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What Our Founding Fathers Knew

What Our Founding Fathers Knew. By Julie Farnbach. The Principles of Freedom in a Classical Education and Why Our Constitution Still Matters. MY AGENDA. So We’ll Begin on the Same Page… A Founder’s Education

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What Our Founding Fathers Knew

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  1. What OurFounding Fathers Knew By Julie Farnbach The Principles of Freedom in a Classical Education and Why Our Constitution Still Matters

  2. MY AGENDA • So We’ll Begin on the Same Page… • A Founder’s Education • Our Nation’s Birth Certificate: The Declaration of Independence • Our Operations Manual: The Constitution of the United States • …And End with a Challenge

  3. There are at least 3 sides to every story.

  4. The Educational Attainments of Our Founding Fathers

  5. The Standard Curriculum at Colonial Universities Classic liberal arts and humanities of ancient times + Art, languages and literature of the Renaissance Music Grammar Arithmetic Logic Geometry Rhetoric Astronomy Art Greek Latin History Ethics Poetry Literature

  6. Standard Reading Lists for Colonial College Students Required reading included the collected works of: Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Cicero, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid, Archimedes, Marcus Aurelius, Virgil, Plutarch, Ptolemy, and Copernicus. As well as: Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Chaucer, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Bacon, Descartes, Milton, Pascal, Newton, Locke, Hume, Blackstone, Swift, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Gibbon, and many others.

  7. Significant Influences on the Founders 1689 Locke: there is no divine right of kings, the only legitimate forms of government rule with the consent of the people 1740 Hume: a scientific analysis of human nature, pride and humility, virtue and vice, motivation and skepticism 1748 Montesquieu: there are three branches of government, separation of power, need for checks and balances to prevent corruption of system 1765 Blackstone: the logic of legal principles behind common law, summarized for laymen, importance of a free press 1776 Smith: wealth comes from the productivity of free men in a free market, not from fixed assets like gold or silver 1776 Paine: no divine right of kings, our true natural rights, independence from England, creation of a democratic republic

  8. The Declaration of Independence (in Modern Language) All of us agree that when we need to break political ties, and assume our legitimate place in the world, respectful people explain themselves, so here goes.  It is obvious to all 55 of us: That all human beings have equal intrinsic value; • That they possess rights that are unalienable*; • That some of these rights arelife, liberty and property (not other human beings); • That people create governments to protect these rights; • That the authority to create governments comes from neighborscooperating; • That when government stops protecting their rights, the people can change or replace it; and • That if they create a new government, it should be founded on principles that seem most likely to preserve their safety and happiness. Alienate: to transfer title *Unalienable: that which may not be transferred

  9. A Close Look at the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution who Wethe People of the United States of America, why in order to form a more perfect union, what #1establishjustice, what#2insuredomestic tranquility, what #3provide for the commondefense, what #4promote the general welfare, and what#5secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity when do ordain and establish this Constitution where for the United States of America.

  10. Definitions taken from Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language United: 1. Joined; made to agree; cemented; mixed; attached by growth. Form: 1. To make or cause to exist; 2. To shape; to mold or fashion into a particular shape or state; 4. To arrange; to combine in a particular manner; 6. To contrive; to invent. 7. To make; up; to frame; to settle by deductions of reason; 9. To combine; to unite individuals into a collective body; 10. To make; to establish. 12. To constitute; to make. 14. To enact; to make; to ordain. Union: 1. A compound body or a mixture; or the junction or coalition of things thus united. Union differs from connection, as it implies the bodies to be in contact, without an intervening body. Establish: 1. To set and fix firmly or unalterably; to settle permanently. 2. To found permanently; to erect and fix or settle; 3. To enact or decree by authority and for permanence; to ordain; to appoint; 5. To make firm; to confirm; to ratify what has been previously set or made. 7. To confirm; to fulfill; to make good. 8. To set up in the place of another and confirm. Justice: 1. The virtue which consists in giving to everyone what is his due; practical conformity to the laws and to principles of rectitude in the dealings of men with each other; honesty; integrity in commerce or mutual intercourse. 2. Impartiality; equal distribution of right in expressing opinions; fair representation of facts respecting merit or demerit. In criticisms, narrations, history or discourse, it is a duty to do justice to every man, whether friend or foe. 3. Equity; agreeableness to right; 4. merited punishment. Insure: To make sure or secure. Domestic: 1. Belonging to the house, or home; pertaining to one’s place of residence, and to the family. 2. Remaining much at home; living in retirement; 5. Made in one’s own house, nation or country. Provide: 1. To procure beforehand; to get, collect or make ready for future use; to prepare. 2. To furnish; to supply.

  11. Definitions, continued Common: 1. Belonging equally to more than one, or to many indefinitely; 2. Belonging to the public; having no separate owner. 3. General; serving for the use of all; 4. Universal; belonging to all; 5. Public; general; frequent; 6. Usual; ordinary; Defense: 1. Anything that opposes attack, violence, danger or injury; anything that secures the person, the rights or the possessions of men; fortification; guard; protection; security. A wall, a parapet, a ditch, or a garrison, is the defense of a city or fortress. 5. Resistance; opposition. 6. The science of defending against enemies; military skill. 7. In fortification, a work that flanks another. Promote: 1. To forward; to advance; to contribute to the growth, enlargement or excellence of anything valuable, or to the increase of anything evil; 2. To excite; 3. To exalt; to elevate; to raise; to prefer in rank or honor. General: 1. Properly, relating to a whole genus or kind; and hence, relating to a whole class or order. 2. Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; 4. Public; common; relating to or comprehending the whole community; 6. Not directed to a single object. 7. Having a relation to all; common to the whole. 8. Extensive, though not universal; common; usual. Welfare: 1. Exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity or evil; the enjoyment of the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness; 2. Exemption from any unusual evil or calamity; the enjoyment of peace and prosperity, or the ordinary blessings of society and civil government; applied to states. Secure: 1. To guard effectually from danger; to make safe. 2. To make certain; to put beyond hazard.

  12. Definitions, continued Liberty: 1. Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. 2. Natural liberty consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. 3. Civil liberty is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty. 4. Political liberty is sometimes used as synonymous with civil liberty, but it more properly designates the liberty of a nation, the freedom of a nation or state from all unjust abridgment of its rights and independence by another nation. Hence, we often speak of the political liberties of Europe, or the nations of Europe. 5. Religious liberty is the free right of adopting and enjoying opinions on religious subjects, and of worshiping a Supreme Being according to the dictates of conscience, without external control. 6.Liberty in metaphysics, as opposed to necessity, is the power of an agent to do or forbear any particular action, according to the determination or thought of the mind, by which either is preferred to the other. Freedom of the will; exemption from compulsion or restraint in willing or volition. Ordain: 1. Properly, to set; to establish in a particular office or order; 2. To appoint; to decree. 3. To set; to establish; to institute; to constitute. 5. To appoint; to prepare. Constitution: 1. The act of constituting, enacting, establishing, or appointing. 4. The established form of government in a state, kingdom or country; a system of fundamental rules, principles and ordinances for the government of a state or nation. In free states, the constitution is paramount to the statutes or laws enacted by the legislature, limiting and controlling its power; and in the United States, the legislature is created, and its powers designated, by the constitution. 6. A system of fundamental principles for the government of rational and social beings. States: 5. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government.More usually the word signifies a political body governed by representatives; a commonwealth; as the States of Greece; the States of America. In this sense, state has sometimes more immediate reference to the government, sometimes to the people or community. 15. Joined with another word, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic; as state affairs; state policy. According to the Declaration of Independence, “Free and independent states have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do.”

  13. The New Republic, Articles 1-4 Article 1: The Legislative Branch Section 1: Office of the President and Vice Pres. Section 1: The Congress Section 2: Powers Granted to the President Section 2: The House of Representatives Section 3: Duties of the President Section 3: The Senate Section 4: Removal from Office Section 4: Elections and Meetings of Congress Article 3: The Judicial Branch Section 5: Rules of Procedure for Congress Section 1: Federal Courts Section 6: Privileges/Restrictions on Congress Section 2: Powers of the Federal Courts Section 7: How Laws are Made Section 3: The Crime of Treason Section 8: Powers Granted to Congress Article 4: Relations Among the States Section 9: Powers Denied to Congress Section 1: Recognition of Each Other’s Acts Section 10: Powers Denied to the States Section 2: Rights of Citizens of Other States Article 2: The Executive Branch Section 3: New States and Territories (continued in next column)Section 4: Guarantees to the States

  14. The Business Meeting, Articles 5-7 Article 5: The Amendment Process Article 6: Debts, Oaths, and Supremacy Section 1: Prior Debts to the United States Section 2: The Supreme Law of the Land Section 3: Oaths of Office Article 7: The Ratification Process

  15. The Bill of Rights:A Summary of the First Ten Amendments 1. freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition 2. right to keep and bear arms 3. no quartering of soldiers 4. no search/seizure without cause 5. the right to remain silent 6. speedy, public, jury trial 7. jury for high dollar value civil trials 8. no excessive bail, cruel or inhuman punishment 9. unlisted rights belong to the people 10. undelegated powers belong to the states

  16. Amendments 11-27with ratification dates 1795 11. non-residents can't sue the state or country 1804 12. separate ballots for President and V.P. 1865 13. no slavery 1868 14. equal protection under the law for all people 1870 15. votes for ALL male citizens 1913 16. income tax 1913 17. senators elected by the people instead of the states 1919 18. prohibition against the manufacture and sale of alcohol 1920 19. votes for all female citizens 1933 20. federal election calendars synchronized 1933 21. repeal of amendment #18 (prohibition) 1951 22. two-term limit for Presidents 1961 23. three electoral votes for Washington, D.C. 1964 24. no poll taxes 1967 25. line of succession, presidential disability 1971 26. votes for all citizens age 18 and up 1992 27. can't vote yourself a pay raise

  17. Our Challenge • Natural rights cannot be given or taken away. • Natural rights belong to individuals. (And each one comes with a responsibility.) • For collective action to occur, many individuals must choose to act. • Freedom is not passed down in our blood. We must teach each generation. If we don’t, they will have to learn the hard way. • But we cannot teach what we do not know. We must study the principles of freedom ourselves. • If not you, who? If not now, when? Seriously. What’s next?

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