Our Government Archives - Page 2 of 7

George Washington’s Rules of Civility, Part 2

June 22, 2024 Margo Louis 0

The Rules of Civility, Part 2 The Importance of Civility to George Washington was never more apparent than when a young George took much effort to memorize all 120 Rules for Civility valued at the time. This article is Part 2 of a two part set. In this part, the second 55 of the 110 Rules of Civility, which Washington valued so highly, are listed and are shown exactly as he wrote them as a teen. Civic Virtue – Civility The future first president of the United States thought civility, good manners and politeness were so important that he wrote out the Rules of Civility in his own hand and memorized them as a young […]

Only In America, Part 2: Keeping The Promise

June 20, 2024 Guest Writer 0

Only in American, Part Two: Keeping the Promise Dr. Jerome Huyler’s work, Only in America: The Goodness Greatness Begot, has been featured by The Founding Project with this article being the third in the series and the second chapter of his work, entitled “Keeping the Promise”. Huyler’s work is an observation of America and also on civics education in America and is presented by The Founding Project in a series of articles. Dr. Huyler’s essay is a response to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education in America. But, Dr. Huyler found that book’s content did not coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in American schools […]

George Washington’s Rules of Civility, Part 1

June 18, 2024 Margo Louis 0

The Rules of Civility, Part 1 The Importance of Civility to George Washington was never more apparent than when a young George took much effort to memorize all 120 Rules for Civility valued at the time. This article is Part 1 of a two part set. In it, the first 55 of the 110 Rules of Civility, which Washington valued so highly, are listed and are listed exactly as he wrote them as a teen. Integrity, Honor, Civic Virtue ~ Prized by Washington The future first president of the United States thought civility, good manners and politeness were so important that he wrote out the Rules of Civility in his own hand and memorized them […]

The Birth of The U. S. Constitution

June 17, 2024 John Barrett 7

The Birth of The Constitution of The United States of America A constitution is the document that constitutes or creates a government. It is a contract between the people and the government. As is described in the Declaration of Independence, under the American Constitution, the people grant certain powers to the government, and in return, the government is to secure the natural rights of the people. James Madison was the primary architect of the Constitution. He was the one who came to the convention with the ideas that resulted in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was not at the Constitutional Convention. He was the Ambassador to France at the time. However, there was a series of […]

Only In America: Promise of American Life

June 14, 2024 Guest Writer 0

Only In America: The Goodness That Greatness Begot In the first chapter of Dr. Jerome Huyler’s work, Only in America, Dr. Huyler begins the story of America and its greatness via his study of history and American life. Huyler’s work is an observation of America and also on civics education in America and is being presented by The Founding Project in a series of articles. Dr. Huyler’s essay is a response to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education in America, but he found that book’s content does not coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in American schools. But, if you missed his introduction to […]

A Republic Versus A Democracy, Why?

June 13, 2024 John Barrett 1

A Republic Versus A Democracy… The Details: My bet is that virtually all of you have been taught that the U.S. is a democracy. That is wrong. The U.S. is a republic. And the difference is extremely important. The Constitution only refers to a form of government in one place. Article 4, Section 4, states, “The United States shall guarantee to each State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” What is the difference between a republic and a democracy? When I was in school, I was taught that the use of representatives made us a representative democracy or republic, as opposed to a direct democracy. That is certainly in line with current dictionaries. […]

Only In America: Dr. Huyler’s Introduction

June 6, 2024 Guest Writer 2

Welcome Dr. Huyler and the “Only in America” Series! Dr. Jerome Huyler joins The Founding Project website to bring our members his publication, Only In America. Huyler’s work is a study of America and also on civics education in America and will be presented on The Founding Project website in a series of articles. In particular, Dr. Huyler responds to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education that does not coordinate or coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in our schools. In Dr. Huyler’s introduction, he begins to contrast the message of this one book and its conflict with prior decades of teaching. And, in his […]

Government’s Debt Ceiling, Defined

April 25, 2024 thefpAdmin 0

What is the Debt Ceiling Limit? The debt ceiling is a limit imposed by Congress on how much debt the federal government can carry at any given time. When the debt ceiling is reached, the US Treasury cannot issue anymore treasury bills, bonds or notes. It can only pay bills as it receives tax revenues. In other words, each time the debt ceiling is increased, it essentially allows the federal government to pay bills above its means. Average Citizen Comparison We can compare this practice to a personal credit card issued by a bank in your name. At issue, you were given a credit limit of $3,000.00 with an interest rate of 21% per year. […]

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 […]

Shays Rebellion and the Constitution

April 3, 2024 thefpAdmin 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 […]