Introductory Comments concerning
The Constitution for the United States of America
There are so many misconceptions and falsehoods
that have been foisted upon the
Sovereign People of the United States of America
concerning the Federal and State Constitutions
that most of what we now believe about the them is totally wrong.
This is why
Constitutional Concepts Foundation
has taken the liberty of analyzing the Constitution,
paragraph by paragraph, and inserting comments
that we felt would enhance the understanding of the reader.
Even though the specific powers and authority that We, the People, granted to our Federal Government, and to our several State Governments, were carefully spelled out in great detail by the writers of our various Constitutions, We, the People, have been derelict in our responsibility to study those Constitutions and to know the provisions of our own law in order to properly protect ourselves from the very governments that we created.
That's right - the Constitution is the People's law - when We, the People, wrote our Constitution we were writing the Law of the Land.
What do we mean by the "Law of the Land?"
LAW OF THE LAND
Due process of law
By the law of the land is most clearly intended the general law which hears before it condemns, which proceeds upon inquiry, and renders judgment only after trial. The meaning is that every citizen shall hold his life, liberty, property, and immunities under the protection of general rules which govern society.
Everything which may pass under the form of an enactment is not the law of the land.
When first used in the Magna Charta, the phrase "the law of the land" probably meant the established law of the kingdom, in opposition to the civil or Roman law, which was being introduced. It is now generally regarded as meaning general public laws binding on all members of the community, in contradistinction from partial or private laws.
It means due process of law warranted by the constitution, by the common law adopted by the constitution, or by statutes passed in pursuance of the constitution.
It means the law as established in a fair, open trial, or after opportunity given for such trial, by due course and process of law; not a bill of attainder. - Black’s Law Dictionary - 1St Edition.
There are several points of extreme interest in the above definition.
It is our law, it is the law that our public servants must obey and follow, in operating our government for our benefit.
As further clarification of what the Constitution is, and what it is not consider the following ruling from the United States Supreme Court:
The power to commit violence, perpetrate injustice, take private property by force without compensation to the owner, and compel the receipt of promises to pay in place of money, may be exercised, as it often has been, by irresponsible authority, but it cannot be considered as belonging to a government founded upon law.
But be that as it may, there is no such thing as a power of inherent sovereignty in the government of the United States.
It is a government of delegated powers, supreme within its prescribed sphere, but powerless outside of it.
In this country, sovereignty resides in the people, and congress can exercise no power which they have not, by their constitution, intrusted to it; all else is withheld.
It seems, however, to be supposed that, as the power was taken from the states, it could not have been intended that it should disappear entirely, and therefore it must, in some way, adhere to the general government, notwithstanding the tenth amendment and the nature of the constitution. The doctrine that a power not expressly forbidden may be exercised would, as I have observed, change the character of our government. If I have read the constitution aright, if there is any weight to be given to the uniform teachings of our great jurists and of commentators previous to the late civil war, the true doctrine is the very opposite of this. If the power is not in terms granted, and is not necessary and proper for the exercise of a power which is thus granted, it does not exist.
And in determining what measures may be adopted in executing the powers granted, Chief Justice MARSHALL declares that they must be appropriate, plainly adapted to the end, not prohibited, and consistent with the letter and spirit of the constitution.
Now, all through that instrument we find limitations upon the power, both of the general government and the state governments, so as to prevent oppression and injustice. No legislation, therefore, tending to promote either can consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution. A law which interferes with the contracts of others, and compels one of the parties to receive in satisfaction something different from that stipulated, without reference to its actual value in the market, necessarily works such injustice and wrong. – U. S. Supreme Court - JUILLIARD vs. GREENMAN - 110 U.S. 421, 468 - Decided March 3, 1884
Here again, there are several points of extreme interest in the above definition.
When one of our public servants violates the provisions we have written into our Constitution they are Law Breakers. Only their crime is more serious than someone who breaks into your home and steals your valuables because these are people that have taken an Oath to obey, protect, and defend our Constitution and have violated the sacred trust we placed in their hands.
There is no crime worse than when a trusted friend betrays you.
As we examine the Constitution for the United States of America, there are several basic concepts that we need to understand. These are things that we should have learned in Junior High School and High School, but have not been learned them because of the lack of proper instruction in Constitutional Law.
The biggest problem we have is the misconception that the Constitution grants us rights and powers.
There are no such things as Constitutional Rights.
It is totally the other way around. We the People granted the government the right to use a very small amount of our unalienable rights. The same unalienable rights that were given to us by our Creator. Even then, We did not grant the government sole use of our unalienable rights - we still have every right and power to continue to use them for our own benefit. It's as if we granted someone the right to walk across our property - it does not stop us from walking across it too.
Unfortunately, the government has assumed that because they have the right to walk across our property they also have the right to trample on us.
THEY DO NOT!
We often hear about our unalienable rights.
What do we mean by unalienable?
Unalienable:
The state of a thing or right which cannot be sold. Things which are not in commerce, as public roads, are in their nature unalienable. Some things are unalienable, in consequence of particular provisions in the law forbidding their sale or transfer, as pensions granted by the government. The natural rights of life and liberty are unalienable. -- Bouvier's Law Dictionary - 6th Edition - 1853
Our unalienable rights are far superior to any rights that could be granted by any man made document, or any government created by the mind of man. Our unalienable rights were given to us by our Creator.
Another major misconception is that, because it is the government, it has the "Inherent Power" to do things beyond what We, the People, have authorized.
Inherent Power:
An authority possessed without its being derived from another. It is a right, ability or faculty of doing a thing, without receiving that right, ability or faculty from another. - Bouvier's Law Dictionary - 6th Edition - 1853
We, the People, have our Inherent Power bacause our Creator saw fit to give us our agency to do as we wanted. Our Creator then set forth His Laws - which we call scripture - and offered rewards for doing what He asked. But We, the creators of our government gave it no Inherent Powers. It has only the powers and the authority that We, the People, saw fit to give it.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed - The Declaration of Independence.
Our Constitution is the binding law that We, the People, erote in order to secure our God given unalienable rights.
Our binding laws are set forth in the form of written mandates from We, the Sovereign People, who hold the supreme power, to command that the people who will staff the offices We are creating, will perform exactly as they have been instructed to do. Our binding laws in our Constitution are also prohibitions that We, the Sovereign People established, to prohibit the people who will staff the offices We are creating from doing or performing any act or action not specifically permitted in our Law.
Mandate:
An order by a Sovereign to his subjects. – Bouvier's Law Dictionary - 6th Edition - 1853
Supreme Power:
The highest authority in a state; all other powers in it being inferior thereto – Black's Law Dictionary - 1st Edition
We, the People hold Supreme Power in all of the several States, and in the Federal Union. What does the Supreme Court have to say about the power of We, the People?
There can be no limitation on the power of the people of the United States. By their authority the State Constitutions were made, and by their authority the Constitution of the United States was established; – U. S. Supreme Court - Hauenstein vs Lynham (100 US 483
Since we are the ones who empower our Government with the "just powers" it needs to operate. How can our Constitution, or our government, grant us any rights, powers, privileges, or honors?
We already held all of the rights and powers before the Constitution was even written.
It is our unalienable rights that we used to create the Constitutions. The Constitution that we created cannot grant us any rights. It is the other way around. We granted what rights the various governments have, through the Constitutions that we created, using our Sovereign Supreme Power.
Since the Federal Government is confined to dealing with Foreign Nations, the various States, and the Indian Nations it has no need of creating laws.
The Federal Government has the power to regulate Commerce with Foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; – Article I, Section 8, Constitution for the United States of America.
Since the statement concerning the regulation of commerce is in a single sentence, and the words "Regulate Commerce" appear only once, then the power and ability of the Federal Governments to regulate commerce, as described by Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, must be uniform in its application to Foreign Nations, the several States, and the Indian Tribes.
By that, we mean that if the Federal Government cannot go into a foreign Nation and regulate their banking, establish their law enforcement, and control the business licenses and permits, then it cannot do that with either the several States, or the Indian Tribes.
Any attempt to do otherwise is equivalent to an act of war wherein the Federal Government has invaded the entity in order to impose its will upon the Sovereign Citizens of the entity that has been invaded, and is therefore beyond the powers that can even be granted to the Federal Government by the People.
The Foreign Nations, the several States, and the Indian Tribes are all fictious entities that have been created by the minds of the Sovereign Citizens who reside within the bounds of such entity. For the Federal Government to assume it has the power and the authority to impose its will upon these entities is a direct violation of the unalienable rights of the Sovereign Citizens of each entity.
No fictional entity, i.e., Nation, State, or Tribe, may be sovereign – they may only use what sovereign powers as have been granted by its Sovereign Citizens.
Therefore the Federal Government cannot pass laws to regulate commerce within a Nation, State, or Tribe, it can only pass laws concerned with how the Federal Government will deal in and with the various Nations, States, and Indian Tribes. These laws are, under international law, referred to as Treaties. Treaties are created by the Executive Branch of the Government. The Executive Branch holds no power to create laws, only the Legislative Branch has that power. Therefore, Enacting Clauses are not necessary.
Thomas Jefferson had this to say about the powers granted to the Federal Government:
"Our citizens have wisely formed themselves into one nation as to others, and several states as among themselves. To the united nation belong our external and mutual relations; to each state severally the care of our persons, our property, our reputation and religious freedom. This wise distribution, if carefully preserved, will prove, I trust from example, that while smaller governments are better adapted to the ordinary objects of society, larger confederations more effectually secure independence and the preservation of republican government."
So, as Thomas Jefferson points, and as we will see as we go through the Constitution paragraph by paragraph, the Federal Government only has the power deal with external relationships with Foreign Nations and the Indian Tribes, and with our States, only so far as necessary to handle mutual relationships between the States. The Federal Government has no power over us, our property, our reputation, or our religious freedom. Since the goods and services that we create or offer in commerce are part of our property, the Federal Government has no power to regulate them.
Because of the relationship established by our Founding Fathers they did not provide for an Enacting Clause in our Constitution - There was no need to since the Federal Government has no power over the Citizens of the States. In spite of the fact that forty-six of the State Constitutions require an Enacting Clause, and the State Supreme Court in the other four States has ruled that an Enacting Clause is necessary for a bill to become a law, the Federal Constitution is silent in the matter.
It is also of interest to note that the People did not grant any power to any State, or to the Federal Government, to establish any form of law enforcement. Please take note of the fact that none of the words, or even any variation of any of the words, police, agent, sheriff, marshal, prosecutor, or prison appear anywhere in the Constitution.
It is a well known fact that various Representatives to the Constitutional Convention wanted a Strong Central Government, but, they were outvoted by the Representatives who wanted a weak union and wanted the power to remain within the States, and especially with the Sovereign People of the States.
Which is exactly what was established.
As you will see as we go through the Constitution itself, the powers and authorities that are granted to the union by the people are only to deal with the problems between the States and with foreign countries. The union has no power or authority to make laws governing or controlling the Individual Sovereign.
Dealing with the problems between the States is basically the resolution of contract disputes and standardizing the Laws concerning commerce between the States, not to regulate the commerce of the People within a State.
Each State appointed the officers of the union to deal with foreign entities so that a system of uniform dealings would be consistent throughout all of the States.
As we said, We, the People, never granted any power to the Federal Government for the establishment of any type of law enforcement powers. We did not, nor would we, create a monster that had any power to prosecute, or to persecute, us. All law enforcement powers were retained by the People so we would not be persecuted by the monster we had created.
Also please note that the letters B, A, N, K appear only once, as a part of the word bankruptcy. The Federal Government has no power to establish any type of Central Bank or to regulate banking in any way.
Any and all attempts by the Federal Government, or any State Government, to grant licenses to We the People so we can work in our various chosen professions is beyond the bounds, and outside the powers that the Governments have. They are trying to grant us the right to do what we already have the right to do, just so they can make some more money. No Government has the right to dictate to the Sovereign People concerning our God granted unalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Look at what the U. S. Supreme Court had to say about our right to work without hindrance from the government.
We hold these truths to be self-evident – that is, so plain that their truth is recognized upon their mere statement – that all men are endowed – not by edicts of emperors, or decrees of parliament, or acts of congress, but – by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. – that is, rights which cannot be bartered away, or given away, or taken away, except in punishment of crime – and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and to secure these – not grant them, but secure them – governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Among these unalienable rights, as proclaimed in that great document, is the right of men to pursue their happiness, by which is meant the right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give to them their highest enjoyment. The common business and callings of life, the ordinary trades and pursuits, which are innocuous in themselves, and have been followed in all communities from time immemorial, must therefore be free in this country to all alike upon the same conditions. The right to pursue them, without let or hindrance, except that which is applied to all persons of the same age, sex, and condition, is a distinguishing privilege of citizens of the United States, and an essential element of that freedom which they claim as their birthright. – U. S. Supreme Court 111 U. S. 746
(The black printing is the original words from the Declaration of Independence. The Blue printing is the explanation set forth in the Supreme Court Decision.)
(To "LET" is to grant a charter, a contract, or a license to a person or group who has made a proposal. Every application you fill out for a license or a charter is a proposal, and the granting of the license or charter creates a contract.ALL OF WHICH IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL because We, the People, did not grant any of our governments the ownership of our right to work at our chosen profession - called our Pursuit of Happiness
The Supreme Court of the United States is well aware of all of this, but blatantly overlooks it because it would curtail the power and the authority they have taken upon themselves.
When this country achieved its independence the prerogatives of the crown devolved upon the people of the States. And this power still remains with them, except so far as they have delegated a portion of it to the Federal government. – U. S. Supreme Court - Wheeler v. Smith, 9 How. 33
Sovereignty itself is, of course, not subject to law, for it is the author and source of law; but in our system, while sovereign powers are delegated to the agencies of government, sovereignty itself remains with the people, by whom and for whom all government exists and acts. And the law is the definition and limitation of power. – Yick Wo vs Hopkins and Woo Lee vs Hopkins (118 US S. Ct. 356)
There can be no limitation on the power of the people of the United States. By their authority the State Constitutions were made, and by their authority the Constitution of the United States was established; – Hauenstein vs Lynham (100 US 483)
We have taken the original text of the
U.S. Constitution and carefully added comments concerning
the meanings set forth
in hopes that it will become a more vibrant document that is much easier to understand.
The original text is in black and our comments are in Maroon.
Please do not accept our comments at face value –
do your own independent research in order to verify what we have said.
With that – Let's go through the Constitution for the United States of America.
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