Aaron Kerkman

1913 Aaron Kerkman

A fundamental and self-evident tenet of natural law is that people act to maximize their satisfaction. Their acts manifest themselves in as many different ways as there are people. A logical result of this natural law is that people form governments, whose ultimate purpose is to maximize the satisfactions - or the general welfare - of its citizens by securing the blessings of liberty. Because governments are comprised of people, the same natural law that led to their formation will inevitably lead to the government transforming into an institution. Once the government has become an institution, the purpose has morphed into special privileges for the few and connected versus the general happiness of all. We examine this process in detail and attempt to explain why and how it ultimately occurs. With regards to the United States, the book focuses on how the passage of the 16th Amendment, the 17th Amendment, and the Federal Reserve Act ("the Events"), which all became law in 1913, have altered the end of the United States Constitution from general to specific welfare. The book first examines the constitutional structure of direct taxation, the United States Senate, and the monetary system prior to 1913. The examination is intended to establish an understanding of how these elements individually and collectively provided the means to secure liberty and promote the general welfare. The book then examines the effects of the Events to explain how these alterations transformed the purpose of the Constitution from general to specific welfare, undermining liberty and cultivating tyranny in its stead.