule by the most politically savvy or best suited.  Criteria has wavered throughout history.  Deciding factors have been based on virtue, talent, or education.  In modern times an aristocracy is more often than no rule by the upper class, and an oligarchy.

Articles of Confederation – Agreement between the thirteen original states establishing the terms under which they agreed to participate in an organized, central form of government, adopted November 15, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War.

Austrian Economic Model – An economic model that draws from the laissez-faire concept (limited government interference, allowing the system to take its natural course).  The Austrian School of economics originated in the work of Carl Menger from the University of Vienna .

Autocracy – System of government in which one person rules with absolute power.

 

B

 

Bailey Bill – Income Tax introduced in April 1909 by Senator Joseph W. Bailey, a Democrat from Texas, designed to embarrass conservative Republicans when they voted against it.  The introduction of the bill was one of the factors that led to the proposal of the Sixteenth Amendment.

Bank of the United States – A national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress on February 25, 1791.

 

Bank Run – Occurs when in a fractional-reserve banking system (where banks normally only keep a small proportion of their assets as cash and/or gold), a large number of customers withdraw cash from deposit accounts with a financial institution at the same time because they believe that the financial institution is, or might become, insolvent.

 

Barbary Pirates – Muslim Ottoman Pirates who operated from North Africa and required tributes (monetary compensation) or war from non-Muslim vessels should they seek to tread through waters the Barbary Pirates claimed to be their own routes. 

 

Barbary Wars – President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay an annual tribute to the Muslim Ottoman Pirates roaming our trade routes, recognizing that if the United States was to be a trading country, “this will require a protecting force on the sea. Otherwise the smallest powers in Europe, every one which possesses a single ship of the line may dictate to us, and enforce their demands by captures on our commerce.  Some naval force then is necessary if we mean to be commercial.”  The two Barbary Wars during Jefferson’s and Madison’s presidencies, respectively, were waged May 10, 1801 – June 10, 1805 and June 17–19, 1815.

Bassett, Richard – Born: April 2, 1745, Cecil County, Maryland.  Died: August 15, 1815, Kent County, Delaware.  Veteran of the American Revolution.  Delegate at the Constitutional Convention.  U.S. Senator, 1789-1793; Chief Justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas, 1793-1799; Governor of Delaware, 1799-1801 (He resigned to accept John Adams’ appointment to the 3rd Circuit Court); Judge, U.S. 3rd Circuit Court, 1801-1802. This was one of the “midnight judges” appointments by President John Adams after his defeat by Thomas Jefferson.  Bassett’s tenure ended quickly, July 1, 1802, when Jefferson’s Congress repealed the law that had established his seat on the 3rd Circuit Court.  Led the convention to draft a new State Constitution for Delaware, which was approved in 1792.

 

Bastiat, Frederic – Born: June 29, 1801; Bayonne, France.  Death: December 24, 1850; Rome, Papal States.  Bastiat was a Classical Liberal who defended the individual against a tyrannical state.  He was openly critical of socialism and other forms of statism.  He authored, “Petition From the Manufacturers of Candles” (1845); “The Right Hand and the Left” (1847); “Letat” (1849); “The Law” (1850); “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen” (1850).  Bastiat taught that as wealth becomes increasingly gratuitous, property becomes better distributed, and the interests of capital and labor come to coincide.  With economic prosperity, the rate of interest falls, and although the incomes of both the capitalist and the worker rise in absolute value, that of the capitalist increases less, proportionately, than does that of labor.  Liberty has a natural tendency to create that equality which socialists want to institute by other means. 

Benjamin Franklin’s Speech Calling for Prayer – After weeks of disagreements during the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin delivered a speech appealing to heaven and recommending prayer before each session of the convention.  Most of the delegates heeded Franklin’s recommendation.  His recommendation was also the influence that established the tradition of praying before each session of Congress.

Bicameral Congress – A Congress with two houses.  The purpose of having two separate houses in a bicameral congress is for the purpose of the two houses to be different from each other, which creates a natural check and balance.

Biddle, Nicholas – President of the Second Bank of the United States.  Born: January 8, 1786, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Died February 27, 1844, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Prepared Lewis and Clark's report regarding their western exploratory expedition up the Missouri River through the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase for publication.  Served on the Pennsylvania state legislature (1810–1811). 

Bill of Credit – A promissory note issued by a government on its own credit; unsecured paper currency or securities.

Bill of Rights – The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution; a formal summary of those rights and liberties considered essential to a people or group of people.

Bills of Attainder – When a legislature declares the guilt of a person or group of persons, and punishes them without due process.

Blending – To form a harmonious combination. 

Bonus Bill – Public Works Bill proposed by Congress in 1817 of which President James Madison vetoed as unconstitutional.

Boom and Bust Cycle – Process of economic expansion and contraction that occurs repeatedly. The boom and bust cycle becomes more severe when artificially manipulated by government tinkering.   During the boom the economy grows, jobs are plentiful and the market brings high returns to investors.

Booth, John Wilkes – Born: May 10, 1838, Bel Air, Maryland; April 26, 1865, Port Royal Virginia (by gunshot wound).  Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.  A Confederate sympathizer who strongly opposed the abolition of slavery in the United States.  Even though Robert E. Lee had surrendered four days earlier, Booth believed the War Between the States had not yet ended.  Booth’s assassination of President Lincoln was a part of a larger plot with a group of co-conspirators that included Secretary of State William Seward, and Vice President Andrew Johnson.  While Seward was injured, Johnson remained unharmed.

 

Boudinot, Elias – 2nd President of the Continental Congress, November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783.  Born: May 2, 1740; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Death: October 24, 1821, Burlington, New Jersey.  Education: Studied law as a legal apprentice to Richard Stockton.  Stockton was later a signatory of the Declaration of Independence.  Boudinot was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New Jersey’s At-large district: March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1795.  In the early stages of the Revolutionary War, he was active in promoting enlistment; several times he loaned money to field commanders to purchase supplies.  Boudinot helped support the activities of rebel spies.

Bourgeoisie – Marxist term for the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.  In Marxist contexts the bourgeoisie is the capitalist class who own most of society's wealth and means of production.  A communal society does not tolerate anyone or anything that lives outside the narrative that equality must be maintained.  In communist societies, a person owning more than their neighbor was called being a member of the “bourgeois.”

 

Brown, Scott – Born: September 12, 1959, Kittery, Maine.  Republican.  Member, Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1998-2004.  United States Senator from Massachusetts, 2010-2013.  U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, Assumed Office June 27, 2017 and to Samoa, Assumed Office July 28, 2017.  Brown’s victory in a special election for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Edward Kennedy in 2009 was viewed by many as a referendum against President Obama’s policies, including federal intrusion into the health care industry.

 

Burr, Aaron – Born: February 6, 1756, Newark, New Jersey; Died: September 14, 1836, Staten Island, New York.  Veteran of the American Revolution.  3rd U.S. Vice President, 1801-1805.  U.S. Senator from New York, 1791-1797.  Attorney General of New York, 1789-1791.  Known as being the political rival who shot Alexander Hamilton during a duel in 1804, during the last year of his term as Vice President of the United States.  While never charged for Hamilton’s death, the duel spelled the end of Burr’s political career.

 

Bush, George W. – 43rd President of the United States, Republican. January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009.  Born: July 6, 1946, New Haven, Connecticut.  46th Governor of Texas, 1995-2000.  Early into President Bush’s first term the United States was attacked by Muslim terrorists.  The September 11, 2001 attacks included two airliners flying into the World Trade Center towers (and a resulting collapse of the towers), an airliner striking the Pentagon, and an airliner crashing into the ground in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania when patriots on board fought back against the hijackers.  Subsequently, President Bush announced a War on Terror.  George W. Bush is only the second president in American History to assume the Office of President of the United States after his father, following the footsteps of John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams.

C

 

Calhoun, John C. – 7th Vice President of the United States, 1825-1832.  Born: March 18, 1782; Abbeville, South Carolina.  Died: March 31, 1850; Washington D.C.  Calhoun was a member of the House of Representatives, March 4, 1811 – November 3, 1817.  He served as the 10th U.S. Secretary of War, December 8, 1817 – March 4, 1825; 16th Secretary of State, April 1, 1844 – March 10, 1845; a U.S. Senator from South Carolina, November 26, 1845 – March 31, 1850.  Calhoun often considered himself an independent, having, in his political career, aligned with the Jeffersonian Republicans, the Whigs, and the Democrats on different issues at different times.  He began his political career as a nationalist, and a proponent of a strong national government.  In the late 1820s, his views changed radically and he became a leading proponent of States' rights, laissez faire, nullification, and opposition to high tariffs.  He recognized that Northern acceptance of these constitutional concepts may be the only way to keep the South in the Union.  The record of his stances later strongly influenced the South's decision to secede from the Union after the Election of 1860, and during the months preceding the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861.  As Secretary of State under John Tyler from 1844 to 1845, Calhoun supported the annexation of Texas as a means to maintain balance in the government for the slave States in the South.  He also helped settle the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain.  Later, as a member of the U.S. Senate, he opposed the Mexican–American War, the Wilmot Proviso, and the Compromise of 1850.  During his career, after the emergence of the Whig Party, Calhoun was known to align with the new party as if he was an independent, even though he belonged to the Democrat Party.

Capitalism – A term created by the father of communism, Karl Marx, to describe an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.  While capitalism may be wielded by either an oligarchy or a republic, it is commonly associated with systems of liberty (non-oligarchy).  An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. 

Carroll, Charles – Born: September 19, 1737; Annapolis.  Death: November 14, 1832, Baltimore, Maryland.  Went by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, or Charles Carroll III to reduce confusion since many of his relatives went by the same name.  Education: College of St. Omer.  A signer of the Declaration of Independence.  He was the only Catholic, and the longest-lived (and last surviving) signatory of the Declaration of Independence, dying 56 years after the document was first signed.  He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation Congress.  Member U.S. Senate: March 4, 1789 – November 30, 1792.

Case Law – The law as established by the outcome of former cases and the opinions of judges.

 

Cash Crop – A crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

 

Caucuses – A meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy.

 

Central Government – Nationalistic government; a government system that is typically a characteristic of a unitary state.

 

Centralized Power – A centralization of all political power by a government system that is typically seeking a unitary authoritarian state. 

Chaplains of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate – Congressional chaplains hold full time, nonpartisan, nonsectarian jobs.  They are formal officials of the chamber in which they serve.  The chaplains offer public prayers at the beginning of each day of congressional business. They also provide pastoral care for members of Congress and others associated with the House and Senate, including staff, police and family members.  Every congressional chaplain since 1789 has been a Christian man, and of those nearly all have been Protestant.

Charter – A document issued by a sovereign, legislature, or other authority, creating a public or private corporation, such as a city, college, or bank, and defining its privileges and purposes; a written grant from the sovereign power of a country conferring certain rights and privileges on a person, a corporation, or a people.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius – Roman politician, orator, and consul.  Born: 106 B.C., Died 43 B.C.  Considered to be among the most prolific Roman writers.  Discovery of Cicero’s letters in 1345 by Petrarch considered to have been a primary influence on the dawn of the Renaissance.  Cicero’s writings were a major influence on the Framers of the U.S Constitution.

Civil Rights – The government established basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics.

 

Checks and Balances – An internal system in government where each part of government can counter the actions or decisions of the other parts.  This arrangement ensures transparency, and prevents domination of the government by any part.

 

Class Warfare – A conflict between different classes in a community resulting from different social or economic positions and reflecting opposed interests.  Karl Marx encouraged class warfare, considering it a noble struggle for political and economic power between capitalists and workers.

 

Classical Liberalism – Classical liberal principles [include] limited government, individual rights, private property, and free-market economics. It would be these principles that would unleash the potential of the common man and make Anglo-Saxon based societies the most free and prosperous societies the world has ever seen. 

Clinton, Hillary – Born: October 26, 1947, Chicago, Illinois.  Democrat.  Wife of former President William (Bill) Clinton.  First Lady of the United States, 1993-2001.  U.S. Senator from New York, 2001-2009; first female to hold that office.  U.S. Secretary of State, 2009-2013.  Democrat Party Nomination for President of the United States, 2016; the first woman to achieve the milestone of being nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.  Criticized for her part in downplaying the seriousness and enormity of the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012, falsely claiming it was provoked by an obscure video.  On January 23, 2013, when asked about the false information about the attack, Clinton screamed at the Senators questioning her, “What difference at this point does it make?”

 

Clinton, William (Bill) – 42nd President of the United States, Democrat.  In Office: January 20, 1993 - January 20, 2001.  Born: August 19, 1946.  Bill’s wife, Hillary, served as U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, and the 2016 Democrat Party Presidential nomination.  Mr. Clinton served as Governor of Arkansas, 1983 – 1992.  He was the First Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected to a second full term as President of the United States.  Reluctantly working with a Republican Congress that won unified control of both Houses in 1994, Clinton signed a welfare reform law, and a State Children’s Health Insurance Program.  Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice, relating to a sex scandal involving White House employee Monica Lewinsky.  The Senate acquitted him in 1999.

Closed Primary – A primary election in which only party members may select candidates for a general election.

 

Collectivism – The theory that giving a group priority over each individual in it provides for the greater good, practice of the ownership of land and the means of production by the state in the name of equity and justice.

 

Collusion – Conspire together.

 

Commander in Chief – Chief or Supreme Commander of a country’s armed forces.

 

Communal Property – A system in which all property is believed to belong to the community.  The result of one’s labor is placed in a central storage location accessible to all members of the community so that they may take from it as they need.  Personal wealth generally cannot be accumulated in a system based on communal property.

 

Communalism – Society based on the concept of common ownership; ownership and possessions, rather than belonging to any individuals, are ascribed to the community as a whole.  The concept later became known as communism.

 

Communism – Socialism realized; theory of social organization based on principles of common ownership, ownership and possessions being ascribed to the community as a whole, or to the state.  System in which all economic and social activity was once controlled by a dominant government (oligarchy), administered by the ruling elite of a single, and self-perpetuating, political party, but faded away as society came to accept the resulting utopia.  While some countries have been labeled as “communist”, true communism has never existed in human society, and is considered as being impossible to achieve due to the complexities of human nature.  

Communism, 10 Planks of - see Karl Marx’s 10 Planks of Communism

Communitarianism – A society where the good of the community outweighs the good of the individual; a common good conception of justice; a well ordered society without rulers that uses pluralism as the guiding principle.

 

Components of American Government – Federal: Legislative Branch (Bicameral Congress; House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Executive Branch (President), Judicial Branch (United States Supreme Court and the inferior federal courts.  State: Legislature (Assembly, Senate*), Executive (Governor), State Court System.  County: Supervisors, County Courts.  Municipal: City Council, Mayor, City Attorney.  Citizen: The most important political office.

* Nebraska has only one house in its State legislature.

 

Concurrent Powers – Government powers shared by the State and the federal government.

 

Confederate States of America – After seceding from the United States, the Southern States formed their own country.  The new confederation used the U.S. Constitution as a model for its own. 

 

Confederation – A political system in which the units that make up the union retain ultimate authority for all internal issues, expressly delegating limited powers to a central administration or government for the purpose of administering the union.  It is a voluntary association of independent states.  Confederations are typically short-lived, and lack effectiveness in terms of defense of the union.  Confederations have existed both as oligarchies, and as unions of republics.

 

Congress – A legislative body granted the authority of legislative powers.  In the United States, the Congress is the only part of the federal government granted the authority of legislative powers.  The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

 

Conservatism – A belief that the original intent of the United States Constitution must be conserved, which includes a limited role for the federal government, support of, and for, traditional values, and a cautious response to change.  Conservatism in the United States champions preserving the republic.

 

Conservative – Someone who promotes conserving the traditional values associated with the United States Constitution, and the value-based principles that have served as a firm foundation for American Liberty.  A Conservative promotes moral and economic values beneficial to all.  A Conservative typically adheres to principles of personal responsibility, self-reliance, moral values, localism, less government interference in the lives of its citizens, and a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course.

 

Constituency – Body of voters who elect a representative to a legislative body; a body of customers or supporters.

Constitutional Convention – see Philadelphia Federal Convention

Constitutional Republic – Government that adheres to the rule or authority of the principles of a constitution.  A representative government that operates under the rule of law.

Constitutional Rights – Today’s definition defines Constitutional Rights as “Rights given or reserved to the people by the U.S. Constitution.”  However, our rights are divinely given.  Therefore, the Constitution goes not “give” us our rights, but simply enumerates some of them in the Bill of Rights.

Contract Law – Law dealing with the interpretation and enforcement of written agreements between parties; typically in contract law the rule is, "Either is is in the contract, or it is not."

Corruption of Blood – Punishment inherited or passed down, inheritable qualities destroyed.

Culture War – Moral (and sometimes religious) conflict waged on the societal front.  In the modern era a culture war exists between secular globalists and Judeo-Christian beliefs of a virtuous society, localism and individual sovereignty.

D

Deadweight Loss – The fall in total surplus resulting from a market distortion, such as a tax or government project leading to a loss of economic efficiency that can occur when equilibrium for a good or service is not achieved or is not achievable.

Debt-Based Money – A debt-based monetary system allows banks to create money to be put into circulation through loans (debt), following the 'fractional-reserve banking' practice.  When a central bank creates the money it may create money through lending, to satisfy expenses, acquire assets, or to provide dividends.

Declaration of Independence – The unanimous formal Declaration of the thirteen united States of America declaring their freedom from Great Britain, dated July 4, 1776.  Note: The word “united” in the above definition is not capitalized.  That is not a typo.  The word “united” is not capitalized in the text of the Declaration of Independence because the union of States was not a country yet, and the attitude of the time was that the new country was not a nation, but a voluntary union of States.  From the founding, and throughout the antebellum period, the United States was considered to be “The United States are” (plural).  After the War Between the States (American Civil War) the designation changed to “The United States is.”  In other words, prior to the Civil War, the emphasis was placed on the autonomy and sovereignty of the States, not the central power of the federal government or the country as a singular nation.

Declaration of War – A formal declaration by a government that a state of war exists.

 

Defamation – The action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel.

 

Deflation – The action or process of deflating or being deflated; reduction of the general level of prices in an economy.

 

Democracy – A system of government in which ultimate political authority over all political decisions is vested in the vote of the public at large.  Derived from the Greek words demos (“the people”) and kratia (“authority,” or “power”).  Some scholars will use the word kratos, instead, which means “authority,” or “rule.”  Historically, democracies have always served as a transitional system of government from free systems to an oligarchy.

 

Democratic and Dynamic Economic Principles – A free market that encourages individual participation, provides for upward mobility in the system, and unleashes the potential of the individual while creating freedom and prosperity for the society as a whole.

 

Democratic Processes – Citizens vote themselves; popular vote.

 

Depression – A long and severe recession in an economy or market.

Dickinson, John – Born: November 8, 1732; Talbot County, Province of Maryland.  Death: February 14, 1808, Wilmington, Delaware.  Involved in government as an office holder since 1759, holding office as a representative to the Continental Congress from both Pennsylvania, and Delaware.  His final office was as a State Senator in Delaware from 1793 – 1794.  He served as the President of the Annapolis Convention in 1786, the body who determined the Articles of Confederation required amending, and scheduled the Philadelphia Convention for May of 1787.  The latter would be the convention whose body of delegates ultimately wrote the United States Constitution.  He was a Signer of the United States Constitution representing the State of Delaware.  He was the primary author of the Olive Branch Petition in 1775, in the hopes of avoiding all out war with Britain.  He refused to sign the Declaration of Independence because he felt reconciliation with Britain was a better strategy than confrontation.

Direct Taxation – A government levy on the income, property, or wealth of people or companies.  A direct tax is borne entirely by the entity that pays it, and cannot be passed on to another entity.

 

Divide and Conquer – Military and political strategy designed to create disharmony within an opposing organization so as to diminish its effectiveness.; Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, wrote, “When ten to the enemy's one, surround him; When five times his strength, attack him; If double his strength, divide him.”

 

Divided Sovereignty – The division of authority of self-governance and autonomy between two constituencies.  In the United States the divided sovereignty is between the people and the States.

 

Divine Providence – The care and superintendence which God exercises over His creatures.

 

Domestic Tranquility – Peace at home.

 

Douglass, Frederick – Born: 1818; Tuckahoe, Talbot County, Maryland.  Death: February 20, 1895; Washington D.C..  Frederick Douglass was born a slave, but after his escape he became a civil rights leader in the abolition movement, advocating that the great emancipator is education.  He is the first African-American to hold a high U.S. government rank.  He was taught the alphabet as a child, then asked poor white neighbor children to teach him to read in exchange for bread.  He practiced using a Webster’s Spelling book which he carried everywhere he went.  He learned about freedom from a Columbian Orator he purchased at the age of 12 with money he earned polishing boots.  He learned the meaning of “abolition” by reading the Baltimore American.  He joined the abolitionist movement in New England, giving speeches.  His sons were the first two black recruits to join the 54th Massachusetts Infantry during the War Between the States.  Douglass met Abraham Lincoln three times, and was a registered Republican.  Douglass was the author of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845”; “My Bondage and My Freedom”, and “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass in 1881”. 

Dry Counties – Counties in some States that still prohibit the sale of alcohol.

 

Dual Constituency – A system where both the people and the States are citizens of the union.  The arrangement creates two separate bodies of voters.  A dual constituency is a prominent example of what makes the American System truly exceptional.

 

Due Process – The essential elements of due process of law are notice, an opportunity to be heard, the right to defend in an orderly proceed, and an impartial judge.  It is founded upon the basic principle that every man shall have his day in court, and the benefit of the general law which proceeds only upon notice and which hears and considers before judgment is rendered.  In short, due process means fundamental fairness and substantial justice.

E

 

English Declaration of Rights, 1689 – An Act of the Parliament of England reestablishing constitutional matters and certain basic natural rights. Passed on December 16, 1689, the Declaration of Rights lays down limits on the powers of the monarch and of Parliament, and sets out certain rights of individuals including arms for their defense within the rule of law.

 

F

Fall of the Soviet Union – During the 1980s President Ronald Reagan of the United States isolated the Soviet economy by driving oil prices to their lowest levels in decades, and embarking on an arms race that ultimately bankrupted the communist regime.  Reading the writing on the wall, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced a glasnost plan calling for political openness.  The plan eliminated any residue of Stalinist repression.  Perestroika restructured the economy, creating a hybrid communist-capitalist system.  As this was occurring, the Soviet Union was losing its grip on its Eastern European satellites.  In 1989 a political revolution in Poland and the toppling of the Berlin Wall spelled the beginning of the end of the USSR.  Communist Party hard-liners attempted a coup in August of 1991, which was unsuccessful.  By the end of the year Gorbachev resigned as leader of the USSR, and a week later the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist.

Federal Reserve Act – The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States.  The law established the purposes, structure, and functions of the System.  While Congress has the power to amend the Federal Reserve Act, the system remains a privately owned bank.

 

Federalist Papers – Series of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton defending, and explaining the principles of, the Constitution in order to encourage the New York 

Ratifying Convention to decide to ratify the Constitution.

Few, William – Born: June 8, 1748, Baltimore, Maryland; Died: July 16, 1828, Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York.  Veteran of the American Revolution.  Delegate at the Constitutional Convention.  U.S. Senator, 1789-1793.  Opposed the First Bank of the United States.  President of the Bank of New York, 1813-1817.  Member New York State Assembly, 1802-1805.

Florida-Chad Controversy – Florida recount of the 2000 Presidential Election where only a cleanly punched ballot with a fully removed chad was counted.

Ford, Gerald – Born: July 14, 1913, Omaha Nebraska; Died: December 26, 2006.  38th President of the United States, 1974-1977.  Vice President of the U.S., 1973-1974.  Member, House of Representatives from Michigan, 1949-1973.  World War II Veteran, U.S. Naval Reserve, Lieutenant Commander.  Ford’s presidency lasted 895 days, the shortest in U.S. History by a president who did not die in office.  He is the only President of the United States not to have been elected (he had been appointed to Vice President before he became President, rather than elected as a part of a ticket, or as a runner-up in the presidential election).

 

Franklin, Benjamin – Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity.  Born: Boston, Massachusetts; January 17, 1706; Died: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; April 17, 1790.  He was a Diplomat, Inventor, Writer, Scientist, Elder statesman in Constitutional Convention.  Franklin was one of the members of the Committee of Five who drafted the Declaration of Independence.  At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he is quoted as having replied to a comment by John Hancock that they must all hang together.  "Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."  He secured a military alliance with France in 1778, and negotiated the Treaty of Paris in 1783.  Franklin is the only Founding Father to have signed the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution.  As a writer, editor, and publisher, Franklin published the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23.  Later he also published Poor Richard’s Almanack.  He was later associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper known for its revolutionary sympathies.  He was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which later became the University of Pennsylvania.  In 1759, the University of St Andrews awarded Franklin an honorary doctorate in recognition of his accomplishments.  He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford University in 1762.  Because of these honors, Franklin was often addressed as “Dr. Franklin.”  During the American Revolution, he became the first United States Postmaster General.  He served as governor (president) of Pennsylvania from 1785 to 1788, the last governor prior to the 1790 State Constitution.  Franklin was the first United States Ambassador to France (1779-1785), and he also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden (1782-1783).  For his work with electricity, he received the Royal Society’s Copley Medal in 1753.  At the 1787 Federal Convention in Philadelphia Franklin recommended that the delegates pray before each session, a practice that carried over to the U.S. Congress after the ratification of the Constitution.  Franklin stated that without being a virtuous society, no civilization is capable of freedom.  Since 1928, Franklin’s image has appeared on the U.S. One Hundred Dollar Bill.  From 1948 to 1963 Benjamin Franklin’s likeness also adorned the half dollar.

 

French Revolution – A 1789 revolution in France that followed a sequence of upheavals, leading to the downfall of France’s King Louis XVI, the rise of Robespierre and the Reign of Terror, a chaos wherein thousands were guillotined for political differences, and a succession of dictators.  Radicals saw the Catholic Church as the enemy and promoted in its place a Cult of Reason. The Revolution emerged in part from the rationalism of the Enlightenment which distrusted all established institutions. It inspired fear into European monarchs and aristocrats.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 – The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 supported the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution listed in Article IV., Section 2. The law was designed to ensure under penalty of law that escaped slaves were returned to their owners should they turn up in the north.  Northern States were refusing to return the escaped slaves, however, and the federal government’s refusal to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act created, in the minds of the Southern States, a constitutional crisis.

 

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 – A part of the Compromise of 1850, reestablishing the provisions of the 1793 statute providing for the capture and return of runaway slaves should they escape from a slave state and seek asylum in a free state, or a federal territory.

 

G

 

George Washington’s Farewell Address – A letter written to the American People George Washington at the end of his second presidential term.  It was originally published in 1796.

Gerry, Elbridge – Born: July 17, 1744; Marblehead, Massachusetts; Death: November 23, 1814; Washington D.C.  Served as the fifth Vice President of the United States (1813–14), serving under James Madison.  He is known best for being the namesake of gerrymandering, a process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power.  Elected to the Second Continental Congress, Gerry signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.  One of three men who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and who refused to sign the United States Constitution, because it did not then include a Bill of Rights. 

Gettysburg Address – Speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln four months after the Union armies defeated confederate forces at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The speech was recited at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.  The speech came to be known as one of the most iconic statements of American national purpose. 

Glorious Revolution, 1688 – Uprising that displaced reigning king, James II, with the joint monarchy of his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange.

Grant, Ulysses S. – Born: April 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio; Died: July 23, 1885, Wilton, New York.  Republican.  18th President of the United States, 1869-1877.  U.S. Secretary of War, 1867-1868.  Commanding General of the U.S. Army during the conclusion of the War Between the States and much of the Reconstruction Period, 1864-1869.  Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, bringing an end to the War Between the States.  President Johnson, when Grant was inaugurated, refused to attend the event, or ride with Grant when Johnson departed from the White House for the last time.  Unlike Johnson, Grant’s Reconstruction strategy included federal enforcement of civil rights, including against voter intimidation of Southern blacks.  During his presidency the remaining Confederate States were readmitted to the Union, and in 1871 he employed the Ku Klux Klan Act authorizing him to impose martial law and suspend habeas corpus should he believe it necessary. By October, the new law was used in South Carolina, with the help of federal troops.  By 1872, the Klan’s power had collapsed and the Black Community was voting in record numbers.  In 1871, he signed a bill ending the Indian treaty system; the law now treated individual Native Americans as wards of the federal government, and no longer dealt with the tribes as sovereign entities.

 

Great Awakening – Reference to two religious revitalization movements that swept the English Colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, and the United States from 1800-1830, particularly along the Atlantic Coast.  Both movements left a permanent impact on American religion and evangelicalism.  In New England, the events challenged established authority, and reshaped the dominating churches.  The First Great Awakening focused on people who were already church members.  The Second Great Awakening focused on the unchurched.

 

Great Depression – Severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II.

 

Great Recession – Period of a decline in economic activity primarily centered around the years of 2008 and 2009.

 

 

H

 

Hamilton, Alexander – First Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, 1789-1795 (Federalist Party).  Born: January 11, 1757; Island of Nevis, British West Indies; Death: July 12, 1804; Greenwich Village, New York City, NY.  Considered a Revolutionary War Hero, during which he served mostly as General Washington’s assistant and trusted advisor.  He was a delegate during the Constitutional Convention from New York, solely representing his State after the remainder of the New York delegation stormed out in protest.  He was the author of 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers.  Hamilton was an early advocate of a strong central government; stating that establishing a strong central government was the key to achieving America’s independence.  In 1784, as a lawyer, Hamilton took on the Rutgers v. Waddington case, which involved the rights of Loyalists. It was a landmark case for the American justice system, as it led to the eventual creation of judicial review through Marbury v. Madison in 1803.  Alexander died after a duel with Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey.  In the dual, Hamilton was fatally wounded, but Hamilton's bullet missed Burr.  Hamilton, injured, was brought back to New York City, where he died the next day, on July 12, 1804.

 

Harding, Warren – Born: November 2, 1865, Blooming Grove, Ohio.  Died: August 2, 1923, San Francisco, California.  Republican.  29th President of the United States, 1921-1923; died while in office of a heart attack.  United States Senator from Ohio, 1915-1921.  Governor of Ohio, 1904-1906.  Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, 1904-1906.  Member, Ohio Senate, 1900-1904.  In 1920 he was the first sitting U.S. Senator to be elected president.  His application of fiscally conservative policies made him a popular president early in his presidency, even though by the mid-term elections the economy had not completely returned to normalcy.  By March of 1923 the economic recovery finally began to take shape.  He was the first president to visit Alaska, and in a speech in Washington a few weeks later he predicted statehood for the territory.  The next two days, while on a train heading to San Francisco, Harding’s health became an issue.  It was discovered he was having heart problems, and the pneumonia.  He died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923.  His death shocked the country, especially because of his popularity.  A series of scandals, however, emerged after his death, damaging his reputation.

 

Harlan, John Marshall – Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1877-1911.  Born: June 1, 1833, Boyle County, Kentucky; Death: October 14, 1911; Washington, D.C.  Harlan was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Rutherford Hayes, a Republican President.  Harland, prior to his time on the U.S. Supreme Court, served as Attorney General of Kentucky, 1863-1867.  He originally considered himself a member of the Whig Party, became a Democrat during the War Between the States, and then converted to the Republican Party during the Reconstruction Era.  He strongly supported the union, even though he supported slavery.  He later became a supporter of civil rights, and changed his opinion about the Thirteenth Amendment after the election of Ulysses S. Grant as President in 1868.

 

Harrison, William Henry “Old Tippecanoe” – Born: February 9, 1773, Charles City County, Virginia; Died: April 4, 1841, White House, Washington, D.C.  Whig.  9th President of the United States, 1841-1841.  Third oldest person sworn in as President (only Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump were older).  Famous Military Veteran of The Battle of Tippecanoe (Tecumseh’s War), and the War of 1812.  U.S. Senator from Ohio, 1825-1828.  Member, House of Representatives from Ohio, 1816-1819.  Governor Indiana Territory, 1801-1812.  Member, U.S. House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory (Delegate), 1799-1800.  Secretary of the Northwest Territory, 1798-1799.  Served the shortest tenure in United States presidential history at thirty-one days.  Son of Founding Father Benjamin Harrison V. and paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States.

 

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich – Born: August 27, 1770, Stuttgart, Germany.  Died: November 14, 1831.  A key figure in the development of his era’s articulation of German idealism.  The political philosophies of German thinkers such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche find their genesis in Hegel’s reasoning.  An admirer of the French Revolution.  He believed the spirit of revolution was travelling, and while writing “The Phenomenology of Spirit,” his impression was that the revolution’s next target would be Germany.  “Left Hegelians” interpreted Hegel’s works as calling for a revolution that advocates atheism in religion, and democracy in politics.  Hegel taught that cultural and societal fulfillment cannot be reached until the state absorbs the family and civil society.  An individual’s “supreme duty is to be a member of the state.”  “Only through being a member of the state that the individual himself has objectivity, truth, and ethical life…[and] are happy even to sacrifice their lives for the State.”  Late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century applications of Hegel’s philosophies shaped the thinking of groups like the Fabian Society, Marxism, and Fascism.

 

Helvetius, Claude Adrien  – Born: January 26, 1715, Paris France; Died: December 26, 1771, Paris France.  French Philosopher who, in his 1758 work, De l'esprit (On Mind), proposed that all human faculties are attributes of mere physical sensation, and that the only real motive is self-interest, therefore there is no good and evil (no such thing as absolute right), only competitive pleasures.  Therefore, justice is relative, and changes according to customs.  The materialist aspects of his writings posed to be a great influence on Karl Marx, who later called the materialism of Helvetius “the social basis of communism.”

 

Henry, Patrick – “The Trumpet and The Voice of the American Revolution”.  Born: May 29, 1736; Studley, Virginia; Death: June 6, 1799; Brookneal, Virginia.  Best known for his quote: “Give me liberty, or give me death.”  In 1760 he secured his law license.  An active force in the growing rebellion against Britain, Henry had the remarkable ability to translate his political ideology into the language of the common man. He was selected to serve as a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774.  Elected the first governor of Virginia in 1776.  An anti-federalist who feared the creation of a strong central government.  In 1787, he turned down an opportunity to attend the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia.

 

Hobbes, Thomas – Born: April 5, 1588, Westport, Wiltshire, England.  Death: December 4, 1679, Derbyshire, United Kingdom.  Hobbes was an English political philosopher who was best known for his books, “The Elements of Law” (1640), “De Cive” [On the Citizen] (1642), and “Leviathan” (1651).  In “Leviathan”, Hobbes argues for the necessity and natural evolution of the social contract.  His political philosophy is considered to have been a major influence upon the likes of John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

 

Hoover, Herbert – Born: August 10, 1874, West Branch, Iowa.  Died: October 20, 1964, New York City, New York.  Republican.  31st President of the United States, 1929-1933.  U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 1921-1928.  Director of the U.S. Food Administration.  Hoover was President of the United States when the Stock Market crashed in 1929, launching the world into the Great Depression.  His largely progressive policies failed to stop the worsening of the depression, and he lost by a landslide to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election.  After recognizing the failure of progressive policies during his own presidency, when Roosevelt took office Hoover took on a more conservative stance and advocated against Roosevelt’s New Deal policies.

 

 

J

 

Jackson, Andrew – 7th President of the United States, March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837.  Democrat.  Born: March 15, 1767; Waxhaw Settlement between the Provinces of North Carolina and South Carolina.  Died: June 8, 1845; Nashville Tennessee.  He served as a member of the House of Representatives from the State of Tennessee, December 4, 1796 – September 26, 1797; as Military Governor of Florida, March 10, 1821 – December 31, 1821; U.S. Senator from Tennessee, March 4, 1823 – October 14, 1825.  Considered the Father of the Democratic Party.  As a soldier, Jackson was appointed colonel of the Tennessee militia.  He was elected commander of the same the following year.  He served in the Creek War of 1813–1814, winning the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The subsequent Treaty required the Creek Indians to surrender vast lands present-day Alabama and Georgia.  He also served in the War of 1812 with the British, achieving a victory in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans which gave him countrywide recognition.  Jackson then led U.S. forces in the First Seminole War, which led to the annexation of Florida from Spain. Jackson briefly served as Florida's first territorial governor before returning to the Senate.

 

While Jackson was eventually elected President in 1828, he ran for president in 1824, winning a plurality of the popular and electoral vote.  With no candidate able to claim an electoral majority, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams.  Jackson’s supporters proclaimed that the election was the result of a "corrupt bargain."  A proponent of pure democracy, under Andrew Jackson’s supporters’ encouragement, the Jeffersonian Republicans changed their name to the Democratic Party.  Jackson was one of the primary voices that led to a change in the Electoral College from independent electors to electors who would be expected to vote in a matching manner with a popular vote by the voters in each State.

 

Jackson, James – Born: September 21, 1757; Moretonhampstead, Devonshire, England; Death: March 19, 1806; Washington D.C.  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 until 1791; U.S. Senator from Georgia 1793 to 1795, and from 1801 until his death in 1806; Governor of Georgia, 1798 to 1801.  Was one of those who were gravely concerned about the addition of a Bill of Rights, considering it unnecessary and redundant.  On the floor of the House of Representatives, Mr. Jackson voiced his concerns about the proposal of amendments (Bill of Rights) at such an early juncture.  Like Madison, his concern over an insertion of a declaration of rights into the Constitution seemed unnecessary.  He also challenged Congress' involvement with proposals that originated from the States.  Jackson’s reasoning questioned the need for a Bill of Rights to protect the people from a group of lawmakers who themselves after two years of service will return to their homes and live under any tyranny that they may vote into place.  So why, he argued, would members of Congress do such a thing?  Jackson went on to explain that proposing amendments was not right because ratification had not yet been achieved in Rhode Island and North Carolina, meaning that they were not yet a part of the union.  In Rhode Island, Jackson explained, an anti-federal interest remained, and they too should have consent over amendments, as well.

 

Jay, John – First Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1789-1795.  Born: December 23, 1745, New York City, New York; Death: May 17, 1829, Bedford, New York.  Education: Columbia University.  Jay was the author of 5 of the 85 Federalist Papers.  He resigned as the first Chief Justice to the United States to accept the position of Governor of New York, 1795-1801.  Once his term as Governor of New York had ended, President John Adams offered to Jay the position as Chief Justice again, but Jay turned it down, considering the position to be too weak, and beneath is dignity.  Also, during his long career involved in the early politics of this country, he served as U.S. Secretary of State, 1789-1790; U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 1789; U.S. Minister to Spain, 1779-1782; 6th President of the Continental Congress, 1778-1779; Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from New York, 1775-1776, 1778-1779; Delegate to the First Continental Congress from New York, 1774.

 

Jefferson, Thomas – The principal author of the Declaration of Independence; The third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.  Nicknames: "Sage of Monticello", "Apostle of the Constitution".  Born: April 13, 1743; Shadwell, Virginia; Died: July 4, 1826; Monticello, Virginia.  Education: College of William & Mary (1760–1762).  Second Vice President of the United States (1797-1801).  Responsible for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  Thomas Jefferson was among the early supporters of the cause of American independence.  He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1768, joining forces with fellow radicals, Patrick Henry and George Washington.  Author: "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," 1774.  The work established his reputation as one of the most eloquent advocates of the American cause.   In 1775, Jefferson attended the Second Continental Congress, which created the Continental Army and appointed Jefferson's fellow Virginian, George Washington, as its commander-in-chief.

 

Johnson, Andrew – 17th President of the United States, Democrat.  In Office: April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869.  Born: December 29, 1808. Died: July 31, 1875.  Served as 16th Vice President of the United States under Abraham Lincoln.  Johnson became President after the assassination of President Lincoln and served during the Reconstruction Period.  Johnson was impeached in March of 1868, but was acquitted by the Senate in May of 1868.  Johnson was the third U.S. President to have his veto overridden by Congress, an action that became common during his presidency (15, which remains the most for any President), due to disagreements regarding reconstruction strategies.

 

Johnson, Lyndon B. – Born: August 27, 1908, Stonewall Texas; Died: January 22, 1973, Stonewall Texas.  Democrat.  36th President of the United States, 1963-1969.  Vice President of the United States, 1961-1963.  U.S. Senator from Texas, 1949-1961.  Member, U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, 1937-1949.  As Senator, his “Johnson Amendment” in 1954 was added as a provision to the U.S. Tax Code, which served to limit the political speech of non-profit organizations, and churches.  As Vice President he sought to increase the powers of the office by seeking to transfer authority of Senate Majority Leader to the vice presidency.  He also sought to increase his influence in the executive branch.  Both attempts were met with vehement opposition.  Johnson was sworn in as President on Air Force One in Dallas two hours and eight minutes after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.   President, Johnson’s domestic policy launched his “Great Society” legislation, expanding his “War on Poverty,” which also increased dramatically federal funding into public schools.  After a 75-day filibuster by Democrats in the U.S. Senate against Kennedy’s civil rights bill, which had been drafted by Republican congressional leaders, the Senate voted 73-27 in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Johnson signed it into law on July 2, 1964.  Martin Luther King Jr. called the legislation a “second emancipation.”  Johnson escalated America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, a decision that was later met with anti-war protests.  The number of troops in Vietnam increase dramatically, from 16,000 in 1963 to 525,000 in 1967.  The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 removed national origins quotas in the country’s immigration laws, resulting in dramatic increases of immigrants from Mexico and Asia.  Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968 on October 22, 1968, which was, and still remains, one of the largest and farthest reaching federal gun control laws in American History.  Urban riot marred much of Johnson’s presidency, with disturbances breaking out in Harlem (1964), Watts in Los Angeles (1965), Newark (1967), and a wave of riots in over a hundred cities in April of 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King.  Johnson was unsurprised by the riots, saying, “What did you expect?  I don't know why we're so surprised.  When you put your foot on a man's neck and hold him down for three hundred years, and then you let him up, what's he going to do?  He's going to knock your block off.”  In 1967, Johnson appointed the first Africa-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall.

 

K

 

Karl Marx’s 10 Planks of Communism – Karl Marx’s 10 Planks to seize power and destroy freedom was included in The Communist Manifesto, an 1848 political pamphlet commissioned by the Communist League, and originally published in London.  The manifesto presented an approach to class struggle, placing blame on the conflicts of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production.  The manifesto is a summary of the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels regarding the nature of society and politics.  The document predicted the demise of capitalism, and its inevitable replacement by socialism.  The authors, to achieve the transition to socialism, call for a “forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.”

Kennedy, Edward “Ted” – Born: February 22, 1932; Died: August 25, 2009, Hyannis Port Massachusetts.  Youngest son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassination.  Ted was a United States Senator from Massachusetts, 1962-2009.  The Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 led to Kennedy pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, and a two-month suspended sentence.  Later in his political career Edward became known as a major figure and spokesman for American progressivism.

 

Kennedy, John F. – Born: May 29, 1917, Brookline, Massachusetts; Died: November 22, 1963, Dallas, Texas.  Democrat.  35th President of the United States, January 20, 1961 to November 22, 1963.  U.S. Senator, Massachusetts, 1953-1960.  U.S. House of Representatives, 1947-1953.  Authorized failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961, and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962.  Majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.  Kennedy was a World War II veteran.  Before his presidency he won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography, “Profiles in Courage.”  He is the second youngest to hold the Office of the President, having been inaugurated at the age of 43.  He is the only Roman Catholic to occupy the office.  Kennedy initiated the creation of security ties with Israel, and is credited with being the founder of the U.S.-Israeli military alliance.  In 1960, Kennedy stated, “Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.”  November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  

Kentucky Resolutions – The Kentucky Resolutions (1798, authored by Thomas Jefferson), and the Virginia Resolutions (1799, authored by James Madison), were presented to, and passed by, the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.  The resolutions argued that the federal government had no authority to exercise power not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution.  In the Virginia Resolution, Madison explained that by enacting the Alien and Sedition Acts, Congress was exercising “a power not delegated by the Constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto; a power, which more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is leveled against that right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right.”  In the Kentucky Resolutions, Jefferson asserted that not only were the Alien and Seditions Acts unconstitutional, but that the States had the power to nullify them, and any other unconstitutional federal laws.  “[T]he several states who formed that instrument [the Constitution], being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those [states], of all unauthorized acts….is the rightful remedy.”

Keynes, John Maynard – Born: June 5, 1883, England; Died April 21, 1946, England.  British economist who developed a school of thought that consumerism dictates economic activity, and to reduce the boundaries of economic expansion and retraction government must manage the market with strategies designed to encourage consumer activity.  His work, Treatise on Money, published in two volumes in 1930, stated when money being saved exceeds the amount being invested – which can happen if interest rates are too high – then unemployment will rise.  He was critical of the British government's austerity measures during the Great Depression.  He stated budget deficits were a good thing, and that growth of business in the private sector could not be trusted.

 

King, Jr., Martin Luther – Born: January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia; Died: April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee.  Baptist Minister and Civil Rights Activist.  Advocated for equality through non-violent civil disobedience, a style of activism inspired by his Christian Faith and the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi.  First President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).  January 10, 1957 – April 4, 1968.  Co-organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.  Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1964.  Co-organizer of the Selma to Montgomery marches, 1965.  While planning the Poor People’s Campaign national occupation of Washington D.C. in 1968, Dr. King was assassinated.  Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.  A federal holiday in his honor was established in 1986 by legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan.

 

King, Rufus – Born: March 24, 1755, Scarborough, Mass.; Died: April 29, 1827, New York City.  Veteran, American Revolution.  Delegate to the Continental Congress.  Signer of the United States Constitution.  U.S. Senator, 1789-1796, 1813-1819, 1820-1825.  Minister to Britain, 1796-1803, 1825-1826.  Abolitionist who added provisions to the Northwest Ordinance barring slavery in the Northwest Territory.  While he supported the concept of “gradual emancipation,” in 1817, he supported Senate action to abolish the domestic slave trade and, in 1819, staunchly defended an antislavery amendment to the Missouri statehood bill.  King was the last Federalist Party presidential candidate to be fielded, losing to James Monroe in 1816.

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Laurens, Henry – Born: March 6, 1724; Charleston, S.C.; Death: December 8, 1792; Charleston, S.C.  President of the Continental Congress (1777-1778); Signer of the Articles of Confederation.  He voted to Ratify the U.S. Constitution as a member of the South Carolina Ratifying Convention in 1788.  He was imprisoned for Treason against the British Empire at the Tower of London in England, 1780-1781; becoming the only American to have been held in the Tower of London.  In 1783 Laurens was sent to Paris as one of the Peace Commissioners for the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris.

 

Lee, Richard Henry – Born: January 20, 1732; Westmorel and County, Virginia.  Death: June 19, 1794; Westmoreland County, Virginia.  The member of the Second Continental Congress who gave the motion calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain.  Signer of the Articles of Confederation.  His "resolution for independency" of June 1776 led to the United States Declaration of Independence.  Signer of the Declaration of Independence.  United States Senator from Virginia from 1789 to 1792.

 

Lincoln, Abraham – Born: February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm, Kentucky; Died: April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.  16th President of the United States.  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois, 1847-1849.  Member of the Illinois State House of Representatives, 1834-1842.  President during the War Between the States.  Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.  First Republican Party President of the United States.  Lincoln’s image is carved into the stone of Mount Rushmore.  Lincoln’s portrait appears on the U.S. Penny, and the Five Dollar Bill.  Due to many of his actions and policies as president that he believed to be necessary in war time, Lincoln is sometimes referred to as the “benevolent dictator,” or that he presided over a “constitutional dictatorship.”

 

Livingston, William – Born: November 30, 1723; Albany, New York.  Death: July 25, 1790; Elizabeth, New Jersey.  1st Governor of New Jersey, 1776-1790.  Signer of the U.S. Constitution.  Founder of the weekly journal, the Independent Reflector.  The journal was New York's first serial non-newspaper publication, and the only one being published in British North America at the time.  Publication of the Reflector ceased with the fifty-second issue after political pressure was brought to bear upon its printer, James Parker.

 

Locke, John – Born: August 29, 1632, Wrington, United Kingdom.  Died: October 28, 1704, High Laver, United Kingdom.  Locke was an English political philosopher during the Enlightenment.  He was a major influence on the formation of the American System of Government.  His political theories of the rights of man, including property, led to the phrase "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  The original words were "life, liberty, and estate".  Locke described society as being a social contract between the individuals inhabiting a society.  Education: Westminster School, Christ Church, Oxford.  Author: Second Treatise on Government.

 

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Madison, James – Fourth President of the United States 1809-1817, Secretary of State 1801-1809, "Father of the United States Constitution," "Father of the Bill of Rights."  Born: March 16, 1751; Belle Grove, Port Conway, Virginia.  Died: June 28, 1836; Montpelier, Virginia.   Education: College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).  Madison was the author of 29 of the 85 Essays which comprise The Federalist Papers.  President During the Second Barbary War and the War of 1812.  As a framer and defender of the Constitution he had no peer.  The finest part of Madison's performance as president was his concern for preserving the Constitution.

Magna Carta – The Great Charter of the Liberties of England; the first document that limited the power of government by subjecting it to the rule of law; signed in June 15, 1215 between the barons of Medieval England and King John.

Marbury v. Madison, 1803 – Court ruling regarding an undelivered court commission that is also credited for being the legal authority for judicial review based on the written judicial opinion by Chief Justice John Marshall.

Marshall, John – Born: September 24, 1755; Germantown, Virginia.  Death: July 6, 1835; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Member the U.S. House of Representatives, 1799-1800.  He served as U.S. Secretary of State, 1800-1801.  He served as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1801-1835 (the longest serving Chief Justice in American History).  Marshall’s first landmark case was Marbury v. Madison, which established the basis of judicial review in 1803.  Chief Justice John Marshall spent his 35 years on the Supreme Court attempting to establish, and expand federal supremacy.  He developed federal supremacy in his opinion of the Mcculloch v. Maryland case in 1819 where the Court invalidated a Maryland law that taxed all banks in the State, including a branch of Alexander Hamilton’s creation, the national Bank of the United States.  Marshall held that although none of the enumerated powers of Congress explicitly authorized the incorporation of the national bank, the Necessary and Proper Clause provided the basis for Congress's action.  Marshall concluded that "the government of the Union, though limited in its power, is supreme within its sphere of action."

 

Martin, Luther – Born: February 20, 1748; Piscataway, New Jersey.  Death: July 10, 1826; New York, New York.  He refused to sign the Constitution because he felt it violated states' rights.  He was a leading Anti-Federalist.  His work with George Mason and Patrick Henry assisted the passage of the Bill of Rights.

 

Marx, Karl – Born: May 5, 1818; Trier, Germany.  Died: March 14, 1883; London, United Kingdom.  The Father of Communism.  A political philosopher, follower of Hegelian political philosophy, revolutionary socialist.  Author: Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital.

Mason, George – Born: December 11, 1725; Fairfax County, Virginia.  Death: October 7, 1792; Fairfax County, Virginia.  Mason was an Anti-Federalist.  Though a member of the Constitutional Convention, Mr. Mason advocated strong local government and a weak central government, leading him to be very critical of the formation of the federal government through the Constitution and refusing to sign the final draft.  His protests ultimately led to the creation of, and the adoption of, the Bill of Rights.  At the Constitutional Convention, Mason vigorously opposed the provision that allowed the slave trade to continue until 1808 (despite being a slaveholder himself), referring to the slave trade as "disgraceful to mankind."

 

Missouri Compromise – Congressional act associated with the slavery debate associated with the admittance of Missouri as a member of the Union.  Missouri’s 1819 request for statehood challenged the attempt to keep the number of free and slave States evenly divided.  The Missouri Compromise of 1820 granted Missouri’s request for admission to the Union, provided that Maine would also be admitted as a free State so as not to upset the balance between free and slave States.  The act also included an amendment that drew a line across the western region of the country, establishing a new boundary between free and slave States and territories.  The amendment was later negated by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

Monroe, James – Born: April 28, 1758, Monroe Hall, Virginia.  Died: July 4, 1831, New York City, New York.  5th President of the United States, 1817-1825.  Revolutionary War Veteran.   U.S. Secretary of War, 1814-1815.  U.S. Secretary of State, 1811-1817.  Governor of Virginia, 1811-1811.  U.S. Minister to the U.K., 1803-1807.  U.S. Minister to France, 1794-1796.  U.S. Senator from Virginia, 1790-1794.  Member of the Congress of the Confederation from Virginia, 1783-1786.  Monroe was assisted Robert R. Livingston in France with the negotiating of the Louisiana Purchase, which also mean acquiring New Orleans and control of trade of the Mississippi River.  Last president of Jefferson’s Republican Party before it became known as the Democratic Party.  He made two long national tours to build national trust, ushering in what a Boston newspaper heralded as the “Era of Good Feelings.”  He missed having a unanimous electoral vote in the Election of 1820 by one electoral vote.  He ran unopposed since the collapsing Federalist Party offered no opponent.  William Plumer, the one elector not to vote for Monroe, stated he did so because he thought Monroe to be incompetent.  Plumer cast his vote for John Quincy Adams.  Later, a story arose that he cast his dissenting vote so that George Washington would be the only president in history to achieve a unanimous vote, though the story was never confirmed to be true.  As President, Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise.  He was best known for his policy, the “Monroe Doctrine”, which prohibited European colonization, or European intervention, of the Americas beginning in 1823.  He was sympathetic to the Latin American revolutionary movements against Spain and had decided non-intervention for peoples who sought to establish republican governments, such as was the U.S. policy during the French Revolution, were unacceptable.  The Monroe Doctrine refrained from military support, and reiterated traditional U.S. policy of neutrality regarding European wars and conflicts, while declaring that the U.S. would not tolerate recolonization of any country in the Americas by any European country once the New World country gained independence.  Monroe also stated that European countries should no longer consider the Western Hemisphere for new colonization, aiming his statement at Russia who was attempting to expand its colony along the Pacific Coast.

 

Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de – 1689-1755, French lawyer and political philosopher famous for his articulation of separation of powers and a mixed constitution which proved to be pivotal to the creation of the United States Constitution. 

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Naked Communist, The – An observation regarding the conflict between communism and freedom in the modern era by W. Cleon Skousen.  Originally published in 1958, the author’s goal was to collect all of the facts about communism in one volume.

 

New Views of the Constitution of the United States – A classic defense of states' rights in the literature of the early republic by John Taylor of Caroline.  The book was published in 1823, a year before the author's death.  The book was intended to be one last thought about the nature of the American union.  The essential question Taylor asks is, "What is the American form of government -- national or federal?"  Taylor, in line with his Jeffersonian roots and reputation as a proponent of a separation of powers, answers, “federal.”  We are, he says, a federation of independent sovereign states, not a consolidated nation.

Newsom, Gavin – Born: October 10, 1967, San Francisco, California.  Governor of California, assumed Office 2019.  Lieutenant Governor of California, 2011-2019.  Mayor of San Francisco, 2004-2011.  Progressive Liberal who promotes the homosexual agenda and Marxist ideas such as universal health care.  In 2004 violated State law by ordering San Francisco’s city clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.  In 2005 a scandal emerged of Newsom having an extra-marital affair with is campaign manager’s wife.  He was not removed from office.  In 2007 Newsom defied federal immigration law by declaring San Francisco a “sanctuary city” (allowing illegal aliens to stay in San Francisco without consequence of law).  Supporter of the Folsom Street Fair, an event notorious for its public display of perverse acts, public nudity, and anti-Christian platform.  In 2008 Newsom’s San Francisco violated federal law by flying illegal alien juveniles out of the country.

 

Nixon, Richard – 37th President of the United States, Republican.  In Office: January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974.  Born: January 9, 1913.  Died: April 22, 1994.  President Nixon ended American involvement in the Vietnam War in 1973.  Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 led to diplomatic relations with the communist country.  The moon landing of Apollo 11 occurred during Nixon’s presidency on July 20, 1969.  Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface.  After the escalation of the Watergate Scandal, Nixon resigned August 9, 1974 in the face of a certain impeachment. 

Northwest Ordinance – Adopted July 13, 1787, Second Continental Congress.  Provided rules for admitting new States from the territory to the Union, prohibited slavery in the region, and listed a bill of rights for the territory.  The territory’s region included modern-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a portion of Minnesota.  The Northwest Ordinance was later affirmed by the U.S. Congress under the new government established by the U.S. Constitution on August 7, 1789.

Nullification Crisis – Confrontation between the State of South Carolina and the federal government regarding Tariff Acts of 1828 and 1832.  South Carolina maintained that the State had the right to make null and void any federal law, but James Madison defended the federal government, stating that nullification was only for the purpose of unconstitutional laws, not “any” law a State disagreed with. 

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Obama, Barack – 44th President of the United States, Democrat. January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017.  Born: August 4, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii.  First black President of the United States.  First President born outside the continental United States.  U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2005-2008.  Member of the Illinois Senate, 1997-2004.  Received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, the fourth president to be awarded the prize, the third to receive it while in office.  After graduating from Columbia University, but before attending Harvard Law School, Obama served as a Community Organizer from Chicago, and he has continued his radical community organizer activism in his post-presidential life.

Olive Branch Petition – Written by John Dickinson, the petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8, 1775.  It was an attempt to appease The Crown by asserting the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown.