Our country is one of a kind. A great experiment in people being the masters of their own destiny, people being completely self reliant, people who do not depend on government for their safety, well being and existence. Prosperity as well as problems were shared by people and the community.We are a sovereign people, that is, we are the supreme rulers and authorities regarding our own lives. No other person, organization and especially not the government have a higher claim or authority over our lives than we do. There has never been anything like it before in the history of western civilization. WE THE PEOPLE are also the rulers of this country, not the government. The highest ranking government position is authoritatively below the lowest ranking position of the people it governs. The original intent by our forefathers was that the government was to be small, unobtrusive and completely transparent being nothing more than a servant of the people. The government was to stay out of the way and not infringe, impede or otherwise get in the way of people pursuing life, liberty and happiness. Land of the Free, home of the brave.

By definition our Constitution defines several layers of government: Federal, State and then local communities. Specifically decentralizing and distributing government functions for several reasons. The main reason was to try and keep the government "in check". The Federal government is divided into three branches to further decentralize power and also try to implement a system of checks and balances. Prevent if possible the consolidation of power at the top in one location. Refer to the "Constitution" below for more about this. The Feds were to maintain a militia, protect the country, borders, people and their rights. It was also charged with the issuance and control of a specifically defined monetary system the whole country could use. The States are also allowed to coin money and have militias, more checks and balances. These few purposes are the federal government's primary obligations. There a a few more things the Fed is responsible for and that is it, nothing else. Our founders believed, and rightly so, that government is a dangerous thing always wanting to grow obtaining more power and control until it becomes oppressive and destructive.. It's the nature of the beast our current government is a case in point, their worst fears.

Another big reason for the distribution of government was that they believed the really tough, complicated and personal issues were best handled at the lowest levels, the level closest to the people and the communities it impacts. The higher you move up the governmental ladder the less they are allowed to do until you reach the top, the Federal Government, which actually has the fewest permissions and obligations, very few in fact. Having the federal government make social decisions for the whole country is absurd by original design. Each community decided what the heart and spirit of their community would be. Their decisions and choices were to be supreme law except for the very few authorizations granted to higher levels of government. For example parents decided how their children were educated not the Federal Government, people decided what they could eat, drink and smoke not the Federal Government. People decided everything about their lives and communities, everything! The president, congressman and senators are all representatives of the people and the states, they are suppose to do what their constituents want them to do. Today you rarely if ever hear them referred to as "Representatives". They are referred to as our "Leaders" like they are the people running the country and they will decide what we will or won't do.

Government jobs and positions were intended to be filled by people volunteering their time, a civic duty serving the country was the idea.. The pay and benefits were terrible or nonexistent and for good reason. Only civic minded people endured the little, or no, reward for filling government positions. They did it wanting to do good for the county and communities. It was part of the social contract and obligations by birthright as Americans. We had to make time in our lives for the running of the country. Today the government positions have become lucrative awarding wealth, perks, careers and even power to what use to be mostly just volunteers or low-pay positions. As a consequence we now have people pursuing, and holding, these positions for love of money and power, not love of country or civic duty. That is what they serve, that is what they want many would sell out our country in a heartbeat for even more money and power.

The United States Declaration of Independence is an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were "Free and Independent States" and that "all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved." It also presents a history of "repeated injuries and usurpations" that are the reason for the declaration. America is born! This link will bring you to the Wikipedia documentation about the Declaration of Independence.

After Independence from Great Britain was declared on July 2, 1776 the United Colonies needed to form a new Confederation to govern and conduct the war against England. The Continental Congress, after painstaking debate, passed the Articles of Confederation of the United States of America on November 15, 1777. Unlike the Constitution of 1787 this confederation charter required the ratification of all 13 states before it would become the first "Constitution" of the United States of America.

It was Maryland who held out ratifying the Articles of Confederation until 1781 due to border disputes with neighboring states. On March 1, 1781 with this 13th state ratification the Continental Congress ceased to exist and "The United States in Congress Assembled" was placed at the head of each page of the Official Journal of Congress. The New United States in Congress Assembled Journal reported on March 2, 1781:

The ratification of the Articles of Confederation being yesterday completed by the accession of the State of Maryland: The United States met in Congress, when the following members appeared: His excellency Samuel Huntington, delegate for Connecticut, President ...

That's right.. Samuel Huntington was the first president of this country. George Washington was actually the eleventh! Another little known fact is that Canada, should they desire and agree, could have been the 14th state. Canada declined to join. The graphic link above will bring you to a web site about this little known document where you can learn more of it's history and content.

This treaty, signed on September 3, 1783, between the American colonies and Great Britain, ended the American Revolution and formally recognized the United States as an independent nation.

The American War for Independence (1775-83) was actually a world conflict, involving not only the United States and Great Britain but also France, Spain, and the Netherlands. The peace process brought a vaguely formed, newly born United States into the arena of international diplomacy, playing against the largest, most sophisticated, and most established powers on earth.

The three American negotiators, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, proved themselves to be masters of the game, outmaneuvering their counterparts and clinging fiercely to the points of national interest that guaranteed a future for the United States. Two crucial provisions of the treaty were British recognition of U.S. independence and the delineation of boundaries that would allow for American western expansion.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States Government. The document outlines the three main branches of the government. The legislative branch is embodied in the bicameral Congress. The executive branch is headed by the President. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court. Besides providing for the organization of these branches, the Constitution carefully outlines which powers each branch may exercise. It also reserves numerous rights for the individual states, thereby establishing the United States' federal system of government. This link will bring you to the Wikipedia documentation about this document.

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1791 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States. The Bill of Rights limits the powers of the Federal government of the United States, protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory. This is probably the most important document defining our country. It is a critical statement as to what our collective national heart is. This link will bring you to the Wikipedia documentation about this piece of paper.

Maybe more of us should bone up on our history and heritage. Read the Declaration of Independence. We broke from England for less than we are tolerating today. Forming this country was no easy task, a lot of people paid a high price, many paid everything they had. Most of the founding fathers were wealthy land owners. After the revolution the powers that be that we broke from tried hunting each one of them down individually. Some of them went into the wildness, into hiding trying to avoid this. Most of them died with little or nothing left of their original wealth for the effort. But.. THEY DID IT!

The States

This is where the "Action" is. Each state is a sovereign constitutional republic. A nation itself. The state you were born in is your "Nationality". Except for the few enumerated powers delegated to the federal government all remaining are reserved too the states and the people themselves.

Flags represent jurisdiction. State flags should be flying everywhere except for a few exceptions where U.S. federal jurisdiction applies. In addition proper jurisdictional order should be State flag on top with Federal flag under it, if at all.

Below is a list of links that will bring you, via a Google search, to the online Constitution for each state. It has been discovered that these online documents move around quite a bit. Rather than trying to keep track of all the movement I left that up to Google. The link to the state Constitution is usually the very first link on Google's list.