Our founding fathers took property rights very seriously placing those rights above most others. Although the term property may only occur once in the constitution this is because the founders viewed property not only as land. The founders viewed property as not only land but anything earned. This would include money, home, things in your home whatever one worked for and was theirs including intellectual property. Property rights were the reason for the revolution to be free from tyrannical government and taxation. The Boston tea party was about taxation without representation. The framers of the constitution wanted property rights primarily in the hands of the states to protect with limited interference at the federal level.”The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management." --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816.
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” John Adams http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes/property
Our government is set up the way Thomas Jefferson thought would best protect us from tyrannical rule. The people with most power meaning us. Then the local government next states and ending with minimal federal power. This balance of power gives us the most freedom with limited government. Today this model of government is being turned upside down with more federal power grabbing in the interest of security. Benjamin Franklin warned us that this could happen if we traded liberty for security.
Thomas Jefferson "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered." http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/private-banks-quotation
As we can tell by what the founders said they took these rights extremely seriously as granted by our creator and not from government. What governments gives governments can take away but our rights are divine. We must stand up and hold our representatives’ accountable.
Comments