The Amendments

Our Constitution

What Are Unalienable Rights

April 4, 2024 John Barrett 0

Exploring the Source of Our Rights…and Why No Entity Can Take Them From You Thomas Jefferson was very clear as to the source of our rights and why that was important.  No matter what you may have heard about Thomas Jefferson –  I know when I was in high school, it was we were taught that Jefferson was an atheist – he spent a good portion of his life crediting God for our country and promoting that idea that our rights are the gift of God. In Rights of British America (1774), Jefferson wrote, “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot […]

Our Constitution

Why The Electoral College

June 16, 2023 John Barrett 0

The Electoral College and the Vote…Why An Electoral College? Americans have no constitutionally protected right to vote in a federal election. We have the right to not be discriminated against in voting, based on race, color, previous condition of servitude (15th amendment), sex (19th amendment), failure to pay a poll tax (24th amendment) or age, if at least 18 (26th amendment).  But there is no right to vote in a federal election. How the electors for President are chosen is determined by each state’s legislature Following the 2000 presidential election, there was a dispute as to how votes were to be counted and recounted in Florida.  The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, twice. […]

History

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 […]

Our Founders

Lemuel Haynes, Our African-American Founder

February 19, 2023 TFP Staff 2

Lemuel Haynes: Pastor, Patriot, Poet On July 18, 1753, Lemuel Haynes was born to a white mother “of respectable ancestry” and an African father in West Hartford, Connecticut. His parents abandoned him as a child, giving him to a local deacon in Middle Granville, Massachusetts. Lemuel’s parents had an agreement with Deacon John Haynes that their son would work on Haynes’ farm until age 21 in exchange for housing and education. His Youth Thus, Lemuel spent his youth as an indentured servant working on a Massachusetts farm to earn his keep. He worked on the farm by day and studied at night.  With a basic education, Lemuel developed a passion for books, especially for the […]

Safety

Freedom and Weapons, History Speaks

May 12, 2022 TFP Staff 0

Safety and Weapons from History’s Perspective  When considering private citizens and weapons, our Founding Fathers (and Founding Mothers) could not have been more clear in their emphasis on several key ingredients to a solid, successful and free nation.  They distinctly prized Individual Rights and the accompanying Freedom that comes with those Rights.  They were firm in their belief that only a sound and moral citizenry could support real freedom.  They placed faith, family and home high as priorities to support.  Our Founders risked their lives and some lost their lives to support their freedom and be able to hand that freedom down to their children. Part of the Freedom they cherished included the ability to […]

The Amendments

The Essence of the First Amendment

January 27, 2020 Eric Buss 0

Part of the Bill of Rights of The U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment leads our Bill of Rights with the first of the Rights our Founders specifically noted as being unalienable, unable to ever be taken.  Here, The Founding Project guest writer, Eric Buss, outlines the basics of this important amendment and list of untouchable Rights which work together to protect freedom. The 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution Proposed: 08.25.1789 Ratified: 12.15.1791 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for […]