The Constitution allows the federal government to possess land in three forms: territories, enclaves and other property. Territories referred to land that was owned by the federal government but had not been formally made into states. Enclaves referred to land within a state that was owned by the federal government for essential purposes such as ‘Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards.’ Other property refers to land holdings for enumerated purposes, and gives the federal government limited discretion to possess land.
The rise of progressivism in America can be clearly seen by taking a look at what land the government owns.
The eastern two thirds of the country have little federally owned land. The dominant belief at the time these states were developed was that private property is a natural right of the individual.
The government needed land only to fulfill its basic duties. There were Federal buildings, post offices and post roads, public parks and libraries, but federally owned land was kept at a minimum. The government mostly stayed out of the way, leaving the majority of land to private ownership.
Western states are different. Land ownership is inverted, and the feds own an overwhelming majority of the land. The dominant belief had shifted by the time these states were developed. By then, the new and dominant theory of progressivism had emerged.
Today is a special day for our citizens of Jewish faith. It’s Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, marking the beginning of the year 5743 on the Hebrew calendar. So, to all of our friends and neighbors observing this holiday—and speaking for all Americans—I want to wish a happy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year.
Rosh Hashanah also reminds us of the rich and varied religious heritage we Americans are blessed with. More than any other nation, ours draws inspiration from the creeds of many peoples from many parts of the world. They came to our shores from different ports of origin at different times in our history. But all of them—from the men and women who celebrated the first Thanksgiving more than three and a half centuries ago, to the boat people of Southeast Asia—came here with prayers on their lips and faith in their hearts.
It’s because of this shared faith that we’ve become, in the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
At every crucial turning point in our history Americans have faced and overcome great odds, strengthened by spiritual faith. The Plymouth settlers triumphed over hunger, disease, and a cruel northern wilderness because, in the words of William Bradford, “They knew they were pilgrims. So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed.”
George Washington knelt in prayer at Valley Forge and in the darkest days of our struggle for independence said that “the fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army.”
Thomas Jefferson, perhaps the wisest of our Founding Fathers, had no doubt about the source from which our cause was derived. “The God who gave us life,” he declared, “gave us liberty…”
And nearly a century later, in the midst of a tragic and at times seemingly hopeless Civil War, Abraham Lincoln vowed “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”
It’s said that prayer can move mountains. Well, it’s certainly moved the hearts and minds of Americans in their times of trial and helped them to achieve a society that, for all its imperfections, is still the envy of the world and the last, best hope of mankind.
And just as prayer has helped us as a nation, it helps us as individuals. In nearly all our lives, there are moments when our prayers and the prayers of our friends and loved ones help to see us through and keep on the right path. In fact, prayer is one of the few things in this world that hurts no one and sustains the spirit of millions.
The Founding Fathers felt this so strongly that they enshrined the principle of freedom of religion in the first amendment of the Constitution. The purpose of that amendment was to protect religion from the interference of government and to guarantee, in its own words, “the free exercise of religion.”
Yet today we’re told that to protect that first amendment, we must suppress prayer and expel God from our children’s classrooms. In one case, a court has ruled against the right of children to say grace in their own school cafeteria before they had lunch. A group of children who sought, on their own initiative and with their parents’ approval, to begin the school day with a 1-minute prayer meditation have been forbidden to do so. And some students who wanted to join in prayer or religious study on school property, even outside of regular class hours, have been banned from doing so.
A few people have even objected to prayers being said in the Congress. That’s just plain wrong. The Constitution was never meant to prevent people from praying; its declared purpose was to protect their freedom to pray.
The time has come for this Congress to give a majority of American families what they want for their children—the firm assurance that children can hold voluntary prayers in their schools just as the Congress, itself, begins each of its daily sessions with an opening prayer.
With this in mind, last May I proposed to the Congress a measure that declares once and for all that nothing in the Constitution prohibits prayer in public schools or institutions. It also states that no person shall be required by government to participate in prayer who does not want to. So, everyone’s rights—believers and non believers alike-are protected by our voluntary prayer measure.
I’m sorry to say that so far the Congress has failed to vote on the issue of school prayer. Just this week, however, I asked Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker to bring this measure to a floor vote. I’m happy to say he told me he’ll do everything he can to accomplish this. However, passage requires a vote by the House of Representatives, as well. So, I call on the House leadership to make an equal effort.
Today, on one of the holiest days of one of our great religious faiths, I urge the Members of the Congress to set aside their differences and act on this simple, fair, and long-overdue measure to help make us “one Nation under God” again.
Treason: The betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies. Obama and Congress have done this over and over again!
The U.S. Constitution is the bedrock of all American jurisprudence. Without it, no legal protections for human rights and no laws ensuring liberty or freedom exist. All branches of government require office holders to pledge oaths and/or commitments to upholding the U.S. Constitution. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers, as well as enlisted members of the Armed Forces, also take oaths to defend the Constitution.
When elected officials take their oaths, they are swearing to defend the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional oaths prohibit enacting and following unconstitutional laws and illegal orders. Constitutional oaths also prohibit oath takers from participating in and/or defending corruption, including covering up illegal actions of other oath takers.
In fact, defending the Constitution requires members of the Armed Forces to disobey illegal orders. And, in the case of alleged treasonous acts, members of the Armed Forces are constitutionally bound to arrest such offenders.
By sending billions of dollars to provide “aid and comfort” to America’s sworn enemy, Iran, Barack Obama and the majority of Congress are guilty of treason.
Treason against the United States is defined as 1) “consist[ing] only in levying war against them,” or 2) “in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
Some argue this definition is only applicable during wartime. Regardless of how one defines America “at war” sending cash to Iran, a sworn enemy whose leaders have publicly declared its intent to destroy America, and to continue building nuclear weapons, clearly falls within the Constitutional definition of a treasonous act.
U.S. Senators and Congressmen can be arrested for acts of “Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace,” as outlined in Article 1 Section 6 of the Constitution.
“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: — “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Article 6 states that all branches of government are bound to their oath to defend the Constitution– from threats both foreign and domestic. It reads:
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.”
Commissioned Officers in the Armed Forces take the following oath (as prescribed in the August 1959 DA Form 71):
“I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”
Enlisted personal and Non Commissioned Officers take the following oath (as prescribed by Title 10, U.S. Code (which replaced original 1789 language), adopted on May 5, 1960 and amended on October 5, 1962):
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
All of these oaths are sworn– not to a person– but to defend the U.S. Constitution from threats both foreign and domestic.
The oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution provides the foundation for the balance of power created in three branches of government. The Uniform Code of Military Justice requires members of the Armed Forces to only follow lawful orders and to disobey illegal orders.
The crimes important enough to be identified in the Constitution– “Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace,” are important enough to be prosecuted, punished, and prevented.
All it requires is for those who have taken their oaths of office to act on what they swore they would actually do.
Times have changed. But the basic premise of the Constitution hasn’t changed. It’s still our blueprint for freedom. ~ Ronald Reagan
Remarks at the Bicentennial Celebration of the United States Constitution
September 16, 1987
When George Washington was elected as the first President of the United States, the total population of the country was nearly 4 million. Today there are over 5 million Federal employees. Times have changed. But the basic premise of the Constitution hasn’t changed. It’s still our blueprint for freedom. One of our more able statesmen and constitutional lawyers, Daniel Webster, once wrote: “We may be tossed upon an ocean where we can see no land nor, perhaps, the Sun or stars. But there is a chart and a compass for us to study, to consult, and obey. The chart is the Constitution.”
Two hundred years ago the very notion of free self-government was a new idea. But James Madison, a man whom many call the Father of the Constitution, urged his fellow citizens not to oppose the idea simply because it was new. He argued that it was the glory of the American people that they were not blindly bound to the past but were willing to rely on “their own good sense” and experience in charting the future. It’s interesting that Madison and others had to defend the Constitution because it was new. Times have changed. For over 200 years we’ve lived with freedom under law, and perhaps, we’ve become complacent about it. We should never forget how rare and precious freedom is.
Active and informed citizens are vital to the effective functioning of our constitutional system. All of us have an obligation to study the Constitution and participate actively in the system of self-government that it establishes. This is an obligation we owe, not only to ourselves but to our children and their children. And there is no better time than right now, during the next 4 years of the bicentennial, to rededicate ourselves to the Constitution and values it contains.
Let us never forget that the signers of the Declaration of Independence acted with “a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence.” One hundred years ago, on the occasion of the centennial of the Constitution, another President, Grover Cleveland, accepted the privilege that I have been given here today: to honor the Constitution. And his words are as true now as they were then. He said: “When we look down upon 100 years and see the origin of our Constitution, when we contemplate all its trials and triumphs, when we realize how completely the principles upon which it is based have met every national need and national peril, how devoutly should we say with Franklin `God governs in the affairs of men.”’
And now, Stephanie, Damien, Brian, Tyese, would you join me and everybody here and everybody watching and listening throughout the land as we recite the words that we all know by heart: the Pledge of Allegiance.
Note: The President spoke at 2 p.m. on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Following his remarks, he recited the Pledge of Allegiance with Stephanie Petit, winner of the National Spelling Bee; Damien Atkins, District of Columbia honor student; and Brian Morris and Tyese Wright, Gallaudet University students.
