From 1774 to 1789, the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in 1774 in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress convened after the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) had already begun. In 1776, it took the momentous step of declaring America’s independence from Britain.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—-that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States...
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world...
Five years later, the Congress ratified the first national constitution, the Articles of Confederation, under which the country would be governed until 1789, when it was
replaced by the U.S. Constitution as originally written.
However, before the Constitution could be ratified, there was a public debate in the guise of anonymously written articles printed in the newspapers, and subsequently known as the Federalist Papers written under the pseudonym of Publius, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. There were two schools of thought, on one side were the Federalists, and the other side were the Anti-Federalists.
Some of the states objected to a strong federal government. Their arguments were portrayed as Anti-Federalist. The Anti-Federalists wanted protections against a powerful central government that would encroach on state rights.
Under the concept of federalism, the Federalists argued for a strong central government. Their arguments harkened back to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, demonstrated during the Revolutionary War when General Washington struggled to get supplies and more soldiers. These public debates in the newspapers resulted in the Bill of Rights, which are the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
The Colonists were aware of their rights as defined by Locke, as spoken about by their pastors, and as published in the newspapers. They also possessed direct experience of the oppression of King George and his Parliament. This Revolutionary Mind within each of the Colonists primed them to support the coming revolution.
The United States Constitution has served as the supreme law of the United States since taking effect in 1789. The document was written at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and was ratified through a series of state conventions held in 1787 and 1788. Since 1789, the Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; particularly important amendments include the ten amendments of the United States Bill of Rights.
First Amendment: 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 a redress of grievances.
Second Amendment: A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Third Amendment: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Fifth Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Sixth Amendment: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Seventh Amendment: In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, then according to therules of common law.
Eighth Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Is our Constitution a living constitution as some would say, or is the Constitution alive?
I suggest that our Constitution is alive. When the Constitution is followed, as our Founders intended, it works fine for the American people.
The federal government and the courts have grossly misused and misinterpreted the meaning of the text of our Constitution, finding rights that aren’t there and in conflict with original intent. The overriding principle of federalism has been ignored.
Many Americans are uninformed and under-educated on the U.S. Constitution. I am an example of this: during my 22-year career in the Marine Corps, I took the Oath to Support and Defend the Constitution, but I never knew what was in it.
I have since learned more about the U.S. Constitution. The American population at large has been lied to and made to believe the Constitution is no longer relevant for our modern society.
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See Also: We Commemorate the Signing of the Constitution - Part 1
