🇺🇸 Self-Governance, the Bill of Rights, and the Hijacking of American Sovereignty

The need for Americans to step up and engage in civic duty

By Ann Vandersteel, March 2025

Sponsored by: American Made Foundation

Please consider donating to the efforts of education so that We the People can re-learn how to govern ourselves as a constitutional republic, for which we were founded!

To self-govern is to take personal and collective responsibility for one’s actions, decisions, and future—without external control. This is the foundation of liberty. The Founders knew that true freedom came not from government, but from within. It is the natural right of a moral, disciplined people.

But this principle has been under siege for over two centuries. While the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1–10) was created to protect the sovereign individual from tyranny, many of the subsequent amendments (11–27) slowly transferred power from the states and the people to the federal leviathan.

🔒 The Bill of Rights: Built to Protect Self-Governance

1st Amendment – Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition

Violation: Collusion between the federal government and Big Tech (e.g., Twitter Files) to censor dissenting voices during elections and pandemics.

2nd Amendment – Right to bear arms

Violation: Red Flag Laws allow gun confiscation without due process. ATF rule changes criminalize ownership overnight.

3rd Amendment – No quartering of troops

Violation: Digital quartering through Amazon devices like Alexa and Ring, which operate as surveillance portals in American homes.

4th Amendment – No unreasonable searches or seizures

Violation: NSA mass surveillance, Amazon's cooperation with law enforcement to share Ring footage without warrants.

5th Amendment – Due process, double jeopardy, no self-incrimination

Violation: IRS asset seizures without trial; eminent domain used to seize land for private developers.

6th Amendment – Speedy and public trial, right to counsel

Violation: J6 defendants held for months without trial, denied bail, kept in solitary confinement.

7th Amendment – Jury trial in civil cases

Violation: Use of administrative law courts (e.g., SEC, IRS) where citizens are denied a jury.

8th Amendment – No cruel or unusual punishment

Violation: Excessive bail or confinement for political prisoners; civil asset forfeiture used without charges.

9th Amendment – Rights retained by the people

Violation: Medical mandates ignore bodily autonomy, an unenumerated but natural right.

10th Amendment – Powers reserved to states or people

Violation: Federal control over healthcare, education, and environment violates this rule daily.

⛔ Amendments 11–27: The Hijacking of Sovereignty

Each of the following amendments expanded federal power at the expense of the people or the states:

11th – Limited ability to sue states

Impact: Reduced citizen power to hold states accountable in federal court.

12th – Changed Electoral College process

Impact: Cemented two-party control and suppressed elector independence.

13th – Abolished slavery (but allows involuntary servitude for crimes)

Impact: Justifies prison labor—modern slavery under the legal system.

14th – Redefined citizenship; federal enforcement of rights

Impact: Basis for massive federal overreach into states' jurisdiction.

15th – Voting rights (race)

Impact: Used to justify permanent federal control over state-run elections.

16th – Federal income tax

Impact: Legalized theft of labor; IRS abuses well-documented.

17th – Direct election of Senators

Impact: Removed state control of Senate, turning it into a national popularity contest.

18th – Prohibition

Impact: Gave feds moral policing power; caused organized crime. Later repealed.

19th – Women’s suffrage

Impact: Expanded rights, but federal enforcement language abused.

20th – Changed presidential term start dates

Impact: Enabled lame duck sessions to push agenda.

21st – Repealed Prohibition (a return to sanity)

22nd – Presidential term limits

Impact: Limits voter choice; prevents re-election of trusted leaders.

23rd – D.C. electoral votes

Impact: Grants a federal district influence in national elections.

24th – Abolished poll tax

Impact: Used to override state election standards.

25th – Presidential disability and removal

Impact: Opens door for bureaucratic removal of elected leaders.

26th – Voting age lowered to 18

Impact: Federalized another aspect of state authority.

27th – Congressional pay changes

Impact: Symbolic only; Congress still raises pay via loopholes.

Violations to which Americans are subject by a rogue government using Public Private Partnerships

🛡️ Amazon: The Federal Government’s Digital Partner

Amazon's contracts with the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI make it a proxy intelligence agency:

• Alexa & Ring devices gather data from inside your home

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosts classified intelligence cloud services

• Amazon has turned over Ring footage to police without consent or warrants

This is a violation of the 3rd and 4th Amendments in spirit and in action. Digital surveillance is quartering. Data seizures are warrantless searches.

🚧 What We Must Do:

• Repeal power-grabbing amendments (16th, 17th, 25th, etc.) via Convention of States

• Amend enforcement clauses in others (14th, 15th, 19th)

• Use state nullification to reject federal overreach

• Dismantle corporate-government surveillance partnerships

• Reassert the 10th Amendment in every statehouse

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It’s time to stop asking for permission.

Govern yourself, or be governed by them.