xt7wwp9t2q46_102 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 105 "The Constitution - The Fortress of Liberty" Speech of Hon. James A. Reed, Member of the National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Farmers Grain Dealers Association of Illinois, February 11, 1936 text No. 105 "The Constitution - The Fortress of Liberty" Speech of Hon. James A. Reed, Member of the National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Farmers Grain Dealers Association of Illinois, February 11, 1936 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_105/Am_Lib_Leag_105_001/Am_Lib_Leag_105_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_102 xt7wwp9t2q46 ADIERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE t
Leaflets * *
ir
• •
THE American Liberty League has    
prepared for popular distribution a series of
four page leaflets which deal briefly and simply   F 
with vital political and economic questions of
the day. Some of these leaflets are illustrated- °
all are written expressly for the layman and are    
in graphic and easily understood language.
THE League will gladly send any of
these little leaflets to individuals interested. If * * *
you would like to help the educational work of
the League by distributing a quantity of this
type of literature, please indicate your desires
on the attached blank. Speech of
Leaflets Available » HON. JAMES A_ REED
The President Wants More P0wer—A graphic story of Member of the Nati0na1LawycrS
steps already taken 1n the United States towards that _
breakdown of constitutional government which paves Commlttcc °f the
LLIC road to dictatorship. American   League
The Townsend Nightmare—Explaining for the average
worker just how much of his time and wages would before the
be taken away from him if the Townsend Plan were
adopted. _ _ _
The New Deal Works Pr0gram——B00ndoggling as seen Farmers Gunn Dcalcrs ASS°°mt1°“
by Raymond Clapper, eminent journalist and Wash- of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
ington political observer.
The American Liberty League-A simple explanation of
the League as a nation-wide organization devoted to February 11, 1936
sanity in government. This leaflet was written by Dr.
Ray Bert Westerfield, famous American educator.
THE AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE em
National Headquarters NA  c44’
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING Y   ari
WASHINGTON, D. C. F   u
I can make good use ofythe following leaflets, and 3 ~;!·§é· ¤
have indicated below the number I will distribute of each Qpry Ley?
The President Wants More Power ..............
NUMBER REQUIRED
The Townsend Nightmare ..................... '
NUMBER REQUIRED "
The New Deal Works Program .................
NUMBER REQUIRED
The American Liberty League .................. AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
NUMBER Raoumzo National Headquarters
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
Name...... .......... ................................   C.
Street ................................................
ir j *k
Town ...................... . . State .................. U
105 Document No. 105

 The Constitution-The Fortress
p of Liberty
t ir
  A HUNDRED and sixty years ago the forests
of America echoed to the marching feet of
thousands of men. They came from forest and
1 farms, from frontier settlements, virgin villages,
  and little cities. Many were dressed in home-
  spun, in the furs and skins of animals. They
~ 1 wore coonskin caps. They carried rifles; they
knew how to shoot, and they knew how to
1 fight and die.
1 They were without ships of war, without
  forts or cannon, without military training, with-
1 out experienced leaders, without a treasury on
1 Q which to draw or the authority to levy taxes.
1 Their sole equipment was long rifles, powder
  horns, and bullet moulds. But their hearts
_ 1 thrilled with the drum beat of courage and
  their eyes blazed with the fires of liberty.
1 They gathered in little groups along the
. 1 1 roads of the forests, in the streets of villages,
_ 1 in the fastness of the wilderness. They began
  to concentrate in companies and to consolidate
° in regiments. They selected their own leaders
1 —leaders as untrained as themselves. Betsy
1 Ross made them a flag out of her petticoats,
and a Virginia farmer took command—George
Washington, the immortal. 1
I
1 THUS. EQUIPPED and marshalled, the men
1 of the Colonies dared defy the greatest Power
1 of Earth. England was mistress of the seas;
1 her warships ploughed the waves of every
1 ocean; her fortresses, bristling with cannon,
A frowned above the strategic points of America.
_ Her satellites, servants and mercenaries
swarmed in every colony. Her trained veterans,
_ armed, disciplined, fed and clothed, were upon
our soil. Her hand of steel clutched the throat
. of America, and she summoned to her aid the
. tomahawk and the scalping knife of the savage. A
But the men of the new world did not hesitate
3

 ta agri? and ia the dark Years- ta come did practices and abuses which a hundred and sixty
not a ter or turn Craven _ r years later have been reincarnated in the New
Soon came the Battle of the Bridge of Con- Deal
i goidimorg imiortall_thtmhTh°g?°pY;ac’ than I shall return to a discussion of that subject
a am1S’ t an ustcr 1tz’ t an _ ata °°’ t_ an later but, for the present, stated in a word-—the
the Ming; cmmmzcd forever m the sl°r‘°“S t fundamental doctrine of tyrants was that the
vera; 0 n;8r;°nd' h h d H people were incapable of ordering their own
°° Y this Yu is Yi B6 I ¤t ¤¤`¤ 6 this 00d lives or conducting their own business, and
Tha" Has t° April btaaza untutlcdr accordingly must be protected, guided and
Here once the embattled farmers stood d th t I d f th St t
And fired the shot heard ’round the World.” ma _c F pcrpc ut} War S 0_ C a B`
_ L1kew1se, that IS the philosophy of every
What were theY hghtthg ter? WhY were theY New Dealer from Stalin of Russia to Tugwell
dying? Why grimly holding fast as the red _, of the agmjn ']‘1·uSt_”
. . . . to
IIHC of Brltlsh. Regulars advanced Wlth fixed Against   doctrine the Revolutionary t
haYehets?   Fathers hurled this defiance: "All men are
TheY were ttghtthg ter LthertY» ter the thde‘   created free and equal”; "All are endowed with
pandanaa ai tha individnais far the right ni the I the inalienable right to Lite, Liberty sriri the
his own life; to gam and keep the product of derive their powers from the consent of the
his toil; to be the master of his own fate. gOVc1·nCd_”
TheY Were llghtlhg to hreak the shaekles civil The framers of the Declaration signed their
tyrants had forged for arnia and brains and risrrtes literally in the shadow of British gihhets,
sPlrltttal tyrahts had lmllesetl hpeh settls· t and so they said with the grim humor of cour-
And there was het a mah amehg them whe age, "We must all hang together or we will
held ont his hand ter a geVerhmeht dale, or hang separately.” That also was said in the
who would not have shot the right eye out of p ahorsc and buggy ag€_”
any "Brain Truster” who dared to tell him ,
when, where and how he must plant potatoes on   THE WAR for Liberty was wom The great .
ina °w° land' ‘ _ _   task then was to preserve that Liberty for them-
The cr? cm cvcry tanana W°‘S’ GGWC us L1b' T selves and posterity. The Constitution was
erty or give us Death.” But of course that was l wI,ittcn_
O · I    
a l°,f‘g tlmc ag0’ It was thc horse and buggy l 1. To establish a national government sufficiently
age' l strong to protect the country from foreign aggres-
j sion and, to a limited degree, have control over
WHILE THE Soldiers were in the Held cu_   probflems oi nati<}nal irénportance which could not i
during the horrors of disease, starvation and ] 8 8 squatc y pct mime by tha Swcntl Sm°S'
_ , 2. To protect and preserve the rights of the
deatht and the Wemeh and chlldrtm at home 3 several states and the liberties of citizens against
were exposed to rherelless assaults of savages, the encroachments of the very national government
the great civic leaders and patriots gathered in then being created. The latter task presented the
Independence Hall. There they wrote the creed greater attttettlttea
tg A§2I*;`le;Et;Q_l]‘;%E;?1aItljt;:l lt the DECLARATION The framers of the Constitution knew that
F E . { d . ·
_ _ t power ee s on power, that unrestra1ned
That lleelarattlehbeataleggted aha relE’_tt;l1lt:eg l authority always ends in brutal oppression;
the Praettees an a uses 0 tYr‘°mts W tc _ a that the liberties of the masses are never safe
cursed the world throughout the centuries- when those possessing power are not held in
4 s

 ° ` ’ ` r testations of
check by a power greater than their own. bjtstgjjislgpocrltlcal Smlles or P 0
Accordingly, they provided for two kinds of P l
laws. First, a Supreme Law, enacted directly THE Congressmen and the President are, as
by the people themselves which should ex- I have shown, alike sworn te upheld and
Pmssly hmtt» circumscribc and bind the Power protect the Constitution and therefore its chief
ht thmt who might htthi t·thtt· defense is imposed upon them. Neverthe-
S€°°nd’ they granted t° those Wh° Should less Congress is given the shocking advice,
h°1d °m°° Only certain Specific Pnwcrs beyond "Pass laws even of doubtful constitutionality?
Whith th°Y mul?] never go Wlthout being The Constitution is sneeringly referred to as
guilty of usurpat1on.- And then they bound _ belonging te the aherse and buggy eee), Thus
Congress and tht Pmsldcnt by the most Solemn in substance and effect the Constitution is de-
oaths never to violate the Constitution but on A elared te be an ebseiete and dead things
the contrary to observe and protect it against L A member ei- the Cabinet inseientiy and h]a_ i
an €n8mi¢S’ fomlgn and domcsum tantly asserts that the Supreme Court has been
guilty of the “greatest steal in history.”
REALIZING that the legislature or executive e That Vindietive and infamous eharee is made
might mittthmhi mt Wiiitttiht Chhtii ttm- because the Court said that taxes levied in
mcs Or do acts Vmlativc °f tht rights Of the violation of the Constitution must be restored
citizen as reserved in the Supreme Law (the e te these who had heen i.ehhed_
Constitution), they established a great court to The shield ei the Constitution thus held hy
protect the people against all such violations. the Supreme Const Over thc ccpmsessersvv will
The Supreme Court is therefore the high court in future years nseteet the high, the IOW, the
°·t the people for its great prerogative is to pre' W rich, and the poor against similar acts of
serve the law enacted by the people as the oppression and nnti.age_
Supreme haw of the l“”d• The author of the shameless attack to which
Abolish tht Suprcmc Court and tht C°nSti' I have referred demands the “regimentation of
tution is likewise abolished. For the Supreme iasmetstv and that he he Permitted te dictate
Law enacted by the people there is substituted how mush corn, Oi. cotton, ni. hogs, Oi. nntateesa
the unrestricted will of Congress. The Congress Oi. grain any farmer shall he nstinittsd to raise Z
to mado omntlootont and tno Poopto oomPtototY upon his own land. Think of Wallace as the t
Snnjoot to its whims cttpriccse hmhititms and Boss of 40 million farmers, each of whom has A
venalities. The advocates of such a course are more Sense than his <¤Bnss_¤¤
tht ttmhmiht Oi iihmttr- i It is interesting to note that while Me. wei. 2
I novo Said You mako Congross Snlotomov not lace was demanding that farmers should reduce I
rooont oXPot`tonoo nas Snown tnat tno majority their corn acreage 20 per cent, as a side line
ot tno. Congtossmonv Iikh oowod SPantotS¤ go uto there was put upon the market the “Wallace i
hoop, obedient th tht lash and command ot tno Hibred Seed Corn,” guaranteed to increase pro-
Exoonttvo Tnns Wo navoe or moY ht 3nY future duction per acre as much as 20 per cent. That ‘
time have, one-man rule rather than the rule of is a racket rather hsynnd the genius Ot A1
the people by and through their Constitution. W Capone.
When that time comes the fortress of despotism
will be erected upon the ruins of the Republic. MR WALLACE has, as chief assistant, the
Honorable Professor Tugwell, who, in an V
T HE ASSAULTS nPon tno Constitution and address to the Institute of American Economics,
upon the courts can no longer be hidden 7
6

 said: "Planning will necessarily become a func- kinds of meat and bread they are to eat, and
tion of the Federal Government, either that or the amount of vegetables necessary to consti-
the planning agencies will supersede that Gov- tute a “balanced diet." What an alluring field
ernment .... Business will logically be re- for the advocates of spinach!
quired to disappear. This is not an over-state- Fourth, having fixed just what and how much
ment for the sake of emphasis; it is literally the people are to eat, the task remains to
meant. The essence of business is its free ven- decree the amount of each product each farmer
ture profits in an unregulated economy. Plan- shall be permitted to raise.
ning implies guidance of capital uses . . . ad- Accordingly, under that beneficent system the
justment of production to consumption . . . new farmer may expect to be served with a Federal
industries will not just happen as the auto- notice commanding him to plant a specified
mobile industry did; they will have to be fore- amount of potatoes, of corn, of wheat, of barley
seen, to be argued for, or seem probably desir- l and of rye, and ordering him not to dare raise
able features of the whole economy before they   more than a certain number of pigs, or to milk
can be entered upon . . . The future is becom- more than a specified number of cows upon
ing visible in Russia . . . Perhaps our states- i pain of fine and imprisonment.
men will give way or be more or less gently This is no idle dream; it has been, as I have
removed from duty . . . perhaps our constitu- shown, seriously advocated by the Secretary of
tions and statutes will be revised . . . perhaps Agriculture and by his able assistant.
our vested interests will submit to control with- Establish such a system, and our farmers will
out too violent resistance. Yet the new hind of be reduced to a serfdom more obnoxious than
economic machinery we have in prospect can- was inflicted in the days of Louis XIV. Indeed
not function in our present economy.” it will be much worse, for the French nobles
That language is nothing less than an who controlled the peasants occasionally mani-
endorsement of the basic principles of Bolshe- fested some slight symptoms of common sense.
vistic Russia coupled with a threat of revolu-
tion by force.
Despite his red mouthings, Tugwell is the F ARMERS of America if you Submit tv Such
advisor of the Secretary of Agriculture, and has a ty r auuy than you are rue aegeaerare sons
been the advisor of others greater than Wallace. of rue Revolutionary Fathers and deserve an ~
An indignant people ought to invite Mr. Tug- iguomiuious .rare· The mars who does nar
well and all of his ilk to emigrate to Russia resist chains ought ro wear mem-
where they can enjoy the congenial companion- Shen We aa°Pt Such a SYSt€m iii America?
ship oir Stalin and his ¤¤Bi.ain Ti.ustei.s_¤¤ Shall we destroy the civilization we have t
created?
L ET US RETURN for a moment to thc pro. For nearly a hundred and fifty years we have
posed tegimentation of {atmeis Reduoed   lived under the Constitution. We have swept
to the concrete “regimentation” means that a “ from the Atlantic to thc Pacific, conquered
set of gentlemen at Washington ( and the Lord t forest and plain, built magical cities, adorned
knows who they may he) sha]] determine,. n countless hills and valleys with temples of
First, the amount of {ood the People of the learning and tabernacles of religion. Above
United States ought to have. millions of homes ascends the smoke from V
Seoondv how niueh they will be ahie to buy. family altars where husbands and wives reign-
Third, the kind of rations they are to be ing as kings and queens gather thcir children
served. That is to say, the amount and various about them and dream of thc day Whcn their 4
3 9

 sons and daughters, with minds and limbs un- All h _ _
fettered, shall run the road. of opportunity of t F Wealth is tho product or ioii• Fat
gaining fortune and Perhaps renown. every particle of real wealth there 1S in the
We have Outstripped the world in wealth, Lvorld somebodys arms have ached, somebody
in culture, in happiness. as felt the agony of labor.
Above all other achievements we have cre-
ated the “American spirit,” exemplified in the ALL OF THE legislative hedies thgf have
expression, “I take my hat ofY to H0 master; I ever assembled on this earth have never created
how the kllee only to G0d·°° a scintilla of real wealth. Wealth cannot be
Our history has had its dark spots, but the produced by issuing a decree, or by setting up
hlackcst day of American history is rcsplendcnt a thousand boards and bureaus. If wealth could
with glory in comparison with the best day of be produced by law, we would have Congress C
_ any other country on earth. _ pass a few statutes and all quit work, live in
i palaces of luxury, and dream awa the fleetin `
WE HAD an era of wild speculation, nearly years listening to the siren harnironies of thi
everybody wanted to get rich overnight; and ` more “Abundant Life." .
nearly everybody managed to get into debt. ` ` What government can do of a beneficial char-
Basically the vast majority of the people were acter is to preserve order and protect the liberty
to blame. There were aggravating causes. One of the citizen in his life and property.
cause easily corrected was that two Presidents But government can do many things of a
of the United States who during the boom, ng- destructive character. It can by force take from
uratively speaking, stood at the doors of the a man the property he has produced and give
great brokerage houses and invited the people it to another. It can increase the burdens of
to “plunge” by advising them “not to sell their g0Ve1‘11me11t until they eat up the substance of
country short,” and vociferously proclaiming the people, destroy initiative and cripple every
“prosperity is here to stay.” That will hardly form of production.
occur aga1n.
These were but evanescent and passing phe- W
nomcmh • E AEE now told that all of our wonderful
The stability and resources of America can history IS to bs diSrogoruou’ that uii or uio
no more bc measured in terms of the Panic Of learning of the past was false and all its achieve-
1930 than America’s weather can be estimated ments faiiuroo _ _ _
by the conditions existing during the destruc- Accordmgliu it is Said rnsr Wo must oniisr
tive sweep of an occasional tornado. under the banner or rho “NoW Douini
What We suffered, every Country Of earth to I am unable to classify that flag. In 1932 we
_ a greater degree suffered. What we should placed tho aid Donioorurio nag of ·ioirorson»
have done was to Sit Steady in the boat, renew ipp J ackson and Cleveland in the hands of Franklin
our activities, reinspire confidence and give free Delano Roosovoiu Hs bars it inrougn ins
play to the energies and resources of the Amer- i campaigm and Wo Domoorois ioiiouiout snouring
ican people! Energies that have never failed _ Our anprovor But Soon after rno inauguration
in any crisis of our history to restore any dam_ ` the or1g1nal colors began to fade and were dis-
age done and recover any losses sustained, It liiscsd bY V31’Y1¤g.ShadeS of Bolshevism, Social.
is to the energies and genius of the American muh and Commuuismj aa ungodly oongiornorsiov
people we must look for restoration. It can with rou_ Prouominoring _
come from no other Source. I decline to recognize 1t as the flag of the
10 partyil have so long loved and served.
11

 They tcl]. us we have a New Deal. Historh attack and when balked in that iniquitous
cally it is in essence the oldest deal in the world. Filion t°_ Ury to avoid its Plain finhibitions by
It is the resurrection of the doctrine of pater- I; Si; rccgta Sdaud °r°°k°;d jubtcr ugcS’ IS a New
nalism which was bottomed upon the infamous Ca an a angcmus _°? '
dogma that the citizen was incapable of order- Lo °°nH;°;t€ tf10u1‘·t}?1H10I1 dérllars ·worth of
. h- 1- { d h t b d th go owne y e C1 1zens an o give in cx-
Lzipeiugwaaidc E1 th:n§;lt];uS Thgtmrzas th; change a depreciated money and to do so under
creed of every dictator and despot who ever sat guest 0f Em? ind lmpmioumemt was a New
upon a throne. But for America it is in truth Br; alld a if gncstl dg? ' th { _th f th
N D 1 k d d 1 · • d O ISSUC OH S P C glug C 31 O C
gcsuiiztivsadgai Gmc B ca 9 a vwwus an nation that they would be paid in gold coin of
The Slaughter of pigs on the pretense that by the then present weight and iineness, and to
making mess mss ws Wsuis esac 8 me , rspudljis dma ¤bhg¤m¤» was a New Deal wd
“Abundant Life” was in truth a New Deal, and a ailsca Y dei}; S C t f th U _t d
rk . .d. t. d 1. 0 accuse e upreme our o e n1 e
I £;v1i;c;;_1O;r Eggs 2; comm that the naked States of grand larceny because it ordered the
may be more abundantly clothed and that for- §m;n og mmlims llimugful? °XtOrt€d’ IS 3 New
eign nations may expand vast cotton plantations if an ads amc BSS d?;° h 1
to permanently supply the market heretofore Odsglgn sr monclé Wu t_1° mck CS; mic if
enjoyed by the cotton producers of America, is zpcn tfmtl? gan; ma `gtotlau C_ug°I; t B Z (ET
N D1 d .b.1.dL erso eaoran e1nusryo e
a Tiznllautlligrigelgr;Ep1d1l>f(-lizriclizvidtitaals to {ix srbi- P”"S€“t’ and “P°“ g"“°"‘°‘ti°“S Yet ““b°m’ a
trary prices and rules for production and labor debt which with Obligations in°uHcd’ will cx`
and to give to the mandates of these groups the cmd ““Y1‘*{°“S¤¤d ml;H‘°“ d°;uarS’ ¤¤·;1mP¤¤·=
force of law and send men to prison for refusing ;I}H_anm;a ll mtefest gl arg;) °l mgm   ant (mc
to obey and daring to exercise their natural dl {Ou 0 arS’ IS a CW ca an a was mus
right to work, is a New Deal and an oppressive agi] th d 1 _ t 1
deal. • · ese ea s are ·new·1n our governmen a
To send s msu to jail for pressing s vest for P;’h°;1‘iS as tgey are hkswlsc new m the realm
the price he wanted for his work and the owner 0 Bt ms an mom S'
of the vest was willing to pay, is a New Deal
and an atrocious deal.
To fine and imprison a man for selling butter THE PHILOSOPHY Of the New Deal has been
and eggs to the hungry for u nriee less than for a long time known to tyrants and is a part
was arbitrarily Hxcd by a group of dealers i of the creed of rogues who borrow and refuse
anxious to rob both producer and consumer, is   to Page aid of h1ghWaYlI;i€¤ Khv €mP1°3’ force
a New Deal and an infamous deal. to ta C t 6 PYOPCHY Ot HS aV6 631716 ·
h But we need not entirely despair; the framers
` of the Constitution charted the way of relief
, , _ from the mistakes or outrages of government.
FO {LGI? ;hc,::0nSEt?t10Ii ani tzhcorgimp- They provided for frequent elections, for a day
uczluiy rc Cr ,5) ,1 8;; Clgngfng do B ttollic when those who are temporarily clothed with
gn I uggy agc’ is a cw ca an a mgrc a 6 power must give an account to the people. I
ca ' am waiting for that day to come in full con-
For Congress, sworn to protect and defend nuance that _
the Constitution against all enemies, foreign °
and domestic, to seek to overcome it by direct 13
12

 The pilgrim spirit is not dead;
It walks in the noou"s broad light,
And it guards the bed of the brave who are dead
With its holy stars at night.
ii It watches the bed of our holy dead,
And will guard them ever more
’Till the waves of the bay
Where the Mayflower lay
Shall foam and seethe no more.
I do not know what course others may pursue
but as for me I decline to be hercled into a
Socialistic, Communistic, Bolshevistic "corrdl,”
even though a Democratic banner is falsely
hung above the gate. J p
li
14