Everything you may want to read regarding The Respect for rights Conscience Act :-to be dealt with in the Senate today:
http://blunt.senate.gov/public/

IV.   CONCLUSION

The great American historian Charles Beard maintained that the framers of the Constitution were motivated by a desire to protect their own economic interests.  Therefore, the original intent of the Constitution   was to encourage finance and manufactures; and, to place the property rights of the elite class beyond the reach of popular majorities. 

The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, both of which were written by Thomas Jefferson, set forth a fundamentally different vision (which Beard personally agreed with).  These documents held that the American People were sovereign, and had certain inalienable rights upon which the elites who controlled government dare not tread. 

There is an inherent tension between those two political visions. During the period of Manifest Destiny, it was mitigated because the financial and commercial elites could exploit the economic opportunities served up by a continent rich in resources.  And the working class could move west to the frontier, seek their fortune and tell themselves this will be a great country some day, but it may take our bones in the ground to do it.   Continue reading →