The Resurrection of America

By C. Warren Ellis

The Resurrection of America brings to the attention of Americans the many dangers facing our country from within. This book looks at the issues that exist today as a result of an out-of-control government, and it offers some proposed solutions. The author suggests changes at all levels of government and commerce based on our constitutional rights.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. Warren Ellis
• Release date: Apr 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458157140

C. Warren Ellis

C. Warren Ellis was born in rural Pennsylvania, second youngest of a family of seven children. Born just about 9 months after Pearl Harbor, he watched the military might gearing up to fight WWII, remembering as a child the many military aircraft transiting the skies of his rural Pennsylvania home.Joining the US Air Force in 1960 at the age of 17, he watched the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold from Eglin AFB, just 90 mile from Cuba. B52 aircraft from his squadron kept him and many others on alert and working 12 hour shifts for a long time. Honorably discharged from the Air Force after 4 years service and before his 21st birthday, he held several jobs before returning to technical school to further his education in electronics. After tech school, Mr. Ellis was employed by a number of firms whose names are household words.His employers read like a who’s who in the business world. His longest employment was 23 years with IBM, but also worked for such companies as Bendix, Link Aviation, Charmin Paper, Osram Sylvania, Litton Industries, and Northrop Grumman. With over 50 years of both blue and white-collar employment, he has observed first hand the effects of government on tax burdens, the economy, and unemployment, and especially the downsizing of many companies during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.Mr. Ellis’ love of history led him to biographies of the great statesmen and Presidents, and ultimately to the study of not only the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, but the literature and writings of the time in which the Constitution was formed and ratified.

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Appendix A

Introduction.

During the mid 18th century a publication called Common Sense spelled out the problems of the day and the practical solutions to those problems. Its author, Thomas Paine, used it as a platform to bring clarity to the issues confronting the citizens as they struggled with establishing a new government.

Today, 220 some odd years later, we are again faced with issues that seemingly defy solution in a timely manner. A great many of the problems are quite similar in nature to those of 200 years ago. How this great republic came to be in the situation that exists at present is a subject that would require a book all by itself, but the short answer is - the citizens allowed it to happen.

There is a lot of rhetoric and debate on what the current President will or will not do for this country, but many citizens are forgetting one thing. It is not the President, nor Congress that determines the direction our government takes, but the people themselves. The framework of our Federal Government is spelled out in a concise and wonderful document, the Constitution of the United States. A copy of the Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights, appears at the end of this book. It is imperative that the reader be familiar with it and refers back to it as each chapter is read.

There is a saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (Lord Acton, 1834–1902). William Pitt, the Elder, 1770, put it another way: Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it. Ever since Congress was formed and the Federal government became the ministering body of the Republic, there has been incident after incident where politicians have stumbled and fallen from the ethical high road prescribed by the Constitution. No office has been spared; Senators, representatives, and even a President or two have been the subject of controversy and scandal. While it has taken well over two hundred years for the Republic to deteriorate to the state it is in today, at the rate it is disintegrating it will be but few years before it is no longer a Republic but indeed a socialist hierarchy.

Each passing year sees more and more individual rights abrogated in the name of safety, security, and necessity. Benjamin Franklin said it best:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

(November 11, 1755, from the Pennsylvania Assembly’s reply to the Governor of Pennsylvania).

There is a very powerful weapon resting in the hands of the American people, if only it could be brought to bear. I speak of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, to wit:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Notice in particular the last part:

and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This is how even the most pernicious problems can be resolved, provided you, dear reader, will make the slightest effort in this direction. This amendment, approved December 15, 1791, is still a powerful force over 200 years later.

Throughout history, there have been many empires that survived for as little as a few decades to as much as centuries in one form or another. All have one thing in common- eventually they fall. The Republic of the United States of America is closing in on two and a half centuries, and has already survived one close call, the Civil War, a century and a half ago.

America is again at a crossroads, with civil liberties eroding, respect throughout the world declining, and economic disaster once again looming over the future. We will look at some of the problems facing America today, and what we as individuals can do to alleviate them.

Later in this book we will refer to the 10-50 plan. Simply stated, the 10-50 plan is an exercise to quantify financial reductions in various exercises, and it becomes evident that these two numbers - 10% and 50%, will suffice for most all our calculations as we proceed to enumerate the changes our Republic must undergo to survive.

I would also like to remind the reader that the Constitution was written for the people, not corporations, governments, or other entities. As such, the Constitution gives Congress the ability to regulate commerce. Most people interpret this as the right to regulate business in terms of tariffs and taxation. In reality, it was meant also to regulate business conduct to the benefit of the people. Please keep this in mind as you read the chapters on commerce and communications. Keep in mind at all times, the opening line of the Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Note:

Please note that some of the information provided in this publication is from various sources available to the general public, and while I have made a concerted effort to verify all information, it is possible that an error or two have crept in. This should not affect in any way the recommendations as to what actions we need take to resurrect our Republic, and I apologize in advance for any inadvertent error.

Prologue

Since colonial times America’s Constitution has provided the framework for the government of the country, and documented the rights of the citizens that were written in blood during the Revolutionary war. It is a glorious document, having survived with few modifications for over 200 years. The Constitution traces its origins to 13th century England, and The Great Charter of English Liberty, better known as the Magna Carta. Our present day legal system has its roots in English common law, the Magna Carta and the subsequent English Bill of Rights.

King John at Runnymede, England granted the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215. It is known that it was granted under duress. It deals with grievances germane to the times, rather than law in general, but it formed the basis of English law that persists to the present day. I shall cite, by way of illustration, one entry from that document that is as valid today as it was then.

We will not make men justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs unless they are such as know the law of the realm, and are minded to observe it rightly.

The Magna Carta was taken, in part, from the Charter of Liberties of King Henry I in 1100 A. D. This charter granted a number of civil liberties to church officials and the noble class. Interestingly, the original Magna Carta of 1215 was reissued in 1216, 1217, again in 1225, and confirmed in 1297 by Edward I.

Unless a student of English history, many Americans do not realize that England also has a Bill of Rights. From this English Bill of Rights, established in 1689, came the basis of our own Bill of Rights. Just as our Constitution and the Bill of Rights limit the right to impose taxes to Congress, the English version limited the imposition of taxes to the English Parliament. Other freedoms spelled out in our Bill of Rights were lifted almost verbatim from the English. For example, from the English version:

"That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal;

That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;

That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;

That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;

That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law;

That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defense suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law."

The Magna Carta was and is a charter of liberty. This document was a huge influence on the men who undertook the task of writing America’s Constitution. The authors of the Constitution understood that the basic civil liberties were a birthright of the American citizens and the government should not and could not abrogate those rights.

Americans were also influenced by 17th and 18th century English political philosophers, particularly John Locke. Locke maintained:

… government originates as a compact freely entered into by the citizens of a society; government gains legitimacy only through the consent of the governed, not from brute force; and a free society is the highest purpose of organized government.

According to Locke,

The end of law is not to abolish or restrain but to preserve and enlarge freedom.

Out of these influences evolved a common understanding in the United States of the basic civil liberties that all Americans enjoy as their birthright, and that government is bound to honor.

CHAPTER 1

Restoring the Republic under the Constitution.

In the 220 some odd years Congress has been in session, enough mistakes have been made to fill an entire library of books. The sad part is that by doing so, Congress is betraying the interests of the people. The temptation for enlarging their power and extending their authority causes them to interpret constitutional issues and introduce legislation not always in the best interest of the people as a whole.

Were we to define what makes any holder of public office an ideal candidate, it would have to include a disposition to do things and make sacrifices for the good of the people, and to set public interest before one’s own private interest.

In establishing a government some of the individual’s natural freedoms of necessity must be surrendered. To establish law and government requires that we give up a portion of our freedoms and rights. Unfortunately, in the past 100 years, a number of those rights which ought not to have been surrendered have been rescinded by various congressional and presidential edicts. Using the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as a guideline, we can re - establish those rights which should be retained and decide which of necessity must be surrendered, and return those rights which should not be abridged to the citizen.

One of the main threads running through the Anti-Federalist papers at the time of the framing of the Constitution was the fear of usurpation of power by a government less concerned with the rights of the governed than the aggrandizement of that government. For those of us who can see it, this has been happening more and more. In answer to these fears, various authors wrote numerous installations collectively labeled the Federalist Papers. A look into the writings of the founding fathers reveals insights directly applicable to today’s situation. These men of vision were not able in their wildest imagination to foresee the technological world we live in today, yet they were able to foresee the many probable pitfalls in a continuing government. Let us look at a few examples that are as valid today as they were 220 years ago.

"…if the Federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority, and make a tyrannical use of its powers; the people whose creature it is must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injuries done to the constitution, as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify".

- A. Hamilton, Federalist Papers # 33, January 2, 1788

"If individuals enter into a state of society the laws of that society must be the supreme regulation of their conduct."

"It would otherwise be a mere treaty, dependent on the good faith of the parties, and not a government; which is only another word for political power and supremacy."

- James Madison, February 27, 1788, Federalist Papers # 63

Men such as Patrick Henry, James Winthrop, Melancton Smith and Robert Yates held many reservations, as to Congress or the President assuming power beyond authority, thus rendering a republic a dictatorship. An illustration of such fears being well founded occurred in Pittsburgh, PA. In an article on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, Rich Lord, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported on a city council meeting concerning a piece of gun control legislation. In this instance, the council approved a measure that every member knew was illegal, as it was pre-empted by Pennsylvania State law. In defending the action, a council member made the following statement: - Who really cares about it being unconstitutional? said Councilwoman Tonya Payne. This is what's right to do, and if this means that we have to go out and have a court battle, then that's fine ... We have plenty of dead bodies coming up in our streets very single day, and that is unacceptable."

While Councilwoman Payne was referring to the Pennsylvania Constitution, it aptly illustrates many politicians’ and lawmakers’ attitude toward the U.