WE THE PEOPLE
This is from my new book, The United States Constitution: Annotated with The Federalist Papers in Modern English, pages 27-29. As people protest unconstitutional actions by the federal government, it is important to remind ourselves that we, the people, have all the power. We just lend a little of that power to government, primarily to keep us safe from foreign (invasions) and domestic (crime) dangers.
We, the people of the United States,
This [Preamble] recognizes popular rights. And it is more effective than the large number of aphorisms that make up our State bills of rights, which would sound much better in a treatise on ethics than in a constitution of government. # 84 [8]*
People Source of Government's Power
Government is necessary. The people must cede some of their natural rights to the government to give it some powers. # 2 [2]
...Enlightened citizens will know the difference between legal authority and illegal usurpation of authority... The people are the natural guardians of the Constitution. # 16 [10]
...The people hold the whole power of the government... # 21 [5]
We should not entrust our national interests to a government that doesn’t have all the powers a free people should give to any government... # 23 [11]
The people delegate power to the government.
Schemes to subvert liberty require time to develop before taking action… If we assume that this could happen, there should be no more delegated authority. The people should take back the powers already given the government and divide themselves into as many States as there are counties so they can manage their government in person. # 26 [2, 11]
If the citizens understand their rights and want to defend them, the ability
to stop usurpation increases with the increased size of the state. The people in
a large community have a natural strength. And that strength is greater than the
artificial strength of the government and more able to stop an attempt to
establish a tyranny.
In a confederacy, the people are the masters of their own fate. Since power is
usually the rival of power, the national government will always stand ready to
check State usurpations. And the States will be in the same position towards the
national government.
Whichever side [State or national government] the people support will be the stronger. If their rights are invaded by either, they can use the other as the instrument of redress. The people will cherish the Union, preserving to themselves an advantage that can never be too highly prized! # 28 [7]
...In republics, strength is always on the side of the people... We should study the nature and extent of the powers as they are delineated in the Constitution. Everything beyond this must be left to the prudence and firmness of the people. They hold the scales and, it is hoped, they will always take care to preserve the constitutional equilibrium between the federal and the State governments... # 31 [12]
If the federal government overreaches its authority and uses its power tyrannically, the people, who created it, must go to the Constitution. They must correct the injury done to the Constitution. To determine if a law is constitutional, we must look at whether the law is based on Constitutional powers. # 33 [6]
...republican liberty seems to demand that all power comes from the people. # 37 [6]
...We define a republic as a government that gets all its powers--directly or indirectly--from the people... A republican government must come from all citizens, not just a favored class. If this is not true, a tyrant or a few tyrannical nobles could say they were creating a republic. # 39 [4]
...The federal and State governments are agents and trustees of the people… The ultimate authority resides in the people alone.
...Both the State and federal governments will depend on the people, # 46 [1 ,6]
People are the source of all government power. Government gets all its power from the constitution, which gets its power from the people. If government's powers need to be changed or one branch of government encroaches on the authorities of another branch, republican theory says that the people--the original authority--should make the corrections. Therefore, only the people can declare the constitution’s true meaning and enforce it. # 49 [3]
...The primary control on the government is its dependency on the people...
In a single republic, the people surrender some of their power to a single
government... America is a compound republic. The people surrender some power,
which is divided between the State and federal governments.
[In] the federal republic of the United States...all authority will come from
and depend on the citizens. # 51 [4, 9, 10]
...Americans understand that the people create a Constitution. And it is the supreme power. The government cannot alter the Constitution... # 53 [2]
This doesn’t mean that judicial power is superior to the legislative power. It only means that the power of the people is superior to both. # 78 [13]
...The proposed Constitution is founded on the power of the people...a bill of rights doesn’t belong in the Constitution. The people surrender nothing. And they keep everything.
A bill of rights is not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would be dangerous. It would contain exceptions to powers not granted. # 84 [8, 10]
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* All Federalist Paper quotes are from The Federalist
Papers: Modern English Edition Two, available on my website and Amazon.com
for $24.95
http://Mary.Webster.org
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