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Show Volume XIX Issue VI The Ogden Valley news Page 13 June 15, 2011 Kiwanis Club Offers Opportunity and Education for Learning about Freedom For the past two years, North ticipate. Each school selected their best essays, Freedom can be an elusive quality; if you don’t Ogden Kiwanis has offered an opportunity to students in the Weber/Fremont “cone” of schools, in grades 4th thru 12th, to earn scholarships. Their challenge: write an essay about freedom-related subjects. In 2011, high school students wrote about The Federalist Papers and the impact they had on the ratification of the Constitution. Junior High students wrote about the authors of the Federalist Papers: Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. Elementary school students wrote about The Liberty Bell, and its history and purpose. Participating schools reported that 1,055 students took up the challenge. The Kiwanis Club offered the contest to 24 schools in the Weber County School District and 18, including home schools, elected to par- up to five, and forwarded them to Kiwanis. A select panel of judges completed its final evaluations in early April and the top five in three age/grade groups, a total of fifteen, have earned scholarship awards. The judging process is “double blind,” with only a number identifying the 62 finalist essays; judges’ scores were not shared in the process. Students with winning essays were notified by mail the week of April 11. The fifteen winners and parents will be invited to an awards dinner hosted by Kiwanis, at the Senior Center on June 7. Scholarship amounts range from $2000 to $100. Perhaps the best explanation of “why” – Why have a Freedom Essay Contest? - is that the Kiwanis Club sees a need to promote the importance of fully valuing our freedoms. have freedom you definitely know it. If freedom is taken for granted, misused, or abused we may not be aware that it is. The insights gained as a result of researching and writing about the history or our freedoms is valuable to the student and to the community at large. Results of the 2011 Kiwanis Freedom Essay Contest High School Colton Scott Tara Lynn Hirschi Ashlee Boyson Shae Bennett Morgan Henrie 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th $2000 CD $1000 Bond $500 Bond $300 Bond $200 Bond Home School Fremont Fremont Fremont Weber Jr High Ward Hedges Megan Price 1st 2nd $1000 CD $750 Snowcrest North Ogden Jr. Sophie Gustaveson 3rd Sierra Bruggink 4th Marguerite Bennett 5th $500 $200 $100 Snowcrest Snowcrest Snowcrest Elementary Carver C Booth Clarissa Songer Sheynah Huber Emily Garmire Larissa Poll $1000 Bond $500 $300. $200 $100 Valley Valley North Ogden Country View Home School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Significant contributions from the Harrisville Wal-Mart and Bert and Kathy Smith (Smith & Edwards), along with additional lessor contributions from several individuals, have made these scholarships possible. For additional information about this contest and the Kiwanis Club, contact John Reynolds at 801-782-8077, or at <WBARN28@aol.com> Struggle for Freedom By Colton Scott, 1st Place Essay Winner Mankind has sought for freedom ever since the beginning of recorded history. We read countless examples in history books of men and women across the world who have consistently sought to throw off the chains that hold them in bondage. They do this because they want greater freedom: the freedom to rule themselves, to do what they want, and to be who they want to be. It is an ongoing struggle that has not ceased, and probably never will. Simply put, all of mankind wants to enjoy freedom. For us living here in the United States of America, the Constitution guarantees more freedoms than any other document in the history of the world has been able to do. That’s why it was so critical for the Constitution to be ratified. The Federalist Papers played a key role in persuading people to believe in the Constitution. The Federalist Papers are a series of eighty-five articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Seventyfive of these were published in the New York newspapers The Independent Journal and The New York Packet. These articles, as well as eight others, were published in 1788 under the name The Federalist. Alexander Hamilton, who was well known for his support of a strong central government, wrote most of these essays. All of them were signed as Publius. Hamilton realized that these essays were needed because, according to W. Cleon Skousen, it became apparent “. . . that the state of New York was probably going to reject the Constitution (226).” The founders had worked tirelessly in drafting the new Constitution and to have a state reject it would have proven detrimental. It was essential that every state be united in accepting the Constitution. The Constitution changed the country in many ways. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was much too weak. Congress didn’t have the power to tax, regulate trade, or force states to fulfill their obligations (Rakove 1:759). Congress had the power to declare war, but its control over the military was very weak. It could not force any state to supply troops or funding for the war. Historian Bruce Chadwick wrote, “The delegate could not draft soldiers and had to send requests for regular troops and militia to the states. Congress had the right to order the production and purchase of provisions for the soldiers, but could not force anyone to supply them, and the army nearly starved in several winters of war (Wikipedia).” In the Federalist Papers, numbers 15-22, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison specify why the Articles of Confederation were insufficient. Hamilton writes in Federalist No. 21: The next most palpable defect of the subsisting Confederation is the total want of a SANCTION to its laws. The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions . . . . There is no express delegation of authority to them to sue force against delinquent members; we shall be obliged to conclude, that the United States afford the extraordinary spectacle of a government, destitute even of the shadow of constitutional power to enforce the execution of its own laws. (117-118). General Henry Knox, the country’s first Secretary of War, also criticized the Articles of Confederation. He said, “As the present Constitution is so defective, why do not you great men call the people together and tell them so; that is, to have a convention of the States to form a better Constitution” (Wikipedia). The great men of the period did just that. They met together and carefully crafted a political document that created a government strong enough to be successful, but still guaranteed the rights of all men. They created a government that secures the blessing of liberty to all who live within its boundaries, while still giving government the proper power it needs to enforce justice. It’s a fine line and our founders knew that. They knew that the government must answer to the people, not the other way around. Federals No. 51, one of the most famous and often quoted of all the Papers, says the following: If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, PINEVIEW HOME SERVICES 801-644-8511 All Your Home Needs in One Place! 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The Federalist Papers are significant because they form the pillars that support the Constitution. They were needed to persuade the people to ratify the Constitution. This is not the only reason why they are significant, however. They provide us with great insight as to the meaning and intent of the founders. Thomas Jefferson called the Federalist Papers the “best commentary on the principles of government which ever was written.” Additionally, the French political commentator Alexis de Tocqueville referred to it as “an excellent book, which ought to be familiar to the statesmen of all countries” (America.gov). Through the Federalist Papers, we are able to glance into the minds of the founding fathers and see why they did the things they did. We can see what arguments were put forth in favor of, not only the Constitution, but the freedom of all people. As we go throughout our individual lives, it is imperative that we maintain the rights we have been guaranteed. We must be informed of what is going on in our country and use our knowledge to elect responsible congressmen. We need to make sure that those who represent us are voting on the laws we truly believe in, and fighting against the laws we don’t think are right. The Federalist Papers are just as important to us today as they were for the people in whose time they were written. Because the authors “. . . analyzed almost every phrase of the Constitution” (Skousen 226-227), we can see and understand why the Constitution is both relevant and important to us. We owe much to these three men, as well as to all the founders, who dedicated their very lives to perpetuating the freedom of each individual. They didn’t have to do this. They could have only given it a partial effort. Or, worse, they could have forged a government in which the average citizen was denied most of his rights. They could have created a government in which the relatively few “elite” rule the many, but they didn’t. Instead, they created a nation where all people are equal. They created a nation where people have the freedom to try, the freedom to succeed, and the freedom to sometimes fail. They were able to successfully craft and ratify a document that is strong enough to control the citizens of this country, while still protecting their God-given rights. They made it so that the people are the ultimate authority, not the government. America became, as Ronald Reagan called it, “. . . a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere” (SourceWatch). We are a great country and we have been so greatly blessed. We enjoy freedoms here that so many people across the world only dream of having. We live in a land where—among other things— we are free to say and think what we want. We are free to practice the religion that suits us. We have great reason to be thankful. Along with these blessings comes a great need to be vigilant. The mantle that has been passed down to us is a great one. We cannot allow ourselves to forget the sacrifices that or forefathers made in order to secure freedom for us. We cannot take our freedoms for granted. Doing so would lead to our eventual loss of freedom. We must continually take the necessary steps to defend our freedom. We cannot allow it to slip from our grasp. The cause for which our Constitution was drafted—and the Federalist Papers written—is a great one. The struggle for freedom is something that we cannot procrastinate. Thomas Paine, in his momentous book Common Sense, wrote, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. ‘Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed-time of continental union, faith and honor” (137). The Federalist Papers were part of the great step our founders took in securing liberty and justice for all. They did their part to advance the cause that all people struggle for, and that is the struggle for freedom. It is now our responsibility to do our part. We must follow in their footsteps and do all that we can to preserve this great blessing of freedom. |