The people are the only legitimate fountain of power

INTRODUCTION

Happy 270th Birthday, President James Madison

“The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived…”

Architect of the Constitution

Born March 16, 1751

“The Federalist, commonly referred to as the Federalist Papers, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. The essays were published anonymously, under the pen name ‘Publius,’ in various New York state newspapers of the time.”

While today it may feel as if the U.S. Constitution has always existed, that is not the case. It was these patriots’ cause to convince their countrymen to ratify the NEW Constitution to unite the states with one federal government. Together we will now look at pertinent excerpts from the Library of Congress compilation of the first 46 of 85 Federalist Papers with attention toward their implications for today’s society in the United States of America.

We need to ask ourselves if this quotation from John Jay in Federalist Number 3 still applies today:

“IT IS not a new observation that the people of any country (if, like the Americans, intelligent and wellinformed) seldom adopt and steadily persevere for many years in an erroneous opinion respecting their interests.”

Is the American public still intelligent and well-informed? If you actually read all the way through this, then you are definitely part of the solution and not part of the problem.

These heartfelt essays were written by James Madison, Architect of the U.S. Constitution and 4th President of the United States along with Alexander Hamilton, 1st Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Frankly, reading the complete text of each and every one of the Federalist Papers is no easy task. There are a few important words which they frequently utilize which are not so much in common usage today, such as:

Chimerical

Hoped for but illusory or impossible to achieve

Moment

Importance, consequence

There is also the undeniable fact that they tended to use very lengthy compound sentences separated by commas and semicolons. Even an erudite person or scholar of today has to take time to fully absorb the complete thoughts which they express.

There is no doubt that many in the last 233 years have provided more expert analyses than what you will read here, but I humbly hope that this is of some value to you in seeing what lessons we can learn today from those who set America free and put us on the right course which it is up to us to maintain.

America had just cast off the British Monarchy and was at a stage where it must sink or swim. After the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were inadequate to the needs of the new nation. Therefore, a wholly new Constitution and new form of government was needed.

CONSIDERATIONS

I’m beginning to realize that our Founders understood and intended all along that living in one state would and should be very different from living in another state, as important decisions about the quality of life are best made locally rather than nationally. They were also students of history who well understood both the ancient world and their contemporaries. They took great pains to consider human nature and how it would affect the new Constitution and new government which they both designed and advocated.

They fully comprehended that no one is capable of anticipating every possible contingency and that decisions must be made based upon the best information available at any given time. They often referred to their own era as modern times as people in every period of history will quite naturally do. They were concerned not only with how our new nation would survive in a hostile world but also with how we could maintain internal cohesion amongst ourselves.

They carefully considered their future relations both with the nations of Europe and beyond as well as with the indigenous people of this continent. A full consideration of the relationship between the United States of America and the original owners and inhabitants of this land from time immemorial is well beyond the scope of this article. You will however see a few references to commerce with American Indian nations.

Our purpose here is not just the immediate context and milieu of late 18th century America. The first 13 states were along the eastern seaboard with frontiers on their north, west and south. They were dealing not only with Native Americans, but also with European powers, primarily Britain, France and Spain, still colonizing territories, many of which eventually joined the Union as new States.

Our focus here rather will be those many underlying eternal concepts of good governance and national survival which still very much apply in the United States in the 21st century. I don’t think I fully understood the concept of the name United States of America until going back and seeing how individual sovereign states chose to unite and to share a common destiny. The options were 13 independent nations or to form perhaps 3 or 4 confederacies of states. No doubt these Federalist Papers were very instrumental in the people of the new American republic making a wise decision to form one nation, under God.

In total respect and deference to Madison, Hamilton and Jay, let’s now concentrate our attention and our sensibilities upon the lessons they provided us which will be wasted unless we understand and apply them.

FEDERALIST NUMBER 1

“For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 2

“I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: ‘FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.'”

John Jay

[Comment: Uppercase in every excerpt is per the original.]

FEDERALIST NUMBER 3

“The Union tends most to preserve the people in a state of peace with other nations.”

John Jay

FEDERALIST NUMBER 4

“In the trade to China and India, we interfere with more than one nation, inasmuch as it enables us to partake in advantages which they had in a manner monopolized, and as we thereby supply ourselves with commodities which we used to purchase from them.”

John Jay

[Comment: It is quite noteworthy that trade and international relations with China and India were understood as important even before the foundation of these United States of America.]

FEDERALIST NUMBER 5

“It was remarked in the preceding paper, that weakness and divisions at home would invite dangers from abroad; and that nothing would tend more to secure us from them than union, strength, and good government within ourselves. This subject is copious and cannot easily be exhausted.”

John Jay

FEDERALIST NUMBER 6

“Is it not time to awake from the deceitful dream of a golden age, and to adopt as a practical maxim for the direction of our political conduct that we, as well as the other inhabitants of the globe, are yet remote from the happy empire of perfect wisdom and perfect virtue?”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 7

“States, like individuals, acquiesce with great reluctance in determinations to their disadvantage.”

“It is an observation, as true as it is trite, that there is nothing men differ so readily about as the payment of money.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 8

“The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 9

“A FIRM Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection.”

“The proposed Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of the State governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty, by allowing them a direct representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 10

“There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.”

“Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air….”

“As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.”

“No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.”

“It is in vain to say that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clashing interests, and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.”

“The inference to which we are brought is, that the CAUSES of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its EFFECTS.”

“The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens, and greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended.”

[Comment: Federalist Number 10 is particularly important for historical reference as in this delineation of the difference between a democracy and a republic, of which the United States is the latter.]

“It clearly appears, that the same advantage which a republic has over a democracy, in controlling the effects of faction, is enjoyed by a large over a small republic,–is enjoyed by the Union over the States composing it.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 11

“The rights of neutrality will only be respected when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.”

“A unity of commercial, as well as political, interests, can only result from a unity of government.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 12

“It is evident from the state of the country, from the habits of the people, from the experience we have had on the point itself, that it is impracticable to raise any very considerable sums by direct taxation.”

“Far the greatest part of the national revenue is derived from taxes of the indirect kind, from imposts, and from excises. Duties on imported articles form a large branch of this latter description.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 13

“The entire separation of the States into thirteen unconnected sovereignties is a project too extravagant and too replete with danger to have many advocates. The ideas of men who speculate upon the dismemberment of the empire seem generally turned toward three confederacies–one consisting of the four Northern, another of the four Middle, and a third of the five Southern States.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 14

“In a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents.”

“Under the confusion of names, it has been an easy task to transfer to a republic observations applicable to a democracy only; and among others, the observation that it can never be established but among a small number of people, living within a small compass of territory.”

“It is to be remembered that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects….”

“Hearken not to the unnatural voice which tells you that the people of America, knit together as they are by so many cords of affection, can no longer live together as members of the same family; can no longer continue the mutual guardians of their mutual happiness; can no longer be fellowcitizens of one great, respectable, and flourishing empire.”

“Hearken not to the voice which petulantly tells you that the form of government recommended for your adoption is a novelty in the political world; that it has never yet had a place in the theories of the wildest projectors; that it rashly attempts what it is impossible to accomplish.”

“Is it not the glory of the people of America, that, whilst they have paid a decent regard to the opinions of former times and other nations, they have not suffered a blind veneration for antiquity, for custom, or for names, to overrule the suggestions of their own good sense, the knowledge of their own situation, and the lessons of their own experience?”

“Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society. They reared the fabrics of governments which have no model on the face of the globe.”

[Comment: If you take time to read only two of The Federalist Papers, I highly recommend Number 10 and Number 14 which both address the philosophy of the U.S. Constitution.]

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 15

“We have neither troops, nor treasury, nor government.”

“We may indeed with propriety be said to have reached almost the last stage of national humiliation.”

“Something is necessary to be done to rescue us from impending anarchy.”

“How little dependence is to be placed on treaties which have no other sanction than the obligations of good faith….”

“We must extend the authority of the Union to the persons of the citizens, –the only proper objects of government.”

“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 NUMBER 16

“When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.”

“The result of these observations to an intelligent mind must be clearly this, that if it be possible at any rate to construct a federal government capable of regulating the common concerns and preserving the general tranquillity, it must be founded, as to the objects committed to its care, upon the reverse of the principle contended for by the opponents of the proposed Constitution. It must carry its agency to the persons of the citizens.”

[Comment: To paraphrase the one most consistent theme in The Federalist Papers, the people are the only legitimate source of power for any government.]

“No form of government can always either avoid or control them. It is in vain to hope to guard against events too mighty for human foresight or precaution, and it would be idle to object to a government because it could not perform impossibilities.”

[Comment: We are consistently reminded that we must not sacrifice that which is best just because we cannot attain that which is perfect. We must do that which is possible. We can neither foresee every eventuality nor can we achieve the impossible.]

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 17

“The administration of private justice between the citizens of the same State, the supervision of agriculture and of other concerns of a similar nature, all those things, in short, which are proper to be provided for by local legislation, can never be desirable cares of a general jurisdiction.”

“It will always be far more easy for the State governments to encroach upon the national authorities than for the national government to encroach upon the State authorities.”

“There is an inherent and intrinsic weakness in all federal constitutions; and that too much pains cannot be taken in their organization, to give them all the force which is compatible with the principles of liberty.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 18

“Judgment went in favor of the most powerful party.”

“As a weak government, when not at war, is ever agitated by internal dissentions, so these never fail to bring on fresh calamities from abroad.”

“A victorious and powerful ally is but another name for a master.”

“The tendency of federal bodies rather to anarchy among the members, than to tyranny in the head.”

Alexander Hamilton
& James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 19

“The force of imperial sovereignty was insufficient to restrain such powerful dependants; or to preserve the unity and tranquillity of the empire.”

“Whatever efficacy the union may have had in ordinary cases, it appears that the moment a cause of difference sprang up, capable of trying its strength, it failed.”

Alexander Hamilton
& James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 20

“A weak constitution must necessarily terminate in dissolution, for want of proper powers, or the usurpation of powers requisite for the public safety.”

“Tyranny has perhaps oftener grown out of the assumptions of power, called for, on pressing exigencies, by a defective constitution, than out of the full exercise of the largest constitutional authorities.”

“Let us pause, my fellow-citizens, for one moment, over this melancholy and monitory lesson of history; and with the tear that drops for the calamities brought on mankind by their adverse opinions and selfish passions, let our gratitude mingle an ejaculation [a sudden short emotional utterance] to Heaven, for the propitious concord which has distinguished the consultations for our political happiness.”

“Experience is the oracle of truth; and where its responses are unequivocal, they ought to be conclusive and sacred.”

Alexander Hamilton
& James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 21

“HAVING in the three last numbers taken a summary review of the principal circumstances and events which have depicted the genius and fate of other confederate governments, I shall now proceed in the enumeration of the most important of those defects which have hitherto disappointed our hopes from the system established among ourselves.”

“The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions, either by pecuniary mulcts, by a suspension or divestiture of privileges, or by any other constitutional mode.”

“Who can predict what effect a despotism, established in Massachusetts, would have upon the liberties of New Hampshire or Rhode Island, of Connecticut or New York?”

“The inordinate pride of State importance has suggested to some minds an objection to the principle of a guaranty in the federal government, as involving an officious interference in the domestic concerns of the members.”

“Where the whole power of the government is in the hands of the people, there is the less pretense for the use of violent remedies in partial or occasional distempers of the State.”

“The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men.”

“The wealth of nations depends upon an infinite variety of causes.”

“It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess.”

“In political arithmetic, two and two do not always make four….”

“Impositions of this kind usually fall under the denomination of indirect taxes, and must for a long time constitute the chief part of the revenue raised in this country.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 22

“The power of raising armies, by the most obvious construction of the articles of the Confederation, is merely a power of making requisitions upon the States for quotas of men.”

“This method of raising troops is not more unfriendly to economy and vigor than it is to an equal distribution of the burden.”

“The system of quotas and requisitions, whether it be applied to men or money, is, in every view, a system of imbecility in the Union, and of inequality and injustice among the members.”

“The fundamental maxim of republican government, which requires that the sense of the majority should prevail.”

“There is a probability of an increase in the number of States, and no provision for a proportional augmentation of the ratio of votes.”

“One of the weak sides of republics, among their numerous advantages, is that they afford too easy an inlet to foreign corruption.”

“The treaties of the United States, to have any force at all, must be considered as part of the law of the land. Their true import, as far as respects individuals, must, like all other laws, be ascertained by judicial determinations.”

“Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation.”

“There are endless diversities in the opinions of men.”

“The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE.”

“The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 23

“The principal purposes to be answered by union are these the common defense of the members; the preservation of the public peace as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries.”

“This inquiry will naturally divide itself into three branches the objects to be provided for by the federal government, the quantity of power necessary to the accomplishment of those objects, the persons upon whom that power ought to operate.”

“The circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite, and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed.”

“There can be no limitation of that authority which is to provide for the defense and protection of the community.”

“If we are in earnest about giving the Union energy and duration, we must abandon the vain project of legislating upon the States in their collective capacities; we must extend the laws of the federal government to the individual citizens of America; we must discard the fallacious scheme of quotas and requisitions, as equally impracticable and unjust.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 24

“The whole power of raising armies was lodged in the LEGISLATURE, not in the EXECUTIVE; that this legislature was to be a popular body, consisting of the representatives of the people periodically elected.”

“From a close examination it will appear that restraints upon the discretion of the legislature in respect to military establishments in time of peace, would be improper to be imposed, and if imposed, from the necessities of society, would be unlikely to be observed.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 25

“State governments will too naturally be prone to a rivalship with that of the Union, the foundation of which will be the love of power; and that in any contest between the federal head and one of its members the people will be most apt to unite with their local government.”

“For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion.”

“Who shall judge of the continuance of the danger?”

“How easy would it be to fabricate pretenses of approaching danger!”

“How little the rights of a feeble government are likely to be respected, even by its own constituents.”

“The truth already advanced and illustrated by domestic examples; which is, that nations pay little regard to rules and maxims calculated in their very nature to run counter to the necessities of society.”

“Wise politicians will be cautious about fettering the government with restrictions that cannot be observed, because they know that every breach of the fundamental laws, though dictated by necessity, impairs that sacred reverence which ought to be maintained in the breast of rulers towards the constitution of a country, and forms a precedent for other breaches where the same plea of necessity does not exist at all, or is less urgent and palpable.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 26

“IT WAS a thing hardly to be expected that in a popular revolution the minds of men should stop at that happy mean which marks the salutary boundary between POWER and PRIVILEGE, and combines the energy of government with the security of private rights.”

“The idea of restraining the legislative authority, in the means of providing for the national defense, is one of those refinements which owe their origin to a zeal for liberty more ardent than enlightened.”

“Confidence must be placed somewhere; that the necessity of doing it, is implied in the very act of delegating power; and that it is better to hazard the abuse of that confidence than to embarrass the government and endanger the public safety by impolitic restrictions on the legislative authority.”

[Comment: Have you noticed yet the emphasis being put upon the power of the legislature and the silence thus far about the role of the president?]

“The citizens of America have too much discernment to be argued into anarchy.”

“A power equal to every possible contingency must exist somewhere in the government.”

“What then (it may be asked) is the use of such a provision, if it cease to operate the moment there is an inclination to disregard it?”

“The legislature of the United States will be OBLIGED, by this provision, once at least in every two years, to deliberate upon the propriety of keeping a military force on foot; to come to a new resolution on the point; and to declare their sense of the matter, by a formal vote in the face of their constituents.”

“They are not AT LIBERTY to vest in the executive department permanent funds for the support of an army, if they were even incautious enough to be willing to repose in it so improper a confidence.”

“Is it presumable, that every man, the instant he took his seat in the national Senate or House of Representatives, would commence a traitor to his constituents and to his country? Can it be supposed that there would not be found one man, discerning enough to detect so atrocious a conspiracy, or bold or honest enough to apprise his constituents of their danger?”

“It is impossible that the people could be long deceived….”

“Few persons will be so visionary as seriously to contend that military forces ought not to be raised to quell a rebellion or resist an invasion; and if the defense of the community under such circumstances should make it necessary to have an army so numerous as to hazard its liberty, this is one of those calamaties for which there is neither preventative nor cure.”

“The militia, which ought always to be counted upon as a valuable and powerful auxiliary….”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 27

“Unless we presume at the same time that the powers of the general government will be worse administered than those of the State government, there seems to be no room for the presumption of ill-will, disaffection, or opposition in the people.”

“They will be less apt to be tainted by the spirit of faction, and more out of the reach of those occasional ill-humors, or temporary prejudices and propensities.”

“I believe it may be laid down as a general rule that their confidence in and obedience to a government will commonly be proportioned to the goodness or badness of its administration.”

“Intrinsic merits or demerits of a constitution. These can only be judged of by general principles and maxims.”

“The edifice which we are invited to erect….”

“The hope of impunity is a strong incitement to sedition; the dread of punishment, a proportionably strong discouragement to it.”

“A turbulent faction in a State may easily suppose itself able to contend with the friends to the government in that State; but it can hardly be so infatuated as to imagine itself a match for the combined efforts of the Union.”

“The more the operations of the national authority are intermingled in the ordinary exercise of government, the more the citizens are accustomed to meet with it in the common occurrences of their political life, the more it is familiarized to their sight and to their feelings.”

“Man is very much a creature of habit. A thing that rarely strikes his senses will generally have but little influence upon his mind. A government continually at a distance and out of sight can hardly be expected to interest the sensations of the people.”

“The plan reported by the convention, by extending the authority of the federal head to the individual citizens of the several States, will enable the government to employ the ordinary magistracy of each, in the execution of its laws.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 28

“THAT there may happen cases in which the national government may be necessitated to resort to force, cannot be denied.”

“Emergencies of this sort will sometimes arise in all societies, however constituted; that seditions and insurrections are, unhappily, maladies as inseparable from the body politic as tumors and eruptions from the natural body.”

“Should such emergencies at any time happen under the national government, there could be no remedy but force. The means to be employed must be proportioned to the extent of the mischief.”

“An insurrection, whatever may be its immediate cause, eventually endangers all government.”

“If, on the contrary, the insurrection should pervade a whole State, or a principal part of it, the employment of a different kind of force might become unavoidable.”

“There might sometimes be a necessity to make use of a force constituted differently from the militia, to preserve the peace of the community and to maintain the just authority of the laws against those violent invasions of them which amount to insurrections and rebellions.”

“If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense.”

“The whole power of the proposed government is to be in the hands of the representatives of the people.”

“The smaller the extent of the territory, the more difficult will it be for the people to form a regular or systematic plan of opposition, and the more easy will it be to defeat their early efforts.”

“Power being almost always the rival of power, the general government will at all times stand ready to check the usurpations of the state governments, and these will have the same disposition towards the general government.”

“The people, by throwing themselves into either scale, will infallibly make it preponderate. If their rights are invaded by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress.”

“The obstacles to usurpation and the facilities of resistance increase with the increased extent of the state, provided the citizens understand their rights and are disposed to defend them.”

“How wise will it be in them by cherishing the union to preserve to themselves an advantage which can never be too highly prized!”

“It may safely be received as an axiom in our political system, that the State governments will, in all possible contingencies, afford complete security against invasions of the public liberty by the national authority.”

Alexander Hamilton

TAKE A BREAK AND READ THIS

https://www.britannica.com/event/Burr-Hamilton-duel

As I have been reading The Federalist Papers, realizing how eloquent & perceptive about the new Constitution & new federal government Alexander Hamilton was, I can’t help but wonder how he allowed himself to get drawn into this duel with Aaron Burr.

FEDERALIST NUMBER 29

“This desirable uniformity can only be accomplished by confiding the regulation of the militia to the direction of the national authority.”

“If a well-regulated militia be the most natural defense of a free country, it ought certainly to be under the regulation and at the disposal of that body which is constituted the guardian of the national security.”

“What reason could there be to infer, that force was intended to be the sole instrument of authority, merely because there is a power to make use of it when necessary?”

“If circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens.”

“Where in the name of common-sense, are our fears to end if we may not trust our sons, our brothers, our neighbors, our fellow-citizens?”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 30

“The conclusion is, that there must be interwoven, in the frame of the government, a general power of taxation, in one shape or another.”

“Money is, with propriety, considered as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion, and enables it to perform its most essential functions.”

“Maxim of good sense and sound policy, which dictates that every POWER ought to be in proportion to its OBJECT….”

“IN THE USUAL PROGRESS OF THINGS, THE NECESSITIES OF A NATION, IN EVERY STAGE OF ITS EXISTENCE, WILL BE FOUND AT LEAST EQUAL TO ITS RESOURCES.”

“But who would lend to a government that prefaced its overtures for borrowing by an act which demonstrated that no reliance could be placed on the steadiness of its measures for paying?”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 31

“IN DISQUISITIONS of every kind, there are certain primary truths, or first principles, upon which all subsequent reasonings must depend.”

“Maxims in geometry, that ‘the whole is greater than its part; things equal to the same are equal to one another; two straight lines cannot enclose a space; and all right angles are equal to each other.'”

“Of the same nature are these other maxims in ethics and politics, that there cannot be an effect without a cause; that the means ought to be proportioned to the end; that every power ought to be commensurate with its object; that there ought to be no limitation of a power destined to effect a purpose which is itself incapable of limitation.”

“The objects of geometrical inquiry are so entirely abstracted from those pursuits which stir up and put in motion the unruly passions of the human heart, that mankind, without difficulty, adopt not only the more simple theorems of the science, but even those abstruse paradoxes which, however they may appear susceptible of demonstration, are at variance with the natural conceptions which the mind, without the aid of philosophy, would be led to entertain upon the subject.”

“The INFINITE DIVISIBILITY of matter, or, in other words, the INFINITE divisibility of a FINITE thing, extending even to the minutest atom, is a point agreed among geometricians….”

[Comment: Rather interesting to hear a discussion of the divisibility of the atom written in 1788.]

“But in the sciences of morals and politics, men are found far less tractable. To a certain degree, it is right and useful that this should be the case. Caution and investigation are a necessary armor against error and imposition. But this untractableness may be carried too far, and may degenerate into obstinacy, perverseness, or disingenuity.”

“A government ought to contain in itself every power requisite to the full accomplishment of the objects committed to its care, and to the complete execution of the trusts for which it is responsible, free from every other control but a regard to the public good and to the sense of the people.”

“The moment we launch into conjectures about the usurpations of the federal government, we get into an unfathomable abyss, and fairly put ourselves out of the reach of all reasoning.”

“All observations founded upon the danger of usurpation ought to be referred to the composition and structure of the government, not to the nature or extent of its powers.”

“It should not be forgotten that a disposition in the State governments to encroach upon the rights of the Union is quite as probable as a disposition in the Union to encroach upon the rights of the State governments.”

“Strength is always on the side of the people….”

“Confine our attention wholly to the nature and extent of the powers as they are delineated in the Constitution. Every thing beyond this must be left to the prudence and firmness of the people; who, as they will hold the scales in their own hands, it is to be hoped, will always take care to preserve the constitutional equilibrium between the general and the State governments.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 32

“I am willing here to allow, in its full extent, the justness of the reasoning which requires that the individual States should possess an independent and uncontrollable authority to raise their own revenues for the supply of their own wants.”

“An attempt on the part of the national government to abridge them in the exercise of it, would be a violent assumption of power, unwarranted by any article or clause of its Constitution.”

“An entire consolidation of the States into one complete national sovereignty would imply an entire subordination of the parts; and whatever powers might remain in them, would be altogether dependent on the general will.”

“But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, EXCLUSIVELY delegated to the United States.”

“Congress shall have power ‘to establish an UNIFORM RULE of naturalization throughout the United States.'”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 33

“The last clause of the eighth section of the first article of the plan under consideration authorizes the national legislature ‘to make all laws which shall be NECESSARY and PROPER for carrying into execution THE POWERS by that Constitution vested in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.'”

“The second clause of the sixth article declares, ‘that the Constitution and the laws of the United States made IN PURSUANCE THEREOF, and the treaties made by their authority shall be the SUPREME LAW of the land, any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.'”

“These two clauses have been the source of much virulent invective and petulant declamation against the proposed Constitution. They have been held up to the people in all the exaggerated colors of misrepresentation as the pernicious engines by which their local governments were to be destroyed and their liberties exterminated.”

“What is a power, but the ability or faculty of doing a thing? What is the ability to do a thing, but the power of employing the MEANS necessary to its execution? What is a LEGISLATIVE power, but a power of making LAWS? What are the MEANS to execute a LEGISLATIVE power but LAWS? What is the power of laying and collecting taxes, but a LEGISLATIVE POWER, or a power of MAKING LAWS, to lay and collect taxes? What are the propermeans of executing such a power, but NECESSARY and PROPER laws?”

“But it may be again asked, Who is to judge of the NECESSITY and PROPRIETY of the laws to be passed for executing the powers of the Union?”

“The national government, like every other, must judge, in the first instance, of the proper exercise of its powers, and its constituents in the last.”

“If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.”

“But it is said that the laws of the Union are to be the SUPREME LAW of the land. But what inference can be drawn from this, or what would they amount to, if they were not to be supreme? It is evident they would amount to nothing.”

“A LAW, by the very meaning of the term, includes supremacy. It is a rule which those to whom it is prescribed are bound to observe.”

“If individuals enter into a state of society, the laws of that society must be the supreme regulator of their conduct.”

“It would otherwise be a mere treaty, dependent on the good faith of the parties, and not a goverment, which is only another word for POLITICAL POWER AND SUPREMACY.”

“It EXPRESSLY confines this supremacy to laws made PURSUANT TO THE CONSTITUTION.”

“The inference from the whole is, that the individual States would, under the proposed Constitution, retain an independent and uncontrollable authority to raise revenue to any extent of which they may stand in need, by every kind of taxation, except duties on imports and exports.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 34

“The particular States, under the proposed Constitution, would have COEQUAL authority with the Union in the article of revenue, except as to duties on imports.”

“To argue upon abstract principles that this co-ordinate authority cannot exist, is to set up supposition and theory against fact and reality.”

“Constitutions of civil government are not to be framed upon a calculation of existing exigencies, but upon a combination of these with the probable exigencies of ages, according to the natural and tried course of human affairs.”

“Nothing, therefore, can be more fallacious than to infer the extent of any power, proper to be lodged in the national government, from an estimate of its immediate necessities.”

“The support of a navy and of naval wars would involve contingencies that must baffle all the efforts of political arithmetic.”

“Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others.”

“To judge from the history of mankind, we shall be compelled to conclude that the fiery and destructive passions of war reign in the human breast with much more powerful sway than the mild and beneficent sentiments of peace; and that to model our political systems upon speculations of lasting tranquillity, is to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character.”

“In framing a government for posterity as well as ourselves, we ought, in those provisions which are designed to be permanent, to calculate, not on temporary, but on permanent causes of expense.”

“The convention thought the concurrent jurisdiction preferable to that subordination; and it is evident that it has at least the merit of reconciling an indefinite constitutional power of taxation in the Federal government with an adequate and independent power in the States to provide for their own necessities.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 35

“Exorbitant duties on imported articles would beget a general spirit of smuggling; which is always prejudicial to the fair trader, and eventually to the revenue itself.”

“No tax can be laid on land which will not affect the proprietor of millions of acres as well as the proprietor of a single acre.”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 36

“The taxes intended to be comprised under the general denomination of internal taxes may be subdivided into those of the DIRECT and those of the INDIRECT kind.”

“All duties, imposts, and excises shall be UNIFORM throughout the United States.”

“Happy it is when the interest which the government has in the preservation of its own power, coincides with a proper distribution of the public burdens, and tends to guard the least wealthy part of the community from oppression!”

Alexander Hamilton

FEDERALIST NUMBER 37

“But as the ultimate object of these papers is to determine clearly and fully the merits of this Constitution, and the expediency of adopting it, our plan cannot be complete without taking a more critical and thorough survey of the work of the convention, without examining it on all its sides, comparing it in all its parts, and calculating its probable effects.”

“The propriety of reflecting, that a faultless plan was not to be expected.”

“Allowances for the errors which may be chargeable on the fallibility to which the convention, as a body of men, were liable; but will keep in mind, that they themselves also are but men, and ought not to assume an infallibility in rejudging the fallible opinions of others.”

“The most that the convention could do in such a situation, was to avoid the errors suggested by the past experience of other countries, as well as of our own; and to provide a convenient mode of rectifying their own errors, as future experiences may unfold them.”

“Combining the requisite stability and energy in government, with the inviolable attention due to liberty and to the republican form.”

“Stability in government is essential to national character and to the advantages annexed to it, as well as to that repose and confidence in the minds of the people, which are among the chief blessings of civil society.”

“The genius of republican liberty seems to demand on one side, not only that all power should be derived from the people, but that those intrusted with it should be kept in independence on the people, by a short duration of their appointments; and that even during this short period the trust should be placed not in a few, but a number of hands.”

“Stability, on the contrary, requires that the hands in which power is lodged should continue for a length of time the same.”

“Energy in government requires not only a certain duration of power, but the execution of it by a single hand.”

“The faculties of the mind itself have never yet been distinguished and defined, with satisfactory precision, by all the efforts of the most acute and metaphysical philosophers.”

[Comments: If we had this kind of introspection and humility amongst today’s leaders, America would be in much better condition than it is.]

“Experience has instructed us that no skill in the science of government has yet been able to discriminate and define, with sufficient certainty, its three great provinces the legislative, executive, and judiciary; or even the privileges and powers of the different legislative branches.”

[Comment: 233 years after these words were written, America is still very much a work in progress.]

“The use of words is to express ideas.”

“When the Almighty himself condescends to address mankind in their own language, his meaning, luminous as it must be, is rendered dim and doubtful by the cloudy medium through which it is communicated.”

“The real wonder is that so many difficulties should have been surmounted, and surmounted with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been unexpected.”

“It is impossible for any man of candor to reflect on this circumstance without partaking of the astonishment. It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.”

[Comment: This recognition and reliance upon the Almighty is sorely lacking today.]

“A deep conviction of the necessity of sacrificing private opinions and partial interests to the public good.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 38

“IT IS not a little remarkable that in every case reported by ancient history, in which government has been established with deliberation and consent, the task of framing it has not been committed to an assembly of men, but has been performed by some individual citizen of preeminent wisdom and approved integrity.”

“They all turned their eyes towards the single efforts of that celebrated patriot and sage, instead of seeking to bring about a revolution by the intervention of a deliberative body of citizens.”

“Fears of discord and disunion among a number of counsellors exceeded the apprehension of treachery or incapacity in a single individual.”

“If these lessons teach us, on one hand, to admire the improvement made by America on the ancient mode of preparing and establishing regular plans of government, they serve not less, on the other, to admonish us of the hazards and difficulties incident to such experiments, and of the great imprudence of unnecessarily multiplying them.”

“It is a matter both of wonder and regret, that those who raise so many objections against the new Constitution should never call to mind the defects of that which is to be exchanged for it. It is not necessary that the former should be perfect; it is sufficient that the latter is more imperfect.”

“Congress, a single body of men, are the sole depositary of all the federal powers.”

“Danger resulting from a government which does not possess regular powers commensurate to its objects.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 39

“THE last paper having concluded the observations which were meant to introduce a candid survey of the plan of government reported by the convention, we now proceed to the execution of that part of our undertaking.”

“Whether the general form and aspect of the government be strictly republican. It is evident that no other form would be reconcilable with the genius of the people of America; with the fundamental principles of the Revolution; or with that honorable determination which animates every votary of freedom, to rest all our political experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.”

“The government of England, which has one republican branch only, combined with an hereditary aristocracy and monarchy, has, with equal impropriety, been frequently placed on the list of republics.”

“If we resort for a criterion to the different principles on which different forms of government are established, we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior.”

“The President of the United States is impeachable at any time during his continuance in office.”

“The Union as a CONFEDERACY of sovereign states; instead of which, they have framed a NATIONAL government, which regards the Union as a CONSOLIDATION of the States.”

“The tenure by which the judges are to hold their places, is, as it unquestionably ought to be, that of good behavior.”

“Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a NATIONAL constitution.”

“The difference between a federal and national government, as it relates to the OPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT, is supposed to consist in this, that in the former the powers operate on the political bodies composing the Confederacy, in their political capacities; in the latter, on the individual citizens composing the nation, in their individual capacities.”

“Among a people consolidated into one nation, this supremacy is completely vested in the national legislature.”

“The proposed Constitution, therefore, is, in strictness, neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 40

“1st, that the object of the convention was to establish, in these States, A FIRM NATIONAL GOVERNMENT; 2d, that this government was to be such as would be ADEQUATE TO THE EXIGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT and THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNION….”

“They were to frame a NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, adequate to the EXIGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT, and OF THE UNION….”

“Where the several parts cannot be made to coincide, the less important should give way to the more important part; the means should be sacrificed to the end, rather than the end to the means.”

“In the establishment of the Constitution, the States should be regarded as distinct and independent sovereigns? They are so regarded by the Constitution proposed.”

“Instead of reporting a plan requiring the confirmation OF THE LEGISLATURES OF ALL THE STATES, they have reported a plan which is to be confirmed by the PEOPLE, and may be carried into effect by NINE STATES ONLY.”

“The prudent inquiry, in all cases, ought surely to be, not so much FROM WHOM the advice comes, as whether the advice be GOOD.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 41

“THE Constitution proposed by the convention may be considered under two general points of view. The FIRST relates to the sum or quantity of power which it vests in the government, including the restraints imposed on the States. The SECOND, to the particular structure of the government, and the distribution of this power among its several branches.”

“The choice must always be made, if not of the lesser evil, at least of the GREATER, not the PERFECT, good.”

“In every political institution, a power to advance the public happiness involves a discretion which may be misapplied and abused.”

“Security against foreign danger is one of the primitive objects of civil society. It is an avowed and essential object of the American Union.”

“With what color of propriety could the force necessary for defense be limited by those who cannot limit the force of offense?”

“If a federal Constitution could chain the ambition or set bounds to the exertions of all other nations, then indeed might it prudently chain the discretion of its own government, and set bounds to the exertions for its own safety.”

“How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments of every hostile nation?”

“The means of security can only be regulated by the means and the danger of attack.”

“It is in vain to oppose constitutional barriers to the impulse of self-preservation.”

“If one nation maintains constantly a disciplined army, ready for the service of ambition or revenge, it obliges the most pacific nations who may be within the reach of its enterprises to take corresponding precautions.”

“The liberties of Rome proved the final victim to her military triumphs; and that the liberties of Europe, as far as they ever existed, have, with few exceptions, been the price of her military establishments.”

“A standing force, therefore, is a dangerous, at the same time that it may be a necessary, provision.”

“The proposed Constitution. The Union itself, which it cements and secures, destroys every pretext for a military establishment which could be dangerous.”

“America united, with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.”

“A dangerous establishment can never be necessary or plausible, so long as they continue a united people.”

“The moment of its dissolution will be the date of a new order of things.”

“The fortunes of disunited America will be even more disastrous than those of Europe.”

“A bad cause seldom fails to betray itself.”

“It must, indeed, be numbered among the greatest blessings of America, that as her Union will be the only source of her maritime strength, so this will be a principal source of her security against danger from abroad.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 42

“If we are to be one nation in any respect, it clearly ought to be in respect to other nations.”

“To regulate commerce among the several States and the Indian tribes….”

“What description of Indians are to be deemed members of a State, is not yet settled, and has been a question of frequent perplexity and contention in the federal councils. And how the trade with Indians, though not members of a State, yet residing within its legislative jurisdiction, can be regulated by an external authority, without so far intruding on the internal rights of legislation, is absolutely incomprehensible.”

[Comment: This is a rather candid admission of the dilemma regarding how to respect the sovereignty of indigenous nations. However, the authors of The Federalist Papers repeatedly remind us that Treaties are the supreme law of the land.]

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 43

“To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States.”

“The extent of this federal district is sufficiently circumscribed to satisfy every jealousy of an opposite nature. And as it is to be appropriated to this use with the consent of the State ceding it….”

[Comment: Remember that the convention to frame the U.S. Constitution was held in Philadelphia and that Washington, DC was established as our national capital in 1790.]

“To declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attained.”

“As treason may be committed against the United States, the authority of the United States ought to be enabled to punish it.”

“Restraining the Congress, even in punishing it, from extending the consequences of guilt beyond the person of its author.”

“A right implies a remedy….”

“Theoretic reasoning, in this as in most other cases, must be qualified by the lessons of practice.”

“May it not happen, in fine, that the minority of CITIZENS may become a majority of PERSONS, by the accession of alien residents, of a casual concourse of adventurers, or of those whom the constitution of the State has not admitted to the rights of suffrage?”

“In cases where it may be doubtful on which side justice lies, what better umpires could be desired by two violent factions, flying to arms, and tearing a State to pieces, than the representatives of confederate States, not heated by the local flame?”

“It is a sufficient recommendation of the federal Constitution, that it diminishes the risk of a calamity for which no possible constitution can provide a cure.”

“The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States, ratifying the same. This article speaks for itself.”

“The express authority of the people alone could give due validity to the Constitution. To have required the unanimous ratification of the thirteen States, would have subjected the essential interests of the whole to the caprice or corruption of a single member.”

“The great principle of self-preservation; to the transcendent law of nature and of nature’s God, which declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 44

“The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils.”

“No axiom is more clearly established in law, or in reason, than that wherever the end is required, the means are authorized; wherever a general power to do a thing is given, every particular power necessary for doing it is included.”

“In the last resort a remedy must be obtained from the people who can, by the election of more faithful representatives, annul the acts of the usurpers.”

“This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 45

“The public good, the real welfare of the great body of the people, is the supreme object to be pursued.”

“No form of government whatever has any other value than as it may be fitted for the attainment of this object.”

James Madison

FEDERALIST NUMBER 46

“RESUMING the subject of the last paper, I proceed to inquire whether the federal government or the State governments will have the advantage with regard to the predilection and support of the people.”

“Notwithstanding the different modes in which they are appointed, we must consider both of them as substantially dependent on the great body of the citizens of the United States.”

“The federal and State governments are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers, and designed for different purposes.”

“The ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone, and that it will not depend merely on the comparative ambition or address of the different governments, whether either, or which of them, will be able to enlarge its sphere of jurisdiction at the expense of the other.”

“The first and most natural attachment of the people will be to the governments of their respective States.”

“If, therefore, as has been elsewhere remarked, the people should in future become more partial to the federal than to the State governments, the change can only result from such manifest and irresistible proofs of a better administration, as will overcome all their antecedent propensities.”

“It has been already proved that the members of the federal will be more dependent on the members of the State governments, than the latter will be on the former.”

“A local spirit will infallibly prevail much more in the members of Congress, than a national spirit will prevail in the legislatures of the particular States.”

“Measures will too often be decided according to their probable effect, not on the national prosperity and happiness, but on the prejudices, interests, and pursuits of the governments and people of the individual States.”

“The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”

“Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

“Let us not insult the free and gallant citizens of America with the suspicion, that they would be less able to defend the rights of which they would be in actual possession, than the debased subjects of arbitrary power would be to rescue theirs from the hands of their oppressors.”

James Madison

FORMAT AND INTENT

I hope that some of you will be inspired to read all of the Federalist Papers in their entirety, arduous endeavor though it may be. I have tried to provide a proper balance of excerpts which describe the nature of the U.S. Constitution from the perspective of those who created it. I have highlighted those that are particularly relevant to our current political environment in 2021. I added a few comments of my own rather sparingly.

The key is to realize the philosophy of our form of government and not just the logistical challenges inherent in implementing it. Our Founders gave us a Republic and challenged us, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, to keep it. The presumption was the continuance of an intelligent and well-informed American public.

As I continue reading the remaining 39 Federalist Papers, it will be with the commitment of providing Part 2 of this contrite effort to contribute to the national discourse in a substantive manner.

Politics as usual will only perpetuate and aggravate the problem. We absolutely must start reflecting upon essential issues if these American States are indeed to remain United as our Founders invested their lives to ensure. As Patriots, we must do no less today.

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‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us

Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.

For the last few months, NOQ Report has appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.

It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. One of our YouTube accounts was banned and another has been suspended. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.

The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancelation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.

The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects. These questions are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting cancelled.

There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $5300 per month in order to maintain operations.

The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.

During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.

We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.

As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.

Bitcoin: 32SeW2Ajn86g4dATWtWreABhEkiqxsKUGn

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American Conservative Movement

Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.

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