A Whig Manifesto: A Short History of the Whig Movement with Modern Whig Party Perspectives on Current Political and Social Controversies

By Andrew Evans and Chuck Morse

The modern Whig movement and, specifically, the Modern Whig Party is a quickly growing third party in America and this book examines its political philosophy. Drawing from the history and traditions of the party—those that animated the public policies and careers of such great American Whigs as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and Abraham Lincoln—this book explains the set of core beliefs that Whigs believe are essential to American governance. It goes on to relate how Whig ideology can be applied to current governmental issues today, touching upon the mortgage crisis, taxes, civil rights, and health care. Making the case for American political and economic nationalism, this manifesto offers insights into a uniquely American philosophy that fostered the most successful and prosperous nation in history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trine Day
• Release date: Dec 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781936296941

Book preview

A

WHIG

MANIFESTO

A short history of the Whig movement with Modern Whig Party perspectives on current political and social controversies

CHUCK MORSE

A Whig Manifesto: A short history of the Whig movement with Modern Whig Party perspectives on current political and social controversies

Copyright © 2011 Chuck Morse All Rights Reserved.

Presentation Copyright © 2011 Trine Day, LLC

Published by:

TrineDay LLC

PO Box 577

Walterville, OR 97489

1-800-556-2012

www.TrineDay.com

[e-mail]

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011943806

Morse, Chuck — Author

A Whig Manifesto: A short history of the Whig movement with Modern Whig Party perspectives on current political and social controversies—1st ed.

p. cm.(acid-free paper)

Epub (ISBN-13) 978-1-936296-94-1

Mobi (ISBN-13) 978-1-936296-95-8

Print (ISBN-13) 978-1-936296-93-4

1. Political parties -- United States 2. United States -- Politics and government 3. Modern Whig Party (U.S.). 4. Historiography I. Morse, Chuck . II. Title

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the USA

Distribution to the Trade by:

Independent Publishers Group (IPG)

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

312.337.0747

www.ipgbook.com

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Photo - Whig Almanac - 1845

Introduction

Whig Election Poster & Candidates

Who are the Whigs?

A Whig Manifesto

Whigs Then and Now

Whig policy on taxation

Whig policy on government agencies

Whig policy regarding Congress and the President

Whig policy regarding religion

Whig positions on foreign policy

Balance of Powers

Elections

The President

The Judiciary

Constitutional Amendments

The Balance of Powers

Alexander Hamilton

Subsidiary

Photo – Mt. Rushmore

The American System

Photo - Wallt Street

Whig Philosophy

Photo – Fannie Mae

The Mortgage Crisis

What is the Whig solution?

Photo – US Congress

Budget and Taxes

Social Security

The Deficit

Photo – Martin Luther King

Civil Rights

Photo – Obama

Obama Health Plan

Photo - John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

Photo – Abraham Lincoln

Conclusion

Document – Declaration of Independence

14) The Declaration of Independence

Constitution of the United States of America

Preamble

Article. I.

Section. 1.

Section. 2.

Section. 3.

Section. 4.

Section. 5.

Section. 6.

Section. 7.

Section. 8.

Section. 9.

Section. 10.

Article. II.

Section. 1.

Section. 2.

Section. 3.

Section. 4.

Article III.

Section. 1.

Section. 2.

Section. 3.

Article. IV.

Section. 1.

Section. 2.

Section. 3.

Section. 4.

Article. V.

Article. VI.

Article. VII.

Amendment I

Amendment II

Amendment III

Amendment IV

Amendment V

Amendment VI

Amendment VII

Amendment VIII

Amendment IX

Amendment XI

Amendment XII

Amendment XIII.

Amendment XIV.

Amendment XV.

Amendment XVI.

Amendment XVII

Amendment XVIII

Amendment XIX

Amendment XX

Amendment XXI

Amendment XXII

Amendment XXIII

Amendment XXIV

Amendment XXV

Amendment XXVI

Amendment XXVII

Back Cover

Introduction

The term Whig has a long and storied history. Whigs can be traced back to 1600’s England and Scotland, where they stood against abuse of power by the King. In America, many of the early patriots of our nation were identified as Whigs. The Whig Party of the 1800’s stood, first and foremost, for improving and strengthening America. Among the Whigs in the 1800’s were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, President’s John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Millard Fillmore. Abraham Lincoln served in Congress as a Whig, and later described himself as an old line Henry Clay Whig.

What do all those great Americans have in common? One simple thing. They were all patriots and believed in the Whig Philosophy: that government should be based on the consent of the people. The people are the power of government. The Modern Whig Party is proud to point to our heritage not because of past success and service but because of our efforts for current and future service to the American people. The Whigs of the past were more than politicians; they were public servants and Americans before and above anything else. The same can be said of the Modern Whigs. We are simply and always Americans who are doing what we can by taking action, to make sure that our government serves the will of the American people, not an ideology.

The Modern Whig Party was founded in 2007-2008 by American military veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan. They placed their lives on the line for a nation that they loved. Many veterans had become frustrated with the partisan bickering and ideological games that were being played in Washington DC and in state capitols all around America. They were fighting for America, carrying out their orders with honor and courage, only to realize that they needed to get involved back home and encourage their fellow citizens to stand up and act. Veterans still make up a solid active core of the Modern Whig Party. The Modern Whigs are doing our best to help support all veterans through our Veterans Affairs Assistance Programs.

Mike Lebowitz, an Army veteran of the 101st Airborne Division, attorney, and veterans’ issues advocate became the first national chairman of the Modern Whigs. In addition to his service in the military Lebowitz also has testified before the U.S. Congress in 2008 about improving military whistle-blower legislation. That same year, the USA Whig Party and Veterans Party of America merged into the Modern Whig Party. Ken Belcher of Alabama, a Whig member, won election to constable of Lee County, Alabama. This was the Modern Whigs’ first electoral victory.

Moderate Republicans and Democrats began to flock to the Modern Whig message of practical, rational, non-ideological approaches to government after Election Day in 2008. The Modern Whig membership quickly swelled to over 25,000 members, all from grassroots efforts. This growth continued in 2009 as the Modern Whig bylaws were passed and a National Convention was held. That growth continued as the message of the Modern Whig Party, echoing that of the original Whigs, continued to gain more members and media coverage. In March 2010, the Modern Whig Party was ranked by Time Magazine as one of the top ten alternative political movements in the world.

On June 22, 2010, the American Centrist Party, one of the largest centrist parties in America, merged with the Modern Whig Party to combine the similar effort of both into a unified front. The Whig National Executive Committee then appointed, me, Andrew Evans, as National Chairman in July of 2010. In addition to the excitement of the merger, Terry D. Tilson, a city council member of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, came over from the American Centrist Party to serve as the second Modern Whig member in elected public office,

2010 continued to be an interesting and growing year for the Modern Whigs. In August, the Center Party merged with the Modern Whig Party, along with candidate Jeff Vanke from Roanoke, Virginia. The Modern Whigs supported two Modern Whig members and one endorsed candidate. Vanke, an author and former college professor, ran as an independent in Virginia’s 6th Congressional district for U.S. House. In Massachusetts, Modern Whig member Lalig Musserian, a small-businesswoman and Armenian immigrant, ran for Massachusetts State House. In Virginia’s 2nd Congressional district, retired Commodore Kenny Golden ran as a Modern Whig-endorsed independent candidate. Modern Whig members in each state across the nation supported the candidates with donations, phone calls, letters, and speeches.

The efforts of the Modern Whig members and candidates led to front-page coverage in the Wall Street Journal and coverage on CNN.com. Media coverage continued to occur across the nation and in the districts with Modern Whig candidates. The candidates ended up receiving double-digit support, with a high of 22 percent, and numerous standing ovations by citizens who heard the Modern Whig message. While this was not victory, it was far from insignificant and launched the Modern Whigs further on their road to growing, learning, and acting to better serve the American people. At the time of this writing, the Modern Whig Party is proud to support Modern Whig member Pat Martin of Oklahoma in his run for U.S. Congress in 2012.

When Chuck Morse first contacted me about his writing the Modern Whig Manifesto, I was intrigued. Of course I was a little cautious. The Modern Whigs have always worked hard to make sure that our movement was a movement about all of us, not just one man; just as the idea and dream of what America can be is bigger than any of us. I wanted to talk to Chuck over the phone; I have always been a big believer in person-to-person contact, or at least hearing someone’s voice. It’s easier to see if someone is trying to feed you a line of horse manure or not, so to speak.

When Chuck and I talked, it reminded me of the many conversations I have been fortunate to have with people throughout my years working with first the American Centrist Party and now the Modern Whig Party. Chuck mentioned how excited he was to find out about the Modern Whig Party and our historical connections and realistic, practical approach to government and politics. Chuck told me that he leans conservative but over time he has realized that both the Democrats and Republicans have become too bogged down in their ideological games. The Modern Whigs were a breath of fresh air to him and he wanted to help let the American people know about the Modern Whigs, not to propagandize but to allow the American people to test, question, and make up their own minds.

I told Chuck it’s okay that he is conservative; we all have our political leanings that we have learned and experienced. What makes the Modern Whigs different is that we have the freedom of political thought and action to take what is good from liberal and conservative ideology and disregard the bad. We also have the freedom and responsibility to come up with our own ideas and approaches to issues. We want to collaborate with others, debate, try to find the root causes of issues and address them without ideological blinders. The Modern Whigs focus on long-term problem solving and promoting what is most effective. The Modern Whigs might learn from liberal ideology and conservative ideology but we will never try to put square ideological pegs through round realistic holes.

Four words that best sum up the Modern Whig philosophy are practical, pragmatic, independent, and effective. When people think of these words, we want them to think of the Modern Whig Party, and the original Whig Party philosophy of cooperation to strengthen America and improve American stability and growth now and in the future. While not everything in the Manifesto will represent official stances of the Modern Whig Party, it gives an honest overview of the ideas of the original Whigs and the ideas and non-ideological approaches of the Modern Whig Party. I am truly honored that Chuck Morse asked me to write the forward to The Modern Whig Manifesto. He is a true patriot and true Modern Whig.

The Modern Whig Manifesto will explain the history of the Whigs and how early American Whig leaders and their approaches played such an important part in building a strong America. The book will also show you how the Modern Whigs are working to do the same thing; help build a stronger America using practical approaches, effective solutions and real public service. You will read about issues that affect all Americans. Chuck has done a great job of pointing out what is being done in America about these issues and what is not. He gives credit where credit is due, but also is not afraid to call out leaders for approaches they are taking that could be more effective. The Modern