Good lesson on July 4th

HK4U

New member
At one time in this country we actually had intelligent, patriotic leaders in this country.

Independence lost



Posted: July 03, 2008
8:22 pm Eastern

© 2008

Not until a year after Lexington did the Continental Congress muster the resolve to declare the 13 colonies free and independent states, no longer subject to Parliament or Crown.

Not for five years after July 4, 1776, did George Washington's army truly attain America's independence at Yorktown.

Even then, Washington and his aide Alexander Hamilton knew that the 13 states, while politically independent, were dependent upon Europe for the necessities of their national life. Without French ships and guns, French muskets and troops, the Americans could not have forced Gen. Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown.

Cornwallis would have sailed away, as Gen. Howe had from Boston.

Indeed, absent the 1778 alliance with France, our Revolution would have been a longer, bloodier affair and might not have succeeded.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, both Washington and Hamilton were determined to make America's political independence permanent, and to begin to cut the umbilical cord to Europe.

In the Constitution that came out of that convention, the states were prohibited from imposing any tariffs on the products of other states, thus creating the greatest common market in history, the United States of America. Second, the U.S. government was empowered to raise revenue by imposing tariffs on foreign goods, but explicitly denied the power to impose taxes on the incomes of American citizens.

And as Hamilton set the nation onto a course that would ensure economic independence, Washington took the actions and made the decisions that would assure our political independence.

First, he declared neutrality in the European wars that followed the French Revolution of 1789. Second, he sought to sever the 1778 alliance with France, a feat achieved by his successor, John Adams.

Third, in his Farewell Address, the greatest state paper in U.S. history, Washington admonished his countrymen to steer clear of permanent alliances and to stay out of Europe's wars. Rarely in the 19th century did the United States divert from the course set by Washington and Hamilton.

In 1812, however, James Madison, goaded by "war hawks" Henry Clay and John Calhoun, and ignoring the counsel of the Farewell Address, declared war on Britain and came near to seeing his nation torn apart.

Had it not been for the Duke of Wellington's preoccupation with Napoleon and Andy Jackson's rout of a British invasion army at New Orleans, America might have been split asunder. In 1814, New England was on the verge of seceding, and the British had in mind splitting off the vast Louisiana territory. As it was, Madison had to flee Washington when a British army came up the Bladensburg Road to burn the Capitol and Madison's White House.

After peace in 1815, however, Madison signed the Tariff Act of 1816 to prevent British merchants from dumping goods into the United States to kill America's infant industries that had arisen during the war and to prevent British merchants from recapturing the U.S. markets they had lost.

For most of the 19th century, the nation followed the economic policy of Hamilton and the foreign policy of Washington – and was richly rewarded. By the first decade of the 20th century, America was the most independent and self-reliant republic in all of history.

And by staying out of two world wars of the 20th century until many of the bloodiest battles had been fought, America emerged in 1945 economically and politically independent of all other nations.

During the Cold War, however, Americans came to believe that a temporary alliance, NATO, was necessary to prevent Joseph Stalin's empire from overrunning Europe and turning the balance of power against us. To help our wartime allies and former enemies Japan, Germany and Italy to their feet, we set aside Hamilton's policy and threw open the American market to the goods of Free Europe and Free Asia.

These should have been temporary alliances and temporary measures. Instead, they were made permanent.

No longer free of foreign entanglements, as Thomas Jefferson urged, we now have commitments to defend 50 countries. The old Hamiltonian policy of "Prosper America First" has given way to worship of a Global Economy, at whose altars we sacrifice daily the vital interests of our own manufacturers and workers.

"Interdependence" is now the desired end of the new elite.

And so we have become again a dependent nation. We borrow from Europe and Japan to defend the oil of Europe and Japan in the Persian Gulf. We borrow from China to buy the goods of China. We are as dependent on foreign borrowing as we are on foreign oil.

And the questions arise: If the men of '76, who led those small and vulnerable states, were wiling to sacrifice their lives, fortunes and sacred honor for America's independence, what is the matter with us?

Do we not value independence as they did? Or is it that we are simply not the men our fathers were?

Happy Independence Day.
 
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Constitutional reminders

Thanks HK4U!

We all need these reminders now and again. One item did stick out, though many were evident in this article. That is this comment:

"In the Constitution that came out of that convention, the states were prohibited from imposing any tariffs on the products of other states, thus creating the greatest common market in history, the United States of America. Second, the U.S. government was empowered to raise revenue by imposing tariffs on foreign goods, but explicitly denied the power to impose taxes on the incomes of American citizens."

It has been a long time since the early 20th Century when this first began to be imposed upon the citizens of the USA. We have been taxed on so much that our ability to be free has been severely hampered because of the deliberate enslavement of the citizen due to our unconstitutional "Income Tax Laws." Our strength as a nation
would greatly increase were we to eliminate this beastly burden upon the citizens of this country. Unfortunately so many have become so enamored with being able to get all the "free" socialistic benefits provided by the Federal government that that dependence has destroyed their ability to think as free men and women and it is destroying the pattern of freedom in America.

Should someone as inherently evil as Obama become our President these patterns of abuse not only will continue, but the enslavement created by him and his ilk would literally destroy all that remains of the society and country established by the blood of our Forefathers. In this election year we must truly strive to keep our country as free as possible and try to stem, if not turn, the tide of anti-Americanism behavior and empowerment which we have been (as a nation) handing over bit by bit to those who would enslave us for their own ends and amusement.

America must wake up! We need to wake up the sleeping bear, not to destroy enemies from without the country, but to protect the country from the evils which have grown within her borders and created the cancer of dependence upon the symbiotic evils of socialism which have taken root upon the organs of the country. We must root out these evils and keep them at bay with an eternal diligence which has been denied the country for so long. We must teach our children what it is to be an American, how to stand up for liberty and truth, how to avoid the evils of Popular Cowardice (being PC), how to be men and women and to once again teach them respect for country and self. With this we may recover from the festering cancer which is destroying us at this time.

I would say more however, I am sure that many, if not most, amongst this August group already have a grasp on the concepts and information I have expressed. I say God Bless America! Let us Keep her Free!
 
robiwan, I completely agree with you. The federal income tax along with the federal reserve act enacted in the early part of the 20th century has done much to destroy the middle class and push us to where we are very nearly little more that surfs in our once free country. Our sovereignty is under attack. I hope it is not to late to right this ship but because of what has been taught in the public school system or what has not there are few young people today that really know or care what has happened to us. I pray God help us.
 
What Happened to the Men who Signed the Declaration of Independence?

I found this interesting article on Veterans Today:
Link Removed
In a few short paragraphs it covers the fate of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Worth a look-see if you don't already know.
This entry IMHO is worthy of inclusion, if you don't follow the link.

"These were not wild-eyed, rabble- rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British."

Regards,

Canis-Lupus
 
I found this interesting article on Veterans Today:
Link Removed
In a few short paragraphs it covers the fate of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Worth a look-see if you don't already know.
This entry IMHO is worthy of inclusion, if you don't follow the link.

"These were not wild-eyed, rabble- rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British."

Regards,

Canis-Lupus


Paul Harvey did a thing on his radio program about them. I got a CD of it somewhere. Most of the signers if not all had a lot to lose and they did. We owe much to them. Thanks for posting this.
 
That's some moving stuff, Man! Thanks for sharing. Makes you wonder if you'd "have the stuff" if it comes to that again.
 
If we stood today shoulder to shoulder in front of the white house and proclaimed this to be self evendent while armed ,we would be shot down. Not much has changed.
 
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