Path to Liberty

In the years leading up to the War for Independence, the revolutionaries took an increasingly hostile stance against people who collaborated with or helped the British. And no, it wasn’t just tarring and feathering. The post How they Dealt with Collaborators appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

We hear them over, and over, and over again - the same, tired, worn out myths or downright lies about nullification. The post Top Myths about Nullification appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

In a series of speeches during the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Patrick Henry laid out much of the anti-federalist case against ratification without amendments. The foundation underlying all his arguments was a consistent warning against consolidation - or centralized power - and trusting people with that power. The post Patrick Henry: Top Anti-Federalist Warnings appeared first on Tenth Amendme...

The federal reserve isn’t going to end itself. And congress isn’t going to cut off the engine that drives the biggest, most powerful government in the history of the world. It’s up to the states and the people to nullify it into oblivion - where it belongs. The post Nullify the Fed appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Sept 18, 1850 - Pres. Millard Fillmore signed the 2nd Federal Fugitive Slave Act into law. An attempt to implement the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution, the act, at best, had serious constitutional issues. In response, as had been done under the previous act, states passed Personal Liberty Laws which nullified the federal act in practice and effect. The post Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: On...

Despite writing on the Constitution for decades - few people today seem to even know the name Lysander Spooner. And most who do, rarely know more than one quote. Time to turn that around. The post Spooner’s Other Statements on the Constitution appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

All the founders agreed that standing armies were a great threat to liberty. The only debate was really the best way to prevent those dangers. But they didn’t come up with this view on their own - it was part of a very long tradition that was opposed to large, permanent military establishments. The post Why the Founders Warned Against Standing Armies appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Forgotten long ago: Essential principles underlying the Constitution and liberty - right from the Founders. It’s time to turn that around. The post Top-5 to “Never Forget” appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Despite the fact that it proved to be mostly a false alarm, the “Powder Alarm” of 1774 showed the colonists that the British were serious - and willing to use gun control efforts to keep them in their place. The post It was Gun Control: The Powder Alarm and the Road to Independence appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Many people hold the false and dangerous view that the federal court system is not only the final say on the meaning of the Constitution - but take it even further - the courts represent the “last bulwark against tyranny.” The post Dangerous Myth: Courts are the “Last Bulwark Against Tyranny” appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Ignorance of liberty, of the constitution, of the powers delegated to the government - and so much more - are just what tyrants absolutely love. And we’re literally surrounded by people who are willfully ignorant of it all. The post Ignorance is the “Footstool of Despotism” appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

To many people today, liberty is little more than choosing new people to rule over them every few years. And even in the founding generation, there was a wide range of viewpoints on just what constitutes a state of liberty. Path to Liberty, Fast Friday Edition: August 25, 2023 The post Liberty and Freedom: A View from the Founders appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

A culture of obedience and compliance guarantees that government will never stop growing - and defiance and nullification represent the “rightful remedy” to usurpations of power. But today, many people live in fear - and never take the steps needed to help advance liberty. The post Fear is the Foundation of Government Power appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Even when states end civil asset forfeiture, a federal program called “equitable sharing” encourages them to participate in a federal version anyway. But the states can opt-out and nullify the federal program into oblivion, where it belongs. The post Nullify the Federal “Equitable Sharing” Asset Forfeiture Program appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

The founders warned us - over and over and over again - about the dangers to liberty from war. As James Madison put it, war gives us armies, which lead to debts and taxes. This trifecta makes up the “known instruments for putting the many under the domination of the few.” The post Armies and Debts and Taxes. Oh My! appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Applying Thomas Jefferson’s strategy for advancing liberty to the massive and ever-growing surveillance state we live under today. One state is following it well, and all other states should copy their strategy as much as possible. The post Thomas Jefferson vs the Surveillance State appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

In his series of 18 letters, Federal Farmer repeatedly warned about the dangers of centralized power, predicting that the proposed government would end in “the destruction of freedom.” Path to Liberty: August 14, 2023 The post Antifederalist: Top Warnings from the Federal Farmer appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

In his last major speech during the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Patrick Henry warned against the potential for “ten thousand implied powers,” and called for a number of amendments prior to ratification. The post Ten Thousand Implied Powers: Patrick Henry’s Final Antifederalist Speech appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Everywhere you turn, it seems like people are at each other’s throats. Everything has gotten political - and it’s only going to keep getting worse. Unless, of course, the people see the source of the problem - consolidation and factions and factions and consolidation - and take action to reject it. The post Decentralization: The Cure for Polarization appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

If you want to understand the Constitution - its original, legal meaning - don’t rely exclusively, or even primarily on the Federalist Papers. You’ll want to read other federalists like James Wilson, Tench Coxe and John Dickinson, plus the leading Anti-federalists as well. The post There’s Much More than Just the Federalist Papers appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

To support the constitution and liberty, these four big federal monstrosities absolutely need to go. But that doesn’t mean we should ever expect the people with power to voluntarily give up that power. The post Top-4 That Need to Go appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

Most efforts to stop federal programs miss the mark in a big way. Instead of striking the root, they hack at branches, often setting the stage for more of the same in the future. The post Swing and a Miss: ATF, CBDC, Dept of Education appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

If we truly want to build a real “land of the free,” it’s essential to understand the source of our problems. Using the wisdom and warnings of leading founders and old revolutionaries - we can point to consolidation, or centralization of power. The post Strike the Root: Consolidation appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

In a series of speeches during the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Patrick Henry warned against a combination of the treaty, the judicial power and - the supremacy clause - that it would lead to government violating individual liberty with impunity. The post Treaties, Trials and Supremacy: Patrick Henry’s Anti-Federalist Speeches 8-10 appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .

In his series of essays, Brutus repeatedly warned about the dangers of centralized power, predicting that the proposed government would end up exercising “infinite” and “incomprehensible” power. The post Top Warnings from the Antifederalist Brutus appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center .