"In 1776, few imagined or looked to
a future of central banks, massive national standing armies, or a federal
legal system that regulated the daily lives of Americans down to the most
minute details. In fact, had the typical Revolutionary War soldier been
told that such a future awaited his country, he would have likely gone
home immediately, as such a future would likely appear even worse to him
than staying subject to the British Crown’s benign
neglect."
July 4, 2015
Five Laws to Repeal on
Independence Day
Ryan McMaken
Unfortunately, Independence Day has become a day for many to celebrate
the United States government. The actual historical event behind the day,
however the adoption of the Declaration of Independence was an
illegal act of political defiance that led to secession and the overthrow
of an entire system of mercantilist government in North America.
Moreover, it is quite anachronistic to connect the modern unified
nation-state known as “the United States” to this event, nor does it make
sense to invoke anything having to do with the Constitution of
1787.
Indeed, as Jeffrey
Rogers Hummel has pointed out, the Constitution we now labor under
represents a counter-revolution against the Spirit of 1776. The Spirit of
1787, in contrast, was about taking what the Declaration of
Independence repeatedly refers to in the plural as “free and independent
states” and hammering them into one unified state.
Fortunately, the Federalists the now benighted and so-called “founding
fathers” partially failed and were beaten back by the anti-Federalists
who demanded a Bill of Rights the only laissez-faire portion of
the Constitution which temporarily crippled the centralizing efforts of
the Federalists.
But just as the Constitution itself is contrary to what is celebrated on
Independence Day, we can also look to several Acts of Congress since 1787
that have perhaps done some of the most damage in undoing what the
revolutionaries had intended.
The Judiciary Act of 1789
Unknown to many, the entire federal court system
outside the Supreme Court stems from this one law adopted during the
first session of Congress. At the time, there was fierce opposition from
many in the United States who recognized that a federal system of courts
would allow for the extension of federal law into the allegedly
independent states themselves. The act created the office of the Attorney
General and the appellate system of courts which today allows the Supreme
Court to exercise appellate jurisdiction over pretty much every aspect of
life inside the United States. Without these courts, the Supreme Court
would be limited to its few areas of original jurisdiction. Thus, without
the federal court system, there would be no courts through which to
regulate things such as drug prohibition, marriage, abortion, wages, and
the whole panoply of the modern federal regulatory state.
The Louisiana Purchase Treaty
Thomas Jefferson announced the signing of the
Louisiana Purchase Treaty on July 4, 1803. Jefferson considered the
Purchase to be a great victory for his un-ironically named
“
Empire of Liberty” scheme in which the United States would spread
“liberty” by force across North America.
The Louisiana Purchase would have far reaching effects on the entire
nature of the American confederation and on constitutional law. Direct
Congressional control over lands in the west had always been a dream of
nationalists and centralizers, and the Louisiana Purchase gave the US
government access to vast new resources beyond the control of any state.
Defense of these federal lands necessitated an expansion of a federal
military force, and required a much larger apparatus of federal law to
administer the lands.
Moreover, these new federal lands created the impression for many that
the states were created out of federal lands, instead of federal powers
being granted to the central government by states. The later claim by
anti-secessionists that the federal government created the states, and
not vice versa, owes much to the Louisiana Purchase, and to this day, the
federal government directly controls and owns over 50 percent of the land
in most Western states.
The Militia Act of 1903
Prior to the adoption of the Militia Act, the law
was ambiguous about how the federal government could seize control of
state militias for use in the federal government’s wars. Some states
resisted use of their troops in the invasion of Canada during the War of
1812, for example, and federal politicians faced the onerous task of
convincing state governments to offer up state militias for national
military service.
Political realities meant that state governments were often more than
happy to oblige of course, but there nevertheless remained the risk that
the states could offer real and meaningful resistance to unpopular wars
by withholding military support. Naturally, this was very inconvenient
for the federal government, so in the name of repelling foreign bogeymen
and enhancing “efficiency,” the armed forces of the United States were
unified, allowing presidents to seize control of state militias whenever
they liked. Today, the militias have been replaced by the adjuncts of the
federal military known as the “National Guard.”
The Revenue Act of 1913
In 1913, the US Constitution was amended to allow
Congress to levy personal income taxes. The amendment does not mandate an
income tax, however, so later that year, Congress passed enabling
legislation creating the income tax we know today. Since then, federal
budgets have ballooned, tax burdens have swelled, and it is now simply
accepted that the federal government should be able to examine every
aspect of your financial life to make sure you’re paying “what you owe.”
Financial privacy is now only a distant memory.
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913
While the United States had had central banks
before, the Federal Reserve, created in 1913, is by far the most enduring
and most powerful. Over the years, the Fed has become a behemoth that
does everything from regulating the financial system to monetizing the
debt to creating never-ending liquidity for its friends on Wall Street
who thanks to the Fed never have to face the consequences of their
bad investment decisions. In other words, the Fed is a mercantilist’s and
crony capitalist’s dream institution, allowing the wealthy and powerful
to constantly and silently extract wealth from the powerless many who
hold US dollars and are subject to the whims of the too-big-to-fail
financial system.
What Are We Celebrating?
In 1776, few imagined or looked to a future of
central banks, massive national standing armies, or a federal legal
system that regulated the daily lives of Americans down to the most
minute details. In fact, had the typical Revolutionary War soldier been
told that such a future awaited his country, he would have likely gone
home immediately, as such a future would likely appear even worse to him
than staying subject to the British Crown’s benign neglect.
Yet, in spite of all of this, nothing can change the fact that America’s
national holiday is founded on an act of treason and secession, and that
the Declaration of Independence was born out of a generation of smugglers
and “criminals” who refused to take orders from a far-more-powerful and
well-armed government. It’s a reality that may yet prove inconvenient for
our government and many others in the future.
https://mises.org/library/five-laws-repeal-independence-day
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- Five Laws to Repeal on Independence Day MJ
- Re: Five Laws to Repeal on Independence Day Brian Bednarek
