Tyranny

Constitution Sunday: “An Old State Soldier” I

Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond) January 16, 1788 A former soldier sought to inform his fellow Virginians about the merits of the draft Constitution, and his fellow Virginians would be incorrect if they assumed that he was merely a soldier and would know nothing about the wisdom needed for setting up a new government. He described […]

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Constitution Sunday: Isaac Backus on Religion and the State, Slavery, and Nobility

Massachusetts Ratifying Convention February 4, 1788 Some governmental systems are engines of tyranny. They may be dressed up as virtuous systems, ones that account for all members of society, but the consequences flowing from the system always speak louder than the rhetoric its leaders spout. At the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, in February 1788, Isaac Backus […]

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Constitution Sunday: Reply to Mason’s “Objections”: “Civis Rusticus”

Reply to Mason’s “Objections”: “Civis Rusticus” Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond), January 30, 1788 Following are excerpts of an article written in response to George Mason’s article listing the objections to the Constitution: “5th. Had the convention left the executive power indivisible, I am free to own it would have been better, than giving the senate […]

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Constitution Sunday: The Weaknesses of Brutus Exposed: “A Citizen of Philadelphia” [Pelatiah Webster]

The Weaknesses of Brutus Exposed: “A Citizen of Philadelphia” [Pelatiah Webster] Philadelphia, November 8, 1787 Following is a series of excerpts from Pelatiah Webster’s article published in Philadelphia: “This government must have a supreme power, superior to and able to controul each and all of its parts. ‘Tis essential to all governments, that such a power

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Constitution Sunday: Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “Cincinnatus” [Arthur Lee] I

Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “Cincinnatus” [Arthur Lee] I New York Journal, November 1, 1787 Following are excerpts from the article, published in response to James Wilson’s speech: “Your first attempt is to apologize for so very obvious a defect as—the omission of a declaration of rights. This apology consists in a very ingenious discovery; that […]

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