-A question of citizenship

by brian k. shoemake

One of the most disputed and debated articles of the U.S. Constitution regarding immigration has been the Fourteenth Amendment. Also widely referred to as the "Citizenship Clause."
Amendment XIV Section 1.
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The amendment states that citizenship is guaranteed to anyone who was born in the United States and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." But that statement could be a bit misleading without a full understanding of court interpretations, and Congressional action since then...

FD Article #13
by Phil Hider

What is a constitution? Thomas Paine (The rights of Man, 1795) made the following statement, “A Constitution is not the act of government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is Power without Right..”

FD Article #12
By: Bill Carns

The Father of our Constitution, James Madison, made clear the authority of the federal government in Federalist Papers #45:

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."

FD Article #11
by Brian K Shoemake

Freedom of Religion has historically referred to the tolerance of diverse theological beliefs.

Freedom of worship has been defined as freedom to follow one's own conscience and an individual action based on a personal religious belief system. Freedom to pray, freedom of conscience, and freedom to worship as one desires or the freedom from religion and freedom not to worship are all encompassed in one's own right to a personal religious belief system. The right to worship without regard to government, law, restriction, harassment, taxation, or persecution for exercising these basic inalienable rights is fundamental to liberty and freedom.

FD Article #10
by Phil Hider

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA) is the sole right enumerated in the Second Amendment of The Constitution. It is one of the unalienable rights endowed by the creator declared in the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. It is the second in a series of admonishments to ALL governments of the United States of America, state and federal, admonishing them to refrain from infringing on those God given, unalienable rights that they already have. The Bill of Rights cannot be amended or subjugated by any government of the United States!

FD Article #9
by Bill Carns

When our Founding Fathers drafted "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America" (commonly referred to as the Declaration of Independence) it began with acknowledging the "unalienable rights" of all men which predate any government or laws as they are endowed to us by our Creator. Later, with the drafting of our Constitution the Founders included

FD Article #8
by Brian K. Shoemake

The term "separation of powers" as we know it can be traced back to ancient Greece and the Baron de Montesquieu, a French political thinker and enlightenment era writer. His theory of separation outlines the importance of dividing the powers of government into three separate but equal entities with independent powers and areas of responsibility. This concept has been adopted into many constitutions around the world throughout history including the Roman Republic.

FD Article #7
by Phil Hider

When The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America was published on July 4th, 1776, it contained the following statement, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This is arguably the most important statement in United States literature and possibly the entire English language. The problem was that

FD Article #5
by Brian K. Shoemake

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ”

"The Religion Clause" or the concept of unabridged religious freedom as acknowledged by the founders was originally adopted from the Mayflower Compact, brought to America by the Pilgrims, and later enshrined by our founding fathers in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States.