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United States Bill of Rights UPDATED INFORMATION |
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United States Bill of Rights UPDATED INFORMATION |
Yes, Doubting Thomas's:
There is a Preamble to the US Bill of Rights!
January 2001
"It would strike me as ridiculous
to want to doubt the existence of Napoleon; but if someone doubted the existence
of the earth 150 years ago, perhaps I should be more willing to listen,
for now he is doubting our whole system of evidence."
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Austrian philosopher
A little over two years ago there was very little information, either in print or over the net, available on the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights. Information available from various government archives about the Preamble, would suddenly be there one day, and the next time the same information was needed, no one would know what you were talking about when you would mention the Preamble or the previous availability of the material. At one point I was even informed that the previously FREE availability of the "public" material about the Preamble over the net, was now in a special section of the archive, and that a special fee was being required to view and/or reproduce the material at the site. This situation made it difficult at best, to maintain active and working net-links to vital constitutional material stored in the numerous government archive internet servers.
The situation has changed dramatically since then. A recent survey which was conducted by this author at one of the major internet search engine providers, Yahoo!, on the subject of the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights, revealed a remarkable change on information which is available. Many previously silent government archive's, on the subject of the existence of a Preamble to the US Bill of Rights, now have the full and entire text of the US Bill of Rights up, complete with the Preamble. Most of these archive sites also have picture's of the original US Bill of Rights available, as well as the previously mentioned text versions of the Bill.
There are now numerous sites on the internet which are informing and educating people on the original US Bill of Rights.
Many of these sites are also dealing with the extreme importance of the "restrictive" and "declaratory" worded clauses outlined in the Preamble, and which are enumerated on within the US Bill of Rights, and within the rest of the US Constitution. The instructive wording in the Preamble, is the constitutionally worded guideline meant to severely restrict abuse and misconstruction of the US Bill of Rights, and the rest of the US Constitution, by those in power. It is an integral and necessary part of the guarantee in the US Constitution, which provides; We the People, will have only the Republican Form of Government, as fully outlined in the US Constitution of 1787, as our form of government.
To access this material on the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights at Yahoo!, go to http://www.yahoo.com, and type in one of these two phrases, either preamble to bill of rights or preamble to us bill of rights. The first area that you will enter will be "Web Sites." Go to bottom of the page and click on the area for "Web Page" matches. There is volumes of material on the Preamble to the Bill of Rights available to the public at Yahoo.com. This is also true at many other sites on the net which have search engines designed to search the net.
The argument and debate two years ago, was over the very existence of this elusive Preamble to the US Bill of Rights. This argument over the existence of the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights appears to be over. The full release by various government agencies recently, of copies of the "original" ratified US Bill of Rights, with Preamble, reveals a silent admission by the government; that yes, a Preamble to the US Bill of Rights, does in fact exist. This will probably never be front page news, but it is a victory for those of us who have been carrying on the battle to have this Preamble to the US Bill of Rights recognized by the government.
The Preamble to the US Bill of Rights is no longer a myth - it is now an admitted to fact! In 1998 the Preamble was still nothing but a myth to the government and those in power; today that myth has blossomed into a fact, with the official release by the government of copies of the original US Bill of Rights, showing the Preamble as a part of it.
The battle over the existence of the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights is pretty well over, except for convincing the few "radical" and stubborn hold outs who want to believe otherwise. I am pretty much convinced that there will always be those individuals and groups in our midst who will continue to believe that 2+2= 5, and argue that white is black when they are correctly informed that it is white, and who will insist that there are metaphysical subtleties in the US Constitution for them to use and exploit. The secret to having a legitimate, open, and good government, is keeping these individuals and groups which believe this type of misdirected philosophy and rhetoric, out of power, and out of government.
"Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure." Thomas Jefferson, 1823
It is time to move onto the next part of the constitutional playing field, and that is to get the protections of the restrictive and declaratory clauses of the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights enforced on those who keep on abusing and misconstructing the US Constitution. This is the part which is starting to worry those who are hostile to the true intent and meaning of the US Constitution, and who keep on abusing and misconstructing the US Constitution for agendas, ideals, and goals which are totally contrary to that for which the US Constitution was originally written for, and intended.
"On every question of construction carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." Thomas Jefferson, 1823
Following is an overview of the Preamble to the US Bill of Rights:
Italics, caps, punctuation, and spelling, are exactly as they appear in the original text of the Bill.
THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their ADOPTING the CONSTITUTION expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution. [The opening paragraph expresses the fact that the States wanted "further declaratory and restrictive clauses" added to the US Constitution, in order to prevent "misconstruction or abuse of its [the Constitution] powers." And that doing this would give the "public confidence in Government," and would insure the benefits of the Constitution, and the constitutional guarantee of a Republican Form of Government, to all parties involved. This paragraph also spells out the fact that here are both "declaratory" and "restrictive" clauses in the main body of the US Constitution, as well as in the Bill of Rights.]
RESOLVED by the SENATE and HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following articles be proposed to the legislatures of the several states, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution. [The last paragraph states that the US Bill of Rights are "ARTICLES in addition to, "and Amendment" of the Constitution..." This clause clarifies that the "ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution...," is the entire bill, with it's Preamble. The Bill of Rights itself, is therefore the Amendment, and the finally ratified ARTICLES are the different parts of that Amendment. This is the reason, the 1st ten Amendments to the US Constitution are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights.
The US Bill of Rights is an Amendment with different ARTICLES, and with instruction's at the top of the Bill declaring that the ARTICLES in the Amendment have both declaratory and restrictive clauses, and that these same type of declaratory and restrictive clauses are also found in the main body of the Constitution, and that these clauses are not to be misconstructed or abused in a manner which will alter their true meaning & intent. This is a common and acceptable practice in the application of legislative Bill's, and the Bill's true interpretation.]
There will always be those individuals and groups who will oppose the true intent and meaning of the US Constitution, and who will continue to fight those intentions and meanings, and who will misconstruct or abuse those intentions and meanings whenever possible. These individuals and groups existed in Thomas Jefferson's time, and they exist now. To the individuals and groups which are opposed to the true intent and meaning of the US Constitution; let them consider these authoritative words on the subject, by one of Americas most important founding fathers and constitutional authorities, Thomas Jefferson:
"I do then, with sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preservation of our present federal Constitution, according to the true sense in which it was adopted by the states, that in which it was advocated by its friends, and not that which its enemies apprehended, who therefore became its enemies." 1799
"The Constitution on which our Union rests, shall be administered by me [as President] according to the safe and honest meaning contemplated by the plain understanding of the people of the United States at the time of its adoption--a meaning to be found in the explanations of those who advocated, not those who opposed it, and who opposed it merely lest the construction should be applied which they denounced as possible." 1801
So, yes Doubting Thomas's, there is a Preamble to the US Bill of rights, and it has a true intent and meaning. That intent and meaning is to aid in the preservation of our republican constitutional principles, our liberties, and our freedoms, by preventing the misconstruction or abuse of the declaratory and restrictive clauses to be found in the US Bill of Rights, and the rest of the US Constitution.
"The framers of our constitution certainly supposed they had guarded, as well their government against destruction by treason, as their citizens against oppression under pretense of it [treason]; and if these ends are not attained, it is of importance to inquire by what means, more effectual, they may be secured." Thomas Jefferson, 1787
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For complete and informative source's of information, facts, and educational study material, for both Online and Offline modes, on the United States Constitution, then please go to TCNbp's,WEB GUIDE to the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES. This site is a very useful and most necessary tool for anyone that is serious minded about researching and studying the Constitution. Many important issues are found there and they are very broad-ranged and provocative in thought. Want a neutral and totally educational perspective? Then the TCNbp Web Guide to the Constitution of the United States is the place to go. Want the best and greatest links to a lot of other great sites on the United States Constitution? TCNbp is the place to go!
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Page created and prepared by F.A.C.T.S. & Sherwood C. Ensey.