Our Constitution

Our Constitution

The PreAmble: Bill of Rights

October 17, 2025 thefpAdmin 6

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 […]

Shays Rebellion and the Constitution

October 3, 2025 Shannon D. Hanson 0

Shays Rebellion was an uprising in Massachusetts that took place in 1787. It was in response to dire economic conditions after the Revolutionary War and Government indifference to the plight of rural Massachusettsans.  Shays Rebellion highlighted deficiencies of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. As a result, many historians consider it a catalyst to the adoption of our current Constitution.  Economic Problems  In 1780, Daniel Shays retired from service in the Revolutionary War after he became injured. The Fledging United States of America operated at that time under the Articles of Confederation. This first effort to organize a Government in the new World gave almost no power to the Central Government. Although […]

Our Government

Polling in the United States: Safe?

October 1, 2025 Maggie Dine 0

Assessing Polling in the United States of America…How Safe is Your Vote? The Constitution of the United States gives the states the power to handle polling (voting) in accordance with the Constitution. But, how does each state handle polling? And, how do Americans determine how safe their vote is and whether some claims about voting are true or not? The United States has some basic compliance laws for polling/voting.   The federal government established an independent commission and programs to assist each state to assure safe polling.  In addition, the United States tasks federal departments with providing cybersecurity and other assistance, guidance and monitoring to further safeguard voting in the United States. But…How does a […]

History

The Mayflower Compact

June 17, 2025 Margo Louis 0

The Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of Plymouth Colony Following several brutal months at sea, the area now known as Cape Cod was finally seen on the horizon by those aboard the ship, the Mayflower, which embarked on September 16, 1620. Most, who arrived on Plymouth Rock, were sick from intense sea sickness or other illnesses.  Their original destination was intended to be Northern Virginia and the Hudson River, which is New York, today.  After months of battling storms, high winds and horrible waves, the 102 people on board didn’t care they had missed their destination by many miles. “True Pilgrims” The voyagers included “True Pilgrims” (religious separatists fleeing religious persecution by the Church […]

Our Constitution

What Are Unalienable Rights

May 4, 2025 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, 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 disjoin them.” […]

Sources

Constitution and Founding Resources

January 3, 2025 TFP Staff 0

The Constitution and Founding Resources Consistently reliable resources for information about the Founding of the United States and the U. S. Constitution can be difficult to find.    In particular, if you seek reliable interpretation of the Constitution in keeping with the original intent, those resources can be more difficult to find. Dedicated to the Founding Principles and the U. S. Constitution The Founding Project seeks good sources for our members to use when exploring our nation’s laws and documents. With that purpose in mind, outlined in this article are some good resources for our members to use, when your needs go beyond those offered on our website. The Library of Congress The most simple […]

Our Founders

Bradford: The First Constitution of the New World

December 15, 2024 Clay Blanche 0

Bradford, Plymouth and The Mayflower Compact Preface:  William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth colony, and his famous and moving diary, a History of Plymouth Plantation, one of the great works of New England literature, will be drawn on heavily in this article. Bradford, The Pilgrims of Plymouth and the First Constitutional Government in the New World Bradford was not only a gifted writer, he would also become one of the heroic pioneers of Western history, laying the cornerstones that made possible the building of the American Republic. On August 5, 1620, the Pilgrims set sail, encountering, according to Bradford, “many fierce storms in which the ship was soundly shaken.” Amazingly, only two died on the […]

Our Founders

Richard Henry Lee and Independence

December 5, 2024 Margo Louis 1

Richard Henry Lee and America’s Steps to Independence Richard Henry Lee was a prominent statesman from Virginia.  Though not a firebrand, like Patrick Henry, or quite as prolific as Thomas Paine, Lee became known as a quite the powerful orator and writer.  His words, spoken and in print, were important cogs in the wheels that churned toward America’s independence from England. Early Life Lee was born in Virginia and following home tutoring and then schooling in England, he returned to America and served as a Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland County.  In 1758, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was later a delegate to Continental Congress. The Steps Toward Independence […]

Our Constitution

Why The Electoral College

September 22, 2024 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. […]

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