Who’s in Charge? The Founders on Sovereignty
“I say supreme absolute power is originally and ultimately in the people.” In Rights of the British Colonists Asserted and Proved, James Otis Jr. was describing “sovereignty.” Sovereignty simply means final and absolute authority. Therefore, those who have it...
Usurpation: Weapon to Destroy Freedom
The Declaration of Independence doesn’t have a list of “grievances.” That word isn’t even in the text. The Revolutionaries seceded from the British over a long list – a “long train” – of unconstitutional acts, what Thomas Jefferson called in the...
Parchment barriers don’t stop tyranny
Words on paper don’t stop tyranny. Never did. Never will. In other words, we can’t expect governments to follow limits on their own power just because we write them out. As the founders told us, it’s ultimately up to the people to enforce those limits. In Federalist...