I'm going to make a bold case that the Founding Fathers wanted a strong central government and this is based in the power structures of the US Constitution itself. My first point the three branches focus all the power to the center, even the amendments granting rights move all the power to the center with the 9th and 10th amendments largely meaningless at the outset. Let me explain this. The Congress was granted the "necessary and proper clause" that affects not just Congress by all officers of the government aka President and Judicial officers and all parties under them. A clear meaning to me must be you will fund them and support them and have those other powers created by the expansion of the government. There is a reason much of the government added advisors to the president that later headed departments, and these also include the military branches. Courts do judge actions and cases but under Federal limits and they in fact added more power to the government including making law and shaping policy. The fact executive orders are there proves that the president has immense power if used outside the system he can order military actions, determine what agencies do or how they operate unless limited by Congress and that is rare. This would be fine except Congress doesn't largely care about the people they get into office by either they are out for themselves and when they do act its evolved into ME then what keeps ME in office. So their power gravitates inword more than outward. Its like a tornado it sucks all power in and was designed that way. States largely support this to the Federal government has in theory limited power save two the highest law of the land as the courts interprete it favoring largely the Federal side on many key issues and as rulings added to over the years and second money that is states want Federal money and help so accept the rules. Well doing that broke the 10th amendment as an amendment and in turn ripped out the 9th Amendment which is no longer there as far as I can tell since there is no power left. What the Federal government doesn't have the states did. This all was not an accident if one looks at how the government was set-up they knew what was going to happen maybe not how or when but the Founding Fathers wisely did not have a Libertarian state in mind but one of a classic power at the top, supported by states largely dependent on the Federal will and what little was left was there. But its not all bad they left freedoms in place just in a way to assure the USA could operate as a nation has to Federally with no or little opposition in time from states.
Lincoln was a real jerk ran amuck with that executive orders like obama has.. http://dmc.members.sonic.net/sentinel/gvcon5.html
Virtually all The Founders work......carried with it an intention and purpose to Limit Government......thereby Maximizing Freedom. ....Big Government/Tryanny was what they were fighting against....not for. . .
Likely so, but for me its pretty clear that Big Government is some form was to be the end result of the governments development. The Civil War ended all hope for ending it and when the Senate became an elected body it castrated the states of what power they could use in the Federal Government an important one I might add. They lost their militias to a standing army their only other weapon after the Civil War.
Then make a case why they handed over the keys to the Federal Government to do just that. They had left two options for states the Senate where they had a say and the militias the army was largely state run and managed. The latter was removed after the Civil War for a Federal standing army and Federal national guard, and then they removed the Senate as a state interest for the people castrating them of any Federal say. Maybe the nature of the centralization was not known but some Founders wanted that and designed the document to do just that. States with a loose core would not manage a growing major nation and everyone educated at the time knew chaos when they saw it staring at them.
You are correct that the founding fathers wanted to make a government strong, but only outlined by what the Constitution detailed, which was: Army Navy International Affairs Trade (Currency) Other than that, the States decided their own destiny. Thus, the 'United States' of America. Not 'America'.
The founding fathers designed the United States of America to be a highly centralized Constitutional Republic. At the time, this was the vision of primarily the more conservative statesman, many of whom went on to become the founders of the Federalist Party. In contrast to their opposition, they are the proponents of 'big government'. To see their arguments, I suggest reading the Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison (eventually becomes an Anti-Federalist), and John Jay.
...but that would be to say the return to State Militias and having Senators elected by State Legislatures would cure our ills......which it wouldnt. The keys were to a Limited Government defined by The Constitution and confined by the enumerated powers.....only willfull ignorance and a bastardized reading of The Constituton led to what we have today..... The Founders managed to craft a document that kept the liberal hordes at bay for nearly 200 years......but Tyranny finds a way.... . . . .
Who cares what the founders wanted, they were also slave-owning elitists, right? Isn't that the progressive argument? A bunch of Eyes Wide Shut, backroom handshaking, skull&bones cronies. The truth is that government at large scales will only be used to benefit the elites and capture enough gullible voters with pseudo-gifts to convince them to continue to vote for and believe in them. We need to decentralize the entire earth. Large governments/nations are the bane of human existence.
Kolter the founder were dead by the time the Bastardization of the constitution began. The real death knell of the constitution began in the late 1930's with the expansion of the commerce clause in ways it was never intended.
I don't know what you're smoking, the bill of rights spell out what the central isn't allowed to do. It doesn't strengthen it at all. And did the word 'nullification' ever arise in your "states support the Federal Govermnent" theory? Hell, founding father Thomas Jefferson couldn't have been more opposite than what you are saying. You can go ahead and argue that they were elitist or racist or idiots, but when they lived in a world where a monarchy was a normal thing, this three-part government with terms and votes doesn't exactly hold up as the strongest federal government.
Well bless yer widdle heart.Joining the current Libby bandwagon to make it appear as if Our Founder's NEVER Fled Britain over the Monarchy of King's rule. Ths Constitution was founded for just that principle,to not be refrained by Imperial rule.Which is what our Federal Government has turned into under Obama the King. With Executive orders that actually by-pass Congress {guiding Agencies in contrary to Congressional intent }.All contemporary president have used Executive order. In fact,Reagan probably averaged more { 45 one year }. But it's how those Executive orders are implemented.They are supposed to be used Federally to execute Congressionally established law or Policy.Not to create one out of whole cloth. Or as Paul Begala thunk ... " Stroke of the Pen.Law of the Land.Kinda cool. " in typical libby deference to one Bill Clinton. Thus we had our Articles of Confederation crafted before the Constitution providing a sort of oversight by a national body { Federalism } by leaving the bulk of authority with the States.That is why Our Founder's crafter those Articles first and foremost. Got it now ?
I never meant all of them, just a few the ones that got certain provisions in the document that would lead to centering of power at some point. The Articles of Confederation were not good enough a few founders knew that in fact that is why they went from those to a Republican form of government like Rome, and there power centered to the core of the Empire. Its no different. A latter attempt to add the 9th and 10th amendments didn't stop this that is clear after the Civil War the states rights for the most part died. The 17th amendment was the death knell. And face it big government was the smart move the Civil War south had the other form of government and well it was clearly ineffective a demonstration of the wisdom of a few to put into place mechanisms to gain centrist power. They didn't forsee what would have come of it in the end but the leverages and powers were there. That is the key. If some had to go along and pretend not its fine the ends to me justified the means. Executive orders are constititutional if used as the CEO of the nation and as commander of the armed forces, exactly how Obama used them. Congress has the say by creating an agency and funding it without designating itself the power it naturally diverts to the President who after that can manage it as he or she wishes. The Courts ,big shocker, went along with this by allowing these sorts of orders. The Congress rarely acts against the President on these and could. See how that works the Executive wanted to have EO's, the Congress let the office get them years ago and then the Courts rubber stamped them which is a huge power if one looks at it. States could do nothing to stop this save in the Senate and I point out the 17th Amendment which they ratified took that away. Nice f the states to give up their one access to the real base of power. Now they may win a fight here and there but not on big things the ACA as a whole is law of the land that didn't shock me but they didn't expand Medicaid without states consent, guess what the holdouts will be brought in one way or another. Feds win again as it should be.
Read what our founders had to say about the overreach and over power of our Constitution. Be sure to read what the father of our Constitution James Madison had to say about excessive government power, then back that up with Tom Jefferson's terse one-liner to get the mood of the time. Btw, you'll have some very pleasant piano music to accompany your waltz down memory lane. So if if you think today's government is getting too powerful, never fear for the Mittster's going to inject some timely independent non-governmental business ideals into the mix very shortly. http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Miscellaneous/patriotic_quotes.htm
Please think before you post. The Civil War happened pretty well after our Founding Fathers left the scene, and how is a liberal supposed to justify government power based on the fact that corporations do it? And your logic on the three branches is simply abominable. Try reading the Constitution, and compare how much power is vested in Congress versus in the President. Big shocker, Congress was supposed to be the main body, but some presidents would push harder than others, and Congress never rolled up their sleeves to take back what was supposed to be theirs. And how do you blame the founding fathers for the 17th amendment? Please do your research before you post here, because all you're doing is insulting our intelligence.
