In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read in three spots in Pennsylvania following the Fourth of July. One spot was Easton’s historic Center Square. 233 years later, a small band of 300 patriots showed up once more. Here is the speech (and video!) I gave July 3rd, 2009 at the Lehigh Valley Tea Party at the fountain in Easton’s Center Square, Pennsylvania
by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution
Saturday, July 4, 2009
NOTE: A longer version of this speech delivered at another rally is also below. This speech was edited to fit in the time allotted, but covered all of the main points in the full version. I am glad to report the speech was received quite favorably by the crowd as you can see in this YouTube video. I am likewise extremely honored to have been selected by this organization to speak on such an historic place at such an important time in our nation’s history.
If I was granted a thousand wishes on our country’s birthday, I would spend them all on restoring the Republic. As that simply won’t happen, I will just continue to work as hard as I can. If you care to help, please let me know.
(Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Greuze)
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On July 15th, 1776, 72 patriots led by Benjamin Franklin issued Pennsylvania’s Constitution. One sentence read: QUOTE That ALL POWER is originally inherent in, and consequently derived from, the PEOPLE; therefore all officers of government are their trustees and SERVANTS, and at ALL TIMES ACCOUNTABLE to them.
Our founders clearly realized that all power stems from the PEOPLE, from US, and all officers of government are NOT masters, but SERVANTS.
Most importantly, the Constitution was written under the principle of “positive grant.” What “positive grant” means is that the government can ONLY exercise the powers which are specifically granted to it and nothing more. The Constitution is not the AUTHORITY over our lives, it is simply the LAW meant to CONSTRAIN the actions of government.
However, over time the federal government has slowly and steadily taken more and more power from the people, from our local and state governments.
Look at the bailouts of the banks, insurance companies, car companies, and investment firms. There is NOTHING – there is NOTHING – in the Constitution that gives Congress or the Federal Reserve the power to do ANY of this.
So what to do? What can be done against this government? What are the BEST actions that people who believe in the rule of law, who believe in freedom, do?
What I favor is a strong shift back to the America that our founding fathers and mothers had in mind. If we can shift these powers back closer to the People, from the federal governments to the State and local governments, the better off we all will be. The more local each issue becomes, the more voice, the more power each individual has, and the happier we will all be.
The 4th of July for the Patriots of ’76 was only the start of a long march towards freedom and liberty. It is in their spirits that we, from our families FIRST, from our local communities SECOND, and from the State of Pennsylvania THIRD must rise up and defend freedom from a government that disrespects the Rule of Law and the boundaries of its Constitutional powers!
We can start and WIN this revolution of our lifetimes TODAY if only a few good women, a few good men are brave enough to place their bodies and their minds between our families and the Establishment, this government that acts as if the Constitution were just “a piece of paper!”
As for myself, I have decided to run for political office even though I have no prior political experience. I have a very strong message to share and a plan to implement accountability and transparency, to return the ‘money power’ from the government to the people where it belongs, and to fiercely defend individual liberty and the rule of law.
I have decided to run as private citizen, unaffiliated with any political parties. I do not desire to represent either the Democrat or Republican Parties, I desire to represent US, the people of this district whom I am willing to serve.
I believe that the current Republican and Democrat representatives have been leading our country down the path of both MORAL and ECONOMIC ruin.
Our two-headed, one-party political scene is not the sharp divide the politicians and the media want us to believe. The true difference between the Democrat and Republican politicians in power is no greater than the choice between picking Coke or Pepsi at a supermarket.
To me, the real choice today is simple.
We either choose LIBERTY or we choose TYRANNY!
We either choose PROSPERITY for those who earn it or POVERTY for us all!
TODAY we decide between a REPUBLIC of LAWS or MOB RULE by the Gang in Washington!
TODAY we decide if we are Women and Men of PRINCIPLE or if we will let “politics as usual” and the “lesser of two evils” ruin our lives and the lives of our children!
What I would like MORE THAN ANYTHING is to join with a team of candidates who HAVE the spirit of ’76, who SHARE the same principle and belief in individual liberty as I do, and are focused on saving our great country from those who threaten it, THE TRUE ENEMIES DOMESTIC.
America was conceived in liberty, and I will not let our Republic fall to the cowards who defile her without a bitter fight. These cowards will do whatever they can to remain in power, to control us by debasing our money and throwing away our liberties as if they were garbage. Our Republic was not established by cowards, and cowards have no chance of preserving it!
Their favorite strategy is “Divide-and-Conquer.” They will prey upon our differences in Race, Skin Color, Gender, and religious creeds in attempts to turn us upon ourselves. They will try to set our Citizens Senior against our country’s young people. They will try to set the Rich, the Poor, and the Middle Class at each other’s throats for this is the ONLY way they can stay in power.
We must act together, we must recognize that we are all Americans, we are all on the SAME SIDE. As our founders signed the Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin said, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately.”
Jake Towne is running for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15th District in the 2010 election as a citizen unaffiliated with any political parties. Jake also writes at www.LibertyMaven.com and www.CampaignForLiberty.com. A master campaign presentation for internet viewing is available. [Reach the Author Here!]
An interim campaign website is here while a dot com is being setup, due for release on July 15, 2009.
P.S. You can listen to my most recent interview with “Patriot Pastor” Kinley from last week on BlogTalk Radio here.
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The longer version with hyperlinks. If you have read the US Constitution but not your State Constitution, I highly recommend it! Here is the current PA Constitution.
At the end of this week we will celebrate our nation’s date of independence from the tyranny of the King of England. Thank you for all gathering here today to protest the actions of our government by exercising our freedom to peaceably assemble.
I would like to share with you all two very powerful sentences from the Constitution – but not the U.S. Constitution! From the Constitution of Pennsylvania! You see, after the Fourth of July, each of the 13 colonies issued their own Constitutions and declaration of rights. So 11 days later on July the 15th, 1776, 72 patriots led by Benjamin Franklin issued the first-ever Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Seven of these were from our Lehigh Valley.
They wrote QUOTE That ALL POWER is originally inherent in, and consequently derived from, the people; therefore all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and SERVANTS, and at ALL TIMES ACCOUNTABLE to them.
That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection and security of the people, nation or community; and not for the particular advantage of any single man, family, or set of men, who are a part only of that community: And that the community has an indubitable, unalienable and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish government in such manner as shall be by that community judged most conducive to the public well-being. UNQUOTE
So our founders realized that all power stems from the PEOPLE, from US, and all officers of government are NOT masters, but SERVANTS.
July 15th, 1776 marked the beginning of the SOVEREIGN STATE of Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War, the 13 States formed a federal government under the Articles of Confederation. After the War, Americans realized that their federal government needed more power to handle the affairs of the United States. Each State still needed the others for military protection from the French colonies to the north and west, the Spanish colonies to the South, and from the ever-present British Navy by sea. However, a super-majority was required for any major decision, and the federal government became very ineffective – not because it was passing too many laws or acts but because it could do nothing. When the Constitution was signed in 1787, the States gave up just enough rights so that the federal government could function, but it was NEVER the intent to have a strong central government like today’s.
Most importantly, the United States Constitution was written under the principle of “positive grant.” What “positive grant” means is that the federal government can ONLY exercise the powers which are specifically granted to it by the Constitution approved by We the People, and nothing more. The Constitution is not the AUTHORITY over our lives, it is simply the law meant to CONSTRAIN the actions of government.
However, over time the federal government has slowly and steadily taken more and more power from the people, from our local communities, and from our States.
Look at the bailouts of the banks – Citigroup, Bank of America and many more – the car companies Chrysler and Government Motors – the insurance companies like AIG, and Wall Street investment banks like Merrill Lynch and Government Sachs, there is NOTHING – there is NOTHING – in the Constitution that gives Congress or the Federal Reserve – the same FED which has spent well over $2 TRILLION dollars in undisclosed secret bailouts – there is NOTHING in the Constitution that gives the government the power to do ANY of this.
The 10th Amendment clearly reads QUOTE “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” UNQUOTE
So what to do? What can be done against this government? What are the BEST actions that people who believe in the rule of law, who believe in a just and accountable government do?
What I favor is a strong strong shift back to the America that our founding fathers and mothers had in mind. They recognized that all power came from the PEOPLE. We the People then delegated some powers to our State governments to act on our behalf, and then gave even FEWER powers to our federal government.
If we can shift these powers back closer to the People, from the federal governments to the State governments to the local governments, the better off we all will be. The more local each issue becomes, the more voice, the more power each individual has, and the happier we will all be.
There was a time after the Revolution when Thomas Paine, a patriot and author of Common Sense wrote that each family kept a copy of the Constitution in their homes. When discussing an issue, he wrote, it was not uncommon for the family to open up the Constitution and refer to it! Paine even called the Constitution our “political bible.”
Another founder, Sam Adams, once said, “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in the minds of men.”
The Fourth of July for the Patriots of 1776 was only the start of a long march towards freedom and liberty. In the history of mankind, there have been VERY few wars that resulted in an increase of liberty, an increase in prosperity, but the Revolutionary War that founded our country DID result in more freedom and more prosperity. The Patriots of ’76 risked their lives, liberty, and property with their families to fight to the death against the British Empire. But they fought with confidence knowing that if they won, peace, freedom, and prosperity would be their reward. They risked their lives knowing that life simply wasn’t worth living as unrepresented serfs of the state.
It is in their spirits that we, from our families FIRST, from our local communities SECOND, and from the State of Pennsylvania THIRD must rise up and defend freedom from a government that disrespects the Rule of Law and the boundaries of its Constitutional powers! Thanks to the heritage of our founding fathers, this is a revolution that can SURELY be won without the use of muskets or cannon.
We can start and WIN this revolution of our lifetimes TODAY if only a few good women, a few good men are brave enough to place their bodies and their minds between our families and the Establishment, this government that acts as if the Constitution were just “a damn piece of paper!” I ask that each of you search inside your souls and decide how best you can help win the battle.
As for myself, I have already decided to run for political office even though I have no prior political experience. I have a very strong message to share and a solid plan to implement accountability and transparency, to return the ‘money power’ from the government to the people where it belongs, and to fiercely defend individual liberty and the rule of law.
I have decided to run as private citizen, unaffiliated with any political parties. I do not desire to represent either the Democratic or Republican Parties, I desire to represent US, the people of this district whom I am willing to serve.
I believe that the previously-elected Republican and Democratic representatives have been leading our country down the path of both ECONOMIC and MORAL ruin.
Our two-party political scene is not the sharp divide the parties and the media want you to believe. The true differences between the Democrat and Republican politicians in power is no greater than the choice between picking either Coke or Pepsi at a supermarket. One is just a little sweeter to some and will rot your teeth just a little faster than the other!
Today we either choose LIBERTY or we choose TYRANNY!
We are deciding between PROSPERITY for those who would earn it or the POORHOUSE and POVERTY for us all! Our nation is becoming the Soviet Union right before our eyes!
TODAY we decide between a REPUBLIC of LAWS or MOB RULE by the GANG in WASHINGTON!
TODAY we decide if we are Women and Men of PRINCIPLE or if we will let “politics as usual” and the “lesser of two evils” ruin our lives and the lives of our children!
What I would like MORE THAN ANYTHING is to join with a team of candidates who HAVE the spirit of ’76, who SHARE the same principles as I do, and are focused on saving our great country from those who threaten it, THE TRUE ENEMIES DOMESTIC. I do not care which party you are from, only that we share the many of the same principles and ideas, and intend to save our country from the cowards that are in office today.
America was conceived in liberty, and I will not let our Republic fall to the cowards who defile her without a bitter fight. These cowards will do whatever they can to remain in power, to control us by debasing our money and frittering away our civil liberties as if they were garbage.
Their favorite strategy is the game of “Divide-and-Conquer.” They will use hot-button topics to divide us. They will prey upon our differences in Race, Skin Color, Gender, and religious creeds in attempts to turn us upon ourselves. They will try to set our Citizens Senior against our country’s young people. They will try to set the Rich, the Poor, and the Middle Class at each other’s throats for this is the ONLY way they can stay in office.
They will trot skeletons out of their Republican or Democratic Party closets whose only saving grace is that they have not been involved in politics for the last 4-5 years, just long enough so we can forget that they would have acted EXACTLY the same as our current politicians.
We must act together, we must recognize that we are all Americans, we are all on the same side. As our founders signed the Declaration, Ben Franklin said, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” We either “Join or Die.”
Our Republic was not established by cowards, and cowards have no chance of preserving it!
That is all I have to say, thank you for this opportunity to speak.
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More Articles by the Author
Wall Street Journal Reports 401k Withdrawals Frozen or Slowed
Why Obama’s Stimulus Plan Will Fail… and a Better Alternative (Feature Article for CampaignForLiberty.com)
Local Currency – A Real Stimulus Plan (Feature Article for CampaignForLiberty.com, please read the discussion section too, it was quite good!)
Ron Paul’s rEVOLution Versus the “One Ring” of the Federal Reserve
Off a Cliff with No Airbags: The FED Banking System Quivers in Fright
Bernanke’s Great Lie – The “Gold Standard” and the Great Depression (PART 2/2)
Silver and Gold ARE Money (PART 1/2)
R.I.P. – The London Gold Pool, 1961-1968
Unlocking the Money Matrix – The Real Interest Rate (PART 12/15)
The Money Matrix – What the Heck Are Derivatives? (PART 10/15)
The Money Matrix – How the FED Works (PART 6/15)
MAYDAY! Jake Towne for US Congress, Pennsylvania 15th District
One Subject at a Time – Open Letter to Congressman Dent from Jake Towne
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