I've made it clear that I think the small handful of ideas behind the American Constitution, Declaration of Independance and Bill of Rights are not only still very alive but incredibly valuable to our species in defining its destiny.I can offer all my friends nothing richher than the following links, which lead to the voices of those who raised those ideas, brought them forward and kept them alive during that critical period. The following is a re-post of material from an e-letter which focuses on freedom-related issues called Freedom News (see first link).
Warmest regards to all Mudcatters everywhere,
Amos
To subscribe or unsub: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
Freedom News in today's update:
o America in rebellion
o Articles of Confederation
o United States Constitution
o Federalist papers
o Anti-federalist papers
o The war inevitable
o Common Sense
o The Rights of Man
o The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
o Brief biography: John Locke (1632-1704)
o Democracy in America
o Libertystory.netToday we're doing something a little different in honor of U.S.
Independence Day. For those of you within the United States, we wish you a
happy Fourth of July. For those outside the U.S., we hope that you'll join
us for a celebration of liberty.yours,
J.D. Tuccille
America in rebellion (Declaration of Independence)
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With this document, rebellious American colonists declared
their independence from the British government and announced
plans to create a new and free nation. (07/04/1776)
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/declar.html
Articles of Confederation
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The first governing document for the newly independent
United States.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm
United States Constitution
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The text of the current governing document of the
United States of America, including all amendments.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/usconst.htm
Federalist papers
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Arguments penned by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay
and James Madison in favor of the adoption of the
Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
(1787-1789)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm
Anti-federalist papers
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Arguments against the proposed Constitution, arguing
that it provided for too centralized a government and
contained the seeds of tyranny.
(1787-1789)
http://www.constitution.org/afp/afp.htm
The war inevitable
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by Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech to
the 1775 Virginia Convention. (03/23/1775)
http://www.webleyweb.com/klh/pathenry.html
Common Sense
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by Thomas Paine
Full text of the book that inspired the
Declaration of Independence and fueled the
American revolution. (1776)
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/paine/CM/sensexx.htm
The Rights of Man
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by Thomas Paine
Paine's defense of individual liberty. As always,
Paine is quick to make valuable suggestions for
proper government.
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/paine/ROM/rofmxx.htm
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
----------
The collected writings of the often-libertarian
author of the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jeffpap.htm
Brief biography: John Locke (1632-1704)
----------
John Locke's influence on modern views of liberty
is profound, including providing much of the
philosophical influence for the American Revolution.
http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/00sep_oct/liberaltradition.html
Democracy in America
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by Alexis de Tocqueville
The full text of the classic 19th-century analysis by
an observant French aristocrat of the culture and people
of the American republic and the potential threat to
liberty posed by too much democracy.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/toc_indx.html
Libertystory.net
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by Jim Powell
A companion site to Jim Powell's wonderful book,
"The Triumph of Liberty," this site stands on its
own as probably the best single introduction to the
history of liberty online.
http://www.libertystory.net/