Civics Archives - Page 2 of 3 - The Founding Project

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 […]

Destroying Democracy: How Easy Is It?

March 16, 2023 Tony Wyman 0

Destroying Democracy is Easier Than You Think When Americans think of the collapse of a democracy, they typically picture scenes of armed men fighting in the streets. They envision death, ruin and destruction brought to their nation as opposing forces battle over their country’s future. But, in the modern age, that isn’t the only way free societies fail. In fact, it isn’t even the most common way. History demonstrates this and current day examples of how freedom is lost further illustrate this pattern. Look at what has happened to Turkey for a better example of how democracies are replaced by dictatorial regimes in the modern age… The Destruction of Democracy in the Modern Age Turkey […]

Campaign Manipulation and Alinsky

January 6, 2023 Margo Louis 1

How Manipulation Became Part of American Campaigns Saul Alinsky is an American author and community organizer often considered to be the father of modern community organizing. He is often noted for his 1971 book, Rules for Radicals, along with a having a penchant for Satan. Although, Alinsky is most often linked to recent political figures from the more liberal camps, who studied his works with great intensity, the use of Alinsky-type tactics can be found in numerous campaigns of both the social and activist type. Because the Alinsky method or methodology preys on emotions and a slow and steady manipulation of groups of people, it is important to be able to recognize these tactics […]

The Powers of the Executive Branch

December 30, 2022 Clay Blanche 0

THE POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH The executive exercises vital powers in foreign and domestic areas. He is principally responsible for the nation’s foreign policy: He negotiates treaties, receives ambassadors,and serves as commander in chief of the military. The President may appoint officers. He is responsible for executing, or carrying out, the laws of the land, but also has the discretion to pardon. Though the Founders created a unitary executive, the legislature exercises several important checks on the executive, holding the power to declare war, advise and consent to appointments, and ratify treaties. As the only wholly national figure, the President reports to Congress on the State of the Union. The President may convene sessions […]

The PreAmble: Bill of Rights

November 17, 2022 thefpAdmin 2

The PreAmble to the Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights was a specifically negotiated and planned addition to the U. S. Constitution as an assurance to guard against the federal government from becoming too powerful and to protect Individual Rights and there is importance to its PreAmble. The focus of the Bill of Rights is usually made upon the ten Amendments to the U. S. Constitution, which comprise the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights are the only amendments to the Constitution planned with a PreAmble and presented and ratified as a group of ten amendments. This PreAmble notes the purpose of the Bill of Rights and refers to the Fifth Article of […]

Civics and The Protection of Freedom

October 28, 2022 Maggie Dine 0

Civics: Americans Can Be Outdone by Immigrants Civics and the U. S. Citizen The Founding Fathers of the United States of America most deliberately and brilliantly made Individual Rights the shining star of the Constitution. It was the absolute sticking point for every Founding Father and a critical element of the U.S. Constitution. It is the Individual Rights recognized as indestructible by man or government that makes the United States a Constitutional Republic and specifically guards against any other form of government from monarchy to simple democracy or majority rule. The Constitution boldly declares that these Individual Rights are iron clad. They cannot be chipped, changed, challenged, chopped or cheated away from citizens. The Big […]

The Making of a Tyrant: How Hitler Rose to Power

October 24, 2022 Tony Wyman 0

Hitler’s Rise to Power: How the Worst People Hoodwink a Nation Hitler…On September 12, 1919, a nondescript German corporal walked into a sparsely attended meeting of the German Workers’ Party in Munich. Sent there to investigate the group by the German Army, at that time deeply involved in crushing Marxist groups trying to gain power, the corporal sat at the back of the beer hall in which the meeting took place. The corporal listened while economist Gottfried Feder gave a speech called, “How and by What Means is Capitalism to be Eliminated.” Unimpressed with what he heard, the young corporal got up to leave. But, as he walked to the door, another speaker took Feder’s […]

Our Constitution: America’s Legal Conservator of Natural Law

October 5, 2022 jhenderson 0

Conserving Natural Law In Law III of his Laws of Conservation and Energy, Sir Isaac Newton concluded “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.” This best defines a political term of the same root word, conservatism, as the adherence according to Russell Kirk “to custom, convention, and continuity” through the spices permeating “the principle of variety.” As Edmund Burke too noted in a letter to Sir Hercule Langrishe in 1792, “We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature, and the means perhaps of its conservation,” though “Conservatives,” opined […]

Exploring Populism in Politics

September 28, 2022 Margo Louis 0

Defining Populism Defining Populism is challenging, because it is a shallow political theory with a number of variations. Populism doesn’t belong to any one political party. And, Populism isn’t necessarily bad. With Populism, it depends on how far it goes, how it is used, and if the public is generally aware of its use. Because Populism has no specific stances or policies, it is more of a movement that involves inspiring people, because of a leader who inspires supporters. The First Use of the Word, Populist, in the U. S. The word, populist, first appeared in 1890 when a party by that name, The Populist Party, organized to represent the interests of farmers against […]

50 Ways to Leave Your Freedom

July 18, 2022 Maggie Dine 2

50 Ways to Leave Your Freedom (or How to Lose Your Freedom in 10 Days) Freedom…we talk about it often. It is also a commodity most Americans have always experienced. Americans may even take freedom for granted. We’ve not experienced horrific oppression or living as serfs with overlords. It’s easy to recognize the peasant – lord or king – subject dynamic. But, could we recognize freedom being slowly whittled away from us? We saw how easy it was for movie star, Kate Hudson, to lose her boyfriend in a recent movie, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”. After luring a boyfriend, she slowly destroyed their relationship over the course of ten days. Prior […]