1 Basic Principles of Texas Government Michael S. Ia

1
Basic Principles of Texas Government
Michael S. Iachetta
All Rights Reserved, 2019
“Tolerance … is learned in discussion, and, as history shows, is
only so learned. In
all customary societies bigotry is the ruling principle. In rude
places to this day
anyone who says anything new is looked on with suspicion, and
is persecuted by
opinion if not injured by penalty. One of the greatest pains to
human nature is the
pain of a new idea…. It makes you think that, after all, your
favourite notions may
be wrong, your firmest beliefs ill-founded…. Naturally,
therefore, common men
hate a new idea, and are disposed more or less to ill -treat the
original man who
brings it” (Walter Bagehot, Physics and Politics, 1869).
“No man who has the truth to tell and the power to tell it can
long remain hiding it
from fear or even from despair without ignominy. To release
the truth against
whatever odds, even if so doing can no longer help the
Commonwealth, is a
necessity for the soul” (Hilaire Belloc, The Free Press, 1918).

Introduction: The Basic Rights of Human Beings
Activity 1: The Basic Rights of Human Beings
“Every Anglo-Texan was born with the notion he possessed
unalienable rights” (T.R.
Fehrenbach, Lone Star, 189).
A. Based on this statement, what is the goal of human life?
What basic rights do people
have? What is the connection between these basic rights and
the goal of human life?
“All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural,
essential, and unalienable rights;
among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and
defending their lives and liberties; that
of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that
of seeking and obtaining their
safety and happiness” (Massachusetts Declaration of Rights,
March 2, 1780).
B. Based on this statement, how many basic rights do people
have? Why these particular
rights? Why this number?
“Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a
right to life; Secondly, to liberty;
Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and
defend them in the best manner they
can. These are evident branches of … the duty of self-
preservation, commonly called the first
law of nature” (Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists,
November 20, 1772).

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C. Based on this statement, who or what decides which basic
rights human beings have?
What are “the immutable laws of nature”?
“That the inhabitants of the English Colonies in North
America, by the immutable laws of
nature, the principles of the English Constitution, and the
several charters or compacts … are
entitled to life, liberty, and property, & they have never ceded
to any sovereign power whatever,
a right to dispose of either without their consent” (Declaration
and Resolves of the First
Continental Congress, October 14, 1774).
D. Based on this statement, how many basic rights do people
have? What does the word
“liberty” mean, in the context of our three basic rights?
“[The absolute rights of individuals] may be reduced to three
principal or primary articles... I.
The right of personal security [consisting] in a person’s legal
and uninterrupted enjoyment (that
is, use and possession) of his life, his limbs... II. ... The
personal liberty of individuals ...
[consisting] in the power of locomotion, of changing situations
or moving one’s person to
whatsoever place one’s own inclination may direct, without
imprisonment, or restraint, unless by
due course of law.... III. The third absolute right, inherent in
every Englishman ... of property:
which consists in the free use, enjoyment and disposal of all his
acquisitions, without any control

or diminution, save only by the laws of the land” (Sir William
Blackstone, Commentaries on the
Laws of England, 1765, Book I, Chapter 1).
For the rights of women, see:
“FELONIOUS HOMICIDE is … the killing of a human creature,
of any age or sex, without
justification or excuse” (William Blackstone, Commentaries on
the Laws of England, Book 4,
Chapter 14, 1765-1769).
For the rights of Africans, see:
Upon these principles the law of England abhors, and will not
endure the existence of, slavery
within this nation … And now it is laid down, that a slave or
negro, the instant he lands in
England, becomes a freeman; that is, the law will protect him in
the enjoyment of his person, his
liberty, and his property” (William Blackstone, Commentaries
on the Laws of England, Volume
I, 411-413, 1766).
For the authority of William Blackstone, see:
1. “We must turn to Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of
England, a work which as
Madison said was ‘in every man’s hand’ and the one the
Framers turned to when determining
just what legal phrases meant. (Next to the Bible and
Montesquieu, Blackstone was the most
frequently quoted source in American political writing from

1760 to 1800.)” (Forrest McDonald,
Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee
on the Constitution Hearing on
the Background and History of Impeachment, November 9,
1998)
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2. “Sir William Blackstone[’s] Commentaries on the Laws of
England not only provided a
definitive summary of the common law but was also a primary
legal authority for 18th and 19th
century American lawyers” (U.S. Supreme Court in Washington
v. Glucksberg, 1997)
For a definition of civil rights, see:
“What are civil rights? I understand civil rights to be simply
the absolute rights of individuals,
such as the right of personal security, the right of personal
liberty, and the right to acquire and
enjoy property’ (Kent’s Commentaries).” (James Wilson,
Chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee and House Manager of the Civil Rights Act of 1866,
March 1, 1866, Congressional
Globe, 1117)
Features of the Texas/American System of Government that
Protects Against the Evil Side of People
Protective Barrier Number 1A/1B:

Evil Side of People/The Law of Nature
Activity 2: The Evil Side of People; the Law of Nature
Establishes a Clear Definition of
Right and Wrong
“It is always to the advantage of the wealthy to deny general
conceptions of right and wrong”
(Hilaire Belloc, Europe and the Faith, 1920).
A. Based on these statements, what are people like? Why does
this make it difficult for
people to obtain the goal of human life?
• “What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections
on human nature? If men
were angels, no government would be necessary” (James
Madison, Federalist 51,
February 6, 1788).
• “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the
passions of men will not
conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint”
(Alexander Hamilton,
Federalist 15, December 1, 1787).
B. Based on this statement, what is the law of nature? How
does it make it possible for
people to achieve the goal of human life?

“The supreme being gave existence to man, together with the
means of preserving and beatifying
that existence. He endowed him with rational faculties, by the
help of which, to discern and
pursue such things, as were consistent with his duty and
interest, and invested him with an
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inviolable right to personal liberty, and personal safety. Hence,
in a state of nature, no man had
any moral power to deprive another of his life, limbs, property
or liberty” (Alexander Hamilton,
“The Farmer Refuted,” February 23, 1775).
C. Based on this statement, what is the law of nature? How
does it protect people from the
evil side of people?
“There is a supreme intelligence, who rules the world, and has
established laws to regulate the
actions of his creatures.... The deity, from the relations, we
stand in, to himself and to each
other, has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is,
indispensably, obligatory upon all
mankind, prior to any human institution whatever. This is what
is called the law of nature….
Upon this law, depend the natural rights of mankind.”
(Alexander Hamilton, “The Farmer
Refuted,” February 23, 1775).

D. Based on this statement, what is the law of nature? How
does it make it possible for
people to achieve the goal of human life?
“This law of nature, being coeval with mankind, and dictated by
God himself, is, of course,
superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the
globe, in all countries, and at all
times. No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this;
and such of them as are valid,
derive all their authority, mediately, or immediately, from this
original…. The principal aim of
society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those
absolute rights, which were vested in
them by the immutable laws of nature” (William Blackstone,
Commentaries on the Law of
England, Vol. 1, Introduction, Sec. 2 and Vol. 1, Ch. 2, quoted
by Alexander Hamilton in “The
Farmer Refuted,” February 23, 1775).
Protective Barrier Number 2:
Government
Activity 3: The Purpose of Government is to Protect the Person
and Property of Citizens
from the Evil Side of People
“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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men…”

(Declaration of Independence, 1776).
A. Based on these statements, what would life be like if there
were no governments? How
would the lack of government affect the ability of people to
achieve the goal of human life?
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• “During the time men live without a common Power to keep
them all in awe, they are in
that condition which is called Warre…. In such condition, there
is no place for Industry;
because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no
Culture of the Earth; no
Navigation … no commodious Building… no Arts; no Letters …
and which is worst of
all, continuall feare and danger of violent death; and the life of
man, solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short” (Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651, Part I,
Chapter 13).
• “If man in the state of nature be so free … why will he part
with his freedom? Why will
he … subject himself to the dominion and control of any other
power? To which it is
obvious to answer, that … the enjoyment of the property he has
in this state is very
unsafe, very unsecure” (John Locke, Second Treatise on

Government, Ch. 9, 1689-1690).
B. Based on these statements, what is the purpose of
government? What is the connection
between government and the possibility of people achieving the
goal of human life?
“What was the primary and the principal object in the
institution of government? Was it—I
speak of the primary and principal object—was it to acquire
new rights by a human
establishment? Or was it, by a human establishment, to acquire
a new security for the possession
or the recovery of those rights, to the enjoyment or acquisition
of which we were previously
entitled by the immediate gift, or by the unerring law, of our
all-wise and all-beneficent
Creator?” (James Wilson, Lectures on Law, “Of the Natural
Rights of Individuals,” 1790-91).
C. Based on these statements, what is the purpose of
government? What is the connection
between government and the possibility of people achieving the
goal of human life?
• “The principal aim of society is to protect individuals in the
enjoyment of those absolute
rights [the right of personal security, the right of personal
liberty; and the right of private
property], which were vested in them by the immutable laws of
nature…” (Sir William
Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765, Book
I, Chapter 1).

• “[The insecurity of rights without government] makes [man]
willing … to join in
society with others … for the mutual preservation of their lives,
liberties, and estates….
The great and chief end, therefore, of men’s uniting into
commonwealths, and putting
themselves under government, is the preservation of their [lives,
liberties, and estates]”
(John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, Ch. 9, 1689-
1690).
D. Based on this statement, what is “liberty”? What is the
connection between “liberty”
and the goal of human life?
“In all the states of created beings capable of laws, where there
is no law, there is no freedom:
for liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others;
which cannot be, where there is
no law…” (John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, 1689-
1690, Chapter 6).
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Fathers as Disciplinarians and Protectors; Self-Defense

Reader Discretion Advised: The belief that this is a necessary
barrier that
protects us from the evil side of people is no longer the
dominant view, and it
is for you to decide whether or not this belief still remains valid
today.
Activity 4: The Political Purpose of the Family is to Protect the
Person and Property of
Citizens from the Evil Side of People
“--He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for
opposing with manly firmness his
invasions on the rights of the people” (Declaration of
Independence, 1776)
“[We declare] that no free government, or the blessings of
liberty, can be preserved to any
people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation,
temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by
frequent recurrence to fundamental principles” (Virginia
Declaration of Rights and Constitution,
12 and 29 June 1776).
“The simultaneous rise of out-of-wedlock births and other forms
of social/economic distress such
as crime, drug abuse, and poverty … [is] well documented by
Anderson [1990], Wilson [1987],
and others…). Rising out-of-wedlock birthrates are of social
policy concern because children
reared in single-parent households are more likely to be
impoverished and to experience
difficulties in later life. (A substantial literature documents
that single parenthood results in a

variety of adverse consequences for children—see, for example,
Manski, Sandefur, McLanahan,
and Powers [1992]).”
Source: Akerlof, Yellen, and Katz, “An Analysis of Out-Of-
Wedlock Childbearing in the United
States,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, May, 1996.
A. Based on this statement, how does the traditional family
make person and property
more secure? What is the connection between the family and
obtaining the goal of human
life?
A further consideration is, that in the human species the young
need not only bodily nutrition, as
animals do, but also the training of the soul. Other animals have
their natural instincts (suas
prudentias) to provide for themselves: but man lives by reason,
which [read quam] takes the
experience of a long time to arrive at discretion. Hence children
need instruction by the
confirmed experience of their parents: nor are they capable of
such instruction as soon as they
are born, but after a long time, the time in fact taken to arrive at
the years of discretion. For this
instruction again a long time is needed; and then moreover,
because of the assaults of passion,
whereby the judgement of prudence is thwarted, there is need
not of instruction only, but also of

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repression (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Book 3,
Ch. 122, tr. Joseph Rickaby,
S.J.). .
B. Based on this statement, how does the traditional family
more secure? What is the role of men? What is the connection
between the family and
obtaining the goal of human life?
For [the] purpose [of repression] the woman by herself is not
competent, but at this point
especially there is requisite the concurrence of the man, in
whom there is at once reason more
perfect to instruct, and force more potent to chastise. Therefore
in the human race the
advancement of the young in good must last, not for a short
time, as in birds, but for a long
period of life. Hence, whereas it is necessary in all animals for
the male to stand by the female
for such time as the father's concurrence is requisite for
bringing up of the progeny, it is natural
for man to be tied to the society of one fixed woman for a long
period, not a short one. This
social tie we call marriage. Marriage then is natural to man, and
an irregular connexion outside
of marriage is contrary to the good of man; and therefore
fornication must be sinful” (Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Book 3, Ch. 122, tr. Joseph
Rickaby, S.J.).
C. Based on these statements, how does the traditional family

• “THE duty of parents to provide for the maintenance of their
children is a principle of
natural law … for they would be in the highest manner injurious
to their issue, if they
only gave the children life, that they might afterwards see them
perish…. And the
president Montesquieu has a very just observation upon this
head: that the establishment
of marriage in all civilized states is built on this natural
obligation of the father to provide
for his children…. The main end and design of marriage
therefore [is] to ascertain and
fix upon some certain person, to whom the protection … of the
children should belong”
(William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England,
Book I, Chapter 16, 1765-
1769).
• “Marriage … secures the peace of society, by cutting off a
great source of contention, by
assigning to one man the exclusive right to one woman” (Joseph
Story, “Natural Law,
American Encyclopedia, 1832).
D. Based on this statement, how does the traditional family

“THE defence of one’s self, or the mutual and reciprocal
defence of such as stand in the relations
of husband and wife, parent and child, master and servant. In
these cases, if the party himself, or
any of these his relations, be forcibly attacked in his person or
property, it is lawful for him to
repel force by force; and the breach of the peace, which
happens, is chargeable upon him only
who began the affray…. Self-defence therefore as it is justly
called the primary law of nature, so
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it is not, neither can it be in fact, taken away by the law of
society” (Sir William Blackstone,
Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765, Book III, Chapter
1).
Note: “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has
justly been considered as the
palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong
moral check against the usurpation
and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these
are successful in the first instance,
enable the people to resist and triumph over them.” (Joseph
Story, Supreme Court Justice,
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833)
For more on discipline, see:

“The formidable power of a Roman father is unknown to the
common law. But it vests in the
parent such authority as is conducive to the advantage of the
child. When it is necessary—and a
real necessity exists much more rarely than is often imagined—
a moderate chastening may be
administered; but every milder means should be previously
used. Part of his authority he may
delegate to the person intrusted with his child’s education; that
person acts then in the place, and
he ought to act with the disposition, of a parent. The legal
power of a father ceases, when the
child attains the age of twenty one years (James Wilson,
Lectures on Law, Part 2, Chapter XII).
For more on the family, see:
“The … disorganization of the modern family is … simply an
erosion of its natural authority, the
consequence … of the absorption of its functions by other
bodies, chiefly the state” (Robert A.
Nisbet, Quest for Community, xiv).
“Marriage is an institution, which may properly be deemed to
arise from the law of nature. It
promotes the private comfort of both parties, and especially of
the female sex. It tends to the
procreation of the greatest number of healthy citizens, and to
their proper maintenance and
education. It secures the peace of society, by cutting off a great
source of contention, by
assigning to one man the exclusive right to one woman. It
promotes the cause of sound morals,
by cultivating domestic affections and virtues. It distributes the
whole of society into families,
and creates a permanent union of interests, and a mutual

guardianship of the same. It binds
children by indissoluble ties, and adds new securities to the
good order of society, by connecting
the happiness of the whole family with the good behavior of all.
It furnishes additional motives
for honest industry and economy in private life, and for a
deeper love of the country of our birth”
(Joseph Story, “Natural Law, American Encyclopedia, 1832).
Texas History from the Perspective of Liberty, Part 1
Activity 5: Based on T.R. Fehrenbach, Lone Star (See
PowerPoint slides for this activity on
eCampus)
9
A. Identify examples of injustice (violating person or property)
or justice (securing or
defending person or property) in this passage. Explain why
these actions are unjust or
just.
B. Identify examples of people acquiring land justly (without
violating anyone else’s
rights) or unjustly (by violating the rights of others). Explain
why these are examples of
justly or unjustly acquiring land.

C. Identify examples of people obtaining or failing to obtain
happiness in this passage (for
example, providing themselves with adequate food, shelter, and
clothing). Explain why
these are examples of obtaining or not obtaining happiness.
D. Identify examples of just or unjust social organizations
(systems that exist for the
benefit of all, in which no person or group benefits from the
violation of the person and
property or possibility of happiness of any other person or
group, as opposed to systems
that exist for the benefit of a few at the expense of the person
and property or possibility of
happiness of everyone else; or vice-versa).
Activity 6: T.R. Fehrenbach, Lone Star Based on T.R.
Fehrenbach, Lone Star (See
PowerPoint slides for this activity on eCampus)
just.

Protective Barrier Number 4: Religion
10
barrier that
protects us from the evil side of people is no longer the
dominant view, and it
is for you to decide whether or not this belief still remains va lid
today.
Activity 7: The Political Purpose of Religion is to Protect the
Person and Property of
Citizens from the Evil Side of People

“A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the
Constitution, and a constant
adherence to those of piety, justice, moderation, temperance,
industry, and frugality are
absolutely necessary, to preserve the advantages of liberty, and
to maintain free government”
(Massachusetts Constitution of 1780).
“The belief in a God All Powerful wise & good, is so essential
to the moral order of the World &
to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot
be drawn from too many sources
nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters
& capacities to be impressed
with it” (James Madison to Frederick Beasley, November 20,
1825).
“Next to the Bible and Montesquieu, Blackstone was the most
frequently quoted source in
American political writing from 1760 to 1800.” (Forrest
McDonald, Testimony before the House
Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution Hearing
on the Background and History
of Impeachment, November 9, 1998).
“Our liberties do not come from charters; for these are only the
declaration of pre-existing rights.
They do not depend on parchments or seals; but come from the
King of Kings and the Lord of all
the earth” (John Dickinson, Chairman of the Committee for the
Declaration of Independence,
1776 in C. Herman Pritchett, The American Constitution,
McGraw-Hill, 1977, p. 2).
A. Based on the following statement, how does religion make

person and property more
secure? What is the connection between religion and people
achieving the goal of human
life?
“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we
have removed their only firm basis,
a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are
of the gift of God? That they are
not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my
country when I reflect that God is
just: that his justice cannot sleep forever: that considering
numbers, nature, and natural means
only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of
situation, is among possible events:
that it may become probable by supernatural interference! The
Almighty has no attribute which
can take side with us in such a contest” (Thomas Jefferson,
Query XVIII, Notes on the State of
Virginia).
B. Based on the following statement, how does religion make
life?
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“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, Religion and morality are

indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute
of Patriotism, who should
labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these
firmest props of the duties of Men
and citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man
ought to respect and to cherish
them. A volume could not trace all their connections with
private and public felicity. Let it
simply be asked where is the security for property, for
reputation, for life, if the sense of
religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments
of investigation in Courts of
Justice?” (George Washington, Farewell Address, September
19, 1796. Alexander Hamilton
wrote a first draft of this address).
C. Based on the following statement, how does religion make
life?
“Indeed, the right of a society or government to interfere in
matters of religion will hardly be
contested by any persons who believe that piety, religion, and
morality are intimately connected
with the well-being of the state and indispensable to the
administrations of civil justice. The
promulgation of the great doctrines of religion—the being, and
attributes, and providence of one
Almighty God; the responsibility to Him for all our actions,
founded upon moral accountability;
a future state of rewards and punishments; the cultivation of all
the personal, social, and
benevolent virtues—these never can be a matter of indifference
in any well-ordered community.

It is, indeed, difficult to conceive how any civilized society can
well exist without them” (Joseph
Story, A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United
States, §442, 1840).
D. Based on the following statements, how does religion make
life?
• “I am certain that [all Americans] believe [their religion] is
necessary to the maintenance
of republican institutions. This opinion does not belong to a
class of citizens or to a
party, but to the entire nation; one finds it in all ranks” (De
Tocqueville, Democracy in
America, I.2.9, tr. Michael Iachetta).
• “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good
government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall
forever be encouraged”
(Article III of Northwest Ordinance, signed by Washington,
Aug. 7, 1789).
• “If we continue to be a happy people, that happiness must be
assured by the enacting and
executing of reasonable and wise laws, expressed in the plainest
language, and by
establishing such modes of education as tend to inculcate in the

minds of youth, the
feelings and habits of ‘piety, religion and morality,’ and to lead
them to the knowledge
and love of those truly Republican principles upon which our
civil institutions are
founded” (Samuel Adams, Address to the Legislature of
Massachusetts, 1795)
For more on the role of religion in a free society, see:
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1. “And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that
morality can be maintained without
religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined
education on minds of peculiar
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that
National morality can prevail in
exclusion of religious principle.” [“Does it not require the aid
of a generally received and
divinely authoritative Religion’ – Hamilton’s draft] (George
Washington, Farewell Address,
September 19, 1796. Alexander Hamilton wrote a first draft of
this address).
2. “The general Principles, on which the Fathers Atchieved
Independence were … the general
Principles of Christianity … and the general Principles of
English and American Liberty….

Those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and
immutable, as the Existence and
Attributes of God; and … those Principles of Liberty, are as
unalterable as human Nature and our
terrestrial, mundane System” (John Adams to Thomas Jefferson,
June 28, 1813).
3. “Cultural Marxism describes the overt erosion of traditional
values--the family, community,
religious faith, property rights and limited central government--
in favor of ... an expansive, all-
powerful central state that replaces community, faith and
property rights with statist control
mechanisms that enforce dependence on the state...” (Charles
Hugh Smith, “The Collapse of the
Left, January 23, 2017).
Activity 8: Liberty Analysis (Religion)
Key question: Which side promotes religion?
A. Which side in Engel v. Vitale promotes religion? Why
would this side promote this
essential feature of liberty?
“The respondent Board of Education of Union Free School
District No. 9, New Hyde Park, New
York, acting in its official capacity under state law, directed the
School District's principal to
cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the
presence of a teacher at the
beginning of each school day: Almighty God, we acknowledge
our dependence upon Thee, and
we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our
Country. This daily procedure

was adopted on the recommendation of the State Board of
Regents, a governmental agency
created by the State Constitution to which the New York
Legislature has granted broad
supervisory, executive, and legislative powers over the State's
public school system” (U.S.
Supreme Court, Engel v. Vitale, 1962).
Note: Engel is trying to get rid of prayer in public schools.
B. Which side in Abbington v. Schempp promotes religion?
Why would this side promote
this essential feature of liberty?
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by law … requires that
“At least ten verses from the Holy
Bible shall be read, without comment, at the opening of each
public school on each school day.
Any child shall be excused from such Bible reading, or
attending such Bible reading, upon the
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written request of his parent or guardian.” The Schempp family,
husband and wife and two of
their three children, brought suit to enjoin enforcement of the
statute, contending that their rights
under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States are, have been, and
will continue to be violated unless this statute be declared
unconstitutional as violative of these
provisions of the First Amendment. They sought to enjoin the

appellant school district, wherein
the Schempp children attend school, and its officers and the
Superintendent of Public Instruction
of the Commonwealth from continuing to conduct such readings
and recitation of the Lord’s
Prayer in the public schools of the district pursuant to the
statute” (U.S. Supreme Court, School
District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania, et al. v. Schempp
et al., 1963).
C. Which side in Van Orden v. Perry promotes religion? Why
“Among the 21 historical markers and 17 monume nts
surrounding the Texas State Capitol is a 6-
foot-high monolith inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The
legislative record illustrates that,
after accepting the monument from the Fraternal Order of
Eagles--a national social, civic, and
patriotic organization--the State selected a site for it based on
the recommendation of the state
organization that maintains the capitol grounds. Petitioner, an
Austin resident who encounters the
monument during his frequent visits to those grounds, brought
this 42 U. S. C. §1983 suit
seeking a declaration that the monument’s placement violates
the First Amendment’s
Establishment Clause and an injunction requiring its removal.
Holding that the monument did
not contravene the Clause, the District Court found that the
State had a valid secular purpose in
recognizing and commending the Eagles for their efforts to
reduce juvenile delinquency, and that
a reasonable observer, mindful of history, purpose, and context,
would not conclude that this
passive monument conveyed the message that the State endorsed

religion. The Fifth Circuit
affirmed. Held: The judgment is affirmed” (U.S. Supreme
Court, Van Orden v. Perry, in his
official capacity as Governor of Texas and Chairman, State
Preservation Board, et al., 2005).
D. Which side in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
promotes religion? Why
would this side promote this essential feature of liberty?
“Prior to 1995, a student elected as Santa Fe High School’s
student council chaplain delivered a
prayer over the public address system before each home varsity
football game. Respondents,
Mormon and Catholic students or alumni and their mothers,
filed a suit challenging this practice
and others under the Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment. While the suit was pending,
petitioner school district (District) adopted a different policy,
which authorizes two student
elections, the first to determine whether ‘invocations’ should be
delivered at games, and the
second to select the spokesperson to deliver them. After the
students held elections authorizing
such prayers and selecting a spokesperson, the District Court
entered an order modifying the
policy to permit only nonsectarian, nonproselytizing prayer. The
Fifth Circuit held that, even as
modified by the District Court, the football prayer policy was
invalid. Held: The District’s
policy permitting student-led, student-initiated prayer at
football games violates the
Establishment Clause” (U.S. Supreme Court, Santa Fe
Independent School District v. Doe,
individually and as next friend for her minor children, et al.,
2000).

14
Equality: Government Must Protect the Life, Liberty, and
Property of All Citizens, No Exceptions
Activity 9: Equality and the Security of Person and Property
A. Based on these statements, to whom do the rights of person
and property belong? Are
there any exceptions listed?
• “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural,
essential, and unalienable
rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and
defending their lives and
liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property;
in fine, that of seeking
and obtaining their safety and happiness” (Massachusetts
Declaration of Rights, March 2,
1780).
• “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.--That to secure these
rights, Governments are
instituted among Men….
B. Based on these statements, to whom do the rights of person
and property belong? Are
there any exceptions listed? Did Texas accept the principle of
equality in 1861?
• “Whatever be [Africans’] degree of talent it is no measure of
their rights. Because Sir
Isaac Newton was superior to others in understanding, he was
not therefore lord of the
person or property of others” (Thomas Jefferson to Henri
Gregoire Washington, February
25, 1809).
• Upon these principles the law of England abhors, and will not
endure the existence of,
slavery within this nation … And now it is laid down, that a
slave or negro, the instant he
lands in England, becomes a freeman; that is, the law will
protect him in the enjoyment of
his person, his liberty, and his property” (William Blackstone,
Commentaries on the
Laws of England, Volume I, 411-413, 1766).
• “We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the
various States, and of the
confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white
race, for themselves and

their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their
establishment; that they were
rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race,
and in that condition only
could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or
tolerable” (Texas
Ordinance of Secession, February 2, 1861).
15
C. Based on this statement, to whom do the right of personal
security belong? Are there
any exceptions listed?
• “The right of personal security consists in a person’s legal and
uninterrupted enjoyment
of his life, his limbs, his body, his health, and his reputation….
Life is the immediate gift
of God, a right inherent by nature in every individual; and it
begins in contemplation of
law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother’s womb.
For if a woman is quick
with child, and by a potion, or otherwise killeth it in her womb;
or if any one beat her,
whereby the child dieth in her body, and she is delivered of a
dead child; this, though not
murder, was by the antient law homicide or manslaughter. But
at present it is not looked
upon in quite so atrocious a light, though it remains a very
heinous misdemeanor”

(William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England,
Book 1, Chapter 1, 1765-
1769).
Note: “The general punishment of all felonies is the same,
namely, by hanging….
[Homicide, mayhem, forcible marriage, rape, and the crime
against nature] are all the
felonious offenses, more immediately against the personal
security of the subject” (William
Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book 4,
Chapter 15, 1765-1769). Under
the common law, a misdemeanor was a crime that carried a
punishment less than death.
D. Based on this statement, to whom do the right of personal
security belong? Are there
any exceptions listed?
“FELONIOUS HOMICIDE is … the killing of a human creature,
of any age or sex, without
justification or excuse. This may be done, either by killing
one’s self, or another man…. The
law [of England] has ranked [suicide] among the highest crimes,
making it a peculiar species of
felony, a felony committed on oneself….What punishment can
human laws inflict on one who
has withdrawn himself from their reach? They can only act
upon what he has left behind him,
his reputation and fortune: on the former, by an ignominious
burial in the highway, with a stake
driven through his body; on the latter, by a forfeiture of all his
goods and chattels to the king:
hoping that his care for either his own reputation, or the welfare

of his family, would be some
motive to restrain him from so desperate and wicked an act”
(William Blackstone, Commentaries
on the Laws of England, Book 4, Chapter 14, 1765-1769).
For the text of the Texas abortion statute, see:
“If any person shall [perform] an abortion, he shall be confined
in the penitentiary not less than
two nor more than five years if it be done without her consent,
the punishment shall be
doubled…. If the death of the mother is occasioned by an
abortion so produced or by an attempt
to effect the same it is murder…. Nothing in this chapter
applies to an abortion procured or
attempted by medical advice for the purpose of saving the life
of the mother.”
16
For the question of whether or not government can show
preference to one group of
citizens over others, see:
Whenever a Government assumes the power of discriminating
between the different classes of
the community, it becomes, in effect, the arbiter of their
prosperity, and exercises a power not
contemplated by any intelligent people in delegating their
sovereignty to their rulers. It then

becomes the great regulator of the profits of every species of
industry, and reduces men from a
dependence on their own exertions, to a dependence on the
caprices of their Government.
Governments possess no delegated right to tamper with
individual industry a single hair’s-
breadth beyond what is essential to protect the rights of person
and property.
In the exercise of this power of intermeddling with the private
pursuits and individual
occupations of the citizen, a Government may at pleasure
elevate one class and depress another;
it may one day legislate exclusively for the farmer, the next for
the mechanic, and the third for
the manufacturer, who all thus become the mere puppets of
legislative cobbling and tinkering,
instead of independent citizens, relying on their own resources
for their prosperity. It assumes the
functions which belong alone to an overruling Providence, and
affects to become the universal
dispenser of good and evil (William Leggett, New York Evening
Post, Nov. 21, 1834).
Activity 10: Liberty Analysis (Government Protection of
Person and Property of All
Citizens, No Exceptions)
A. Which side in Roe v. Wade would most promote liberty in
the sense of living under a
government that protects person or property? Why would this
side promote this essential
goal of liberty? (If this meaning of liberty does not apply to this
case, say that it does not
apply and explain why it does not apply.)

“A pregnant single woman (Roe) brought a class action
challenging the constitutionality of the
Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe procuring or
attempting an abortion except on
medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother’s life... A
three-judge District Court…
declared the abortion statutes void as vague and overbroadly
infringing those plaintiffs’ Ninth
and Fourteenth Amendment rights” (U.S. Supreme Court, Roe et
al. v. Wade, District Attorney,
1973).
B. Which side in Gonzales v. Oregon would most promote
liberty in the sense of living
under a government that protects person or property? Why
essential goal of liberty? (If this meaning of liberty does not
apply to this case, say that it
does not apply and explain why it does not apply.)
“The Oregon Death With Dignity Act (ODWDA) exempts from
civil or criminal liability state-
licensed physicians who … dispense or prescribe a lethal dos e
of drugs upon the request of a
terminally ill patient. In 2001, the Attorney General [of the
United States] issued an Interpretive
Rule … declaring that using controlled substances to assist
suicide is not a legitimate medical
practice and that dispensing or prescribing them for this purpose
is unlawful under the CSA
(Federal Controlled Substances Act).” (Gonzales v. Oregon,
January 17, 2006)

17
C. Which side winning in Brown v. Board of Education would
most promote liberty in the
sense of living under a government that protects person or
property? Why would this side
winning promote liberty in this sense? (If this meaning of
liberty does not apply to this
case, say that it does not apply and explain why it does not
apply.)
“In each of the cases, minors of the Negro race, through their
legal representatives, seek the aid
of the courts in obtaining admission to the public schools of
their community on a nonsegregated
basis. In each instance, they had been denied admission to
schools attended by white children
under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to
race. This segregation was alleged to
deprive the plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws under
the Fourteenth Amendment” (U.S.
Supreme Court, BROWN ET AL. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF TOPEKA ET AL., 1954).
D. Which side winning in Rasul v. Bush would most promote
under a government that protects person or property? Why
would this side winning
promote liberty in this sense? (If this meaning of liberty does
not apply to this case, say that
it does not apply and explain why it does not apply.)
“Pursuant to Congress' joint resolution authorizing the use of

necessary and appropriate force
against nations, organizations, or persons that planned,
authorized, committed, or aided in the
September 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorist attacks, the President
sent Armed Forces into Afghanistan
to wage a military campaign against al Qaeda and the Taliban
regime that had supported it.
Petitioners, 2 Australians and 12 Kuwaitis captured abroad
during the hostilities, are being held
in military custody at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Naval Base,
which the United States occupies
under a lease and treaty recognizing Cuba's ultimate
sovereignty, but giving this country
complete jurisdiction and control for so long as it does not
abandon the leased areas. Petitioners
filed suits under federal law challenging the legality of their
detention, alleging that they had
never been combatants against the United States or engaged in
terrorist acts, and that they have
never been charged with wrongdoing, permitted to consult
counsel, or provided access to courts
or other tribunals” (U.S. Supreme Court, Rasul v. Bush, 2004).
PowerPoint slides for this activity
on eCampus)

just.
18
on eCampus)

just.
Not Being Harmed By the Evil Side of Government:
Living under a government that does not harm its citizens—
that is, does not deprive its citizens of life, liber ty, or
property without due process of law

19
Activity 13: Liberty as living under a government that does not
harm us (in our person
and property)
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence; it is force. Like
fire, it is a dangerous servant and
a fearsome master” (Attributed to George Washington, January
7, 1790, allegedly reported in the
Boston Independent Chronicle of January 14, 1790).
“The more power a government has, the more it can act
arbitrarily according to the whims and
desires of the elite, the more it will … murder its … subjects.
The more constrained the power of
governments, the more it is diffused, checked and balanced, the
less it will aggress on others and
commit democide” (R.J. Rummell, Death by Government,
Chapter 1).
http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.CHAP1.HTM
A. How does Madison describe the power of government in this
passage? According to
Madison, what is the danger involved in establishing a
government?
“It may be a reflection on human nature that [devices such as
checks and balances] should be

necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is
government itself but the greatest of
all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no
government would be necessary. If
angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal
controls on government would be
necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered
by men over men, the great
difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to
control the governed; and in the
next place oblige it to control itself” (James Madison, Federalist
51, February 6, 1788).
B. According to Penn, what is an “Englishman’s Liberty”?
“This original happy Frame of Government is truly and properly
called an Englishman's Liberty,
a Privilege not exempt from the law, but to be freed in person
and estate from arbitrary violence
and oppression” (William Penn, The Excellent Priviledge of
Liberty and Property Being the
Birth-Right of the Free-born Subjects of England, 1687).
C. What is Paul Johnson’s point about the power of
government? How do the statistics
provided by R.J. Runnell support Johnson’s point?
• “The state ... proved itself the greatest killer of all time. By
the 1990s, state action has
been responsible for the violent or unnatural deaths of some 125
million people during
the century, more perhaps than it had succeeded in destroying
during the whole of human
history up to 1900” (Paul Johnson, Modern Times, 1992, p.
783).

• According to R.J. Runnell, the following governments
murdered a large number of their
own citizens. These totals include “genocide, politicide, and
mass murder; excludes war-
dead”:
U.S.S.R (1917-1987): 54,769,000
http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.CHAP1.HTM
20
China (1949-1987): 35,236,000
Cambodia (1975-1979): 2,000,000
Mexico (1900-1920): 1,417,000
North Korea (1948-1987): 1,293,000
http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.TAB1.2.GIF
D. According to Forrest McDonald, what does history teach us
about the power of
government? How does the example of Cambodia illustrate
McDonald’s point?
• “Common sense taught that man needed the protection that the
sovereign provided
against one’s fellow man; history taught that man needed
protection from the sovereign

as well” (Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 37).
• “On April 17th, 1975 the Khmer Rouge, a communist guerrilla
group led by Pol Pot, took
power in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. They forced all
city dwellers into the
countryside and to labor camps. During their rule, it is
estimated that 2 million
Cambodians died by starvation, torture or execution. 2 million
Cambodians represented
approximately 30% of the Cambodian population during that
time” (dithpran.org,
accessed 2009).
Activity 14: Liberty Analysis (Living under a Government that
does not Harm the Person
and Property of its Citizens)
Key Question: Which side winning would prevent government
from harming the person and
property of citizens?
A. Which side in Helvering v. Davis would most promote
liberty in the sense of living under
a government that does not harm person and property? Why
“Title II has the caption "Federal Old-Age Benefits." The
benefits are of two types, first, monthly
pensions, and second, lump sum payments…. The scheme of

benefits created by the provisions
of Title II is not in contravention of the limitations of the Tenth
Amendment…. Congress may
spend money in aid of the ‘general welfare.’ Constitution, Art.
I, section 8; United States v.
Butler, 297 U.S. 1, 65; Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, supra.
There have been great statesmen in
our history who have stood for other views. We will not
resurrect the contest. It is now settled by
decision. United States v. Butler, supra. The conception of the
spending power advocated by
Hamilton and strongly reinforced by Story has prevailed over
that of Madison, which has not
been lacking in adherents…. Nor is the concept of the general
welfare static. Needs that were
narrow or parochial a century ago may be interwoven in our day
with the wellbeing of the
http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.TAB1.2.GIF
21
Nation. What is critical or urgent changes with the times” (U.S.
Supreme Court, Helvering v.
Davis, 1937).
Note: Helvering is the IRS commissioner.
B. Which side in Wickard v. Filburn would most promote
under a government that does not harm person and property?
Why would this side

promote this essential goal of liberty? (If this meaning of
liberty does not apply to this case,
say that it does not apply and explain why it does not apply.)
“[Even] if [home-grown wheat] is never marketed, it supplies a
need of the man who grew it
which would otherwise be reflected by purchases in the open
market. Home-grown wheat in this
sense competes with wheat in commerce. The stimulation of
commerce is a use of the regulatory
function quite as definitely as prohibitions or restrictions
thereon…. Congress … considered that
wheat consumed on the farm where grown … would have a
substantial effect in defeating and
obstructing its purpose to stimulate trade therein at increased
prices.
It is said … that this Act, forcing some farmers into the market
to buy what they could provide
for themselves, is an unfair promotion of the markets and prices
of specializing wheat growers. It
is of the essence of regulation that it lays a restraining hand on
the self-interest of the regulated,
and that advantages from the regulation commonly fall to
others…. Appellee's claim is ... that
the Fifth Amendment requires that he be free from penalty for
planting wheat and disposing of
his crop as he sees fit. We do not agree” (U.S. Supreme Court,
Wickard v. Filburn, 1942).
Note: Wickard is trying to stop Filburn (the farmer) from
growing wheat for his own use.
C. Which side in Kelo v. City of New London would most
promote liberty in the sense of
living under a government that does not harm person and

property? Why would this side
promote this essential goal of liberty? (If this meaning of
liberty does not apply to this case,
say that it does not apply and explain why it does not apply.)
“After approving an integrated development plan designed to
revitalize its ailing economy,
respondent city, through its development agent, purchased most
of the property earmarked for
the project from willing sellers, but initiated condemnation
proceedings when petitioners, the
owners of the rest of the property, refused to sell. Petitioners
brought this state-court action
claiming, inter alia, that the taking of their properties would
violate the “public use” restriction in
the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.” (U.S. Supreme Court,
Kelo et al. v. City of New
London et al., 2005)
D. Which side in Gonzales v. Raich would most promote
liberty in the sense of living under
a government that does not harm person and property? Why
“California’s Compassionate Use Act authorizes limited
marijuana use for medicinal purposes.
Respondents Raich and Monson are California residents who
both use doctor-recommended

22
marijuana for serious medical conditions. After federal Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA)
agents seized and destroyed all six of Monson’s cannabis plants,
respondents brought this action
seeking injunctive and declaratory relief prohibiting the
enforcement of the federal Controlled
Substances Act (CSA) to the extent it prevents them from
possessing, obtaining, or
manufacturing cannabis for their personal medical use.
Respondents claim that enforcing the
CSA against them would violate the Commerce Clause and other
constitutional provisions.”
(U.S. Supreme Court, Gonzales, Attorney General, et al. v.
Raich et al., 2005)
Features of the Texas/American System of Government that
Protects Against the Evil Side of Government
(Political Requirements for Living under a Government that
Does Not Harm Its Citizens)
Protective Barrier Number 1A/1B: The Evil Side of
Government/ The Law of Nature
(A belief that there is an evil side of government, plus a clear
definition of right and wrong, with wrong consisting in
harming innocent people, protects us from the evil side of

government in the same way that it protects us from the evil
side of people.)
barrier that
protects us from government is no longer the dominant view,
and it is for you
to decide whether or not this belief still remains valid today.
Protective Barrier Number 2: Religion
(Fear of God’s Wrath Restrains Rulers from Harming
Citizens, as well as restraining citizens from harming one
another)
23
barrier that
protects us from government is no longer the dominant view,
and it is for you
to decide whether or not this belief still remains valid today.

Personal liberty—that is, not being imprisoned without trial
Activity 15: Personal Liberty (freedom from physical restraint)
Reminder: In a free society, the three basic rights are “personal
security,” “personal liberty,” and
“property” (in the words of Blackstone) or, in the words of the
US Constitution, “life,” “liberty,”
and “property.”
A. How does Blackstone define “liberty” in the context of the
three basic rights?
“Next to personal security, the law of England regards, asserts,
and preserves the personal liberty
of individuals. This personal liberty consists in the power of
locomotion [that is, of moving from
place to place], of changing one’s situation [that is, location],
or moving one’s person to
whatsoever place one’s own inclination may direct, without
imprisonment, or restraint, unless by
due course of law” (Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on
the Laws of England, 1765, Book
I, Chapter 1).
B. Why does Blackstone consider wrongful (or “arbitrary”)
imprisonment so dangerous to
liberty as a whole?
“The subjecting of men to punishment for things which, when
they were done, were breaches of
no law, and the practice of arbitrary imprisonments have been,
in all ages, the favorite and most
formidable instruments of tyranny. The observation of the

judicious Blackstone, in reference to
the latter, are well worthy of recital: ‘To bereave a man of life
or by violence to confiscate his
estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and
notorious an act of despotism as must at
once convey the alarm of tyranny throughout the whole nation;
but confinement of the person, by
secretly hurrying him to jail, where his sufferings are unknown
or forgotten, is a less public, a
less striking, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary
government.’ And as a remedy
for this fatal evil he is everywhere peculiarly emphatical in his
encomiums on the habeas corpus
act, which in one place he calls ‘the BULWARK of the British
Constitution’” (Alexander
Hamilton, Federalist 84, May 28, 1788).
24
C. How does Magna Carta protect people from wrongful
imprisonment? According to the
Habeas Corpus Act, who has a right to a writ of habeas corpus?
“Clause 39 of Magna Carta, for instance, had declared that ‘no
freeman shall be…arrested, or
detained in prison ... unless by the judgment of his peers [and]
by the law of the land.” The
appropriate legal remedy in cases of arbitrary violations of this
clause was a writ of habeas
corpus ad subjiciendum whereby the prisoner was ordered to be
brought before a judge, who

could cause the prisoner to be released if he was being
unlawfully held.” (Forrest McDonald,
Novus Ordo Seclorum, 37)
“Whereas great delays have been used by sheriffs, gaolers and
other officers, to whose custody
any of the King's subjects have been committed for criminal or
supposed criminal matters, in
making returns of writs of habeas corpus to them
directed…contrary to their duty and the known
laws of the land, whereby many of the King's subjects have
been and hereafter may be long
detained in prison, in such cases where by law they are bailable,
to their great charges and
vexation … be it enacted by the King’s most excellent
majesty...” (Habeas Corpus Act, England,
1679).
D. How do the 5th and 14th Amendments of the US
Constitution protect people from
wrongful imprisonment?
“No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law” (5th
Amendment, U.S. Constitution).
“Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law”
(14th Amendment, U.S. Constitution).
Note: Congress can suspend the writ of habeas corpus under
certain circumstances:
“The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when in Cases of
Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” (Article

I.9, U.S. Constitution)
on eCampus)
just.
25

on eCampus)
just.

Activity 18: Examples of Governments that Violate the Right
of Personal Liberty
A. How did the former Soviet Union violate the right of
personal liberty?
• “As a result, between 1929, when prison camps first became a
mass phenomenon, and
1953, the year, of Stalin’s death, some 18 million people passed
through them. In
addition, a further 6 or 7, million people were deported, not to
camps but to exile villages.
In total, that means the number of people with some experience
of imprisonment in
26
Stalin’s Soviet Union could have run as high as 25 million,
about 15 percent of the
population” (Anne Applebaum, “Gulag: Understanding the
Magnitude of What
Happened,” November 7, 2004, )

http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/gulag-understanding-
the-magnitude-of-what-
happened
• From 1922 to 1960: 1) The average life expectancy of a camp
prisoner was one winter.
2) At least twenty million people perished in the labor camps
during Stalin’s rule
(Charles G. Palm, “Two Eras,” Hoover Institution, 1999).
http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/6210
B. How did China violate the right of personal liberty?
In communist China, “tens of millions of
‘counterrevolutionaries’ passed long periods of their
lives inside the prison system, with perhaps 20 million dying
there” (Black Book of Communism,
1999, 463-464)
C. How does Cuba violate the right of personal liberty?
• “In March 2003, the government of Cuba arrested dozens of
journalists, librarians, and
human rights activists and charged them with sedition. After
summary trials in which
fundamental rights of due process were denied, the accused
were sentenced to prison
terms ranging from 15 to 28 years. In all, 78 journalists,

librarians, and dissidents were
sentenced to a collective total of more than 1,400 years in
Cuba’s gulag.”
(Cubafacts.com, accessed 2003)
D. How does North Korea violate the right of personal liberty?
“[Haenyong] is home to Camp 22-North Korea’s largest
concentration camp, where thousands of
men, women and children accused of political crimes are
held…. The number of prisoners held
in the North Korean gulag is not known: one estimate is 200,000
held in 12 or more centres…”
(www.guardian.co.uk , February 1, 2004).
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/01/northkorea
Activity 19: Liberty Analysis (Personal Liberty)
Key Question: Which side winning would prevent government
from imprisoning citizens
without trial?
A. Which side in Texas v. Johnson would most promote liberty
in the sense of personal
liberty? Why would this side promote this essential part of
liberty? (If this meaning of
the-magnitude-of-what-happened
the-magnitude-of-what-happened
http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/6210
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/01/northkorea

27
liberty does not apply to this case, say that it does not apply and
explain why it does not
apply.)
“During the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas,
Texas, respondent Johnson
participated in a political demonstration to protest the policies
of the Reagan administration and
some Dallas-based corporations. After a march through the city
streets, Johnson burned an
American flag while protesters chanted. No one was physically
injured or threatened with injury,
although several witnesses were seriously offended by the flag
burning. Johnson was convicted
of desecration of a venerated object in violation of a Texas
statute, and a State Court of Appeals
affirmed. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
reversed, holding that the State,
consistent with the First Amendment, could not punish Johnson
for burning the flag in these
circumstances” (U.S. Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson, 1989).
B. Which side in Wise v. Lipscomb would most promote liberty
in the sense of personal
apply.)

“Respondents, Negro and Mexican-American residents of
Dallas, Tex., brought this action …
against petitioners, the Mayor and members of the Dallas City
Council, alleging that the City
Charter's at-large system of electing council members
unconstitutionally diluted the vote of
racial minorities…. The District Court orally declared that
system unconstitutional and then
‘afforded the city an opportunity as a legislative body for the
City of Dallas to prepare a plan
which would be constitutional.’ The City Council then passed a
resolution expressing its
intention to enact an ordinance that would provide for eight
council members to be elected from
single-member districts and for the three remaining members,
including the Mayor, to be elected
at large…. The District Court approved the plan, which the
City Council thereafter formally
enacted as an ordinance…. The Court of Appeals reversed,
holding that the District Court had
erred…. Held. The judgment is reversed and the case is
remanded” (U.S. Supreme Court, Wise
v. Lipscomb, 1979).
C. Which side in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
would most promote liberty
in the sense of personal liberty? Why would this side promote
this essential part of liberty?
(If this meaning of liberty does not apply to this case, say that it
does not apply and explain
why it does not apply.)
“Prior to 1995, a student elected as Santa Fe High School’s
student council chaplain delivered a
prayer over the public address system before each home varsity
football game. Respondents,

Mormon and Catholic students or alumni and their mothers,
filed a suit challenging this practice
and others under the Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment. While the suit was pending,
petitioner school district (District) adopted a different policy,
which authorizes two student
elections, the first to determine whether ‘invocations’ should be
delivered at games, and the
second to select the spokesperson to deliver them. After the
students held elections authorizing
such prayers and selecting a spokesperson, the District Court
entered an order modifying the
policy to permit only nonsectarian, nonproselytizing prayer. The
Fifth Circuit held that, even as
modified by the District Court, the football prayer policy was
invalid. Held: The District’s
28
policy permitting student-led, student-initiated prayer at
football games violates the
Establishment Clause.” (U.S. Supreme Court, Santa Fe
Independent School District v. Doe,
individually and as next friend for her minor children, et al.,
2000)
D. Which side in Boumediene v. Bush would most promote
liberty in the sense of personal

apply.)
“Petitioners are aliens detained at Guantanamo after being
captured in Afghanistan or elsewhere
abroad and designated enemy combatants by [Combatant Status
Review Tribunals]. Denying
membership in the al Qaeda terrorist network that carried out
the September 11 attacks and the
Taliban regime that supported al Qaeda, each petitioner sought
a write of habeas corpus in the
District Court, which ordered the cases dismissed for lack of
jurisdiction because Guantanamo is
outside sovereign territory. The D.C. Circuit affirmed, but this
Court reversed, holding that 28
U.S.C s. 2241 extended statutory habeas jurisdiction to
Guanatanamo. See Rasul v. Bush….
While appeals were pending, Congress passed the Detainee
Treatment Act of 2005, sec.
10005(e) of which amended 28 U.S.C. sec.2241 to provide that
‘no court, justice, or judge shall
have jurisdiction to … consider … an application for…habeas
corpus filed by or on behalf of an
alien detained…at Guantanamo’…. The D.C Circuit concluded
that … petitioners are not
entitled to…the protections of the Suspension Clause [of the US
Constitution] … and that it was
therefore unnecessary to consider whether the DTA provided an
adequate and effective substitute
for habeas” (U.S. Supreme Court, Boumediene v. Bush, 2008).
Self-government—that is, being ruled by laws made by our
representatives in our legislature

Activity 20: The Meaning, Importance, and Primary Purpose of
Self-Government
“The Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate
and House of Representatives,
which together shall be styled ‘The Legislature of the State of
Texas’ ” (Article 3, Section 1 of
the Texas Constitution).
“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives” (Arti cle
I, Section 1 of the U.S.
Constitution).
A. Based on these statements, what is self-government?
29
• “The first grand right, is that of the people having a share in
their own government by
their representatives chosen by themselves, and in consequence,
of being ruled by laws
which they themselves approve, not by edicts of men over
whom they have no control”
(Letter to the Inhabitants of Quebec, First Continental
Congress, 1774).

• “Civil liberty … consists in being protected and governed by
laws made, or assented to,
by the representatives of the people, and conducive to the
general welfare” (James Kent,
Commentaries on American Law, Lecture XXIV, 1826).
B. What are the first six complaints the Americans make
against the King of Great Britain
in the Declaration? What exactly is the King doing? How do
these actions prove the King
is seeking to establish despotism?
1. “--He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome
and necessary for the
public good.”
2. “--He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of
immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent
should be obtained; and
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them”
(Declaration of
Independence, 1776).
3. “--He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation
of large districts of
people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the
Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to
tyrants only.”

4. “--He has called together legislative bodies at places
unusual, uncomfortable, and
distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole
purpose of fatiguing them
into compliance with his measures” (Declaration of
Independence, 1776).
5. “--He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for
opposing with manly
firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.”
6. “--He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to
cause others to be
elected…” (Declaration of Independence, 1776).
C. According to James Kent, what is the primary purpose of
civil liberty (that is, self-
government)?
“The absolute rights of individuals may be resolved into the
right of personal security, the right
of personal liberty, and the right to acquire and enjoy property.
These rights have been justly
considered, and frequently declared, by the people of this
country, to be natural, inherent, and
unalienable. The effectual security and enjoyment of them
depend upon the existence of civil
liberty; and that consists in being protected and governed by
laws made, or assented to, by the
representatives of the people, and conducive to the general
welfare” (James Kent, Commentaries
on American Law, Lecture XXIV).

30
D. According to Alexander Hamilton, what is the primary
purpose of self-government?
“[The members of Parliament] divest us of that moral security,
for our lives and properties,
which we are intitled to, and which it is the primary end of
society to bestow. For such security
can never exist, while we have no part in making the laws that
are to bind us” (Alexander
Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775).
For the primary purpose of self-government, see also:
1. “The right to vote is the right of self-protection, through the
possession of a share in the
Government. Without this a man’s rights lie at the mercy of
other men who have every selfish
incentive to rob and oppress him. This is the great central idea
of a republican Government. The
absence of this is the source of all despotism” (Representative
Donnelly, February 1, 1866,
Congressional Globe, 589).
2. “Common sense taught that man needed the protection that
the sovereign provided against
one’s fellow man; history taught that man needed protection
from the sovereign as well.
Liberties, in this sense, consisted in limitations upon the powers
of the sovereign and in a

sharing, enjoyed by freemen, in the exercise of those powers”
(Forrest McDonald, Novus
Ordo Seclorum, 37).
Activity 21: Another Purpose of Self-Government; Two
Potential Problems with Self-
Government
A. Based on this statement, what is a benefit of having many
different state governments
within the United States? What is a second purpose of self-
government?
“I am fully persuaded that the People of the United States being
in different Climates--of
different Education and Manners, and possest of different
Habits & Feelings under one
consolidated Governmt. can not long remain free, or indeed
under any Kind of Governmt. but
Despotism” (Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry, August 22,
1789, Beinecke Library, Yale
University).
B. Based on this statement, what is a second purpose of self-
government?
“No power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or
freedom of the press being
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, all lawful
powers respecting the same did of right remain, and were
reserved to the people…. Thus was
manifested their determination to reserve to themselves the
right of judging how far the
licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged

without lessening their useful
freedom…” (Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions, October
1798).
C. What problem with self-government does Mill identify in
this statement? What are the
“first principles” to which he refers?
31
“I regard it as required by first principles that the receipt of
parish relief (i.e. welfare payments)
should be a preemptory disqualification for the franchise (i.e.
voting). He who cannot by his
labor suffice for his own support has no claim to the privilege
of helping himself to the money of
others. By becoming dependent on the remaining members of
the community for actual
subsistence, he abdicates his claim to equal rights with them in
other respects...It is also
important that the assembly which votes the taxes, whether
general or local, should be elected
exclusively by those who pay something towards the taxes
imposed. Those who pay no taxes,
disposing by their votes of other people’s money, have every
motive to be lavish and none to
economize.... It amounts to allowing them to put their hands
into other people’s pockets for any
purpose which they think fit to call a public one” (John Stuart
Mill, Representative Government,
1861, Chapter 8).

D. What problem with self-government does R. McNair Wilson
identify in this statement?
What are the “first principles” to which he refers?
“The greed system of international finance … has ever
masqueraded under the name of
democracy—a name to which it has no title. It has been
maintained by popularly elected
chambers of politicians who, whatever their qualities, have
seldom, anywhere, so much as
questioned the right of a private monopoly to control price-
levels, create promise-money and
take possession of their neighbours’ goods, by the mere process
of writing figures in ledgers.
Politicians who permit and support a system whereby the power
of life and death over every
citizen is given to a private monopoly cannot reasonably be
described as upholders of popular
rights, of liberty or of democracy. They are more truthfully
described as the ignorant
functionaries, even the lackeys, of a wholly irresponsible and
entirely unrepresentative
dictatorship, the aims and objects of which are everywhere
opposed to those of the citizens who
elect the politicians. Financial democracy is a system of pillage
disguised under a cloak of
philosophical liberalism which, unhappily, has deceived many
honest men, including creative
artists, lovers of peace and lovers of freedom” (R. McNair
Wilson, Monarchy or Money Power,
1933.
Mini Lecture: We enjoy the greatest degree of self-government

when the laws under which
we live are made by our state legislature.
We have the greatest opportunity to live under laws of our own
choosing when we live under
laws made by our State government as opposed to those made
by our Federal government.
There are two reasons for this.
First, our opinion counts for more in our state than it does in the
United States as a whole. In
Texas, we are one person out of about 24 million. In the United
States as a whole, we are one
person out of about 300 million. (This reason holds true even
more in smaller states such as
Wyoming, which has a population of only around 500,000)
32
Second, the people of a State are more likely to see things in a
similar way to one another than
with people who live in a different state. For example, in
general, the values of people in Texas
are different than those of people who live in California or New
York. When laws are made by
State governments, Texans can live under the kinds of laws that
we want and Californians or
New Yorkers can live under the kinds of laws that they want.
Of course, we have the greatest opportunity to live under laws
of our own choosing when we

make laws through the city councils of our city governments.
In this case, we are part of an even
smaller community of people who are even more likely to share
the same values with one
another.
If there ever were a world government, that would provide us
with the least opportunity for self-
government of all. We would be just one out of billions of
people who are least likely to share
the same values.
In general, the government that is closest to us provides us with
the greatest degree of self-
government.
on eCampus)
just.

33
on eCampus)
just.

Activity 24: Liberty Analysis (Having input into laws through
our representatives in a
legislature)
Key Question: Which side winning would make it possible for
people to live under the law
made by their representatives in their legislature?
A. Which side in Lawrence v. Texas would most promote
liberty in the sense of self-
government? Why would this side winning promote this
essential feature of liberty? (If
this meaning of liberty does not apply to this case, say that it

“Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private
residence, Houston police entered
petitioner Lawrence’s apartment and saw him and another adult
man, petitioner Garner, engaging
in a private, consensual sexual act. Petitioners were arrested and
convicted of deviate sexual
intercourse in violation of a Texas statute forbidding two
persons of the same sex to engage in
certain intimate sexual conduct. In affirming, the State Court of
Appeals held, inter alia, that the
statute was not unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment”
(U.S. Supreme Court, Lawrence et al. v. Texas, 2003).
B. Which side in Kelo v. City of New London would most
promote liberty in the sense of
self-government? Why would this side winning promote this
(If this meaning of liberty does not apply to this case, say that it
34
“After approving an integrated development plan designed to
revitalize its ailing economy,
respondent city, through its development agent, purchased most
of the property earmarked for
the project from willing sellers, but initiated condemnation

proceedings when petitioners, the
owners of the rest of the property, refused to sell. Petitioners
brought this state-court action
claiming, inter alia, that the taking of their properties would
violate the “public use” restriction in
the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.” (U.S. Supreme Court,
Kelo et al. v. City of New
London et al., 2005)
C. Which side in Gonzales v. Raich would most promote liberty
in the sense of self-
“California’s Compassionate Use Act authorizes limited
marijuana use for medicinal purposes.
Respondents Raich and Monson are California residents who
both use doctor-recommended
marijuana for serious medical conditions. After federal Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA)
agents seized and destroyed all six of Monson’s cannabis plants,
respondents brought this action
seeking injunctive and declaratory relief prohibiting the
enforcement of the federal Controlled
Substances Act (CSA) to the extent it prevents them from
possessing, obtaining, or
manufacturing cannabis for their personal medical use.
Respondents claim that enforcing the
CSA against them would violate the Commerc e Clause and other
constitutional provisions.”
(U.S. Supreme Court, Gonzales, Attorney General, et al. v.
Raich et al., 2005)

D. Which side in Van Orden v. Perry would most promote
liberty in the sense of self-
“Among the 21 historical markers and 17 monuments
surrounding the Texas State Capitol is a 6-
foot-high monolith inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The
legislative record illustrates that,
after accepting the monument from the Fraternal Order of
Eagles--a national social, civic, and
patriotic organization--the State selected a site for it based on
the recommendation of the state
organization that maintains the capitol grounds. Petitioner, an
Austin resident who encounters the
monument during his frequent visits to those grounds, brought
this 42 U. S. C. §1983 suit
seeking a declaration that the monument’s placement violates
the First Amendment’s
Establishment Clause and an injunction requiring its removal.
Holding that the monument did
not contravene the Clause, the District Court found that the
State had a valid secular purpose in
recognizing and commending the Eagles for their efforts to
reduce juvenile delinquency, and that
a reasonable observer, mindful of history, purpose, and context,
would not conclude that this
passive monument conveyed the message that the State endorsed
religion. The Fifth Circuit
affirmed. Held: The judgment is affirmed” (U.S. Supreme
Court, Van Orden v. Perry, in his
official capacity as Governor of Texas and Chairman, State
Preservation Board, et al., 2005).

Activity 25: Texas Legislature
35
“No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the
Legislature is in session” (Gideon J.
Tucker, 1866).
A. How often does the Texas legislature meet? Why do you
think the legislature meets so
infrequently?
The Texas legislature meets for 140 days every other year,
during the years that end with an odd
number (2001, 2003, etc.). This is called a biennial legislative
session. The governor can call
the legislature into session at other times for a maximum of 30
days. But the legislature cannot
call itself into session.
“In the early 1960s, only 19 state legislatures met annually….
Today, 46 state legislatures meet
annually. The remaining four states—Montana, Nevada, North
Dakota and Texas—hold session
every other year.”
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/annual-
versus-biennial-legislative-
sessions.aspx

B. Who is the leader of the Texas House? Who is leader of
Texas Senate?
In Texas, the lieutenant governor is the leader of the Senate,
and the speaker of the House is the
leader of the House of Representatives.
The lieutenant governor is in charge of the Senate, but is not a
Senator. He or she is elected
every four years in the same election as the governor. The
Speaker of the House is a member of
the House of Representatives, chosen by other members of the
House at the beginning of each
session.
C. What is a major difference between the Texas legislature
and the US Congress?
One major difference between the Texas legislature and
Congress is that power is much more
centralized in the Texas legislature. The lieutenant governor
and Speaker of the House have
powers that their counterparts in Congress simply do not have.
These powers include assigning
bills to committees, influencing which bills end up being
discussed, and recognizing members
during floor debates. In addition, these leaders also choose
committee chairs and most
committee and subcommittee members.
D. How does the power structure in the Texas legislature
impact the role of the legislature
within the Texas government as a whole?
The extraordinary power of the lieutenant governor and the
Speaker is not given to them by the
Texas Constitution. Members of each chamber have voted to

give their leaders these powers—
and so can take them away if they so choose. One of the
consequences of this decision is that the
Texas legislature has remained the chief policymaking body in
the state government. In the
federal government, on the other hand, the executive branch has
arguably become the chief
36
policymaking body. This development in the federal
government is due in part to the fact that
power is relatively decentralized in Congress.
Note: There are 100 members in the Texas House of
Representatives and 30 members in the
Texas Senate.
Political Requirements for Living under a Government that
Protects and Does Not Harm Its Citizens (Continued)
Constitutionally limited government—that is, living under a
government that has limits on what it can do—by means of a
constitution
Activity 26: Living under a government that has limits through
a constitution

“Common sense taught that man needed the protection that the
sovereign provided against one’s
fellow man; history taught that man needed protection from the
sovereign as well. Liberties, in
this sense, consisted in limitations upon the powers of the
sovereign and in a sharing, enjoyed
by freemen, in the exercise of those powers” (Forrest
McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 37)
A. According to the Pittsfield Petitions, what is the purpose of
putting limits on
government?
“That knowing the strong Byass of human Nature to Tyranny
and Despotism we have Nothing
else in View but to provide for Posterity against the wanton
Exercise of power which cannot
otherwise be done than by the formation of a fundamental
Constitution” (Pittsfield Petitions,
May 29, 1776).
B. According to the ancient political philosopher, how do we
place limits on government?
What is a constitution?
“The object of a constitution is to restrain the government, as
that of laws is to restrain
individuals” (Anonymous ancient political philosopher, as
quoted by John C. Calhoun, Fort Hill
Address, July 26, 1831).
C. According to the Representatives of Berkshire County, what
is the purpose of a
constitution? Why do they call the barrier that it provides
sacred?

37
“In all free governments duly organized there is an essential
distinction to be observed between
the fundamental Constitution and legislation. The fundamental
Constitution is the basis and
groundwork of legislation ... circumscribing and defining the
powers of the rulers, and so
affoarding a sacred barrier against tyranny and despotism”
(Statement of the Berkshire County,
Massachusetts, Representatives, November 17, 1778).
D. Why do we need constitutions, according to Thomas
Jefferson?
“It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men
of our choice to silence our
fears for the safety of our rights… Confidence is everywhere
the parent of despotism--free
government is founded on jealousy, and not in confidence; it is
jealousy and not confidence
which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those
whom we are obliged to trust with
power…. Our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to
which, and no further, our
confidence may go… In questions of power, then, let no more
be heard of confidence in man,
but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the
Constitution” (Jefferson, Kentucky
Resolutions, October 1798)

Activity 27: More on living under a government that has limits
through a constitution
“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States” (U.S.
Constitution, Article I.1).
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”
(10th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution).
“[The 9th and 10th Amendments] disclosed the widespread fear
that the National Government
might, under the pressure of the supposed general welfare,
attempt to exercise powers which had
not been granted” (U.S. Supreme Court, Kansas v. Colorado,
1907).
A. What is Article I.8 of the U.S. Constitution a list of?
“The Congress shall have Power
[1] To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,
to pay the Debts and provide for
the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States
…;
[2] To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
[3] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the
Indian Tribes;
[4] To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform

Laws on the subject of
Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
[5] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of
Weights and Measures;
[6] To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the
Securities and current Coin of the
United States;
[7] To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
38
[8] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries;
[9] To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
[10] To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on
the high Seas, and Offences
against the Law of Nations;
[11] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and
make Rules concerning
Captures on Land and Water;
[12] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of
Money to that Use shall be for a

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