Presidents, Trump, and Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry's Speech of 1788
Ken Pealock
2/17/20254 min read
President's Day, Trump, and Patrick Henry's Warnings
Can Trump Save America?
Today is President’s Day when we are supposed to give lip service to our magnificent “leaders” who have guided this nation to what it is today.
But wait, it’s in one hell of a mess.
I’m not even sure Trump can get us out of it, but way back in 1987 on the David Letterman show he slammed incompetent government officials in New York and the federal government. Letterman even teased him about running for President.
The fact is, we’ve been fed a load of horse manure (aka bullshit) about our government since its inception. And the propaganda about our presidents was laid bare years ago in a video presentation by Gore Vidal titled The American Presidency.
Patrick Henry’s Warning
Patrick Henry’s speech before the Virginia Ratifying Convention on June 5, 1788, was a fiery condemnation of the proposed U.S. Constitution, warning that it would lead to an overreaching, consolidated federal government that would erode state sovereignty and individual liberties. A staunch advocate for decentralized power, Henry argued that the Constitution’s structure inherently invited tyranny by concentrating too much authority in the hands of a distant federal government.
Among his key warnings:
Loss of State Sovereignty: Henry feared that the federal government’s broad powers would reduce the states to mere administrative districts with little autonomy. Today, states often find themselves at the mercy of federal mandates, regulations, and funding dependencies, proving his concerns valid.
Unchecked Executive Power: He cautioned that the presidency could evolve into a near-monarchical role, as the vague language in the Constitution lacked sufficient safeguards. Given the expansion of executive authority through executive orders, emergency powers, and the modern administrative state, his fears were well-founded.
A Tyrannical Judiciary: Henry predicted that the federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court, would interpret the Constitution in ways that expanded federal power at the expense of the people and states. Judicial activism and broad federal interpretations of the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause have largely borne out this prediction.
A Standing Army as a Threat to Liberty: He warned that a powerful federal military, unchecked by the states, could be used to oppress citizens rather than protect them. Today, the use of federal agencies in law enforcement, surveillance, and even domestic military deployment has made this warning eerily prophetic.
Taxation Without Local Control: Henry foresaw that a strong central government with unlimited taxation powers would burden citizens and states, leading to financial dependency and economic overreach. The modern federal tax system, combined with massive deficit spending, has validated this concern.
Henry’s speech was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the Constitution’s ratification, but history has largely vindicated his warnings. His fears of a sprawling federal government, executive overreach, judicial activism, and weakened state autonomy have all materialized, making his speech one of the most prescient critiques of the U.S. Constitution’s long-term trajectory.
The first united states of America
The Articles of Confederation (1776–1789) were the first governing framework of the United States, creating a loose federation of sovereign states rather than a centralized nation. Under the Articles, each state retained its full independence, agreeing only to cooperate on certain matters like defense, diplomacy, and trade. This made it the first true united states of America—a collection of states working together rather than a single, consolidated entity. (Note that “united states” was not capitalized because there was no national government)
Key features of the Articles included:
A weak central government with no executive or judiciary.
A unicameral Congress where each state had one vote, regardless of size.
No power to tax or regulate commerce, leaving financial matters in the hands of individual states.
No standing army, relying instead on state militias.
While the Articles preserved state sovereignty, proponents of a national government considered them too weak for effective governance, leading to economic struggles, legislative gridlock, and an inability to respond to internal and external threats. This perceived weakness led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, replacing the original federation of states with a more centralized government—precisely the shift that Patrick Henry and other Anti-Federalists feared.
[the State] has taken on a vast mass of duties and responsibilities; it has spread out its powers until they penetrate to every act of the citizen, however secret; it has begun to throw around its operations the high dignity and impeccability of a State religion; its agents become a separate and superior caste, with authority to bind and loose, and their thumbs in every pot. But it still remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men. H. L. Mencken, 1926
Grab a copy of my book The Star Spangled Deception click here. It contains copies of the Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Grab a copy of my Book God and Country, click here.
Grab a copy of my book The Warmongers to learn more about all the bloody wars started or financed by our murderous presidents.
Grab some of my other books here: https://book-showcase.com/
Grab a copy of Dirty Laundry: How I Stole $50 Billion in CIA Drug Money, Almost. In this book, I reveal how I wound up with power of attorney over trillions of dollars in deep state bank accounts worldwide. This money was accrued from CIA drug smuggling, war booty, and government embezzlements. It is why I am on the government’s watch list.