Why Americans Must Know Our U.S. Constitution

There has never been a form of government on Earth such as ours. It is unique. It sets us apart. But, it must always be defended. And, the foundation of it, the US Constitution, must be known by all Americans for it to persevere.

Our Founding Fathers were quite exceptional. They laid out, in the Declaration of Independence, the fact that we, as people, are born with unalienable rights. Those rights were being trampled upon by the tyrant King George III and they, with thousands of other Colonialists, fought for, and won our independence and our freedom.

When it came time to create a system of governance they outdid themselves. Yes, there were arguments, trade-offs, dissension and agreement during the Constitutional Convention and throughout the ratification process.

It was Federalist (keep the Constitution as it is) vs Anti-Federalist (only pass it with a Bill of Rights).

In the end the Bill of Rights were added.

Some people mistakenly think that the Constitution grants us our rights. Not true. The Bill of Rights was added to guarantee that the government could not take away our unalienable rights.

Sadly, today, according to a McCormick Tribune Foundation survey, only 1 in 1,000 American adults can name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Another survey by the Center for Civic Education found that only 14% of Americans think they know a lot about the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. There are many more such examples.

When We the People do not know our rights, when We the People are not aware that government is not supposed to control virtually all aspects of our lives, We the People fall prey.

We the People lose our freedom.

There, too, our Founders offered words of wisdom.

Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, spelled out what most people really know, when he said, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.” Examples of intolerable ones abound.

One of the reasons for the poor state of governments is that people, once elected, are placed in positions of power and some succumb and then take advantage of their office. President James Madison warned, “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”

As to how our government is supposed to function, perhaps President Thomas Jefferson said it best: “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.” Unfortunately, our government does restrain us and we are not as free as we once were.

Samuel Adams, a staunch Patriot and one of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party, echoed Jefferson’s sentiment when he stated, “The Legislative has no right to absolute, arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people.”

The only way to reverse this course we are on is education.

The results of a lack of Constitutional education are, for instance, people in New York electing a Democratic-Socialist who does not know the simplest things about our Constitution but will, in January, swear an oath to support and defend it. However, she will attempt to make us a Socialist state.

Many of the Founders stated similar to President John Adams who said, quite succinctly, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” And, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”

Those principles are laid out in our Four Founding documents but that final one, the Constitution of the United States, is the one people must know if we are to remain free, if we are to keep our liberty.

As famed orator and Patriot Patrick Henry boldly proclaimed, “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” Which is precisely why our Founders guaranteed the right to bear arms. The last line of defense is the Patriot. When government goes too far, Jefferson describes what happens, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

There are many paths to educate yourself and your family. Learn the basics by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie, and then, for in-depth study, enroll in a Constitution Boot Camp from Building Blocks for Liberty or join KrisAnne Hall’s Liberty First University.

United together under our U.S. Constitution we can keep America free. Founder Benjamin Franklin put it this way: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

by Scott D. Welch, Patriot, Direct descendant of four Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War and Cousin of Patrick Henry

Originally published at www.insearchofliberty.com on November 30, 2018.