Interesting thread! When discussing things that are somewhat newer in concept it's usually a good idea to get terms and definitions squared away early.
The "Founders" are the ones who initiated a national government. This was styled as a "Confederation" under the "Articles of Confederation". This was America's first constitution.
The "Framers" are a group of 39 men who gathered a Philadelphia behind closed doors and gave us the "Constitution of the United States of America" These men, led by Hamilton, Madison and Jay were NOT known as "Federalists" for they were not "Federal men". They were known as "Consolidationists" because their plan of government cosolidated power in the hands of the national goverment. The "Federalists" were the men who supported the "Articles of Confederation" (AoC). These men were labeled by the "Consolidationists" as being ANTI-federal. Unfortunately, that name stuck and they are still today referred to as the "Anti-federalists". These men were Patrick Henry, George Mason, Elbridge Gerry and Thomas Jefferson when he returned from Paris.
In the AoC no need was found to enumerate rights due to the fact that the national government had no say in the internal affairs of the states. This is the concept of the "States Rights" doctrine. In the constitution, due to egregious accretion of political power to the proposed central government, the states thought it good that there should be a bill of enumerated rights that would serve as a check on the central government. This "Bill of Rights" (BoR) originally had 12 articles. This was later trimmed to 10 and was edited to the form that we have now. It was in this editing that the enumerated rights were diluted. Once the BoR was completed the remaining states of the 9 needed ratified the constitution as the new form of government for the United States.
Of course, this is but a very brief synopsis. The many details, political game playing, the actual debates and the endless rhetoric make this perhaps, the most interesting story regarding the birth and development of this nation. Form one perspective the constitution is hailed as a milestone, a great leap forward in the governance of man. From another perspective the initial freedoms, liberties and rights of all Americans were usurped by a gang of brigands who sought to enslave Americans once again with a near monarchial type of iron-fisted rule.
The lingering ideals of America such as liberty, freedom, secured rights, the philosophies of John Locke, Adam Smith, states rights, a limited government and so on are all a part of the "hangover" of the AoC. These ideals are neither embodied nor enshrined in the constitution. Yes. They are mentioned in the constitution. However, it must be made clear that the language of the constitution DOES NOT support these American ideals. The language of the constitution DOES support what we live under now. Many of the laws, regulations, policies and court rulings that we live under now are, in fact, 100% constitutional. What many patriotic people and lovers of America today believe to be are unconstitutional laws and such are basing their judgments on the "hangover" from the AoC. These are the ideals that we have heard about in school, that we have "absorbed" by reason of culture. These are now the myth of America under the constitution.
Please, remember, the BoR is simply an addition to the constitution. The actual powers of the government are found in the body of the constitution itself. If you only know the Bill of rights, then you only know not even half of the story. The Bill of Rights CANNOT be understood in America without a thorough working knowledge of the constitution. This does not mean that you need to be a constitutional scholar. This simply means that you DO need to know how the clauses of the constitution interplay with the articles in the Bill of Rights.
The writing of the constitution and it's subsequent ratification IS the true American Revolution. This coup had the several states sell out their sovereignty and their citizens freely, without a shot ever being fired. As a matter of fact, the 39 brigands in Philadelphia NEVER even had the authority granted to them by their respective states to engage in the development of a new form of government. To make matters even worse, Hamilton was NEVER even a delegate. He simply took it upon himself to insinuate himself into the proceedings and usurped the guidance of the convention with the purpose of adopting the constitution. With his invented crisis of a looming national bankruptcy and the intimations of an impending and subsequent invasion by their creditors, France and Germany. The war weary nation was ill-prepared to fully consider the magnitude of what was being proposed in the new constitution. This compounded by the fear of bankruptcy and a subsequent invasion by creditors cowed the people into accepting their new chains. Though there was formidible resistance by the so-called anti-federalists, it was not enough to stem the tide.
It was these "anti-federalists" who quite accurately predicted what we would be living under today. The tyranny, the taxation, the quest for empire and even the war between the states were all foreseen by the anti-federalists.
Today there is growing move to get re-acquainted with the ideas of the anti-federalists and even to re-draw the Articles of Confederation to have them "handy" in the event that the US will again separate into it's component states or regions. For further inquiry there is "The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates" by Ralph Ketcham; "Hologram of Liberty" by Kenneth Royce (Boston T. Party) as mentioned by Chris Rhines. On the web:
http://www.iahushua.com/hist/AntiFED.html
http://www.ismellarat.com/
http://www2.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/foliocgi.exe/historic/query=[group+489+u!2Es!2E+189!3A]^[group+citemenu!3A]^[level+case+citation!3A]^[group+notes!3A]/doc/{@41}/hits_only?prev
http://www.glprl.org/cr/edu/documents.html
http://www.project-exodus.org/
Of course, the many writings of Locke, Smith, Etienne de la Boetie, Thomas Paine and others which are directly linked or connected to the actual founding of America and the Articles of Confederation. There are also many other sources such as Lewrockwell.com, the Mises Institute, Cato Institute and others who still espouse the the philosophies and doctrines of freedom, liberty and and right to pursue property.
Chipper
