Read the Founders

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative [...]

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

I’ve been too busy to properly promote Read the Founders for the holiday, but of course many bloggers and podcasters were way ahead of me. Thanks to Bryan Zug and Ricardo Rabago for actively participating in the Read the Founders meme.South of the James posted the text of the Declaration…. Carpe Factum lingers over the phrase “we hold these truths to be self evident.”Presidential candidate Wes Clark posted his thoughts on the Declaration of Independence in a 4th of July podcast yesterday.Rex Hammock thanked the men who signed the paper…. What else would you expect from a Southerner?The Daily Doubter, who consistently writes intelligently and thoughtfully on the intersection of modern life and the Founding Fathers’ writings, lets his mind wander over what great men, ancient and modern, have said about allegiance and patriotism. (He also points us to this essay by Robert Ingersoll, another perspective on the Constitution’s origin.)Confirm Them has “The Greatest Statement of Any from the Founders”Justice Breyer read the text of the Declaration at the start of the annual 4th of July parade in Plainfield, NH.On the Huffington Post, Brent Budowski wrote of the inspiration provided to Revolutionary troops by Thomas Paine and Common Sense.The Existentialist Cowboy ponders the conditions which prompted the writing of the Declaration. Brad DeLong reminded us of the words of Frederick Douglas, looking back at the Declaration in 1852.

A few links for you, from the wee hours of June 14th.
Constitution Society Home Page
The Constitution Society is a private non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education on the principles of constitutional republican government. It publishes documentation, engages in litigation, and organizes local citizens groups to work for reform.
The site includes a vast library [...]