That. Remembering all of that. Invited to the Robert C Byrd center for legislative studies. The title of the talk that i dissent in the constitution. My thesis is that the United States was the project of disse nt. Dissent is essential to our history. It is in our dna. It existed in us before we even became the United States. And aboutwith this 2002 when i was creating this horse at Temple University for honor student called dissent the history of an american idea they asked me to create an idea on a topic you read what topic interests me . Im from the 60s. Dissent. It makes it to me right away. I started to the course. Teachings grew out of it. He would start meeting on fridays after class talking about the historical background of contemporary issues. At the time we started the teachings we were invading iraq. This created a a lot of consternation on the part of the students wanting to talk about it and understanding why we were doing that. When i was putting together the dissent and america. I wanted the students to read what they had to say and not what someone else said about them. That was the first way i got into it. Not teaching the course i have written this book which is the narrative history of a complete study of American History right from the earliest colonial days right up to the occupied movement in the tea party. It is centralat to American History. You have, for example, in the 17th century just because of all that wasious ferment going on in europe after the protestant reformation, you had some of the first dissenters arriving in the new world. They were religious dissenters. P returns and massachusetts. Quakers i. Centuryes later in the the into the country and fighting to practice religion the way they wanted to. One of the things we have to remember is that they did not come for religious liberty. Sort of thing that that they came from religious liberty. They came for they are religious t religious liberty. The right way. Thei they were not politicsr way. Not tolerant of others coming in. Intodeas of others coming the ether around europe and the sent finally by the time you get to the 1750s and you have the Movement Toward the American Revolution. Political dissenters thought a revolution creating the united state and that this new government in which the we the people is where sovereignty lies. After the first few years of the new country, people were quite note that things were working that well. The articles of confederation was not good enough. They formed the constitution. Enough, that created a. Ot of dissent there were people pushing for the adoption of the constitution. Then there were the antifederalists who were completely against it and thought it was a terrible and because it does not enumerate right after the antifederalist protests. S, they put the bill of rights into the constitution. It was inserted into the constitution as an example of dissent actually working. Thatn the First Amendment was put in there was religious liberty, separation of church and state and the right to dissent. Americans have been dissenting ever sense. He had taken it seriously. That is the theme of the book. The history of the american ideal. We have perfected it somehow. We wrote it into the constitution. We are fighting over what it means. History, inut our the 19 century, you had women begetting to fight for the right to vote. Workers fighting for the right to unionize. The abolition. Eventually that happened with the end of the civil war. After the civil war you have a continuation of the womens fight with labor. War ino had every single the nations history have their dissenters including the revolution, including the civil war on both sides. This is a living example of that, when virginia seceded for the union there were dissenters in the western county who did not want to secede from the union so they created this beautiful state. West virginia itself is doubly a dissent. F every war in our nations history including the good war, world war ii, as in any war can be good, world war ii had many dissenters. Time we get to the 1960s you have the civil rights movement. You had gay rights, environmental movement, second wave feminism, you name it. You guys are very familiar with all of the moon that has existed since then. Been at the core of the american. So thin when people dissent so that when people dissent and say you are being what is that . Dissent is essential to American History. I want to go over a couple of the dissenters so fasten your seatbelts in measles it through a few hundred years of American History. One of the first that i want to mention specifically was roger williams. Banished from Massachusetts Bay colony. Ist got him into trouble these are religious dissenters. Very calvinistic. Roger williams is looking around d Massachusetts Bay and says you know, you guys are not tolerant of other peoples religions and this is unchristian and it is going to get you into trouble. S arguingup that if you he wind up arguing that if youre trying to enforce one religion you have to establish a law that if you go against that religion you could be arrested or worse. Was a the things he says they conclude that religion cannot be true which needs such instrument of violence to uphold it. If you are worse than a religion down somebodys throat, how could that be a True Religion . Basically isork what williams is saying. Another thing he said is that who was charles the first to give you guys a grant of land to build this colony . Nobody after the indians. It wasnt charles to give to you. All of your deeds are in balance. As you can imagine, this is not make the puritans too happy. Is thatthing he said mminesss too much chu between the magistrates and the ministers. Theres not enough separation of church and eight. He writes magistrates as magistrates have no power of setting up the form of truth churchent government and churches have no power of electing of civil offices or inflicting of civil punishments. Is the argument in favor of separation of church and state. This gotten banished from the colony. He went in settled in providence and establish a colony of rhode island which became a bastion of religious toleration throughout the colonial. P i often point out to my students when i have them readeriod. Them read this. What would they say . The religious conservatives that went to the 10 commandments there. What would this religious conservatives say about that . . E would be against it, right he says that magistrate in force enforce church laws with the 10 commandments. There are other things like theyll shall not kill where they coincide. Theres nothing civil law the honoring that father and mother were keeping the sabbath holy, and likeness. It has no place in a court of law. The 10 commandments should not be there. Also isment for this that this protects the church. This protects religion. In the 17th century, what was ce workingike in fran glenn or spa or england or spain . It was established. Everybody had to be what the king was. If you do not separate church and state you are creating a situation which whoever is in power at the time is an forcing particular religion. If you want religious read them you have to have separation of youch and state freedom have to have separation of church and state. In the early 18th century john news man inwas a new york. He wrote a series of articles about the corruption of the governor of the colony of new york whose name was bill cosby, by the way. [laughter] he was writing articles about the corruption of this guy. The governor had him arrested, his Printing Press confiscated and he was put on trial for libel. According to English Common law at the time, libel if you wrote or said anything nasty about anybody that was liable. Libel. In the court case they said if it is true it is not liable. He won the case. It establishes the notion of freedom of press. Mention them in relation to the constitution . , religious ideas liberty and freedom of the press were created in the colonial period so they predate the constitution and were put into the constitution they had become a bedrock for our society to this day. Moving on when you get to the time of the revolution, this is another in the increase. With all of these ideas floating out about jeffersons writing the declaration of independence and we have these inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, this stuff is out there. People are talking about it. People are protesting against english policies. No taxation without representation. Slavll not be englands that is anotheres. Thing they felt, the power of tax was the power of enslavement. Instances have to much that it is destroyed. Is. Just imagine this. S. C. Sters in charleston, protesting with signs like this and shouting slogans. They own slaves. The slaves are sitting in their houses and looking out the windows and they are listening. That sounds pretty good. I like that idea. Selfis what john adams is later called the contagious air of liberty. Once you let the genie out of the bottle it is out there. People will believe in this stuff. These ideas were not meant for them. When jefferson not all men were created equal he was not talking about ways for women or people do not copy. Not own property. One of my favorite parts of the dissent is the letters between Abigail Adams and john adams. In 1776 john adams was on the committee with franklin and jefferson to put together a draft of the declaration of independence. Our legal adams writes to john adams i adams writes to john adams in 1776. Hissays i long to hear cleared an independent. By the way, in the new code of laws i suppose it will be necessary for you to make, i desire you would remember the generous and more favorable to them in your ancestors. Do not put such Unlimited Power husbands. Ands of the remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. [laughter] it particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws which we have no voice or representation. Sounds like she has been paying to what the Founding Fathers are telling britain. Think johns reply to this letter was . I just so happen to have it here. [laughter] on april 14, dear abigail, we have been told our struggle has loosened the everywhere,ernment that children and apprentices who are disobedient, that schools and colleges have grown turbulent, that indians slighted their guardians in negroes were insulin to their masters, but your letter was the first e,timation that another trib more numerous and powerful than all the rest, have grown discontented. This is rather to course a compliment. You are so softly. Saucy. We know better than to repeal ourmasculine fo systems. Another thing he said was asked to your new code of laws i cannot but laugh. Typical of the masculine attitude. In 1776. , that was when the women get the right to vote . 1920. Early 150 years go by i think we can safely assume that Abigail Adams was not the only woman at this time thinking such thoughts. We have are documented evidence we can kind of think of it as one of the early feminists. When it comes to expanding rights for women, it seems that our country moves at a pace that we only can call geologic, glacially. It takes a long time for these things to happen. Ok. Moving on to the 19th century. The mexican war. Of course, what was the reason . The wanted to get more land, right . We had just grabbed in texas but now that whole area which base rate is present day new mexico, arizona, nevada, utah, we got all of that in the mexican war. Massachusetts the fossil the philosopher henry through. He has actually used his cottage a few time to harbor fugitive slaves. He refused to pay his poll tax because he felt he could not support a government that supported slavery. This was his protest. He was thrown in jail for a night. I am sure you guys have all heard of this. His aunt came in paid his tax. So then he was freed and he was angry with her but that is another story. Afterwards he wrote his essay on civil disobedience. A couple of the things he says menhis he said the massive serve the state not as men mainly but as machines. Outstanding army and the journa constables. Theres no free exercise of the judgment. Such as these are commonly esteemed with citizens. Legislators and policyholders served the state heads. With their as they rarely make any moral distinctions they are likely to serve the devil without intending as god. A very few as heroes, page three, reformers patriot, reformers serve the state with their consciousness. And so necessarily resisted or the most part. They are commonly treated as enemies i it. Resistaying that if you the state, if you are dissenting or protesting what is going on, you are really a friend of the state and the state treats you have an enemy he says i unjust laws exist. She we obey them or obey them only until we succeeded or shall we transgress them at once . He chose to go to jail. In a society like this the only place where a just man is in jail when there are laws that are supporting slavery. Great storyt thoreau whenavid emerson came to visit him. He looked through the bars of the jail cell and emerson, even though they were both radical nonconformists, emerson was more straightlaced than him. He said henry, what are you doing in there . Henry David Thoreau looked out and said ralph, what are you doing out there . [laughter] is the heart. The essay on civil disobedience is almost like viable for dissenters. Student for india was being for the law in london. He read this essay. He was so impressed by it that a few years later when he was back in his native india he used civil disobedience in his campaign to get the british out of india. This of course was gandhi. In 1946, a young theology student who was going to school at a the logical that had a Theological Seminary was reading aunties and gandhi talked about henry David Thoreau. A few years later when he was a pastor of the dexter avenue Bastrop Church in montgomery, alabama he led boycott. You can see how this resonates right through to today. Another famous abolitionist was william lord garrison. It is so interesting that the dissenters and protesters throughout history constantly referred to our founding document. They are quoting from the constitution. They are quoting from the declaration of independence to argument for what it is they are arguing. One of the Great Stories about william lord garrison, are you familiar with him . He edited the liberator at a missed paper at a newspaper in 1831 in boston. One day a group of proslavery agitators put a rope around his neck interacting through the streets of boston ready to lynch him. A sheriff saved him and threw him in a jail cell for his own protection. Garrison wrote this graffiti on the wall of the jail cell. This is what he wrote William Lloyd garrison was put into the cell wednesday afternoon october to save him from the violence of a respectable and is thought tob destroy him for preaching the abominable and dangerous. Urin doctrine that all men are created equal. Tos emphasis on going back what we are founded upon. Then of course i cannot see in this part of the World Without mentioning john brown. It is so interesting about brown. To bring upgets me to my students in discussions. Dissent it does seem like pretty much everybody does like the idea of nonviolent dissent. Some of thenk of had the mosthas impact has been violence. Wn. Example, bro it brings us the American Revolution itself with a extremely violent event and it created the United States. While one would not espouse violence, when understand that it has happened and it has been effective at different times. Fromf my favorite quotes john brown was after he was conveyed did and sent convicted and sentenced. They asked him if he had anything to say. He said i have an objection. It is unjust that i should suffer such a penalty. Mannernterfered in the in which i admit has been fairly proved, if i have so interfered on behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligence, the or on behalfeat of any of their friends or mother or sister and sacrificed what i had in this interference it would have been all right. Courtroomin this deems an act of the of the ratherent of reward than punishment. If he said a white family had been kidnapped indian went in to rescue them and killed a bunch of people they would have been pinning medals on its chest. That is how he looked at slavery. These were hostages. They were captured and they needed to be free. Know, when you think about it, it is quite true i think what he says there. Shortly after the civil war Susan B Anthony voted in the president ial election and was arrested. And she was convicted and afterwards she went around the country giving a speech to everybody who would come to listen, titled is it a crime for a u. S. Citizen to vote . She was very adept at using the constitution for this. In one of the passages of she says that the preamble of the federal constitution says we the people of the United States, in order form a more Perfect Union she quotes the entire cree m entire preamble. She says afterwards, it was we the people, not we the white, male citizens, but we, the whole union, who form the whole. We formed it not to give the blessings of liberty but to secure them. Of ourselves and the half of our prosperity, but to the whole people. Mockery toownright talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings and liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them, the ballot. A very effective use of the constitution to promote a dissenting viewpoint. 1890 nine, shortly after the 18 merican war 1899, shortly after the we got outrican war, of it guantanamo, puerto rico, guam, and the philippines. Ironically we fight against an imperial power and we become one. And there were many people in this country that protested against this. Anybody her