Our American Ancestors Didn’t Trust the Federal Government

[Gdjjr]

The U.S. Constitution brought into existence a federal government whose powers were limited to those enumerated in the Constitution itself. If a power wasn’t enumerated, it simply could not be exercised.

That’s because our American ancestors didn’t trust governmental power. They clearly understood, based on both historical knowledge and life experience, that the greatest threat to their freedom and well-being lay with their very own federal government.

That’s why there was such a deep antipathy toward a type of government that had an enormous and permanent military-intelligence establishment. Our American ancestors knew that a government of that nature would wield the power to destroy their liberty and well-being.
............

The Bill of Rights is a living testament to the extent to which Americans distrusted the federal government.

A question naturally arises: Do all these protections against the federal government’s destruction of people’s liberty and well-being go out the window in the event of an emergency or a crisis? Should they?

The fact is that there is no emergency or crisis exception in either the original Constitution or the Bill of Rights. That is, there is no provision that says, “In the event of an emergency or crisis, the federal government will be permitted to exercise powers that are not enumerated and to ignore restrictions on its power.”

Why did Americans demand the enactment of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments?

 

[ABikerSailor]

Actually, the Founding Fathers believed in some form of government, which is why they created the Constitution and all the other parts of our government.

They were actually against monarchies and power being held by a few.

 

[Gdjjr]

Actually, the Founding Fathers believed in some form of government, which is why they created the Constitution and all the other parts of our government.

They were actually against monarchies and power being held by a few.

read the article before commenting- it helps prevent public ignorance.

 

[sparky]

There is a good reason why the Framers and our ancestors chose not to include an emergency or crisis exception that would enable federal officials to exercise omnipotent, totalitarian-like powers over the people. The reason is that they understood that throughout history, emergencies and crises have furnished the excuse for federal officials to wield and exercise tyrannical powers.

Isn't that what the patriot act is all about?

~S~

 

[whitehall]

The problem was that the Civil War determined that the Federal Government would trump (pardon the pun) States rights.Thank God for the Bill of Rights.