Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during WWII, knew a thing or two about freedom.
He understood the importance of self-government and the dangers of losing power to a "distant bureaucracy."
That's why, when he agreed to give a commencement address at Defiance College in Ohio, he decided to tell them about their most powerful tool to rein in that tyrannical bureaucracy: an Article V Convention of States.
"Against the possibility that ordinary and customary processes of self-government might weaken or be found ineffective, or later laws and interpretations of original constitutional intent might conflict with the mass convictions of Americans, the Founders provided a final and decisive means of reformation and restoration by the people themselves," he said.
We uncovered the audio of this address and have published it below. A full transcript follows.
"Through all these developments, government more and more escapes the control of the people. Though in townships and villages, school districts and towns, citizens still make decisions for themselves, the room for decisions daily shrinks because each must be made in the context of responsibility and power lost to a distant bureaucracy.
"The Framers of the Constitution could not foresee the exact causes that might bring about such a trend, but they knew that the potential danger existed. Only an inspired and educated citizenry will provide the power to keep American from following the paths of earlier civilizations in which the love of country, the dedication of service to the society weakened through the love of ease and the worship of affluence.
"Against the possibility that ordinary and customary processes of self-government might weaken or be found ineffective, or later laws and interpretations of original constitutional intent might conflict with the mass convictions of Americans, the Founders provided a final and decisive means of reformation and restoration by the people themselves.
"Through the state legislatures and without regard to the federal government, the people can demand and participate in constitutional conventions, in which they can through their own action, adopt such amendments that will reverse any trends they see as fatal to true representative government.
"I do not here refer to any amendments presently proposed or under consideration by the several states. Movoeve,r, constitutional amendment is not to be lightly undertaken. But if you and your generation, fortified by a superb education, with access to the knowledge and wisdom of the ages, and infused with the spirit of our founders, decide that reformation of a radical kind becomes due, then I say, let nothing stop you.
"Study, examine, survey, think, consider, and decide, and then by all means, act. May you be a generation that... can proudly say, 'We maintained and furthered the American experiment, born in 1776 and confirmed in 1789. We made certain that in our time, freedom's flag would be more firmly nailed to the masthead of self-government. In short, we helped the nation to march on in faithful dedication of her own ideals in fulfillment of her destiny.
"God speed."
Want to join General Eisenhower in calling for the people and the states to use their power under Article V? Sign the petition below!
