Third Continental Congress Defends U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights! Read and Heed The Articles of Freedom and New Federalist Papers! |
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On Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009, history was made in St. Charles, Illinois. For the first time in 220 years delegates elected by their fellow citizens convened a Continental Congress to address the usurpations and abuses of the U.S. Constitution by government officials. Delegates from 48 states spent the next two weeks, and over 14,000 hours in hearings, listening to expert testimony, and developing a series of committee reports, many of which were adopted by the Third Continental Congress, and became part of the Articles of Freedom. The Third Continental Congress represented over 96% of the 50 states. In comparison, the Second Continental Congress, which drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the New Constitution, had at best, around 92% representation since only 12 of 13 states sent delegates. Rhode Island refused. Delegates to the Second Continental Congress, namely Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison authored 85 essays, later named "The Federalist Papers." These essays were intended to explain and "market" the New Constitution to the states, and to the people, in the hopes that it would be ratified, thus securing that 'more perfect union' they all sought. A storm of sorts was brewing in the states. Many were concerned the powers given the federal government would be abused, and that the rights of the people were not well-enough protected by the original seven articles of the proposed Constitution. Over 200 amendments were proposed by the last seven states to ratify the Constitution, nearly 100 of them unique, and yet our Bill of Rights only included ten amendments. Revisiting the history and words of the Founders should help modern-day patriots find solutions to the problems we are facing that have resulted from a failure to uphold the Constitution. Delegates to the Third Continental Congress, in addition to the formal work-product embodied in the Articles of Freedom, are composing a series of essays, picking up where Hamilton, Jay, and Madison left off. These "New Federalist Papers" will be released over the next few months, and will hopefully put into context what our unalienable rights are, what concerns We the People had raised during the ratification process two centuries ago, and to explain the Articles of Freedom. Restoring constitutional governance is every patriot's civic duty. Read the Articles of Freedom here, and the New Federalist Papers below.: |