Tenth Amendment Center: “Small Things Grow Great by Concord”
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250 years ago, John Dickinson, “The Penman of the Revolution,” wrote twelve “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” in response to the hated Townshend Acts.
In his first, he spent time discussing the last of the acts, the New York Restraining Act, which was punishment for the Assembly of New York, suspending its legislative powers for failing to fully comply with orders from the crown.
If the parliament may lawfully deprive New York of any of her rights, it may deprive any, or all the other colonies of their rights; and nothing can possibly so much encourage such attempts, as a mutual inattention to the interests of each other. To divide, and thus to destroy, is the first political maxim in attacking those, who are powerful by their union.
He continued, saying the rightful response at that moment would have been for other colonial assemblies to pass non-binding resolutions informing Parliament that the act was a violation of rights, and that it should be repealed.
Why? His answer came through clearly in his signature, which included the Latin phrase, Concordia res parvae crescunt.
It means “Small things grow great by concord.”
Clearly, Dickinson was right – small things did grow great in the coming years.
And you’ll see we’ve proudly taken that phrase as our motto on all TAC membership cards today.
In many ways, today’s federal government is like Parliament. It has suspended the legislative power of state assemblies in practice by exercising powers not delegated to it by the Constitution. In response, small things have grown great once again – the simple introduction of non-binding resolutions affirming the 10th Amendment nearly ten years ago has grown into a movement to nullify unconstitutional federal acts.
This growth wouldn’t be possible without the continued support of our members. It takes time, manpower, and resources.
We have published thousands of articles, videos, podcasts and blogs. Plus, we put a lot of effort into getting nullification bills introduced and passed.
I’ve watched firsthand as this organization has grown from the ground up. It has been nothing short of inspiring.
The people I work with and the volunteers I meet around the country are knowledgeable, passionate, and 100% ready to push back with everything they have.
They believe, as I do, that freedom is our ultimate goal. As Dickinson put it in the last of his “Farmer” letters, “We cannot be HAPPY, without being FREE.”
I hope you understand just how much every little bit helps and is appreciated here.
Concordia res parvae crescunt
Michael Boldin
November 28, 2017 at 12:51AM
