On March 19, 1649, England’s House of Commons passed an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring it “useless and dangerous to the people of England.”
This was during Oliver Cromwell’s rule as Lord Protector, after the execution of Charles I. The House of Lords did not again meet until the Convention Parliament of 1660, under the Restoration of the monarchy.
On March 18, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill enabling Hawaii to become the 50th state in the Union. The official day of statehood was set for (and became) August 21 of that year.
The statehood signing occurred exactly 85 years after The Kingdom of Hawaii formalized its treaty with the U. S. establishing exclusive trading rights.
“A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest while we are building ideal monuments of Renown and Bliss here we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.”
James Madison Letter to William Bradford (9 November 1772).
On March 17, 1780, General George Washington granted the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”
In adopting a republican form of government, I not only took it as a man does his wife, for better or for worse, but what a few men do with their wives, I took it knowing all of its bad qualities. Neither ingratitude, therefore, nor slander can disappoint expectation nor excite surprise. If, in arduous circumstances, the voice of my country should call for my services, and I have the well founded belief, that they can be useful, they shall certainly be rendered; but I hope that no such circumstances will arise and in the mean time, ‘pleas’d let me trifle away.
Gouverneur Morris to John Dickinson (May 23, 1803).
[A]ll power is originally vested in, and consequently derived from, the people. That government is instituted and ought to be exercised for the benefit of the people; which consists in the enjoyment of life and liberty and the right of acquiring property, and generally of pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. That the people have an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform or change their government whenever it be found adverse or inadequate to the purpose of its institution.
James Madison served as fourth President of the United States.
On March 16, 1995, the state of Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state of the Union to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment had been officially ratified in 1865, one hundred thirty years earlier.
James Madison, fourth President of the United States and “Father of the Constitution,” was born on this date in 1751.
At Townhall, the question this weekend is whether racism might be less of a factor than we think in today’s re-emerging racial divide. Your Common Sense column is greatly expanded — hugely! — from a Common Sense last week — worth reading, and debating. I hope.
Click on over, then come back here for more background. I ask more questions than I answer, but I do give the general form I think the best answer takes. There is a lot to consider. Here are some relevant links:
March 15 was “the Ides of March” in the Roman calendar, and in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by a handful of prominent senators on that date.
On the same date in 1783, General George Washington eloquently entreated his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. His plea was successful and the threatened coup d’état never took place.
When Democratic politicians complain about the Citizens United decision, what they are complaining about is their loss of the power to censor political thought and media in America. This is the movie that the FEC prohibited from being shown in America during the 2007–2008 presidential campaign.
Citizens United is a non-profit corporation, which made Hillary the Movie, a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton, then a candidate for president. The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC overturned the portion of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law that allowed the government, in this particular historical case, to stop a movie from being shown in America.
Imagine what Democrats would say (rightly) had the Federal government tried to prohibit Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911.
As a proponent of free speech and the press, you may even be, ahem, obligated to watch this artifact of our history — which is timely once again now that Mrs. Clinton is in the news, considering another run for the presidency.
The Citizens United website has links to the full decision and more.