On this date in 1776, Thomas Paine published the first chapter of The American Crisis. As historian Robert Dennehy put it, the essays helped "recharge the American Revolution."
The post Today in History: Thomas Paine Publishes First Chapter of “The American Crisis” first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
Most people take a team-first approach to almost every issue. Positions flip-flop based on who is in power. And as it continues over time it keeps getting worse and worse and worse.
The post Party Over Principle Leads to Tyranny first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
Today in 1781, the Battle of Yorktown concluded with a Franco-American triumph over the British, a decisive conclusion to the American War for Independence.
The post Today in History: British Surrender at Yorktown first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
September 19, 1796 - Pres. Washington published his farewell address to “friends and fellow-citizens.” It was filled to the brim with warnings of political dangers the people must avoid to prevent despotism. They’ve been almost completely ignored for generations. And the results haven't been good.
The post Warnings Ignored: George Washington’s Farewell Address first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
George Washington warned that a party-first approach to politics would lead to "a frightful despotism." Partisanship leads to a cult of personality. That leads to a lot of power in the hands of a few. And that leads to tyranny.
The post Parties and Cult of Personality first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
if politicians can change the meaning of the document on a whim, it is a dead Constitution.
The post Living Breathing Constitutions Are Dead first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
A “frightful despotism,” would be the result of an “alternate domination of one faction over another,” warned George Washington. He was joined - with similar warnings - by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Thomas Jefferson and many others. But this opposition to factions didn’t start with the founding generation at all.
The post The Danger of Factions: Nothing New Under the Sun first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
In his farewell address of Sept 19, 1796 George Washington warned about the dangers of political factions.
The post A Warning on Factions: From Cato to Washington first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
The Constitution is not in force in any meaningful way, but when did things get like this? Some people think 1861, or 1913, or 1933 - but the answer may surprise you.
The post When Did Things Go Off the Rails? first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
How do you destroy freedom? By turning a blind eye to government overreach.