Changes

The successful conclusion of the [[Revolutionary War|War for Independence]] in 1783 left the Americans free of their British oppressors, but faced with the daunting task of creating a new type of government that would transform the dream of ''universally protected God-given rights'' into a practical reality. Nothing like this before had ever been attempted. Consequently, the representatives of the thirteen states who assembled for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia (1787) had no illusions that the destiny of the new nation lay in their hands. To their great credit, they soon produced a legal manuscript which is arguably the greatest charter of liberty the world has ever known: the Constitution of the United States of America. This document, along with its first ten amendments -- commonly called the Bill of Rights -- set forth the framework and mechanisms by which the unalienable rights of the People would be recognized and protected from overreaching officials.  Simply put, the Constitution establishes a limited government that is empowered to protect the unalienable rights of the People, and is prohibited from doing virtually anything else. After two hundred years, the principle of unalienable rights, though buffeted by statism, atheism, communism, and individual ambition, remains at the core of American political, legal, economic, and social theory:  

The successful conclusion of the [[Revolutionary War|War for Independence]] in 1783 left the Americans free of their British oppressors, but faced with the daunting task of creating a new type of government that would transform the dream of ''universally protected God-given rights'' into a practical reality. Nothing like this before had ever been attempted. Consequently, the representatives of the thirteen states who assembled for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia (1787) had no illusions that the destiny of the new nation lay in their hands. To their great credit, they soon produced a legal manuscript which is arguably the greatest charter of liberty the world has ever known: the Constitution of the United States of America. This document, along with its first ten amendments -- commonly called the Bill of Rights -- set forth the framework and mechanisms by which the unalienable rights of the People would be recognized and protected from overreaching officials.  Simply put, the Constitution establishes a limited government (a [[Constitutional Republic]]) that is empowered to protect the unalienable rights of the People, and is prohibited from doing virtually anything else. After two hundred years, the principle of unalienable rights, though buffeted by statism, atheism, communism, and individual ambition, remains at the core of American political, legal, economic, and social theory:  

== Threats & Safeguards ==

== Threats & Safeguards ==

A number of safeguards are built into the American system of government, to protect our unalienable rights. These include:

A number of safeguards are built into the American system of government to protect our unalienable rights. These include:

* The Bill of Rights

* The Bill of Rights

* Jury trials

* Jury trials

* Jury nullification

* [[Jury nullification]]

* Habeas Corpus

* [[Habeas Corpus]]

* Popular vote of congressmen and senators

* Popular vote of congressmen and senators

* Recall of elected officials

* Recall of elected officials

* Impeachment of the President

* [[Impeachment|Impeachment and removal]] of the President

* The right to petition for redress of grievances

* The right to petition for redress of grievances

* The right to demonstrate against the government

* The right to demonstrate against the government

* The right to publish critiques of the government

* The right to publish critiques of the government

* The right to petition a grand jury to indict officials

* The right to petition a [[grand jury]] to indict officials

* Constitutional checks and balances between the various branches of government

* Constitutional checks and balances between the various branches of government

* Limitation on Enumerated Powers to 19 (plus the power to remove the President)

* Limitation on [[Enumerated Powers]] to 19 (plus the power to remove the President)

* Courts of appeal and the Supreme Court

* Courts of appeal and the Supreme Court

* The right to abolish the government and start over

* The right to abolish the government and start over