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200th Anniversary, Bill of Rights, Montpelier, Virginia, 12/16/91 [OA 8332] [3]
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200th Anniversary, Bill of Rights, Montpelier, Virginia, 12/16/91 [OA 8332] [3]
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200th Anniversary, Bill of Rights, Montpelier, Virginia, 12/16/91 [OA 8332] [3]
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1
4
1791
III
1991
200TH ANNIVERSARY
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
BACKGROUND
VIRGINIA'S ROLE IN THE FIGHT FOR OUR BILL OF RIGHTS
From 1775 to 1791, many great patriots worked long and hard to
establish the government of the United States of America-dedicated
statesmen from all of the original states worked to form a democratic republic.
But no state's influence surpassed Virginia's in developing and passing the
Constitution and the first 10 amendments which comprise the Bill of Rights.
In 1776, Virginia was the first state to protect fundamental liberties with
a written document-the Virginia Declaration of Rights. It became the model
used by other states which adopted similar bills of rights during and
immediately after the Revolutionary War and for the Bill of Rights added to the
U.S. Constitution in 1791.
Author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights was George Mason, who
as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, refused to sign the new
Constitution because it did not contain a bill of rights to protect individual
freedoms.
-more-
PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC.
KRAFT GENERAL FOODS MILLER BREWING COMPANY PHILIP MORRIS USA
120 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017
(212) 880-5000
Virginia's Role/Page 2
George Washington, leader of the Colonial forces during the
Revolutionary War, president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and first
president of the United States, urged Congress to pass a bill of rights in his first
inaugural address.
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, called for
a bill of rights while serving as U.S. ambassador to France.
But no national leader was more important in securing a bill of rights than
James Madison.
Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," drafted Washington's first
inaugural address calling for a bill of rights.
Madison, a member of the first House of Representatives, also wrote the
congressional response to Washington's address, agreeing that a bill of rights
should be added.
Madison distilled the numerous suggestions made by state
constitutional ratification conventions, strengthened the language, and
introduced the articles which ultimately were ratified by the states as the Bill of
Rights. Indeed, every provision in the Bill of Rights is based directly on
Madison's original draft.
After more than two years, on December 15, 1791-now known as "Bill
of Rights Day"-Virginia was the 11th and final state needed to ratify the Bill of
Rights-the first 10 amendments to our Constitution.
-30-
1791
III
1991
200TH ANNIVERSARY
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
BILL OF RIGHTS FACTS
1. New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. The state ratified
Articles 1 and 3-12 on November 20, 1789.
2. The adoption of the Bill of Rights required the ratification of 11 states. On
December 15, 1791, Virginia provided the margin of victory.
3. In a letter to his son, George Mason wrote that he "would sooner chop off
his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands," referring to the
lack of a "bill of rights" as a part of the Constitution.
4. The federal copy of the Bill of Rights was stored at the State Department
from 1814 until 1938, when it was transferred to the National Archives. The
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not housed in the
Archives until 1952.
5. Only five states ratified all twelve amendments of the Bill of Rights. They
were Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
6. Articles 1 and 2 failed to receive the necessary approval for ratification.
Article 1 would have required that there be at least one representative in
Congress for every 50,000 people in the United States. That would give
today's Congress about 5,000 members. Article 2 would have required that
no salary raise for members of the House of Representatives and the
Senate could take effect until after the next election for Congress.
-more-
PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC.
KRAFT GENERAL FOODS MILLER BREWING COMPANY PHILIP MORRIS USA
120 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017
(212) 880-5000
Bill of Rights Facts/Page 2
7. In August of 1814, while the United States was again at war with Great
Britain, Secretary of State James Monroe ordered an emergency removal of
the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as
British forces approached Washington. The documents and other records
were packed in linen bags and transported by wagon across the Potomac
River to Virginia, where they were hidden overnight in an old gristmill. The
next day, while the troops attacked the capital city, the Bill of Rights and
other documents were carried thirty-five miles west to Leesburg, Virginia,
and stored there for several weeks until after the British left Washington; the
papers were then returned to the city.
8. Three states-Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia-did not ratify the
Bill of Rights until the celebration of the sesquicentennial of the Constitution
in 1939.
9. During World War II, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
were stored at Ft. Knox in Kentucky to ensure their safety. The Bill of Rights,
however, remained at the National Archives.
10. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed December 15 as Bill of
Rights Day.
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / May 10
Defense for
Nomination of Quincy Mellon Krosby
So, how lovely today it is, though. And I
e Pentagon,
To Be United States Alternate
view this degree as a very high honor from
Ambassador
Executive Director of the International
an institution for which I have unlimited
9-1980, and
Monetary Fund
respect. It is a great privilege for Barbara
nascus, Syria,
May 9, 1991
and me to be up with you today. I hear the
reau was a
rites of spring over my shoulder out there,
geria, 1973-
The President today announced his inten-
but it wouldn't be normal in my job if we
capacities in
tion to nominate Quincy Mellon Krosby, of
didn't hear those rites chanting out there.
nd Morocco.
New York, to be U.S. Alternate Executive
But I hope I bring peace and tranquility to
the Foreign
Director of the International Monetary
your campus because you bring great joy to
Fund for a term of 2 years. She would suc-
our heart, my formerly fibrillating heart.
uated from
ceed Charles S. Warner.
Thank you very much.
d Harvard
Dr. Krosby currently serves as Assistant
as born July
Secretary for Export Enforcement at the
Note: The President spoke at 10:35 a.m. in
erved in the
Department of Commerce in Washington,
the faculty room of Nassau Hall.
He is mar-
DC. Prior to this she was an economic offi-
cer and energy attaché for the U.S. Embas-
sy in London, England.
Dr. Krosby graduated from the University
Remarks at Dedication Ceremony of
of Minnesota, receiving a bachelor of arts
the Social Sciences Complex at
degree and a master of arts degree, and the
Princeton University in Princeton, New
London School of Economics, receiving a
Jersey
doctoral degree in 1979. She was born
May 10, 1991
e Sophos
August 3, 1948, in New York, NY. She is
ary of the
married, has five children, and resides in
Thank you all very much. Thank you.
Washington, DC.
Please be seated. It's a great pleasure to be
here. President Shapiro, your words were so
kind that my heart almost went back into
I his inten-
fibrillation. [Laughter] I salute you, sir, and
Sophos, of
I thank you for the honor bestowed on me.
Remarks Upon Receiving an Honorary
ecretary of
To Governor Florio; and to the Members
Degree From Princeton University in
fairs. She
of the United States Congress that are here
Princeton, New Jersey
Upon con-
today; to Mrs. Shapiro, and the board of
May 10, 1991
trustees; to Chairman Henderson; Dean
to desig-
Williamson; Associate Dean Morrow. And
ry of the
Thank you all very much. This is indeed
I'd also like to salute Princeton's former
for me an honor. And the last time, save
Presidents Goheen and Bowen. And I'm de-
S Deputy
one, that I was on this campus, I was not
lighted to help dedicate this impressive
Affairs at
treated quite so hospitably. [Laughter] It
complex.
Prior to
was out at the baseball diamond, I think in
Though I must say that I'm glad that this
ent rela-
1948. Crowded along the first baseline-it
is May and not the first snowfall. I don't
own and
was very hostile, the way it worked in
think Barbara would let me take place in
vas assist-
Princeton-were a bunch of hyperventilat-
your special brand of Olympics. [Laughter]
nalyst for
ing, celebrating alumni.
Seriously, I'm honored to receive an hon-
IS for the
And I remember standing there at first
orary degree from Princeton. Imagine: a
d legisla-
base, and a gigantic tiger-I think his name
son of Yale getting a Princeton degree.
e budget
was Neil Zundel-came to the plate. He
"Son of Yale"; you can snicker, but you
m Loef-
lofted an easy fly towards Yale's first base-
ought to hear what they call me in Wash-
man, me. And as I reached for the ball, the
ington. [Laughter]
guy just sheer bowled me over-[laugh-
Governor Florio's comments brought
zer Col-
ter]-to the cheers of the Princeton alumni.
back JFK's words when he said how lucky I
1976).
[Laughter]
was to have a Princeton degree, and I agree
ard, CA.
I was hurt, my pride was hurt. But p.s.,
with him. You remember what JFK said,
on, DC.
Yale won the ball game. [Laughter]
and I'll paraphrase it: I have the best of all
589
May 10 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
worlds: a Princeton degree and a Yale edu-
prefer to work cooperatively with it wher-
cation. [Laughter] I knew that would not
ever possible. Though I felt after studying
thrill the band, but you did a great job on
the question that I had the inherent power
"Hail To The Chief," thank you. [Laughter]
to commit our forces to battle after the
Well, Princeton is a great place. You
U.N. resolution, I solicited congressional
know, Washington said, "No college has
support before committing our forces to the
turned out better scholars or more estima-
Gulf war. So, while a President bears special
ble characters." That includes, of course,
foreign policy obligations, those obligations
our last two Secretaries of State. Both have
do not imply any liberty to keep Congress
been outstanding public servants. Both love
unnecessarily in the dark.
this university. But only one has a tattoo to
The President's view of the whole ground
prove it. [Laughter]
includes a second responsibility: shaping the
I'll always remember the time that I saw
Nation's domestic agenda. Presidents do
the globe inside the Woodrow Wilson
this by submitting annual budgets to Con-
School lobby. Anywhere you touch it, you
set off vibrations across the rest of its sur-
gress, along with a comprehensive legisla-
face. I can't think of a more appropriate
tive program.
symbol for this nation's role in the world.
We've had our share of legislative suc-
When we act, we do set off tremors across
cesses. They include a budget agreement
the globe. And Princeton is blessed with
that reduces our borrowing requirements
real expertise in the study of the Presiden-
by nearly $500 billion over the next 5 years,
a Clean Air Act that invokes the power of
cy.
And I salute Professor Fred Greenstein,
the marketplace to help America breathe
and it is with some temerity, therefore, that
cleaner air, an Americans With Disabilities
I give this talk that will touch on the Presi-
Act-landmark civil rights legislation that
dency.
enhances the dignity of those with disabil-
I'd like to talk today about an American
ities, a child care bill that puts more power
achievement that has inspired men and
and choice in the hands of parents when it
women worldwide, most recently, in East-
comes to the care of their own children.
ern Europe. I'm speaking of our Constitu-
But Presidents may encourage change
tion. In the interest of brevity, I will focus
through means other than legislation. Our
on the roles of the two branches of Govern-
Points of Light campaign encourages the
ment in which I have had the honor to
traditional American virtue of private serv-
serve, the legislative-Congress-and the
ice. Our America 2000 Education Strate-
executive departments.
gy-which has been well-received across
Consider the President's role. Thomas Jef-
the land-involves dramatic reforms that
ferson once noted that a President com-
don't make dramatic new claims on taxpay-
mands a view of the whole ground, while
ers' earnings. It draws on people's common
Congress necessarily adopts the views of its
frustration with an educational system that
constituents. The President and Vice Presi-
simply must do better. It encourages people
dent are the only officials elected to serve
to use their common sense and good old
the entire Nation. It is the President who is
American ingenuity in creating better, rev-
responsible for guiding and directing the
olutionary new schools. It won't help build
Nation's foreign policy. The executive
a new office building in Washington, but it
branch alone may conduct international ne-
very well may inspire people to build a
gotiations, appoint ambassadors, and con-
better future for themselves and their chil-
duct foreign policy. Our founders noted the
dren, school by school, community by com-
necessity of performing this duty with "se-
munity.
crecy and dispatch," when necessary. The
Elsewhere, we've proposed turning pro-
President also serves as Commander in
grams back to States and localities. This en-
Chief of our armed forces, as it was my role
ables people to craft the most appropriate
to do in the Persian Gulf.
solution for the problems that they confront
This does not mean that the Executive
in this diverse land of ours.
may conduct foreign business in a vacuum.
The point is simple: You don't always
I have a great respect for Congress, and I
need to propose a new program to pursue a
590
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / May 10
national goal. Often a President can lead by
voted 500 man-years and over $50 million
encouraging the values of service, by help-
just to write reports responding to congres-
ing foster a national spirit of commitment
sional queries on such items as plans for
and responsibility.
manning tugboats and accounting for the
For too long, pundits and special interests
number of bands.
have equated vision with bureaucracy. I
Defense staff has to respond yearly to
hope one of the hallmarks of our adminis-
more than 750,000 congressional staff in-
tration will be its ability to encourage not
quiries. Other executive agencies exhaust
just good government but also a good socie-
their time and energy, often giving identi-
ty, one that draws upon and encourages the
cal testimony to a whole battery of subcom-
best instincts and ambitions and values of
mittees and committees.
the American people.
Oversight, when properly exercised,
The common thread of commitment-in-
helps keep the Executive accountable. But
dividual commitment-runs through all suc-
when it proliferates wildly, it can confuse
cessful efforts to solve our most intractable
the public and make it more difficult for
problems. The individual who cares, who is
Congress and the President to do their jobs
determined to change things for the better,
can make a difference. And all of us Ameri-
properly.
The Chief Executive also preserves, pro-
cans ought to dedicate ourselves to making
tects, and defends the Constitution through
a difference.
While a President must take on today's
the use of the veto power. Six times in my
problems and tomorrow's challenges, he
Presidency, I have vetoed bills that would
also has an obligation to "preserve, protect,
have weakened Presidential powers. In one
and defend" a 200-year-old system of con-
case, for instance, Congress wanted to make
stitutional government. The most common
the President disclose a wide variety of sen-
challenge to Presidential powers comes
sitive diplomatic contacts and discussions—
from a predictable source, represented here
as well as private discussions with the exec-
by several able Members of the United
utive branch-and would have threatened
States Congress.
to impose criminal sanctions on a. wide
Although our founders never envisioned a
range of normal diplomatic activities. I
Congress that would churn out hundreds of
noted in my veto message that: "The result
thousands of pages worth of reports and
would be a dangerous timidity and disarray
hearings and documents and laws every
in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Such a
year, they did understand that legislators
result is wholly contrary to the allocation of
would try to accumulate power. James
powers under the Constitution."
Madison, your son-Princeton's son-
Elsewhere, Congress has also taken ag-
warned that, "The legislative department is
gressive action against specific Presidential
everywhere extending the sphere of its ac-
powers, including the power to appoint or
tivity, and drawing all power into it impetu-
remove employees who serve at the Presi-
ous vortex." That was Mr. Madison speak-
dent's pleasure. It sometimes tries to
ing, not President Bush speaking.
manage executive branch-micromanage
Sometimes this sort of competition falls
the executive branch-by writing too-spe-
entirely within the bounds of the Constitu-
cific directions for carrying out a particular
tion. But consider the unnecessary requests
law. And when this happens, the President
and requirements that can waste the time
has a constitutional obligation to protect his
and energy of the Executive.
Office and to veto the legislation. In addi-
Thirty years ago, we devoted nearly 9.5
tion, on many occasions during my Presi-
percent of our gross national product to de-
dency, I have stated that statutory provi-
fense expenditures. And today, defense
sions that violate the Constitution have no
spending accounts for only 5.3 percent of
binding legal force.
our GNP. But congressional oversight has
But there's another, often overlooked side
grown exponentially. One hundred and
of the veto power. Often vetoes encourage
seven committees and subcommittees-
the Legislature to reconsider its actions.
107-oversee defense programs and spend-
When I vetoed a minimum wage bill-and
ing. For fiscal year 1989, the Pentagon de-
it wasn't an easy thing to do-I sought to
591
May 10 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
persuade Congress that a slightly lower rate
the great joy is that the President serves,
public
would best serve the public interest. And in
not just as the unitary executive, but hope-
local
time Congress agreed. And when Congress
fully as a unifying executive.
with h
bundles up a series of unrelated measures
As President, I. feel honor-bound to
cernec
and calls it a single bill, it frustrates the
strengthen the marvelous system of govern-
ers pr
President's constitutional role in resisting
ment bequeathed to us so that we may
dren t:
the influence of special interests: It is often
remain the freest, the most decent, the
care.
impractical to veto a tremendous bill, a
most prosperous, caring nation in the histo-
Adv:
major bill, especially an appropriations bill
ry of the world.
enable
because of unrelated riders that would
Thank you, and may God bless each and
substar
never stand a chance on their own.
every one of you. And thank you for the
low bii
Bills of this sort can pose as much of a
honor you've bestowed on me.
and ea
threat to Congress as to the President. And
fants.
it has become an annual sport for reporters
Note: The President spoke at 11:25 a.m. In
abled 1
to pull peculiarities out of the vast spending
his remarks, he referred to president of the
bills, such as a Federal grant to study cow
born p
university Harold Shapiro and his wife,
belches, or a Lawrence Welk Museum, and
ous con
Vivian; James Henderson, chairman of the
ask Congress to defend them. Quite often
effort t
executive committee of the board of direc-
because of the added riders and the com-
women
tors of the university; Joseph Williamson,
plexity of the whole bill, Members don't
mortali
dean of the chapel; Sue Anne Steffey
even know what they've voted for. They're
within
Morrow, associate dean of the chapel; and
so complex; things are added in the dark of
Fred I. Greenstein, professor of politics and
campai
the night.
cludes
director, research program in leadership
I have sought, and will continue to seek, a
studies. A tape was not available for verifi-
project
line-item veto to prevent such embarrass-
thousan
cation of the content of these remarks.
ments and protect the American people
helping
from injudicious appropriation. Right now
grams
43 Governors have such a power. It works.
Each
The President ought to have that power,
and eve
too. Some believe that I already have that
Proclamation 6290-Infant Mortality
On this
power under the Constitution.
Awareness Day, 1991
nation
In closing, let me try to summarize my
May 10, 1991
ica rece
view of the Presidency. Presidents define
beginni
themselves through their exercise of Presi-
By the President of the United States
through
dential power. They must use their special
of America
ers.
authority to serve the whole Nation in mat-
The (
A Proclamation
ters of foreign and domestic policy. They
194, h:
must set a tone for governance, at once
In the past, this Nation's high rate of
"Infant
leading the people, yet following their de-
infant mortality has stood in tragic contra-
authoriz
sires. They must preserve, protect, and
diction to our enviably high standard of
issue a
defend the Constitution. And they must en-
living and to our traditional reverence for
day.
courage deliberative behavior on the part
human life. Fortunately, however, that un-
Now,
of Congress.
conscionable trend is changing. According
dent of
But the real power of the Presidency lies
to the Department of Health and Human
hereby
in a President's ability to frame, through
Services, preliminary data indicate that the
Mortalit
action, through example, through encour-
United States infant mortality rate in 1990.
cans to
agement, what we as a nation must do,
was 9.1 deaths per 1,000 live births-the
what is required of communities and insti-
lowest ever recorded and a substantial re-
program.
In Wi
tutions, large and small, in schools and fac-
duction over the past decade.
tories and the hundreds of daily acts of indi-
The infant mortality rate is affected by a
my han
of our I
viduals.
number of different factors, including the
failure of many pregnant women to obtain
one, and
The great joy and challenge of the Office
States of
I occupy-and believe me, I am honored
adequate prenatal care. Although the gov-
teenth.
every single day I walk into that Oval
ernment cannot fulfill the primary responsi-
Office by the privilege of being President—
bility of parents in caring for their children,
592
133. Address on Bill of Rights Anniversary
force which has long menaced the world and which now has
struck deliberately and directly at the safety of the United States.
133
"Having Taken Up Arms in the Defense
of Liberty, We Will Not Lay Them Down Be-
fore Liberty Is Once Again Secure" - Radio
Address Commemorating the 150th Anniversary
of the Ratification of the Bill of Rights.
December 15, 1941
Free Americans:
No DATE in the long history of freedom means more to liberty-
loving men in all liberty-loving countries than the fifteenth day
of December, 1791. On that day, 150 years ago, a new Nation,
through an elected Congress, adopted a declaration of human
rights which has influenced the thinking of all mankind from
one end of the world to the other.
There is not a single Republic of this hemisphere which has
not adopted in its fundamental law the basic principles of free-
dom of man and freedom of mind enacted in the American Bill
of Rights.
There is not a country, large or small, on this continent and in
this world which has not felt the influence of that document,
directly or indirectly.
Indeed, prior to the year 1933, the essential validity of the
American Bill of Rights was accepted everywhere at least in prin-
ciple. Even today, with the exception of Germany, Italy, and
Japan, the peoples of the whole world - in all probability four-
fifths of them - support its principles, its teachings, and its glori-
ous results.
But, in the year 1933, there came to power in Germany a
political clique which did not accept the declarations of the
554
133. Address on Bill of Rights Anniversary
IS
American bill of human rights as valid: a small clique of ambi-
tious and unscrupulous politicians whose announced and ad-
mitted platform was precisely the destruction of the rights that
instrument declared. Indeed the entire program and goal of these
e
political and moral tigers was nothing more than the overthrow,
throughout the earth, of the great revolution of human liberty
of which our American Bill of Rights is the mother charter.
The truths which were self-evident to Thomas Jefferson -
which have been self-evident to the six generations of Americans
who followed him were to these men hateful. The rights to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which seemed to the Found-
ers of the Republic, and which seem to us, inalienable, were, to
Hitler and his fellows, empty words which they proposed to can-
cel forever.
The propositions they advanced to take the place of Jefferson's
inalienable rights were these:
That the individual human being has no rights whatsoever
in himself and by virtue of his humanity;
That the individual human being has no right to a soul of his
own, or a mind of his own, or a tongue of his own, or a trade of
his own; or even to live where he pleases or to marry the woman
S
he loves;
That his only duty is the duty of obedience, not to his God,
1
not to his conscience, but to Adolf Hitler; and that his only
value is his value, not as a man, but as a unit of the Nazi state.
1
To Hitler the ideal of the people, as we conceive it - the free,
self-governing, and responsible people - is incomprehensible.
The people, to Hitler, are "the masses" and the highest human
idealism is, in his own words, that a man should wish to become
"a dust particle" of the order "of force" which is to shape the
universe.
To Hitler, the government, as we conceive it, is an impossible
conception. The government to him is not the servant and the
instrument of the people but their absolute master and the dicta-
tor of their every act.
To Hitler the church, as we conceive it, is a monstrosity to be
555
133. Address on Bill of Rights Anniversary
destroyed by every means at his command. The Nazi church is to
be the "National Church," a pagan church, "absolutely and
exclusively in the service of but one doctrine, one race, one
Nation."
To Hitler, the freedom of men to think as they please and
speak as they please and worship as they please is, of all things
imaginable, most hateful and most desperately to be feared.
The issue of our time, the issue of the war in which we are en-
gaged, is the issue forced upon the decent, self-respecting peoples
of the earth by the aggressive dogmas of this attempted revival
of barbarism; this proposed return to tyranny; this effort to im-
pose again upon the peoples of the world doctrines of absolute
obedience, of dictatorial rule, of the suppression of truth, of the
oppression of conscience, which the free Nations of the earth
have long ago rejected.
What we face is nothing more nor less than an attempt to over-
throw and to cancel out the great upsurge of human liberty of
which the American Bill of Rights is the fundamental docu-
ment: to force the peoples of the earth, and among them the
peoples of this continent and this Nation, to accept again the ab-
solute authority and despotic rule from which the courage and
the resolution and the sacrifices of their ancestors liberated them
many, many years ago.
It is an attempt which could succéed only if those who have
inherited the gift of liberty had lost the manhood to preserve it.
But we Americans know that the determination of this genera-
tion of our people to preserve liberty is as fixed and certain as
the determination of that early generation of Americans to win
it.
We will not, under any threat, or in the face of any danger,
surrender the guarantees of liberty our forefathers framed for
us in our Bill of Rights.
We hold with all the passion of our hearts and minds to those
commitments of the human spirit.
We are solemnly determined that no power or combination
of powers of this earth shall shake our hold upon them.
5 5 6
134. "To the President of the United States in 1956"
We covenant with each other before all the world, that having
taken up arms in the defense of liberty, we will not lay them
down before liberty is once again secure in the world we live
in. For that security we pray; for that security we act - now and
evermore.
NOTE: See Item 118, this volume, designating December 15, 1941 as
for the President's proclamation Bill of Rights Day.
134 "To the President of the United States in
1956" - The President Writes About Colin P.
Kelly, III. December 17, 1941
To the President of the United States in 1956:
I AM WRITING this letter as an act of faith in the destiny of our
country. I desire to make a request which I make in full con-
fidence that we shall achieve a glorious victory in the war we
now are waging to preserve our democratic way of life.
My request is that you consider the merits of a young Ameri-
can youth of goodly heritage - Colin P. Kelly, III - for appoint-
ment as a Cadet in the United States Military Academy at West
Point. I make this appeal in behalf of this youth as a token of the
Nation's appreciation of the heroic services of his father, who
met death in line of duty at the very outset of the struggle which
was thrust upon us by the perfidy of a professed friend.
In the conviction that the service and example of Captain
Colin P. Kelly, Jr., will be long remembered, I ask for this con-
sideration in behalf of Colin P. Kelly, III.
557
DEC- 9-91 MON 22:37
P.01
POWELL TATE
91 DEC 10 A7:19
A Cassidy Company
TO: ROBERT SIMON
FROM: CUAUDIA PETERS
DATE: 12-9-91
FAX #: 202-456-6218
# OF PAGES: 1 torfollow
RE:
CONFIRMED CENTRAL/GASTERN
ENROPEANS FOR WUNCHEAN 12/16
Bab-
helpful. Thought this might be
FYI: Also, Possion
USSR ambessador
to U.S. of press ator attache are
attending (Komplektov + Oganov) Georgy
If you any
have don't problems knowly or questions regarding this this fax, please is contact eseful
at (202) 347-6633, FAX (202) 347-8713.
but - 2 'll send trabits as
2 learn them.
I
Prosperity Conference Travel
P.02
P.
Participant
Title
City
Republic
Yeghiazarian, Armen
Member of the State Economic Cinte.
Armenia
Stepanian, Vahe
Minister of Justice
Annenia
Ludchnikov, Svetoslav
Minister of Justice
Sofia
Bulgaria
Shentov, Ognian
Rector, Ctr. for Study of Democracy
Bulgaria
Christov, Lubomir
Bulgaria
Tantchev, Eugene
Dean, Sofia U. School of Law
Bulgaria
Kamlach, Milan
Dir., Leg. Dept., Minister of Justice
Czech
Kamenicka, Jana
Deputy to the Minister of Justice
Czech
Kocamik, Ivan
Deputy Minister of Finance
Czech/Slovak
Palecka, Peter
Czechoslovakia
Miller, Rein
Minister of Finance
Tallinn
Estonia
Raidla, Juni
Minister of Justice
Tallinn
Estonia
Bokros, Lajos
Chairman and CEO, Budapest Bank
Budapest
Hungary
Bogdan, Tibor
Deputy Minister of Justice
Budapest
Hungary
Oros, Paulina
interpreter for Dr. Bogdan
Budapest
Hungary
Erzanov, Galichan
Minister of Justice
Alma-Ata
Kazakhastan
Juknevicius, Zenonas
First Deputy Minister of Justice
Lithuania
Chirca, Sergiu
Professor, Doctor in Economics
Chisinau
Moldova
Barbinjagra, Aleksel
Minister of Justice
Chisinau
Moldova
Dabrowski, Marek
Head of Privatization Commission
Poland
Lewandowski, Janusz
Minister of Ownership Changes
Poland
Glapinski, Adam
Minister of Construction
Poland
Danco, Jozef
Minister of Finance
Bratislava
Slovak
Bachar, Vladislav
Bratislava
Slovak
Posluch, Marian
Minister of Justice
Bratislava
Slovak
Stiffel, Harald
Deputy to the Minister of Justice
Bratislava
Slovak
Tarras-Wahiberg, Bjom
Pres. Swedish Taxpayers Assn.
Stockholm
Sweden
Palm, Elisabeth
Justice of the European Court of Human Rights
Stockholm
Sweden
Savchenko, Oleksandr
Vice Pres., Ukrainian Nat1 Bank
Kiev
Ukraine
DEC- 9-91 MON 22:37
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987 / July 3
-1985.
United States to observe these days with
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Regis-
om the Universi-
appropriate ceremonies and activities.
ter, 3:19 p.m., July 2, 1987]
He served in the
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set
my hand this first day of July, in the year of
Note: The proclamation was released by the
[r. Cannon was
our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-
Office of the Press Secretary on July 2.
n Sylacaga, AL.
Iren, and resides
seven, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred
and eleventh.
RONALD REAGAN
e
ation
Proclamation 5675-National Literacy Day, 1987
July 2, 1987
to Gov. Lamar
By the President of the United States
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution
of America
117, has designated July 2, 1987, as "Nation-
Middle Tennes-
A Proclamation
al Literacy Day" and has authorized and
971) and North-
requested the President to issue a procla-
975). He served
The ability to read and write is a true
mation in observance of this occasion.
967-1973. Mr.
blessing and treasure. It enables us not only
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, Presi-
, 1948, in Nash-
to discover and learn from the rich legacy
dent of the United States of America, do
of recorded human experience but also to
IS two children,
hereby proclaim July 2, 1987, as National
understand and take full part in basic activi-
Literacy Day. I invite the Governors of
ties essential to daily life. Those who do not
every State, local officials, and all Ameri-
have these skills must forego many of life's
cans to observe this day with appropriate
possibilities, and society loses many of the
ceremonies and activities to increase aware-
contributions these people could otherwise
ness about illiteracy and to encourage par-
and
make. Every American can be truly grateful
ticipation in programs to eliminate this
to the dedicated citizens among us who
problem.
give others the beautiful and lasting gift of
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set
literacy.
my hand this second day of July, in the year
In the years since I created the Adult
of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-
ur special rela-
Literacy Initiative, more and more Ameri-
seven, and of the Independence of the
cans have decided to help foster reading
United States of America the two hundred
es Canada Day
and writing skills. Volunteers and private-
and eleventh.
tates celebrates
public partnerships do a great deal of good.
Nevertheless, studies show that more needs
RONALD REAGAN
, the two inter-
opriate time to
to be done before "functional illiteracy" is a
? between our
thing of the past, so we must continue our
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Regis-
efforts to reach all who lack literacy.
ter, 10:55 a.m., July 6, 1987]
ited States, by
signated July 2.
s-Canada Days
and authorized
Remarks Announcing America's Economic Bill of Rights
to issue a proc-
July 3, 1987
$ event.
Reagan, Presi-
f America, do
If you would excuse me for a moment, I
President and distinguished guests, mem-
d 3, 1987, as
see that the uniform of the day has already
bers of the administration and members of
of Peace and
been decided on. [At this point, the Presi-
the team, before starting, I would like to
people of the
dent removed his jacket.] Well, the Vice
thank Ollie delChamps, chairman of the
739
July 3 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the rest of
deriving their just powers from the consent
you from the chamber for all your help on
of the governed,-that whenever any Form
this event and all the help you've been over
of Government becomes destructive of
the years.
these ends, it is the Right of the People to
In 1776 John Adams predicted in a letter
alter or abolish it.
"
These inspired
to his wife that every year the people of the
ideals are written on the walls of this me-
United States would joyously celebrate their
morial.
nation's independence with pomp and
It was this revolutionary concept of rep-
parade, with shows, games, sports, guns,
resentative government and individual
bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one
rights, as well as the cause of national inde-
end of the continent, he said, to the other.
pendence, to which the Declaration's sign-
Well, tomorrow on the Fourth, it is easy to
ers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred
predict that the festivities and merriment
honor. Each generation has done the same,
that Adams foresaw, will be apparent
and tomorrow we'll make that pledge
throughout the width and breadth of our
again. Let no one charge, however, that
country. Many of you may look back, as I
ours is blind nationalism. We do not hide
do, on the fond memory of last year when
our shortcomings. Yes, we have our imper-
together we rededicated our beautiful lady,
fections, but there are no people on this
standing there with torch held high in New
planet who have more reason to hold their
York Harbor. One of the opportunities this
heads high than do the citizens of the
job affords me, and one for which I am
United States of America.
most grateful, is representing you, my
fellow countrymen, at such ceremonial
Our countrymen have the courage of
events as the rededication of the Statute of
conviction and an uncommon commitment
Liberty, the marking of the D-day landings
to truth and justice; we as a people will not
in Normandy, and now, this year, the com-
bow before dictator or king, but we kneel
memoration of the 200th anniversary of the
in prayer and gratefully acknowledge, as
Constitution of the United States-remem-
Jefferson so eloquently stated, that the God
brances that have a special place in the
who gave us life also gave us liberty. Our
hearts of all who love liberty.
society reflects decent and humane values
It is this love of liberty, at the heart of
that were passed to us by the settlers of a
our national identity, that celebrates our
new land; Americans can be counted on to
separation [separates our celebration] of in-
be generous-it's our way. We know these
dependence from those of most other na-
things, and we also know the United States
tions. It's what made the struggle of our
of America remains the greatest force for
forefathers, a little over 200 years ago, dif-
human freedom on this planet, and we're
ferent from any conflict that has ever hap-
darn proud of it.
pened before. Down through history, there
We're still Jefferson's children, still believ-
have been many revolutions, but virtually
ers that freedom is the unalienable right of
all of them only exchanged one set of rulers
all of God's children. It's so precious, yet
for another set of rulers. Ours was the only
freedom is not something that can be
truly philosophical revolution. It declared
touched, heard, seen, or smelled. It sur-
that government would have only those
rounds us, and if it were not present, as
powers granted to it by the people.
accustomed to it as we are, we would be
It was a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson
alarmed, overwhelmed by outrage, or per-
who penned the words and constructed the
haps struck by a sense of being smothered.
phrases that captured the essence of it all.
The air we breathe is also invisible and
He wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-
taken for granted, yet if it is denied even
evident, that all men are created equal; that
for a few seconds, we realize instantly how
they are endowed by their Creator with
much it means to us. Well, so, too, with
certain unalienable Rights, that among
freedom.
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Freedom is not created by government,
Happiness.-That to secure these rights,
nor is it a gift from those in political power.
Governments are instituted among Men,
It is, in fact, secured, more than anything
740
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987 / July 3
else, by those limitations I mentioned that
desires. I recently heard a statement by a
are placed on those in government. It is
eminent scholar in our land who visited the
absence of the government censor in our
Soviet Union recently. He is fluent in the
newspapers and broadcast stations and uni-
Russian language. But on his way to the
versities. It is the lack of fear by those who
airport here, he recognized the youth of the
gather in religious services. It is the absence
cabdriver and got into conversation, found
of official abuse of those who speak up
out he was working his way through col-
against the policies of their government.
lege, and he asked him what he intended to
I'm a collector of stories that I can estab-
be. And the young man said, "I haven't
lish are told in the Soviet Union among
decided yet." Well, by coincidence, when
their own people, showing something of
he got to the Soviet Union and got in a cab,
their feeling about their situation. And one
he had an equally young cabdriver. And
of these that I heard recently was an argu-
speaking Russian, he got in conversation
ment between an American and a Soviet
with him and asked the same question, fi-
citizen. And the American had said how he
nally, about the young man, what did he
could stand down on a corner and shout
intend to be? And the young man said,
right out to everybody his criticism of the
"They haven't told me yet." [Laughter]
Government. And the Soviet citizen said, "I
Well, second of those freedoms is the
can do that, too." He said, "The only differ-
freedom to enjoy the fruits of one's labor-
ence between us is you will still be free
to keep for oneself and one's family the
after you've done it." [Laughter]
profit or gain earned by honest effort.
Jefferson so fervently believed that limit-
Third is the freedom to own and control
ed government was vital to the preserva-
one's property-to trade or exchange it and
tion of liberty that he used his influence to
not to have it taken through threat or coer-
see to it that the Constitution included a
cion.
Bill of Rights, 10 amendments that spelled
out specific governmental limitations. "Con-
Fourth is the freedom to participate in a
gress shall make no law," the first amend-
free market-to contract freely for goods
ment begins. And thus, the basic law of our
and services and to achieve one's full poten-
land was meticulously constructed to limit
tial without government limits on opportu-
government and, in doing so, secure the
nity, economic independence, and growth.
political rights of the freedom [people].
Just as Jefferson understood that our polit-
Inextricably linked to these political free-
ical freedoms needed protection by and
doms are protections for the economic free-
from government, our economic freedoms
doms envisioned by those Americans who
need similar recognition and protection.
went before us. While the Constitution sets
Those who attain political power must
our political freedoms in greater detail,
know that there are limits beyond which
these economic freedoms are part and
they will not be permitted to go, because
parcel of it. During this bicentennial year,
beyond that point their intrusion is destruc-
we have the opportunity to recognize anew
tive of the economic freedom of the people.
the economic freedoms of our people and,
We must insist, for example, that there be a
with the Founding Fathers, declare them as
limit to the level of taxation, not only be-
sacred and sacrosanct as the political free-
cause excessive taxation undermines the
doms of speech, press, religion, and assem-
strength of the economy but because tax-
bly. There are four essential economic free-
ation beyond a certain level becomes servi-
doms. They are what links life inseparably
tude. And in America, it is the Government
to liberty, what enables an individual to
that works for the people and not the other
control his own destiny, what makes self-
way around.
government and personal independence
Now, in the same vein, regulation of an
part of the American experience.
individual's business or property can reach
First is the freedom to work-to pursue
a degree when ownership is nullified and
one's livelihood in one's own way, to choose
the value is taken. Our administration has
where one will locate and what one will do
argued in the courts that if the Government
to sustain individual and family needs and
takes private property through regulation,
741
July 3 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987
the "just compensation" clause of the Con-
that tax increases must be passed by both
stitution requires that the owner must be
Houses of Congress by more than a mere
duly paid. There's nothing more encourag-
majority of their Members.
ing to those who believe in economic free-
Our forefathers fought for personal and
dom than last month's Supreme Court deci-
national independence, yet 200 years later,
sions which reaffirm this fundamental guar-
our own overly centralized government
antee. Property rights are central to liberty
poses a threat to our liberty far beyond any-
and should never be trampled upon.
thing imagined by the patriots of old. We
The working people need to know their
offer two approaches to turning the situa-
jobs, take-home pay, homes, and pensions
tion around, both encompassed in our pro-
are not vulnerable to the threat of a grandi-
posals. One is to reduce the size and scope
ose, inefficient, and overbearing govern-
of the Federal Government. This is an on-
ment-something Jefferson warned us
going battle. We will be relentless in stead-
about 200 years ago. It's time to finish the
ily reducing spending until a balanced
job Jefferson began and to protect our
budget is achieved.
people and their livelihoods with restric-
But also, as part of our initiative, we pro-
tions on government that will ensure the
pose to prune judiciously from the Govern-
fundamental economic freedom of the
ment that which goes beyond the proper
people-the equivalent of an Economic Bill
realm of the state. I will, by Executive
of Rights. I'm certain if Thomas Jefferson
order, establish a bipartisan Presidential
were here, he'd be one of the most articu-
commission on privatization to determine
late and aggressive champions of this cause.
what Federal assets and activities can and
The reason I'm certain is that in 1798 he
should be returned to the citizenry. At the
wrote: "I wish it were possible to obtain a
same time, I will order the executive
single amendment to our Constitution. I
branch to find additional ways for contract-
would be willing to depend on that alone
for the reduction of the administration of
ing outside of government to perform those
our government to the genuine principles
tasks that belong in the private economy.
of its Constitution; I mean an additional ar-
We must also reexamine existing Federal
ticle taking from the Federal Government
policies to ensure that they help, not
the power of borrowing."
hinder, all Americans to participate fully in
The centerpiece of the Economic Bill of
the opportunities of our free economy. We
Rights, the policy initiative we launch
need to replace a welfare system that de-
today, is a long-overdue constitutional
stroys economic independence and the
amendment to require the Federal Govern-
family with one that creates incentives for
ment to do what every family in America
recipients to move up and out of dependen-
must do, and that is live within its means
cy.
and balance its budget. I will again ask Con-
Now, the second thrust is structural and
gress to submit a balanced budget amend-
procedural reform. We propose changes
ment to the States. And if the Congress will
that will ensure truth in spending by re-
not act, I'll have no choice but to take my
quiring every new program to meet this
case directly to the States.
test: If congressional passage of a new pro-
The package of fundamental reforms we
gram will require increased spending, it
propose will go a long way to secure the
must be paid for at the same time, either
blessings of liberty. Taxation, for example, is
with offsetting reductions in other programs
more than mathematical calculations. It is
or new revenues. Citizens of this country,
the harnessing of free people; it is forced
as well as State and local governments, also
labor; and if it goes beyond reasonable
have a right to be fully informed as to what
bounds, it is a yoke of oppression. Raising
Federal legislation will do to them, what
taxes, then, should be serious business. It
costs will be required for fulfilling the will
should not be done without a broad nation-
of Congress. Full disclosure of such costs up
al consensus. We propose that every Ameri-
front may well temper the desire to over-
can's paycheck be protected-as part of a
regulate and overlegislate.
balanced budget amendment-by requiring
Reform must go to the heart of the prob-
742
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987 / July 3
lem. The integrity of the decisionmaking
What we begin today is not a maneuver
process as envisioned by our Founding Fa-
or an attempt to achieve short-term goals
thers has broken down and is in drastic
with lofty pronouncements. Our proposals
need of repair. The veto power of the Presi-
are consistent with what we've been doing;
dent, for example, is no longer the potent
in fact, they'll help secure the progress that
force for fiscal responsibility as set down in
we've made. They're basic to the philoso-
the Constitution. This was clear last year
phy that brought me into public life, and
when all government appropriations were
for the rest of my public life, I'll pursue the
thrown into one gigantic, catchall resolu-
goals we've set forth in this Economic Bill
tion. And for me, it was a take-it-or-leave-it,
of Rights.
all-or-nothing choice-doing damage to
Our specific proposals, 10 in all, will go a
long-respected constitutional checks and
long way toward putting economic freedom
balances. The first step in reestablishing
under the protection of the law. And even
these checks and balances is giving the
if we achieve what we've set out to do in
President the authority to cut out the fat,
bits and pieces, rather than in one fell
yet leave the meat, of legislation that gets
swoop-as happened with the Bill of Rights
to his desk. And the President deserves the
to the Constitution-each victory will make
same tool for budgetary responsibility that
freedom more secure. Ours is a vision of
is now in the hands of 43 Governors, a tool
limited government and unlimited opportu-
I used effectively as Governor of Califor-
nity, of growth and progress beyond what
nia-the line-item veto.
any can see today. A saying in colonial
Today we begin a drive to protect eco-
times suggested there are two ways to get
nomic freedom in the United States. We
to the top of an oak tree, where the view is
commit ourselves to do our utmost to bring
much better. One is to climb; the other is to
about fundamental reform, reform that will
find an acorn and sit on it. [Laughter] Well,
ensure the liberty we hold so dear. Standing
I didn't come to Washington to sit on
here, with Jefferson looking over my shoul-
der, looking out at the Lincoln and the
acorns. [Laughter] It's time to roll up our
Washington Memorials and the White
sleeves and start climbing.
House straight ahead and, in the distance,
I see many familiar faces here, and I want
the Capitol, one can't but appreciate that
to thank you all for all you've done in these
all freedom is mutually reinforcing. Perhaps
last 6½ years. Together, we've climbed
a more specific delineation of economic
some mighty oaks. We've worked, sweated,
freedom was always needed, but today it's
and strained to carry our cause to new
imperative. Our citizens were always skep-
heights, helping each other along the way,
tical of government. Jefferson looked at
ever faithful to our principles. I'll always
Congress and noted that no one should
remember and be grateful to you.
have expected 150 lawyers to do business
In the early days of the American Revolu-
anyway. [Laughter] My apologies to lawyers
tion, no two individuals worked more dili-
present. But the Federal Government's role
gently together than did Thomas Jefferson
was severely limited; the future was in the
and John Adams. Yet once our country at-
hands of the people, not the Government.
tained its independence and once partisan
And that's the way our forebears wanted it.
politics set in-and it set in early-they
Jefferson, in his first inaugural, spoke for
drifted apart; in fact, they became bitter
his countrymen when he said: "A wise and
political enemies. Last Fourth of July, I re-
frugal government, which shall restrain
lated the story of how those two old gentle-
men from injuring one another, which shall
men, heroes both, rekindled their friend-
leave them otherwise free to regulate their
ship in their twilight years, corresponding
own pursuits of industry and improvement,
regularly, writing affectionately of the many
shall not take from the mouth of labor the
memories they shared, and, yes, discussing
bread it has earned. This," he said, "is the
their beliefs and values. Both of these men,
sum of good government." Well, that vision
giants to us but mortal to be sure, died
of America still guides our thinking, still
within hours of each other. It was July 4th,
represents our ideals.
exactly 50 years from the date of the Decla-
743
July 3 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987
ration of Independence. It's reported that
to ensure that this country remains a bas-
John Adams' last words were, "Thomas Jef-
tion of freedom, the last best hope for man-
ferson survives." History tells us, however,
kind. As long as a love of liberty is embla-
that Jefferson had died shortly before John
zoned on our hearts, Jefferson lives.
Adams passed away.
Thank you all. God bless you all.
But Adams was right. All of us stand in
tribute to the truth of those words. We pro-
Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. at
claim it again and again with our dedication
to keeping this a land of liberty and justice
an Independence Day celebration at the Jef-
for all, and through our deeds and actions,
ferson Memorial.
America's Economic Bill of Rights
July 3, 1987
Preamble
petition with private citizens, I will estab-
The Founding Fathers of our country
lish a bipartisan Presidential Commission on
knew that without economic freedom there
Privatization to identify government pro-
can be no political freedom. Their rallying
grams and activities that can be accom-
cry of "No taxation without representation"
plished more effectively in the private
reflects that fundamental precept. They
sector. I will also instruct the executive
knew that the right to earn your own keep
branch to find additional ways for contract-
and keep what you earn is central to Ameri-
ing outside the government to perform
ca's understanding of what it means to be
those tasks that belong in the private sector.
free. This country was built by people seek-
As to those activities that should properly
ing to support themselves and their families
remain in the government, I have asked the
by their own labor, people who treasured
President's Council on Management Im-
the right to work and dispose of their earn-
provement to accelerate its productivity im-
ings as they saw fit, people who were will-
provement program by 1 year and to adopt
ing to take economic risks.
private sector practices where they would
Over the past 40 years, however, the
promote efficiency.
growth of government has left our citizens
2. To reduce the burden of government
with less control over their economic lives.
regulation, I have reconstituted the Task
What America needs now is an Economic
Force on Regulatory Relief, chaired by the
Bill of Rights that guarantees four funda-
mental freedoms:
Vice President, to root out unnecessary re-
strictions on the individual's pursuit of a
The freedom to work.
livelihood.
The freedom to enjoy the fruits of
one's labor.
The Freedom to Enjoy the Fruits of Your
The freedom to own and control one's
Labor: You have the right to keep what you
property.
earn, free from excessive government
The freedom to participate in a free
taxing, spending, and borrowing.
market.
3. To protect you from overborrowing by
To secure these freedoms, I propose the
the government, I will ask the Congress to
following initiatives:
adopt a balanced budget amendment, a line
item veto, and legislative changes that will
The Freedom to Work: You have the right to
restore integrity to the congressional
pursue your livelihood in your own way,
budget process.
free from excessive government regulation
and subsidized government competition.
4. To protect you from overtaxing by the
Government, I will propose as part of the
1. To reduce subsidized government com-
balanced budget amendment submitted to
744
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1987 / July 3
Congress, a requirement for a supermajor-
tion to Americans who create new ideas
ity vote by Congress before your taxes can
and invent new goods and services.
be raised. This reform will help make per-
manent our recent progress in lowering
Freedom to Participate in a Free Market:
your tax rates, broadening the tax base to
You have the right to contract freely for
ensure fairness, and indexing rates so that
goods and services and to achieve your full
inflation cannot push taxes back up.
potential without government limits on op-
5. To protect you from excess spending
portunity, economic independence, and
by the Federal Government, I will propose
growth.
Truth in Federal Spending legislation that
8. To reform the present welfare system
will:
that promotes dependency and destroys
A. Require that every new program es-
families and communities, I have proposed
tablished by legislation increasing Federal
a welfare reform initiative that will lift the
spending be deficit-neutral by including
least fortunate among us up from depend-
equal amounts of offsets.
ency by creating incentives for recipients to
B. Require that every piece of legislation
become independent of welfare as full par-
mandating an increase in private sector
ticipants in the American economy.
costs or imposing new regulations include a
9. To prepare our youth for participation
financial impact statement detailing:
in today's economy, I will ask the Congress
-The impact on private costs;
and the States to enact proposals that will
-The impact on prices for the consumer;
protect the rights of parents to guide their
-The effect on employment;
children and select from a broad array of
-The impact on the ability of U.S. indus-
educational options that emphasize excel-
tries to compete internationally.
lence, character, and values. I will also pro-
C. Require that every piece of legislation
mote programs to assist problem students to
forcing increased expenditures by State and
local governments include an assessment of
complete their education and to encourage
dropouts to return to school.
the spending impact, the likely source of
10. To arm American workers and busi-
funding, and the ability of these govern-
ments to fulfill the mandates of the legisla-
nessmen for full participation in an increas-
tion.
ingly complex world economy, I will press
for the Congress to act on my trade, em-
The Freedom to Own and Control Your
ployment, and productivity proposals to:
Property: You have the right to keep and
-Increase job retraining and other initia-
use your property, free from government
tives which improve opportunity for
control through coercive or confiscatory reg-
the American worker.
ulation.
-Encourage science and technology by
6. To protect your right to own and use
increasing support for basic research
your property, my administration will
and development.
pursue our successful efforts in the courts to
-Enact antitrust, product liability, for-
restore your constitutional rights when the
eign corrupt practices, and other regu-
government at any level attempts to take
latory reforms that place American en-
your property through regulation or other
terprise on a level playing field with
means.
foreign competitors.
7. To protect intellectual property and to
-Improve America's ability to secure
encourage creativity, I will urge that the
free and fair trade without resorting to
Congress act on my proposals to provide
protectionist measures that destroy jobs
adequate domestic and international protec-
and harm the consumer.
745
From : SABREFAX (617)868 7916 FROM AUSPITZ (617)628 6228
P01
SABRE FOUNDATION, INC.
Josiah Lee Auspitz, Secretary
telephone 617/868-3510
P.O. Box 483
fax 617/868-7916
Somerville, MA 02144
telex 415187 est ud
November 26, 1991
FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION
from: LEE AUSPITZ
to: GENE SCHAERR
at: C/O BOYDEN GRAY
202/456-7929
no of pages (including this one) : 2
message:
As promised a description of the plans in train for Madison's
Montpelier for use and background as speech material. I have
asked Jim Davison and David Keating of the National Taxpayer's
Foundation (543-1300) to send you a program schedule for the
conference of Eastern European ministers and constitution-writers
that will precede the President's visit, and also other speech
materials under the head of "Prosperity and the Rule of Law".
Jack Walter's office (673-4105) at the National Trust for
Historic Preservation should have now sent you a memorandum
adopted by the Trust, "Mr. Madison's Decade" that includes some
material on Madison's intellectual heritage.
From : SABREFAX (617)868 7916 FROM AUSPITZ (617)628 6228
P02
TO: GENE SCHAERR
FROM: LEE AUSPITZ
RE: PLANS FOR MADISON'S MONTPELIER
Background: The National Trust for Historic Preservation has
launched a coordinated plan to make Montpelier, the James Madison
estate, a central focus of its efforts during the coming ten
years. The property will be treated in a way unusual for house
museums and presidential homesteads. In addition to physical
renovation and public visitation programs, the National Trust
will found at the property an intellectual center to continue a
"Madisonian tradition" of constitutional and related studies.
A Living Constitutional Mission: Montpelier will thus have an
intellectual mission unique in the treatment of presidential
residences-- a mission especially appropriate to the contribution
of James Madison to America's constitutional heritage.
Montpelier will house a living intellectual center devoted not
merely to studies about Madison but to contemporary work in a
Madisonian tradition, as exemplified in his seminal essays in The
Federalist, his Notes on the Constitutional Convention, his
central role in the development and ratification of the Bill of
Rights, and his tenure as President and Secretary of State. The
center will draw international fellows as well as American
practitioners to Montpelier to discuss and reflect upon the
future of free institutions. A program of long- and short-term
resident fellows, conferences, colloquia and publication will
give continuing force to America's constitutional traditions.
Presidential Visit: The announcement of this program will occur
during the Presidential visit to Montpelier in commemoration of
the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights on December 16, 1991. The
president's address at a luncheon will also be the closing
Jim
session of a conference of Cabinet ministers and constitution-
Writers from 14 Eastern European countries and Soviet republics.
Myra
Their presence illustrates the continuing vitality of the
Lend
America's constitutional heritage. At the same time a
comprehensive $30 million physical renovation of the Madison
mansion, the surrounding 2700-acre estate and more than 130 out-
buildings and residences will be announced by the Secretary of
the Interior in a partnership involving the Foundation for James
Madison's Montpelier and the National Park Service.
Relation to Bush Administration Programs: The Montpelier
opportunity enables the President's to underline his
constitutional philosophy of strong but limited government,
identify himself with the "Father of the Constitution", and also
underline his work in "Preserving America's Heritage", a category
in this year's and last year's budget.
DRAFT 12/2/91
Suggested Outline Of Montpelier Speech
As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights,
it is important to remember the structural and philosophical
foundations that guarantee and give meaning to the various
freedoms -- such as free speech, free exercise of religion,
and the right to a fair trial -- that are expressly
protected by the Bill of Rights.
-
Most constitutions -- including those of the communist
regimes that, until recently, ruled most of Eastern
Europe -- purport to provide most of the individual
freedoms protected by our own Bill of Rights. What is
different about the American Constitution is that it
also implemented a structure and a philosophy that have
so far protected these freedoms effectively.
-
Three of these foundations, however, are under attack
in Washington. Their demise would undermine, if not
destroy, the basic freedoms that we celebrate today.
Limited Government. One of the foundations of the entire
1n 5'
Constitution was the idea that the national government was
to have limited responsibilities and powers. Obviously, the
fewer responsibilities and powers any government has, the
not
less of a threat it poses to individual liberty.
-
Madison and most of the other Founders believed that
the federal government would have such a limited reach
that a bill of rights was not even needed. [Madison
quotes from 1787 convention, Virginia ratifying
convention]
-
Today, most of our national leaders in Washington seem
to have replaced the Founders' vision of limited
government with a vision of pervasive government. Most
Washington politicians would like the federal
government to regulate everything from child care
facilities to the price of corn in Iowa. Such a vision
poses an obvious threat to individual liberty.
-
It also threatens the economic well-being of our
Nation. In 1800, the federal budget was
percent
of
our gross national product. Today that figure is over
25 percent. And this does not even count the enormous
indirect costs imposed by the government, such as the
cost of complying with government regulations.
Parity of Economic and Intellectual Freedom. Another
foundation of our constitutional system was the related idea
that economic liberty and prosperity are as important to
"the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness" as intellectual
freedom. Government, as Madison put it, should give "free
scope to industry."
-
One of the principal purposes of the original
Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to create a
political order more conducive to economic prosperity
than the Articles of Confederation had been. The
original Constitution promoted economic prosperity by,
among other things, abolishing trade barriers and other
obstacles to economic growth; by providing for the
protection of patents and copyrights; and by setting up
a legal system for the efficient resolution of disputes
among citizens of different states.
The Bill of Rights contained additional measures -- the
takings and due process clauses of the Fifth Amendment
that were designed to promote economic prosperity by
protecting property rights.
-
Today, all three branches of the federal government
make every effort to protect intellectual freedom, as
well they should. However, Congress in particular
seems to have lost the Founders' vision of the
importance of economic liberty and economic prosperity.
Instead, Congress all too often:
(1) attempts to erect or maintain trade barriers;
(2) passes statutes that drain from the economy
billions of dollars a year in legal expenses,
either by adding new legal causes of action or by
clouse have keep
bucking difficult policy issues to the courts;
(3) burdens the economy with unnecessary
regulation; and
us your n and r states
(4) refuses to remove one of the most serious
obstacles to economic growth, namely, high taxes
on capital gains.
Equal Application of the Laws. Yet another foundation of
our constitutional system was the Founders' assumption that
members of Congress would be fully subject to any laws they
passed, and would therefore have a powerful incentive to
ensure that the federal government did not trample on
individual rights.
Fachons
-
In Federalist 57, Madison invoked this assumption to
rebut the charge that Congress would sacrifice the
interests of the many "to the aggrandizement of the
Speen
23rl. 07 law
few. " A ruler's subjecting itself to the same rules as
it imposes on the public, in Madison's words, had
"always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which
human policy can connect the rulers and the people
together," creating between them "that communion of
interests and sympathy of sentiments
without
which every government degenerates into tyranny."
-
Today, however, Congress frequently exempts itself from
laws that it imposes on private citizens and the
Executive branch. Examples include laws against
discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national
origin, disability, and age; the independent counsel
law; and most parts of the Privacy Act. No practice
poses a greater threat to the freedom of ordinary
citizens.
I hope that those of you who are now writing constitutions
for the nations of Eastern Europe will remember these
structural and philosophical foundations as you complete
your work. And I hope that we in the United States will
remember -- and return to -- the foundations that have so
far made the Bill of Rights a reality rather than an empty
promise.
P.01
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:47
POWELL TATE
A Cassidy Company
TO: ROBERT SMON
Telephone: 202.347.6633
FROM: CUAUDIA PETERS
WASHINGTON, DC 20005
655 FIFTEENTH STREET, NW, SUITE 1100
CLAUDIA B. PETERS
a Cassidy Company
POWELL TATE
DATE: 12-9-91
Fax: 202.347.8713
FAX #: 202-456-6218
# OF PAGES: 26 w/cover sheet-
RE: BACKGROUND INfoR MATION -
MONTPELIER, JAMES MADISON,
THE BILL of RIGHTS.
Box
Deres The information
imprised let are know
of 2 can get you
If you have any problems or questions regarding this fax, please contact Claudea
anything else.
at (202) 347-6633, FAX (202) 347-8713.
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:47
P. 02
MONTPELIER, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
by
Frank E. Sanchis
With Montpelier as our guide, the National Trust is engaged in an ongoing "Search for
James Madison." Yet the opposite is also true. With Madison as our guide, we are engaged
in a search for Montpelier.
Actually, three guides are helping us in this search. James Madison Sr., who built the
original house in 1755, is one. President Madison, who twice expanded it, is another. And
William duPont, whose turn-of-the-century additions turned a colonial home into a country
estate, is the third. Montpelier today incorporates the homes of all three men.
To be sure, deciding how to interpret and present three distinctly different homes-in-one
is an unusual challenge, one we are meeting step by step. Step one, for example, was to make
the building safe so the public could witness our "search" for Madison.
Fortunately, our date for opening Montpelier coincided with the bicentennial of the
Constitution, Given Madison's contribution to that document, we were awarded a $1 million
grant by the Bicentennial Commission and a comparable grant from the Commonwealth of
Virginia. This money enabled us to improve access for the disabled, as well as overhaul the fire
detection, sprinkler, electrical and sewage systems.
This made Montpelier safe, if not entirely sound. A new roof is our next priority and
will require more than half a million dollars. In addition, the house is in poor condition
cosmetically, partly because of our decision to use scarce funds for safety measures, but mostly
because we decided against restoring the house until we clearly understood its architectural
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:48
P. 03
history.
This challenge has gone through several phases. With grant money from various
foundations, we began a detailed analysis of Montpelier's interior surface, as well as an
investigation of the building's physical structure. This taught us a great deal about how the
building evolved from one period to another as each new owner put his personal stamp on it.
One way we use this knowledge is by "recreating" with cut-out drawings the places where the
doors, windows and walls of Madison's dining room were once located. We are also doing
extensive archeological work on the grounds.
Today, we are in the process of deciding how, and to what extent, we will present
Montpelier as the home of both the Madison family and the duPont families. Essentially, we
aim to present to the public a Montpelier that is primarily Madisonian on the inside, while
preserving the exterior grounds, gardens and other structures as the duPonts left them.
Because Montpelier is not a conventional museum property, we are not interpreting it in
a conventional way. How fortunate we are, and how fitting it is, that Madison's genius for
fashioning a government that incorporates the many facets of human nature guides us in our
approach to the interpretation and presentation of a many-faceted historic place.
Frank E, Sanchis is the Vice President of Stewardship of Historic Properties of the National
Trust for Historic Preservation,
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:48
P.04
VIRGINIA RATIFIES BILL OF RIGHTS:
TEN AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION BAR ABUSES
BY NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 15, 1791 -- The United States has a Bill of Rights today after
the Virginia State Assembly made the Old Dominion the 11th state to ratify a package of ten
Constitutional amendments designed to prevent abuses of power by the national government.
Approval by at least three-fourths of the 14 states was required to add the amendments to the
two-and-one-half-year-old U.S. Constitution.
The amendments say Congress may not interfere with freedom of speech or freedom of
the press, or establish an official religion. They guarantee the right to a speedy trial by jury,
as well as the right to hear and question opposing witnesses. They also bar prosecution for the
same crime twice. Government authorities are prohibited from "unreasonable searches and
seizures" of citizens and their homes and must show "probable cause" in order to obtain a legal
permission for a search. The quartering of soldiers in private homes and "cruel and unusual
punishment" are also forbidden. Noting the need for states to maintain militia, the second
amendment says "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
In addition to these specific guarantees, which were modeled on the Declaration of Rights
in the Virginia Constitution, the ninth amendment says the failure to explicitly list certain rights
"shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The tenth
amendment adds that powers not expressly granted to the national government by the
Constitution remain with the states.
Virginia, home state of President Washington, was among several jurisdictions that
virtually demanded adoption of a Bill of Rights in return for ratification of the Constitution in
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:49
P. 05
1788. Patrick Henry, the leader of Virginia's Anti-Federalist party that opposed the
Constitution, said at that time that "the rights of conscience, trial by jury, liberty of the press,
all your communities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and privileges are rendered
insecure, if not lost" because of the proposed Constitution.
Virginia's adoption of the Bill of Rights was a huge personal triumph for U.S.
Representative James Madison of Orange, Va., who assembled the amendments and guided them
through Congress. Madison, regarded as the principal author of the Constitution, has been a
sound and consistent advocate of strong central government. He was instrumental in convening
the Constitutional Convention that discarded the Articles of Confederation, faced down Henry
and the Anti-Federalists in Virginia, and joined Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in
leading the national campaign for the new Constitution.
Madison said adoption of the Bill of Rights should calm the fears of those who believe
the national government could become the tool of despots and trample the rights of the states and
their citizens. He said explicitly listing Americans' rights in the Constitution "may be one
means to control the majority from those (tyrannical) acts which they might be otherwise
inclined."
Madison initially opposed a Bill of Rights, but reversed himself in order to win
ratification of the Constitution. Political leaders in many states including Madison's home state
agreed to support the Constitution only in exchange for pledges to add a Bill of Rights.
Convinced that success of the new government required the widest possible public
support, Madison told Congress that a Bill of Rights should be adopted "if we can make the
Constitution better in the opinion of those who are opposed to it, without weakening its frame,
or abridging its usefulness." Under his prodding, the national legislature produced a set of 12
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:50
P.06
amendments and submitted them to the states for approval in September 1789. With Virginia's
vote, ten of the amendments are now part of the Constitution.
The amendments were previously ratified by New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina, New Hampshire, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and
Vermont. Connecticut, Georgia and Massachusetts have not acted.
5
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:50
P.07
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE:
THE MADISONIAN MOMENT
by
A.E. Dick Howard
The advent of constitutional democracy in Central and Eastern Europe demonstrates the
power of ideas. Nearly a half-century of alien domination did not insulate Poles, Hungarians,
Czechs, Slovaks and others in the region from yearning to live in freedom and human dignity -
- an aspiration that knows no national boundaries.
As drafters in Central and Eastern Europe turn to the making of constitutions and bills
of rights, they join in a process with an ancient ancestry. Hungary's Golden Bull of 1222, like
England's Magna Carta only seven years before, is an early example of a search for ways to
restrain the abuses of power. Poland's great constitution of May 3, 1791, was another landmark
on the road to constitutionalism.
Modern notions about constitutional government owe much to the work of the American
founders. The great experiment that produced the Constitution of the United States and the Bill
of Rights for Virginia generated intense interest across the Atlantic. George Mason's 1776
Declaration of Rights for Virginia influenced not only the other American states but also the
1789 French Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen. When the Swiss, more than a half
century later, drafted their 1848 Constitution, they drew heavily upon the insights that James
Madison and his colleagues built into the U.S. Constitution.
The American drafters owed a great debt, of course, to European thinkers and ideas.
From the British Constitution, Americans derived the concept of due process of law. John
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:51
P. 08
Locke's writings nurtured the idea of a constitution as a social compact. In shaping the
separation of powers, Americans drew upon the inspiration of Montesquieu - the "great oracle,"
as Madison called him.
As Americans celebrate the bicentennial of their Constitution and Bill of Rights, the
peoples of Central and Eastern Europe are having their own Madisonian moment. Drafters in
Prague, Warsaw and other capitals debate issues of constitutional government that would be
familiar to any student of American history.
The constitutional drafter must decide what principles are sufficiently fundamental to be
included in a constitution. A constitution is not a code of laws, as the Philadelphia framers
understood. Yet the architects of a constitution will find themselves under pressure to write a
document that looks like a political party's platform.
What should a constitution say about executive power? About the legislative process?
What rights should be proclaimed? How is the constitution to be enforced? These are the kinds
of questions that tested the skills of the framers of 1787, and they are the questions that surface
two hundred years later.
Constitutional democracy however, requires more than a good constitution. Making
reality of consent of the governed requires a multi-party system and fair and free elections. The
open society depends upon robust debate and a free press. The army, the police, and other
organs and officials of government must accept restraints that respect human dignity and
individual freedom.
Ultimately, the success of constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe turns -- as it
does in the United States - on a mature civic spirit. Leaders with the moral authority of a
Václav Havel or an Arpad Goncz can play their part. But the vitality of constitutional
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:51
P. 09
government rests, above all, on how well the people themselves understand its premises and
challenges.
A nation neglects civil education at its peril. "What spectacle," asked Madison, "can be
more edifying, or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning, each leaning on the other
for their mutual and surest support?" As the nations of Central and Eastern Europe work with
the bricks and mortar of constitutionalism, they remind free people everywhere of the never-
ending commitment that liberty entails.
A.E. Dick Howard is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at
the University of Virginia. He has consulted with drafters of constitutions in Hungary, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:52
P. 10
(Letter from Jack Walter to be prominently placed)
MONTPELIER: THE SEARCH FOR JAMES MADISON
by
J. Jackson Walter
Thank you for joining us on this excursion to James Madison's Montpelier. It is the
culmination of a journey of celebration that began in 1987 when we opened Montpelier to the
public. On that occasion, the bicentennial of the Constitution allowed us to showcase the home
of the man who was chiefly responsible for its creation. Today, the bicentennial of the Bill of
Rights has afforded us the same opportunity. We are proud that Montpelier has been a focal
point of the four-year nationwide observance of the birth of our government.
Yet the question has been asked, "Why the need to travel to Montpelier in Orange,
Virginia? Couldn't we commemorate this event almost anywhere?"
We might as well put that question to Madison himself. "Why, Jemmy, the need to
continually travel back to Montpelier? Couldn't that extraordinary mind and graceful pen do
their work almost anywhere?"
"No," he would have answered. "For I am a product of Montpelier just as it is a product
of me. You cannot separate us."
Indeed you cannot. Our environment plays a vital part in shaping our character, and
more than any place on earth, Montpelier was Madison's environment. In order to understand
him, we must know the forces that shaped him. Chief among them was his home.
This is why preserving and restoring Montpelier is SO important. It is the key to
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:52
P. 11
understanding the life and times and contributions of one of our nation's most influential
thinkers. And this is also why we at the National Trust for Historic Preservation seek to
preserve Montpelier not as a static museum, but as an inspirational setting for all who share
Madison's conviction that in shaping the course of human events, knowledge is our only true
guide. We want everyone from scholars to school children to come to Montpelier and join what
we call "The Search for James Madison."
There are practical reasons to restore Montpelier as well. As a heritage tourism site,
Montpelier's economic as well as cultural impact on the surrounding Orange County community
will be significant. Few other excursions are as educational and rewarding as a visit to a
historically significant place. Today, few are as popular.
But in the end, preserving and restoring Montpelier is important because it has a positive
effect on the quality of our lives. Montpelier keeps us in touch with a past that saw the creation
of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. It provides us with the direction for the future as
well.
And so, even though one journey ends at Montpelier today with this celebration of our
Bill of Rights, another journey continues. It is the search for James Madison, a search that at
once will also take us back into the past and forward into the future.
It is a journey that will never end, especially as more of the world's emerging
democracies join the search for Madison, inspired by his vision and their hope for a better
future. It all begins at Montpelier. For that reason, we must and we can preserve it.
J. Jackson Walter is the President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
1
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:53
P. 12
Man in the News
JAMES MADISON JR.
ORANGE, Va., Dec. 15, 1791 --- James Madison Jr., author of the Constitution and
driving force behind the Bill of Rights, is an intellectual and idealist - a quiet, unassuming man
unduly overshadowed in politics by his imposing contemporaries.
One of the great thinkers of these early days of the republic, this constitutional scholar
is also known as an accomplished ghost writer and skilled political strategist.
Madison, whom Thomas Jefferson calls his "pillar of support," is generally acknowledged
as one of the country's most eloquent statesmen and shrewdest politicians.
In fact, Madison is all of these - and more. A farmer gentleman with a passion for
science, a taste for the arts and a voracious appetite for the classics. He is a complex man: a
blend of intelligence and skill, housed in a slight, 5-foot-6 frame. Physical appearance,
however, belies his historical stature.
Unlike some other men of our time, Madison has made his mark not on the battlefield
of war, but in the battle of ideas. He is, as much as anyone, a "child of the revolution," taken
with the principles that lit the torch of liberty in the colonies.
The son of Virginia gentry, he was born March 16, 1751, Growing up here on the
family plantation, Montpelier, he was bookish and often sickly as a youth.
Low-key and soft-spoken, what he lacks in dynamism or charm, Madison makes up for
in intellect. After racing through Princeton in two years and doing a term of graduate work,
deep religious and philosophical convictions drew him into a spiral of debate that would shape
the nation. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he began to see the inadequacy of states'
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:54
P. 13
rights, a conversation that would catapult him to the fore of the crusade for federalism.
Somewhat disillusioned by the fits and starts of the Congress, he went into seclusion in
1785. Over the next two years he thought about designing a new form of government, and
together with Virginia's young governor, Edmund Randolph, drew up the Virginia Plan.
Although this plan was intended as a rough draft, or "mere sketch" as Madison called it, it
envisioned a powerful central government that would be divided into separate but equal
branches, with the states a further counterbalance to its power.
It was this plan that awaited the founders in May 1787, when they arrived in Philadelphia
to draft a Constitution and argue the future of their young nation. The country was in need of
direction. The weak government offered by the Articles of Confederation had led to years of
drift.
With the Virginia Plan as their blueprint, they debated rights, powers and structure: how
authority would be divided between the center and independent-minded states. Madison spoke
more than 200 times and took copious notes as its unofficial recorder. Behind the scenes he
skillfully guided its progress, finding compromise where no one else could. He argued for a
republic structured in such a way that checks and balances on the various sources of power
would "enable the government to control itself." With SO many competing interests, no single
one could rule supreme.
"Nothing has excited more admiration in the world than the manner in which free
governments have been established in America," Madison said months later. "For it was the
first instance from the creation of the world to the American revolution that the free inhabitants
have been seen deliberating on a form of government and selecting much of their citizens as
possessed their confidence. But why has this excited so much wonder and applause? Because
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DEC- 9-91 MON 19:54
P. 14
it is of so much magnitude and because it is liable to be frustrated by SO many accidents."
Madison deftly maneuvered around the boundaries of the convention's restrictive
mandate. He couched his own ideas in the more moderate politics of his ally, Governor
Randolph, to improve the odds for their adoption. And when he needed a powerful endorsement
for the convention's work, he all but tricked President Washington into attending.
Once the Constitution was signed, the challenge was selling it to the states. Madison the
polemicist became Madison the propagandist. He joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
to make the case for the new Constitution in the essays known as the Federalist Papers.
Madison wrote 29 of the 85 papers.
In 1789 at the age of 38, Madison, beating James Monroe in a landslide election, took
his seat as member of the House of Representatives in the first Congress. Madison quickly
became the House's most important member. He has also been one of President Washington's
most trusted advisors, giving him a position of influence over the young government that few
others could claim.
For some it has not been easy to abandon the old ways of their European ancestry. In
wrestling with how the newly elected president should be addressed, for example, the Senate
opted in the name of dignity, for "His Highness, the President of the United States of America,
and Protector of the Rights of the Same."
Madison, however, found that too regal, too pretentious. He persuaded his colleagues
to resist cloaking a symbol of democracy in aristocratic airs and instead proposed a simple form
of address: "The President of the United States."
At the time of the Constitutional Convention, Madison and others saw no need for a bill
of rights. With the power of the government limited by law, they saw no danger that the rights
13-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:55
P. 15
of citizens would or could be abridged. "Why declare that things shall not be done which there
is no power to do?" Hamilton wrote in Federalist 84.
Yet Madison quickly realized that the American public did not share that view, and that
if his Constitution was to be ratified, specific limits on federal power would have to be spelled
out. Thus he warmed to the idea of the bill of rights that would "extinguish from the bosom of
every member of the community any apprehensions" that the government could, at some point,
trample the basic liberties "for which they valiantly fought and honorably bled."
"As a man is said to have a right to his property," he said, "he may be equally said to
have property in his rights."
With a proviso that any rights unspecified by the Constitution be left to the people or the
states, Madison made the Bill of Rights a major order of congressional business. He worked
and reworked 210 amendments proposed by the states, narrowing them down to a dozen. In the
end, ten were ratified.
Though considered by many to be the author of the Constitution, the modest Madison
dismisses the sobriquet as "a credit to which I have no claim."
"This was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain," he
asserts. "It ought to be regarded as a work of many hands and many heads."
- 14-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:55
P. 16
(Guest Column)
THE PEOPLE'S BILL OF RIGHTS
by
James MacGregor Burns
The framing and passage of the Bill of Rights was a supreme moral achievement. These
ten amendments, finally added to the Constitution by the Virginia legislature on December 15,
1791, stand as a beacon of freedom two hundred years later - for Americans and especially for
people seeking to build freedom and democracy around the globe.
But the Bill of Rights was also a highly political act -- framed by politicians, argued over
by politicians, adopted by politicians and from start to finish demanded by the populace.
We all remember that the Framers "left out" a bill of rights from the Constitution they
drafted in the summer of 1787. Anti-Federalists used this omission to help rally people against
the new charter. Politicians at the state ratifying conventions worked out a masterly
compromise: doubtful convention delegates -- many of them from the hinterland -- would vote
on the new charter if the Federalist leaders who would promise to add bill of rights amendments
as soon as the new government was established. These leaders honored that promise.
Politicians produced the draft amendments and pushed them through the Congress by two-thirds
votes and then through the legislatures.
Liberty-loving Americans had feared above all that a powerful federal government might
threaten their individual liberties. In the late 1790s their nightmare turned into reality. Through
the Alien and Sedition Acts, the government under President John Adams jailed people for
IS
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:56
P. 17
simply speaking out against the administration. Jefferson and Madison stopped this after
winning the election of 1800. Once more it was the people -- or at least the male whites who
voted - who came to the defense of liberty.
Truly, the Bill of Rights is a people's charter.
James MacGregor Burns is a professor of government emeritus at Williams College and
a senior scholar at the Jepson School of Leadership at the University of Richmond. Mr. Burns
is co-author with Stewart Burns of A People's Charter: The Pursuit of Rights in America,
published December 15 by Knopf.
- 16-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:56
P. 18
DOLLEY MADISON
Influential First Lady
Dolley Madison has been called the nation's first great political hostess and was certainly
one of its most beloved. She was a fun-loving woman with a weakness for the latest Parisian
fashions, and was known at times to unabashedly rouge her cheeks "like a jolly jezebel."
Dolley Payne Todd (her first husband died in a yellow fever epidemic, leaving her with
a young son) married James Madison in 1794 after a brief courtship. The two were introduced
by Madison's good friend, Aaron Burr,
White House Hostess
Before her husband's election as president in 1808, Dolley served as unofficial first lady
to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, a widower, would often ask her to be his hostess on those
occasions when women were among the expected guests. During these eight years, James
Madison served as Jefferson's secretary of state.
Dolley became known in her own right for the hospitality she provided at her informal
Wednesday evening gatherings, where movers and shakers of the day would come for
entertainment and conversation. An invitation to her salon was among the most coveted social
prizes of the day. The guest list often included Republicans as well as Federalists, British as
well as French and virtually anyone with a letter of introduction to the Madisons.
- 17-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:57
P. 19
"Everybody loves Mrs. Madison.'
Dolley's gregarious manner was in sharp contrast to her husband's reserved, even shy,
demeanor. As he spent evenings engrossed in private conversation, she would perk up parlor
games with low-stakes wagering and add pep to her parties by spiking the punch with rum and
brandy. Henry Clay, a Wednesday evening regular, once remarked, "Everybody loves Mrs.
Madison."
Fashion Plate
Dolley was also famous for fashion. Raised as a Quaker, she was later disowned by the
Society of Friends for marrying outside the faith. Once freed from religious taboos, she
indulged herself in the opulent fashions of the times by wearing bright gowns and colorful
turbans adorned with feathers.
Dolley became a trend-setter. Her influence was so great that if she emphasized a certain
color or wore a particular style or dress, other women would quickly follow her example, both
in the United States and Europe. But Dolley did not dress to impress others. "I care not for
newness for its own sake," she once said. "I use only that which is pleasing to me."
White House Renovation
Not all of Dolley's activities were frivolous. As a new tenant of the White House, she
was appalled at the poor condition of its interior. She invited several influential Members of
- 18-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:58
P.20
Congress to see for themselves how run down it had become. Shortly afterward, Congress
appropriated money for rebuilding and refurnishing the executive mansion. Dolley worked
closely with Benjamin Latrobe, the original architect, in its reconstruction.
"The British Are Coming"
Most Americans know Dolley for her bravery during the burning of Washington in the
War of 1812. In late August 1814, James Madison learned that the British had landed in
Maryland and were heading toward Washington. He immediately left to inspect preparations
for the defense of the capital and urged his wife to leave for the safety of Virginia; she refused
until certain he was safe.
As the British troops approached, Dolley commandeered a large wagon and several
servants to help save documents, silver, and china from the White house, along with a large
portrait of George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart.
The Madison's Retirement - "happiest and most true life"
When Madison left the presidency in 1817, he and Dolley retired to his family's Virginia
estate, Montpelier, where they continued to entertain on a grand scale. In a letter to her sister
in the summer of 1820, Dolley described the delight and pleasure she received from welcoming
a great number of guests to Montpelier: "I am less worried here with an hundred visitors than
with twenty-five in Washington -- this summer especially. I wish, dearest, you had just such
a country home as this. I truly believe it is the happiest and most true life. "
- 19-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:58
P.21
Tragically, Dolley was forced to sell the sprawling plantation after Madison's death to
settle the heavy gambling debts of her son, John Payne Todd. In an act of generosity, Congress
set up a trust for Dolley Madison, which provided her a modest income until her death in 1849.
Dolley Madison is buried next to her husband in the Madison family cemetery on the
Montpelier grounds.
20-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:59
P.22
(An Editorial)
THE NINETIES: MR. MADISON'S DECADE
Historical events and figures often seem irrelevant to modern life, but the struggle to
establish democracy in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has kindled new appreciation for
the genius of America's Founding Fathers and the success of their experiment in republican
government. Renewed interest in the American form of government as a model for the world's
fledgling democracies should also mean some overdue appreciation for James Madison, the
philosophical father of the American experiment.
Long overshadowed by such legendary contemporaries as Washington and Jefferson,
Madison is a man for the 1990s. The final years of the 20th century may well be Madison's
decade as political leaders in Eastern Europe and the erstwhile Soviet Union search his writings
for guidance on the path to democracy.
The struggle to balance the rush to independence by the Soviet Republics with the need
for some effective central authority and the demands for autonomy by Eastern Europe's ethnic
minorities have parallels in the efforts of Madison and his contemporaries to divide federal and
state perogatives.
Guided by Madison, America's founders turned conventional wisdom on its head.
Political sophisticates of the 18th century believed republican government could succeed only
in small communities. These theorists assumed that as a republic grew, competing factions'
pursuit of parochial interests would undermine the common goals needed to sustain a unified
republic.
21-
DEC- 9-91 MON 19:59
P.23
But Madison held that the competition of factions would, in fact, promote the common
good and protect the republic against majority tyranny. Factions would be checked by one
another. As it became clear that no single group could dominate, the notion of a common
interest would gain credence,
Madison believed a "compound republic" could cope with the problems of diversity and
scale by using the organs of government itself to perform a restraining function. He argued that
the small republics of ancient times failed precisely because their small size enabled single
factions to tyrannize minorities. Moreover, their small scale exposed these communities to
external threats from larger states. In Madison's view, the failure of America's initial form of
government -- flowing from the Articles of Confederation - demonstrated that trying to meet
external threats through loose confederations of small republics would not work,
Madison believed the key to republicanism was a system of "checks and balances" that,
in effect, institutionalized factions. He persuaded the young nation's political leadership to
balance the organs of government on three levels: Jurisdiction was divided between a national
government and the states, a separation of powers was established among the national
government's three branches, and a written constitution served as a limiting authority on the
federal system.
Madison's model, embodied in the U.S. Constitution, expressly enumerated the powers
of each branch of government. Terms of office were limited and elections were staggered to
provide protection against a government that responded too eagerly to short-term popular fevers.
Each branch and level of government had its own integrity and a sphere of competence to guard
against encroachment. But no branch would be its own final judge and each would have
incentives to complement the others and exercise self restraint.
DEC- 9-91 MON 20:00
P.24
These principles have unique resonance in the 1990s as an unprecedented number of
nation states seek to implant democratic government, in many cases without any national
experience with democratic values. Replicating the American model may not be appropriate,
but a study of Madisonian philosophy and its modification to fit local circumstances can assist
the world's newest democracies as their people begin to govern themselves.
The editors express their gratitude to Lee Auspitz whose research and analysis are the
basis for this editorial.
DEC- 9-91 MON 20:00
P.25
Briefing for President George Bush's
Visit to Montpelier/Orange County, Virginia.
December 16, 1991
ORANGE COUNTY POPULATION 22,000
* Formed in 1734. Orange County was named after Prince
William IV of Orange.
*Orange County has about 355 acres located between
Fredricksburg to the East and Charlottesville to the West.
*Farming, Cattle raising, wineries and tourism are principal
businesses of Orange County.
*Alexander Spotswood was an early settler of Orange County
as well as numerous German families who came to work the
iron mines in the early 1700's.
*Prior to the European and English settlers the area was in-
habited by tribes of Manohoac, Iroquis, and Sapony American
Indians.
*President Zachary Taylor's ancestors owned property in
Orange County including the household at Bloomsbury near
the Orange County Airport.
*Route 20 that runs through the county and in front of the
Orange County airport was designated as "The Constitution
Highway" by the Virginia General Assembly.
"In 1723 4675 acres were patented to Ambrose
Madison. This tract is the present site of Montpelier, built by
James Madison ,Sr., improved on by President James Madison,
and William duPont Sr. and is now the property of The Na-
tional Trust. President Madison and several family members
rest on the slopes of the rolling hills of Montpelier,
DEC- 9-91 MON 20:01
P.28
Town of Orange Population 2600
# Originally called The Village of Orange Courthouse in the
early 1750's, it was formed as the Town of Orange in 1872.
* In colonial days the area was visited by such famous people
as the General Marquis de Lafayette and Patrick Henry.
During the Civil War Orange was used as a staging area for
the battles that took place close to town at Cedar Mountain,
Wilderness and Chancellorsville. General Lee took time out
to worship at the Saint Thomas Episcopal Church in Orange.
The Town of Gordonsville Population 1500
* Formed in the late 1780's it played a key role in the Civil
War, transporting troops and supplies for General Lee's Army
of Northern Virginia. Gordonsville's Exchange Hotel was con-
verted to a hospital to care for thousands of wounded soldiers
from both sides.
Montpelier.
* The home of James and Dolley Madison is used for many
events in addition to tours by visitors from all over the
world. The Orange County Fair is held there as well as a num-
ber of, wine festivals, craft shows, the Montpelier Races, and
educational seminars. A group of European constitutional re-
searchers as well as the President of Hungary were also hosted
at Montpclier.
The property consists of about 2700 acres , 200 out build-
ings,a race track, and steeplechase course.
This information provided by the Orange County Visitor
Bureau. Additional details may be obtained from Pamela
Humbert Director of Tourism, Orange County or Ray
Lonick President Orange County Visitor Bureau.
703-672-1653 Orange County Visitor Office
703-672-0731
Pamela Humbert (home)
703-672-3625
Ray Lonick (home) Fax 703-672-5029
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Prosperity and the Rule of Law
A Conference on Constitutions and Laws
for Central and Eastern Europe
Washington, DC and Orange, VA, USA
December 13-16, 1991
The countries emerging from communism in Central and Eastern Europe each
desperately need to raise living standards. Prosperity provides both a decent
standard of living and the stability to protect new found freedoms.
A potentially historic conference, Prosperity and the Rule of Law, will
assemble some of the world's leading experts to discuss how to create an
environment to foster economic growth and freedom.
A small and influential group of decision makers from the new republics who
are charged with either writing new constitutions and laws or guiding economic
policy will be invited to the conference, which will be held at the estate of
James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution. Even before invitations were
officially extended, the Ministers of Justice of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
countries. said that they were eager to attend and assemble delegations from their
President George Bush will speak at the conference on December 16 to
commemorate the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.
Topics for discussion at the conference include:
America's Bill of Rights and the History of Limits on Government.
James Madison, Father of the U.S. Constitution.
How Private Property Rights Protect Human Rights and Create
Prosperity.
A Sound Currency, Its Role in a Healthy Economy.
The Link Between Tax Policy and Economic Growth.
Commercial Law: Encouraging Business Development, Minimizing
Bureaucracy and Protecting Investment and Consumers.
The Economic History of Prosperity and The Rule of Law.
Enforcing The Rule of Law.
Invited and confirmed speakers include: Nobel Laureate James Buchanan;
Mancur Olson; Richard Epstein; Steve Hanke; and James MacGregor Burns. The
Virginia, which is a short trip from Washington, DC.
group will meet in Washington and at James Madison's Montpelier in Orange,
The conference is sponsored by the Swedish Taxpayers Association, National
Taxpayers Union Foundation and Sabre Foundation in cooperation with the
Foundation for James Madison's Montpelier.
dk33:40
+2025462086
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Participant
Title
Republic
Avanessian, Vahram
Advisor to the State Economic Cmte. for Economic Reform
Armenia
Malkhasian, Kevork
Director, Legal Affairs Dept., Ministry of Justice
Armenia
Stepanian, Vahe
Minister of Justice
Armenia
Radkevich, Vladimir
Chairman, State Cmte. for Foreign Economic Relations
Belarus
Vikentjevitch, Sadovskiy Petr
Chairman, Commission on Internat'l. Affairs & Foreign Economic Relations
Belarus
Erzhanov, Galichan
Minister of Justice
Kazakhastan
Barbinjagra, Aleksel
Minister of Justice
Moldova
Moshanu, Alexandru
President, Parliament of Moldova
Moldova
Chirca, Sergiu
Professor, Doctor in Economics
Moldova
Ambarsamov, Yevgeni Arshakovich
Member, Foreign Affairs Committee
Russia
Bogomolov, Oleg
Director, Institute of Internat'l. Economic & Political Studies
Russia
Klyamkin, lgor
Professor, Institute of Internat". Economic & Political Studies
Russia
Mikhilovich Shakhrai, Sergei
Member, Russian Peoples' Assembly
Russia
Tolstoy, Mikhail
Member, Russian Peoples' Assembly
Russia
Zolotuhin, Boris Andrevich
Member, Laws Committee
Russia
Savchenko, Oleksandr
Vice Pres., Ukrainian Nat'l Bank
Ukraine
Dabrowski, Marek
Head of Privatization Commission
Poland
Kamenicka, Jana
Deputy to the Minister of Justice
Czech
Kamlach, Milan
Dir., Leg. Dept., Minister of Justice
Czech
Kocarnik, Ivan
Deputy Minister of Finance
Czech/Slovak
Macek, Miroslav
Civic Democratic Party
Czechoslovakia
Bogdan, Tibor
Deputy Minister of Justice
Hungary
Oros, Paulina
Interpreter for Dr. Bogdan
Hungary
Glapinski, Adam
Minister of Construction
Poland
Lewandowski, Janusz
Minister of Ownership Changes
Poland
Bachar, Viadislav
Slovak
Danco, Jozef
Minister of Finance
Slovak
Kohut, Sergej
Vice Minister of Justice
Slovak
Stiffel, Harald
Deputy to the Minister of Justice
Slovak
Miller, Rein
Minister of Finance
Estonia
Raidla, Juri
Minister of Justice
Estonia
Juknevicius, Zenonas
First Deputy Minister of Justice
Lithuania
Palm, Elisabeth
Justice of the European Court of Human Rights
Sweden
Palm, Goran
Spouse
Sweden
Stego, Cecilia
Spouse
Sweden
Tarras-Wahlberg, Bjorn
Pres. Swedish Taxpayers Assn.
Sweden
Tantchev, Eugene
Dean, Sofia U. School of Law
Bulgaria
Paczolai, Peter
Chief Counselor, Hungarian Constitutional Court
Hungary
Christov, Lubomir
Bulgaria
Ludchnikov, Svetoslav
Minister of Justice
Bulgaria
Shentov, Ognian
Rector, Ctr. for Study of Democracy
Bulgaria
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"Prosperity and the Rule of Law"
Conference Subjects
All conference sessions will leave plenty of time for questions and answers
to promote understanding of the subjects of discussion.
Conference speakers will use English and be interpreted into Russian.
Interpreters will also be available to allow conference attendees to meet
informally with speakers between conference sessions, during meals and after the
daily sessions.
I. The Bill of Rights -- The conference will begin by reviewing the Bill
of Rights, placing it in the context of the history of limits on government
power that reach back to the Magna Carta. We will discuss James Madison's role
as father of the U.S. Constitution. The European Convention on Human Rights
will be reviewed.
Speakers: James MacGregor Burns, Professor of History, University of Virginia;
Elisabeth Palm, Justice of the European Court of Human Rights.
II. The importance of private property rights - We will examine the role
of property rights in creating prosperity and protecting freedom.
Speakers: Richard A. Epstein, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor
of Law, the University of Chicago Law School.
III. Sound monetary policy - The most important element for economic
rebirth is a sound currency. The conference will explore options for
instituting a sound currency.
Speaker: Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics, The Johns Hopkins
University.
IV. Taxes and a prudent fiscal policy --- We will examine how to write a
tax code to attract desperately needed international investment. The link
between tax policy and economic growth and the role of constitutional limits on
taxes and spending will be reviewed.
Speakers: Alvin Rabushka, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford
University; James M. Buchanan, Chairman, Center for the Study of Public Choice,
George Mason University; Gordon Tullock, Professor of Economics, University of
Arizona.
V. Commercial code - There will be a session to review the role of a
commercial code in attracting investment, minimizing the barriers to
establishing new businesses, limiting bureaucracy and protecting consumers.
Speakers to be announced.
VI. The Economic History of Prosperity and the Rule of Law - We will
review contemporary examples of how a change to the rule of law can bring
prosperity to the average citizen.
Speakers: Alvin Rabushka, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford
University; Mancur Olson, Professor of Economics, University of Maryland.
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- 2 -
VII. Problems of Enforcement - It is relatively easy to write paper
limits. limitations on government. The conference will explore options to enforce these
Speakers: Vernon Palmer, author of draft constitutions for the Congo and
Lesotho and Professor of Law, Tulane Law School; Bernard H. Siegan, Director of
Law and Economics Studies, University of San Diego Law School.
VIII. Public Goods and the Rule of Law - How privatization and property
rights enforcement can reduce the cost of development.
Speakers to be announced.
IX. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.
Speaker: President George Bush.
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