Thomas Jefferson, who helped convince Washington to stay on for a 2nd term, had a similar warning:
To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition. Washington wrote that “time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions.” He warned that constantly changing the meaning of the Constitution through government action would ultimately prevent any kind of stable system from developing. “Experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable.”
We certainly see this tendency today. The federal government makes up its own rules as it goes, completely untethered from any foundational principles or absolute limits.
The founders and old revolutionaries called this arbitrary power - and it's how they defined tyranny. That's why it was one of the most important of the listed grievances in the Declaration of Independence. Those who embrace the idea of a “living, breathing” Constitution argue that it must be flexible to “change with the times.” Washington wasn’t ignorant of this fact. He admitted the need for flexibility, but insisted change must happen within the Constitutional system itself through the amendment process, not via political maneuvering by the government itself. “If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.” [Emphasis added.]
Sadly, Washington’s advice has not been followed. Not even close.
Virtually every change to America’s constitutional system has been by usurpation. The "federal" government has run up trillions upon trillions in debt. It fights unconstitutional wars across the globe. It spies on virtually everybody and violates the right to keep and bear arms. It reaches into every corner of your life, attacking your liberty at every turn. Washington was right. Whatever transient benefit the federal government may have brought by these actions has been “overbalanced” by evil. And until the people start heeding these warnings, it's only going to get worse.
We're working hard every single day to get these foundational constitutional principles out to more and more people. Nothing helps us get that job done more than the financial faith and support of our members. Please consider joining us today - for as little as $2/month here: https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/members/ Help us take a stand for the Constitution and liberty - whether the government wants us to, or not. Concordia res parvae crescunt (small things grow great by concord) Michael, Mike and the rest of the TAC Team |
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