General Grand Chapter
Royal Arch Masons

Grand Encampment of Knights Templar

Grand
Council

A.M.D.

Masonic
Order of

the Bath

Sovereign
Order of
Knights Preceptor

Grand Council

Knight Masons

York Rite
Sovereign
College

Knights of the
York Cross of Honour

K.Y.C.H.

The High
Council
S.R.I.C.F.

Royal
Order of
Scotland

Red
Cross of
Constantine

Holy Royal
Knight Templar Priests

the United States

Representatives

Supreme Court

Department

of

Agriculture

Department

of

Commerce

Department

of

Defense

of

Education

Department of

Health and Human Services

Department

of

Homeland Security

Department of

Housing and Urban Development

Department

of

the Interior

Justice

Department

of

Labor

Department

of

State

Department

of

Transportation

Department

of

the Treasury

Veterans Affairs

Environmental Protection

Agency

Office of

Management & Budget

United States

Trade

Representative

United States Ambassador to the United Nations

Council

of

Economic Advisers

Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Constitution

The Federal Convention convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution. Among the chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.

Bill of Rights

During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered.

On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.