Path to Liberty

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.

An important lesson on power and human nature. Trust no one with power to endanger liberty. That includes - don’t trust the people who tell you to not trust people with power. The post Five Big Flip-Flops from the Founders appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

The number of automated license plate readers has exploded to mind-boggling levels in recent years. Databases now contain billions of scans and they’re growing fast. This empowers local, state and federal governments to not just track you and build profiles on where you go, but also to use AI as a dystopian pre-crime tool to target people based on their driving patterns. The post ALPR: Stalking You by Your License Plate appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root” The post Strike the Root appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

His name forever associated with partisan political trickery, unfortunately few people know much else about Elbridge Gerry. He was a leading revolutionary, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a highly influential figure at the Philadelphia convention, one of only 3 who didn't sign the Constitution, and the 5th Vice-President, serving under James Madison. The post Gerry-Mandered appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Government is waging a war on your liberty. And it’s not just happening when the team you don’t like is in power. This is how things have always been. The post A War on Liberty appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Getting from the largest government in history to a real “land of the free” is not going to happen through the ballot box. The post You’re not Going to Vote Your Way to Liberty appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

“The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches.” Advice from Thomas Jefferson that helps us push on against the largest government in history. And the nullification movement keeps doing just that: gaining ground - step-by-step, person-by-person - and state-by-state - for the Constitution and liberty. The post State of the Nullification Movement: Summer Update appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Although we generally refer to that list of abuses in the Declaration of Independence as “grievances” - that’s not how they were described in the text. Instead, they were referred to as “usurpations,” or a theft of power from the people. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The post Declaration of Independence: Usurpation is Treason appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Most people today have little to no familiarity with any of the books that influenced the founders - which is part of why things have gotten so far off the rails. And probably a big reason why government-run education is such a massive roadblock to liberty The post The Founders’ Education appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Corrupt and repressive, weighted down by heavy bureaucracy - it’s all around us and getting worse year by year. But an alternative to total tyranny is attainable. These five principles can put things on a new path - to liberty. The post The Foundation: Top-5 for Liberty appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.