The Day Our Country Was Stolen:
How the 14th Amendment [sic]
Enslaved Us All
Without a Shot Fired
by
L. C. Lyon
Most Americans would agree that we, as a people, are treated
by our public servants -- the judges, politicians, law
enforcement and bureaucrats who are paid their salaries by our
taxes -- as if we were in complete bondage to them. When we joke
about being slaves to the Government, we don't realize that we
are exactly correct, joke or not. In fact, all those 99% of
Americans who call themselves "U.S. citizens" are actually
subjects of the corporate United States Government -- not the
sovereign states of the Union. The moment you uttered your first
cry on American soil, you became the chattel property of the
corporation known as the United States of America which, because
of the federal debt, handed title (Birth Certificate) to your
body and soul to the Federal Reserve Bank, to be held in the
archives of the Department of Health and Human Services.
As incredible as this sounds, it is sadly true. The next
question is: How did I automatically become subject to a
government, when I'm supposedly a free American? How did this
all come about, that I should be made to register myself, my
family, and all that I own; be made to obey oppressive laws;
and forfeit almost half of my earnings upon threat of jail? Only
those who are "subject" to a government can be made to do these
things. Free American Inhabitants are subject to no one but God,
and all the laws and responsibilities which that Divine
allegiance entails.
Which "United States" Do You Live In?
The answer to the above questions goes back to the American
Civil War. The war that was supposedly fought to free the slaves
from bondage actually did just the opposite -- for all Americans
then and in the future. By enacting the 14th Amendment (which
technically is an Article, not a true amendment, but that's a
topic for another discussion), a whole nation of newly freed
slaves and free-born white American Inhabitants became "citizens
of the United States", i.e. of a federal government corporation,
at the stroke of a pen and without a shot being fired.
Because we Americans are a different breed and demand the
right to personal freedom, those who had planned decades ago to
enslave us (even if it took generations to do so) knew that, as
long as we were armed and willing to fight to maintain our
freedom, the only way to accomplish this enslavement was by
deception.
To proceed further, we must understand that there are two
"United States". There is the "united States" (note the small
"u" in "united") which describes the ideological and geographical
position of the sovereign states of America. An individual was
the voluntary inhabitant of the state in which he resided. If he
did not like the laws or practices of that state, he could simply
move to another state. Each state was sovereign to itself, and
could not be forced to accept the laws and practices of any other
state.
The "United States of America", however, is the name of the
corporate entity (note the capital "U" in "United") that exists
to carry out the functions delegated to it by the States for the
protection of the Union. This corporate entity's jurisdiction is
supposed to be (according to the Constitution) confined to the
District of Columbia, the federal territories and the federal
enclaves. Enclaves are areas within a State's boundaries which
are ceded to the Federal Government by the State Legislature.
Anyone can come under the direct jurisdiction of the
corporate United States in three ways: (1) by living in one of
its territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, etc.),
(2) by living in the District of Columbia, or (3) simply by
choice. Back when America still had vast territories not-yet-
become states and several thousands of people lived in these
territories, these people had no rights protected by state
sovereignty. They lived under federal jurisdiction, which was
the reason why people living in territories were so anxious to
achieve statehood. The President could order federal troops into
any territory and enact any edicts he wanted. Once a territory
became a state, it had sovereignty and, from that point on, the
state's rights prevailed.
So, if you don't live in a territory or enclave, and you
don't live in the District of Columbia, then the only way you
could have fallen under the jurisdiction of the United States
Government is by choice. But neither I, nor anyone I know,
voluntarily or knowingly surrendered their personal sovereignty
to the Government, which means that it (our sovereignty) was
taken from us by deception.
This deception, which took place in the year 1868, is what
this article will explain -- how our ancestors were tricked and
coerced into giving up their rights (and ours!) to the
jurisdiction of the Federal Government.
Civil War Sets the Stage for Takeover
The Constitution for the United States of America specifies
in the opening paragraph that the Constitution was written for
the newly formed corporation, not for us, the People living in
America. Our rights come from God and are inalienable. They do
not come from a piece of paper. And, because the Federal
Government exists only on paper -- a man-created entity -- it can
also be dismantled anytime We the People decide it has become a
threat to our inalienable God-given rights of sovereignty.
The Constitution is the contract between those who
administer the Government's affairs and the People of the united
States. In essence, it states that the People will give the
Government certain powers necessary to administer the defense of
the States, and control the commerce into the States from foreign
countries. In exchange, the State governments (not the
individual people -- direct taxation by the Federal Government is
unconstitutional) would provide the Federal Government the money
it needs to operate. The Federal Government had limited powers;
in fact, the Bill of Rights was hotly debated at the time of its
passage because there were several people who wisely cautioned
that the Bill of Rights would eventually be construed as rights
endowed by the Constitution, not protected by it (which is
exactly what has happened).
How often do you hear patriots mistakenly vow to defend
"their Constitutional rights"? This thinking reflects the
decades of public school brainwashing to which we have all been
subjected. We need to correct each other and understand that our
rights are God-given, not constitutional.
So, how does the Civil War enter into this present-day power
struggle between the Federal Government and Us the People?
Slavery was not the true underlying reason for the war. It was
an emotional, social issue that was used as an excuse to incite
people to go to war, people who did not realize that foreign
agencies were responsible for that conflict. International
bankers, seeing the slavery issue as an opportunity not only to
divide the country, but make millions of dollars as well, fanned
the flames of debate until, under cover of the most bloody war in
the history of the world, they were to accomplish that very
objective -- the complete takeover of America. They almost
succeeded years sooner, except for the intervention of one man --
President Abraham Lincoln.
"Honest Abe" Knew the Truth
President Lincoln was against slavery, but he understood
that it was wrong to force the southern States to give up slavery
-- to force Federal jurisdiction over the issue of States'
Rights. Four of the southern States were already considering the
abolition of slavery, but they couldn't just abandon it
overnight. It would take time. After all, their whole economy
was built upon slavery; a sudden disruption would bankrupt the
South. Lincoln understood this. But, it wasn't until Lincoln
got into office that he began to see the whole picture. He
learned that the war was begun by the International Bankers as a
means of dividing the country in two, forcing both sides to
borrow heavily from the Bankers to pay war debts. Then, when
failing to repay those loans, the divided America would be forced
into bankruptcy. The Rothschilds and other bankers could then
simply foreclose on the corporations known as the United States
of America and the Confederate States of America. President
Lincoln knew he had to keep the nation together at all costs --
including war.
Saved by the National Banks
Near the end of the war, the South was on its knees and the
U.S. Government was nearly bankrupt. Seeing their opportunity,
the Bankers offered to loan the U.S. Government enough to see it
through. Lincoln said no. He would find another way.
What he did then was to ask Congress for permission to print
paper money. Even though he knew it was unconstitutional (only
gold and silver are lawful U.S. money), it was the only way he
knew to buy provisions for the Army -- but only if the U.S. banks
would accept it. They did. When Lincoln gave his word that the
Government would redeem those notes for gold and silver at a
later time, they believed him and honored the notes. By doing
this, the planned takeover by the Bankers was averted -- at that
time.
The Bankers' Revenge -- Assassination
Because he had given his word to the nation's bankers;
because he had promised the South that, upon surrender, the
Government would help them rebuild; and because he had promised
the Southerners there would be no recriminations or punishments
if they again swore loyalty to the Union, Lincoln knew he had to
get re-elected, though he was tired, tormented by migraine
headaches, and worried about his suffering family life. He had
to make sure those promises were kept.
Lincoln's complete thwarting of the International Bankers'
plans doomed him to assassination at their hands. Papers found
in Booth's locker show communications with an agent hired by the
Rothschild family.
Weeks before he was killed, Lincoln knew he would die in
office. His spies were reporting plots to kill him; it was only
a matter of who got to him first. So, he met regularly with his
Vice President, Andrew Johnson, and educated him as quickly as he
could so that he could follow through on Lincoln's promises.
Johnson listened carefully and understood what was expected of
him, and why. Then, after Lincoln's murder, he did exactly as he
was supposed to do.
In school, when we were taught this part of American
history, we were told that Andrew Johnson was uneducated and
ignorant, and fumbled continuously in office, which was
supposedly why he was impeached. Johnson was of humble origin,
but he was an honest, self-educated man who stood firmly for what
he saw clearly were the best interests of his country. This is
what got him impeached.
Impeachment!
At this time, the only men in Congress were those
representing the northern States. After Fort Sumter, all the
southern States had seceded. After Lincoln's death, Congress
began passing laws to punish the South, in contradiction to
Lincoln's promise. Johnson began vetoing them, sometimes three
and four times, until Congress began passing them over his veto.
One particular bill that he vetoed, the Civil Rights Bill, was
intended to make all former slaves automatic citizens of the
Federal Government, and under its direct jurisdiction (and
protection). This seemed like a compassionate and generous
gesture to the newly freed slaves but, as Johnson pointed out, it
would have serious consequences for the Negroes. In his veto
message in March of 1866, Johnson pointed out the pitfalls of
this bill:
He [the Negro] must, of necessity, from his previous
unfortunate condition of servitude, be less informed as to
the nature and character of our institutions than he who,
coming from abroad, has to some extent at least,
familiarized himself with the principles of a government to
which he voluntarily entrusts "life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness".
The 1st Section of the bill also contains an
enumeration of the rights to be enjoyed by these classes so
made citizens "in every state and territory in the United
States". These rights are "to make and enforce contracts;
to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit,
purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal
property"; and to have "full and equal benefit of all laws
and proceedings for the security of person and property as
is enjoyed by white citizens". So too, they are made
subject to the same punishment, pains and penalties, in
common with white citizens ....
[emphasis added]
Johnson could clearly see that to immediately place a string
of governmental "rights and benefits" upon a totally naive and
uneducated people as the Negroes, would also make them easy prey
for every carpetbagger who would trick them into contracts, in
which they would have no knowledge of the legal ramifications.
This bill would, in effect, make the former slaves as slaves
again to different masters: unscrupulous businessmen, attorneys
and judges.
Johnson saw that this bill was also a means of foisting
unconstitutional jurisdiction of the Federal Government in every
state:
Thus a perfect equality of the white and colored races
is attempted to be fixed by federal law in every state of
the Union over the vast field of state jurisdiction covered
by these enumerated rights.
If Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands,
who shall testify, who shall have capacity to make a
contract in a state, then Congress can by law also declare
who, without regard to color or race, shall have the right
to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and
finally, to vote "in every state and territory of the United
States".
The legislation thus proposed invades the judicial
power of the state. It says to every state court or judge:
if you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you
refuse, under the prohibition of a state law, to allow a
Negro to testify; if you hold that over such a subject
matter the state law is paramount ... your error of
judgment, however conscientious, shall abject you to fine
and imprisonment.
The Legislative Department of the government of the
United States thus takes from the Judicial Department of the
states the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision
and converts the state judge into a mere ministerial
officer, bound to decide according to the will of Congress.
[emphasis added]
Johnson then continued with an additional warning as to the
virtually unlimited power given to appointed agents:
The Section of the bill provides that officers and
agents of the Freedman's Bureau shall be empowered to make
arrests and also that other officers may be specially
commissioned for that purpose by the President of the United
States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the United
States and the superior courts of the territories to
appoint, without limitation, commissioners, who are to be
charged with the performance of quasi-judicial duties.
These numerous agents are made to constitute a sort of
police, in addition to the military, and are authorized to
summon a posse comitatus, and even to call to their aid such
portion of the land and naval forces of the United States or
of the militia ....
This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents
irresponsible to the government and to the people, to whose
number the discretion of the commissioners is the only limit
and in whose hands such authority might be made a terrible
engine of wrong, oppression and fraud.
The 7th Section provides that a fee ... shall be paid
to each commissioner in every case brought before him, and a
fee ... to his deputy or deputies for each person he or they
may arrest and take before any such commissioner ....
All those fees are to be "paid out of the Treasury of
the United States" whether there is a conviction or not;
but in the case of conviction they are to be recoverable
from the defendant. It seems to me that under the influence
of such temptations, bad men might convert any law, however
beneficent, into an instrument of persecution and fraud.
To me, the details of the bill seem fraught with evil.
It is another step, or rather stride, toward centralization
and the concentration of all legislative powers in the
national government.
[emphasis added]
It is plain to see here that President Johnson saw far into
the future as to the potential for legal and political abuse of
such arbitrary powers -- powers that had never before been placed
into the hands of a bureaucracy that had not been subjected to
referendum by the people or constitutional question by any
federal court. This bill (which was passed over Johnson's veto)
did, in fact, set the precedent for hundreds of federal, state
and local bureaucracies that have since choked the lifeblood of
millions of Americans.
Also, this bill blatantly usurped all States Rights and
opened a very wide door for the further usurpation of these
rights, using other social agendas.
The reason Andrew Johnson was impeached was because he
fought so hard against this bill and the subsequent 14th
Amendment. His enemies purposely did not mention to the press
(nor to the public) the legal and political ramifications of this
bill which Johnson had so succinctly pointed out; but instead
they broadcasted the notion that he was reneging on Lincoln's
promises to "heal the wounds" of the nation by fighting full
rights for the Negro -- thus making it an emotional social issue.
In fact, Johnson was keeping Lincoln's promises by trying to
protect the rights of the newly freed slaves, as well as the
rights of those states which knew their own former slaves better
than anyone, and knew the Negroes were not yet ready for the
responsibilities of citizenship. As Johnson had predicted, after
passage of the bill, so many of the Negroes had indeed been
robbed of goods and property by white charlatans and/or thrown
into jails for breaking commercial laws they did not understand
that, when the Negroes did come to full awareness of the massive
duplicity perpetrated by these scoundrels, a racial hatred and
mistrust of all whites became a nationwide phenomenon that has
never been erased to this day.
The Final Axe Falls
After the bill was passed over Johnson's veto, and there was
no general hue and cry from the public, Congress then proceeded
with the next step -- the 14th Amendment. In order to understand
the ramifications of this heinous act of Congress, it must be
analyzed section-by-section:
ARTICLE XIV. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in
the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
[emphasis added]
In the very first line, the amendment states that all
persons born (all babies from this point on) or naturalized (the
newly freed slaves who were then just inhabitants of America) are
now citizens of the United States (the Federal Government) and of
the State (the State Government) where they lived. From the
Declaration of Independence on, all people in America who lived
here were Americans, residing in a particular geographical state,
and free to move from state to state, or even to another country.
The Federal Government, according to the Constitution, is a
corporate fiction that does the bidding of the body of collective
states called Congress. At this time, the state governments had
similar limited jurisdiction over their inhabitants, as did the
federal government. The state government's primary function was
to act as a collective voice of all its inhabitants to convey
their wishes to Congress. Congress controlled the federal
government.
The rule of Common Law, which was the law of the land at
that time, was carried out exclusively by the County Sheriff --
the Common Law concept of Posse Comitatus. Neither the State nor
the Federal Government had any jurisdiction in the County, where
Home Rule was the law. Only by permission or invitation by the
Sheriff could either of the other two governments step foot in
his County. The Civil Rights Bill, in one bold act, forced
Federal Government jurisdiction into the sanctity of State rule.
But Posse Comitatus still reigned in each state, and the
conspirators found the way to usurp jurisdiction here through the
14th Amendment.
Citizens, Subjects = Slaves
In order for any government to grab power and maintain it,
it must have "subjects" or "citizens". According to Black's Law
Dictionary (Sixth Edition), "Citizens are members of a political
community who, in their associated capacity, have established or
submitted themselves to the dominion of a government for the
promotion of their general welfare and the protection of their
individual as well as collective rights. (Herriot v. City of
Seattle, 81 Wash.2d. 48, 500 P.2d. 101, 109)"
So, by declaration of the 14th Amendment, all persons born
from that point forward, and all naturalized people, had just
become citizens (i.e. subjects) of the United States Government,
obviously without their knowledge (babies) or understanding (the
Negroes). The Federal Government had just reached past the
jurisdictional boundaries of the state and county lines and
claimed all its babies and all Negroes.
In Section 2, it then states that only males 21 years of age
who are citizens of the United States may be allowed to vote in
Federal and State elections. That means that only those men who
willingly claimed U.S. citizenship on voter's registration cards
(though they didn't realize the implications) were also brought
in as subjects of the Federal Government. (The Federal
Government's power and control are growing fast!) However, it
stipulated that those who had participated in rebellion (the
South) were excluded.
The Back Door
At this point, any intelligent person can figure out that
the Conspirators who were using this Amendment to claim all
Americans as its citizens -- by deception -- were obviously
performing an illegal and unconstitutional act. The conspirators
in Congress (and every Congressman knew what was being
perpetrated, and either promoted it or simply pretended not to
notice) established a "loophole" for themselves and to cover
themselves in case people began to catch on. This loophole was
15 Statutes at Large, Chapter 249 (Section 1), enacted July 27,
1868, one day before the 14th Amendment was declared "ratified".
You will not see this statute published anywhere except in very
old books. The Conspirators do not want their "citizens" to know
it exists, and it has never been repealed. The text follows:
CHAP. CCXLIX. -- An Act concerning the Rights
of American Citizens in foreign States
Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and
inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment
of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; and whereas in the recognition of this principle
this government has freely received emigrants from all
nations, and invested them with the rights of citizenship;
and whereas it is claimed that such American citizens, with
their descendants, are subjects of foreign states, owing
allegiance to the governments thereof; and whereas it is
necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim
of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally
disavowed: Therefore,
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That any declaration, instruction, opinion,
order, or decision of any officers of this government which
denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of
expatriation, is hereby declared inconsistent with the
fundamental principles of this government.
On the surface, this seems to guarantee that "foreigners"
who live in the borders of America cannot be forced to claim
citizenship. But, what this also says is that anyone who wishes
to expatriate (i.e. renounce their U.S. citizenship) may do so,
by inherent right, and no one can deny him this right.
The Conspirators knew that, the "letter of the law" having
been satisfied with this exemption from compelled performance
(having U.S. citizenship thrust upon us), they could then hide
the exemption from general view, start promoting the "benefits"
of U.S. citizenship in the media (and later, in public schools)
and begin setting up all of us for manipulation to obey millions
of codes, statutes, and laws; exacting fines for breaking these
laws; and extracting license fees and taxes upon penalty of
seizure or jail.
Free American Inhabitants are not subject to the Federal
Government by virtue of their not claiming U.S. citizenship.
Those of us who have renounced our U.S. citizenship and declared
our status as American Inhabitants, using 15 Statutes at Large as
the legal foundation for this Declaration of Status, are the only
ones living in the united States of America. The rest of America
(U.S. citizens -- about 99%) are living in a 4th dimension, i.e.
in a fictitious corporation called the United States of America.
As far as America is concerned (except that 1%), there's nobody
home!
Slavery by Election
We can see that, in the 14th Amendment, those Southerners
who had participated in the Civil War were excluded from this
"benefit" (U.S. Citizenship) on purpose -- to punish them so
severely with sanctions, punishing fines and terrorism from the
newly formed Freeman's Bureau, that a few years later, the
Southerners would be grateful for any consideration the Federal
Government would extend to them. When the opportunity was ripe,
such a consideration was enacted -- the 15th Amendment. It reads
(in part):
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or
by any State on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
By this gracious gesture, Congress extended full forgiveness
to the South, and restored their right to vote (at that time,
considered to be the most sacred right of an American). At the
next national election after the enactment of this amendment,
there was the largest turnout of voters this nation had ever
seen. The South wanted desperately to be restored to the Union
and heal their wounds. When they heard that, in order to vote,
they had to swear allegiance to the United States of America and
thus become a "citizen of the United States" (as required by the
14th Amendment), they did so willingly and without a clue as to
what they had just done to themselves and to their posterity.
With the stroke of a pen, the 14th Amendment, and the
subsequent 15th Amendment, had just enslaved an entire nation
without a shot being fired.
The "Forgotten" Clause
Obviously, this treacherous act by Congress was enough to
have all of them hanged as traitors; but, there was one more act
of treachery that has been overlooked by most people. Section 4
of the 14th Amendment reads:
The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But
neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay
any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the
loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
[emphasis added]
At that time, a hue and cry was raised concerning Lincoln's
promises to "forgive" the South's debts as part of
Reconstruction, with good reason. But mainly overlooked was the
first part of Section 4, which says that the debts incurred by
the U.S. government were not to be questioned, that the enforcers
whom the Government hired to quell insurrection (today, the CIA,
FBI, BATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, etc.) would be paid by the
Government. And where was the Government's money to come from?
Answer: Its newly acquired subjects -- U.S. citizens. The
States had just signed into constitutional amendment the
permission for the Federal Government to hire thugs and thieves
to control us, to pay them with our own money, and that no
question could be brought to court about the constitutionality of
these actions. This is why any effort to bring a suit against
the Government about the Federal debt will never be entertained
by the Supreme Court!
A Dangerous Game
In Europe, Africa and other places in the world, a despot
simply took over a country by waging war. Here in America,
however, as long as Americans were armed and prepared for hostile
armed takeover, the Conspirators knew that a different technique
-- a grand deception by manipulation of the laws, the courts, the
schools, the media -- must be employed to obtain the same
results. They waged war on us long ago, but we've been too naive
to see it. There are many who are waking up now, but they don't
see the whole picture. They think that if they reverse a certain
portion of Government abuse, we can take our country back. Tax
protestors (as IRS calls them) have perfectly correct reasons to
point out that they are not required to file -- but they forget
they are still U.S. citizens (i.e. subjects). Home schoolers
fight bravely for their right to protect their children against
Government control -- but they forget they are still U.S.
citizens. Legal eagles have found many statutory "loopholes" to
win a few battles in court -- but they forget they are still U.S.
citizens.
Playing the "patriot game" without fully understanding the
constitutional hold the Federal, State and local governments have
over them is playing a dangerous game. They may win a few
skirmishes in their battles with Government (the Government
allows these "wins" to encourage us to continue wasting our
energies in useless effort), but they will never win the war, and
will only bring the wrath of Government down upon the head of yet
another one of its subjects.
For now, at least, the Government is respecting the status
of American Inhabitants. We (your publisher L. C. Lyon and
writer George Sibley) have not had any legal hassles from any
Government entity, because we are no longer U.S. citizens. We
are the same as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
Franklin and all the other patriots were in their time -- free
American Inhabitants. Any U.S. citizen can give up this
enslaving status at any time, but it must be done properly.
If everyone in America were to take back their rights as
free Americans again, through the revocation process, the
Government would have no more subjects, and no more power!
IT'S TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!
[Minor grammatical and spelling edits were done to this essay by
John E. Trumane. These edits were done without permission of the
author, because Mr. Trumane did not have the author's mailing
address at the time the edits were done.]
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L. C. Lyon