AMEXPAT (EN)Information for Americans exploring expatriation. No fees or personal sign-up required.The English Bill of Rights of 1689- (Found July 8, 2008 ) While we Americans can be very proud to inherit the US Bill of Rights , it is important we understand that many of our concepts of individual liberty and protection from government arose in Britain long before American independence. After James II was deposed and fled to France, both Houses of Parliament brought forth an agreed Bill of Rights to be undersigned by the new joint-sovereigns, William and Mary of Orange. Magna Carta limited the arbitrary power of the sovereign to...http://www.amexpat.com/display_0066_en_rss.html Magna Carta- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Introductory Note As might be expected, the text of the Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste, and is clearly the product of much bargaining and many hands. Most of its clauses deal with specific, and often long-standing, grievances rather than with general principles of law. Some of the grievances are self-explanatory: others can be understood only in the context of the feudal society in which they arose. Of a few clauses, the precise meaning is still a matter of argument. In feudal..http://www.amexpat.com/display_0026_en_rss.html History of Freedom- (Found July 8, 2008 ) It was Lord Acton who gave us the reliable rubric that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Modern Western governments are plainly hell-bent on proving him right — yet again. Or as Acton himself observes below: "In ancient times the state absorbed authorities not its own, and intruded on the domain of personal freedom. In the middle ages it possessed too little authority, and suffered others to intrude. Modern states fall habitually into both excesses." .http://www.amexpat.com/display_0058_en_rss.html Davy Crockett and the Public Purse- (Found July 8, 2008 ) "The Life of Colonel David Crockett" was published in 1884. It includes this great story told to the author by Davy Crockett, Congressman from Kentucky, and how he learned a painful lesson about dangers of "doing good" in public office. "Several years ago, I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack...http://www.amexpat.com/display_0024_en_rss.html Certain Dangerous Tendencies in American Life- (Found July 8, 2008 ) At the height of the Civil War, President Lincoln wrote: "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war , corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign... until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my...http://www.amexpat.com/display_0005_en_rss.html Laissez-Fair for Depression Woes- (Found July 8, 2008 ) This Congressional testimony is some evidence that the modern "Austrian School" of economics had early adherents in this country, who were likewise dutifully ignored by Congress. With depression looming as a continual threat to the U.S. economy in the late 19th century, Americans debated how the government should respond to hard times — a question still unanswered today. Manufacturers — then as now — usually took the position that government should not interfere with the...http://www.amexpat.com/display_0002_en_rss.html The U.S. Constitution- (Found July 8, 2008 ) In 1787, a newly conceived U.S. Constitution was proposed (and ratified the following year) to replace the original Articles of Confederation in hope of providing more authority to the central government while carefully reserving all powers "to the States respectively, or to the people" except only those expressly delegated to the new Federal entity. This principle of strictly limited Federal powers was explicitly reaffirmed by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of The Bill of Rights. In...http://www.amexpat.com/display_0030_en_rss.html The Articles of Confederation- (Found July 8, 2008 ) After gaining their independence from Britain, the American States convened and agreed to operate jointly in a new national government of limited powers and scope. This Articles of Confederation government eventually proved insufficiently binding on the States to operate effectively, so a new one was ratified under the present U.S. Constitution after contentious and extended public debate — most notably documented in newspapers of the time and now collected in The Federalist Papers .http://www.amexpat.com/display_0029_en_rss.html |