Our Founders Archives - Page 4 of 4

Our First “Constitution”: The Articles of Confederation

April 17, 2023 thefpAdmin 4

Why the Articles of Confederation failed its New Nation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. It established a confederate style of government for America, which united 13 States with their own strong governments under one purposefully weak central government. A Confederacy was born The Founders established a confederacy, because they had just fought a war (the Revolutionary War) against the British to escape an oppressively strong central government. The Founders wanted to avoid any type of strong central government. They opted to give the States the power to establish their own governments, foreign relations, trade agreements, military and economic practices. This distribution of power was chosen by […]

Lemuel Haynes’ Liberty Further Extended

March 24, 2023 TFP Staff 0

Lemuel Haynes’ Most Important Work Liberty Further Extended… Lemuel Haynes, a Founder, Minuteman, Pastor and Author, penned in an influential essay called “Liberty Further Extended” in response to the Declaration of Independence. His work was a treatise against slavery and an influential stance during the Founding years of the United States. Haynes argued that liberty for one group of people justly meant freedom for all. The story of Lemuel Haynes is featured on The Founding Project website. (See link below.) His most important work, “Liberty Further Extended”, is published here for the benefit of TFP readers and to honor the story of our Founders. The Founding Project publishes his work with no changes, except to add […]

The Originally Proposed Bill of Rights

March 21, 2023 thefpAdmin 0

Bill of Rights: The Original Proposed Transcript and the Original Final Ratified Document The transcription included here is the recorded original of the Joint Resolution of Congress PROPOSING the Bill of Rights. These proposed amendments and the final accepted and ratified Bill of Rights document is on permanent display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum. The punctuation and spelling for both is the same as the original documents. History: On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposed the amendments now on display in the Rotunda in the National Archives Museum. Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were […]

Ratification: The U.S. Constitution’s Fight for Survival

January 18, 2023 thefpAdmin 0

Ratification: The Need The path to ratification of the U. S. Constitution was paved with lessons learned, obstacles and debate. America was floundering. They had won the war to be free of the oppression of a king, but were losing the battle to organize a thriving nation. Strongly opposed to any type of strong central government, the Founders organized America as a confederacy. The Articles of Confederation were adopted on November 15, 1777 and its ratification was completed on March 1, 1781. The idea of a weak central government and strong State governments appealed to every American citizen, who bravely fought for America’s freedom from the King of England. But, following the ratification, reality was […]

Unsung Hero of The Revolutionary War

January 3, 2023 Peter Crowell Anderson 0

A Little Known Hero of The American Revolution James Armistead (Lafayette) (1760-1832) The decisive victory of the American Revolution occurred at Yorktown Virginia on October 19th 1781. General Washington was able to surround and capture 8,000 British Soldiers and force the ultimate surrender of Britain to America. One man was responsible for the British decision to move their forces to the trap that was Yorktown. This man was the most effective spy for the Americans in the Revolutionary War. He was responsible for Lord Cornwallis’s move to Yorktown where Washington was able to surround and defeat the British Army. But, have you ever heard his name? James Armistead, His Story James Armistead was one of […]

America’s First Poet ~ Anne Bradstreet

March 2, 2022 jhenderson 0

THE TENTH MUSE: THE LIFE OF AMERICA’S FIRST POET, ANNE BRADSTREET Aboard the Arbella in 1630 — owned and operated by the Rev. John Winthrop — were perhaps the most consequential among the original inhabitants of Puritan New England approaching Massachusetts Bay area, where they would establish a colony. To understand the poetry of The Tenth Muse, understanding the harsh travel and then winters of the Massachusetts area and also the personality of the Puritan lifestyle in early America. That colony, destined to become the cornerstone of American culture through religious liberty, saw its settlers over time pave with cobblestones the long and winding road down which a radical new experiment would journey. While this path was […]

Justice: The Absence of Injustice

May 2, 2021 Guest Writer 0

Building a Great Nation, Part 5 Justice: The Absence of Injustice Having suffered the many injustices of the British government, the Founders were intent on establishing a system of justice, order and defense within the legitimate function of the political realm a limited and delegated authority. Because they believed a person’s unalienable rights such as life, liberty, property, personal pursuit of goals and happiness are gifts from God’s natural law, the role of government they believed would be to secure those unalienable rights. They saw laws as protecting the citizen from criminals and the Constitution protecting the citizen from the government. The Founders saw justice as the absence of injustice achieved by securing individual rights. Justice […]

Introducing The Founding Principles

July 31, 2020 Guest Writer 2

The Founding Principles: An Introduction While The Founding Project does not typically publish editorial pieces, this one seems to be a fitting introduction to a meme series The Founding Project will be rolling out over the coming weeks, which is all about The Founding Principles. The Founding Principles are the ideals or concepts our Founders believed were the base of freedom and a guide for citizens to maintain the freedom for which they fought to hard to attain. As an introduction to this meme series, The Founding Project introduces a guest writer, who has served our nation and whose son now currently also serves. Further, our guest writer also works to benefit the Gary Sinise […]

Building a Great Nation, Part 3 ~ God, Source of Freedom

January 13, 2020 Guest Writer 0

God is the Source of Freedom; Building a Great Nation-Part 3 God is the Source of Freedom is Part 3 of the series: Building a Great Nation While the Declaration of Independence was declaring freedom Great Britain, it was also a declaration of dependence upon God for protection and deliverance, as well as an appeal to him to aid them in their righteous justification for seeking freedom: “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions,… with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence…” It was obvious to many of the founders that God had granted the gift of freedom. In 1774, Thomas Jefferson is quoted to have […]

Building a Great Nation 2: Faith Paradigm

November 18, 2019 Guest Writer 0

Building a Great Nation – Part 2 The Faith Paradigm The second part of “Building a Great Nation” addresses what America’s Founders believed to be a key element for freedom, faith. A requirement for faith and both a virtuous citizenry and elected officials to support and protect freedom are among the 28 Founding Principles left for posterity as the recipe for liberty. One Nation Under God Part 2 When colonists came to the New World seeking religious freedom, most brought with them their Bibles so they would have the Word of God to guide them. The new settlers recognized that God is the source of truth and strength and believed God would reveal His will, truths and laws through the prophets and scriptures. […]