xt7wwp9t2q46_2 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), "American Liberty League" Speech by Jouett Shouse, September 7, 1934 text "American Liberty League" Speech by Jouett Shouse, September 7, 1934 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_3/Am_Lib_Lg_3_001/Am_Lib_Lg_3_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_2 xt7wwp9t2q46 2 Amerrcan
2 Lrberty League
s   ‘ Washington, D. C. A
§ A Statement
°   of Its Principles
t § and Purposes
  “Every American Citizen who believes
  in the fundamental principles which gave
  birth to the Constitution should become a
E member of the American Liberty League"
  cw?

  
      THE American Liberty League believes that hu-
t man rights and property rights are inseparable.
I The League is neither for nor against the New
VERY AMERICAN CITIZEN who believes ])ea]_
E ir} the ferriementei erieeipiee whieh serve it is aat tat one political patty as against another.
trrrttr te the Cerretttetree etreettt treeeree e The League believes in tha two party system aaa
member of the Amer1can Liberty League. _ _ _
The League was organized August 15, 1934, in Q will take no steps to bring about a change 1n the
the District of Columbia. Its charter states: iloiliii of ersenizetien ef either Paitve ieseilviiig the
itil Shall be 8 non-partisan Organization? right to appeal to both parties to endorse the
"The particular business and objects of the Society a Leegiieis Piiiiieipies
shall be to defend and uphold the Constitution of the The League hopes to and will be happy to have
iiL`I.l`§{ltai`E`I'§°.$`§ilLZ..i.lZi`,ZlaZ'ZZlaaiI§lZ'E`£L`Z,Z`ZaZ"tlL°I'I`tTa the etrevert et Preeteeet Reeeereit eee ether
rights of persons and property as fundamental to every elected representatives of the people. As 8Il Ofgallii
successful form of government, and (2) will teach the zeiien the League will be neither fel. nel. against
duty of government to encourage and protect individ- _
ual End gl'0lIp initiative and €Dt€[`pI`IS€, to f0StBI‘ the 4 any elected r€pr€S€ntat1VcS’ except as   may or
right to work, earn, siive and iietliiire Pi`oPei`iY» sud to t may 1'l0t share with it 3. d€VOtl0I1 to {IIC p1’ll'tCipl€S
ipiriicgeriireqtiliieciioynership and lawful use of property for which the League Stands.
t The League’s objective is to persuade elected
The League proposes to teach those things that iii f O or m oi in whatever iaok to follow
will awaken in tl1e hearts and minds of our people 0 c€rS_ 0 _ g V n C _ _ _
an appreciation Oi- the necessity Oi- cheiishiiigi pi_0_ t the pr1nc1ples for wh1ch lt stands and to induce a
tecting, defending and fighting for those liberties majority of tiie voteis iii evei`Y State and every
·. and rights which are guaranteed by the Constitu- Congressional district to elect candidates, regardless
tioii eiiti wiiieii iiiiist be Pieseiveti it we eXPeot our of party aiiiliation, who have pledged allegiance to,
term ef gevsrnmem te endure _ _ a11d by their acts in public office have shown that
Evcily cluzenimail or Womam in the Shophm the they will carry out the principles of the American
field, 1n the mill, 1n the count1ng house, 1n the _
business world, in the home or in any walk of life, _ Llbelily L€llgll€' ii i ii ii
who believes in the aims and purposes of the l i
League, has an opportunity to join through one of i The Aiiieiieeii Liberty League believes iii the
several divisions. following principles:
These divisions ere the Farmers, Divisieiiv the “We believe that the Congress of the United States
Labor Divisioiie tiie Home Owners, Division, the   should represent the people and should not shirk the
Life Insurance Policyholders’ Division, the Savings task in any way by dalagatittg its authority to bureau-
Depositors" Division, the Stockholders’ Division, crats under the guise of administrative ‘eHiciency’ or
the Bondholders’ Division, the Shopkeepers’ Divi- through any other subtcrfugo."
Siono and etheI·S_ _ l "We believe that Congress should make the laws
An Executive Committee Of eighteen, chosen and that bureaus or boards or commissions should not
from diiierent parte of the eeuntryi will be i.eSpen_ be permitted to promulgate arbitrary regulations. or
sible for the conduct Oi- the League. ‘dec1s1ons’ having the torce of law or to apply punish-
A Supromo Advisory Council of fifty or Sixty t ments not c0nta1ned in the iaw or to-conduct trizilj
citizens, thoroughly representative of every section, without lmsldequate Opportunity for rcvlcv or appw i A
_ _ _ _ _ We believe that the courts of the nation and not
wlll cllllllcll allll advise wllll lllc Exccllllvc Coml _ government bureaus should pass upon questions of
mittee in its important work. civil iusticett
2 2.

  
“We believe that the several states should retain the that the Supreme Court of the United States this .
powers not granted to the Federal Government by the very year has declared that cscmcrgcncy docs not
Constitution and that the Federal Government should ,, b I . . .6 . f h
me b h f bl, f d b h f create power, ut mere y gives ]ust1 cation or t e
yteuseo pu nc unsor yanyotcr orm _ _ _
of usurpation, trespass upon the rights of the several use 0f PIEVIPUSIY unused Powers of the C0nSt1tuu°n·
states.” The time is approaching when the American
“We believe the Federal Government should not de- eo le will have to decide to what extent Some of
P P
prive the people of rights that have been guaranteed h t k _th f
to them by the Constitution., _ t e emergency measures, a en W1 out warrant o
“We believe that government should always be the   law er the Constitution, shell be permanently im'
servant and agent of the people and not the master of 3 bedded in gut- System gf ggvernynenb
the people. Such rights as are reserved to the people · The League proposes to infonn the people eo
by the Constitution should not be given up except with h h d C d
their formal consent and in the ways provided by the i at ii EY may Sen to Ongmss men an women
Constitution itSe]f_" who will not, under the camouflage of “emergency,”
"We believe that the rislit te suiherize the svemiins destroy the fundamental rights guaranteed by the
of public funds. and to raise revenue IS solely the func- Constitution, Senators and Representatives who
tion of the legislative branch of the government, and _ _ _ _
that balanced budgets end Seund Heeel peuey een eeme will not abdicate their functions to a concentrated
only when there is a retention by Congress of its full bnI’€8nCr3CY·
responsibility fer the nswre sud msriner sf expemiins Our forefathers separated themselves from the
' S!
piieiiiic iii°iiiiy' _ _ mother country because they felt that taxation with-
To us as a group and to the League as it will be _ ‘
Pl'CSC¥lilY unfolded in our intensive campaign of educa. out representation was tyranny. Today l3l`g€ g1'0l1pB
tion, human rights and property rights are inseparable. are being taxed for the benefit not of the whole
Take away a man’s home or his business and you haye                  
bb d h' f h' ` . T k b . .
iii _ii iiii ii ii iippiiiiiiiiiiiy ii ii iiwiiy Y iiiii but for the direct benefit of other specific groups
caprice of bureaucracy or the tyranny of autocratic
power the savings of men, women and children sed classes'
throughout the land and you have not merely taken The American Libert Lea ue thorou hl reco -
Y S g Y S
ih°i' P"°P°"Y “‘"Y but Y°“ h“"° i°"°°‘i ih°m i“i° ihc nizes the obligation of our government to come to .
iiiiiiiiii iiiiiii iii iiiii iiiiigic iiiiciiiiiiiiiiiii the relief of the men and women who are in dis-
* * * * tress because of unemployment through no fault
IT [S NOT incumbent upon thc American Liberty   of their own, or are suffering from afiliction over
League or any other body of private citizens to i which they could have no control. And this we
fcrmulatc a ]cg_ic]ativc program i-clctcd to the cc. *1 firmly believe can be done without violation of our
ordination of human rights and property rights in Csnstiwtien er ef American traditions-
the economic structure or for the protection of one ‘ * *. * *
class against exploitation by another. This is the BUSINESS which bears the responsibility for the
true function and responsibility of the elected offi- pay-checks of private employment has little
cers of overnment and the Lea ue ro oses to see voice in overnment and is harassed b a sabota e
S g P P S Y S
to it that the people of our country know exactly of constitutional principles and by irresponsible
what is re uired of ever branch of overnment. theorists who would amend the Constitution with the
q Y g
Many of the measures taken in the last two ad- hypocritical cry that the Constitution is “elastic.”
ministrations have been defended on the plea of The only way the Constitution can be and should
a national emergency. It should be noted, however, be amended is by the people themselves.
4 . 5

  
If some of the legislative undertakings of today  
are to be made acceptable as permanent reforms,   1
then the honest thing to do is to give the people an E  
opportunity to pass upon those reforms in consti- E
tutional conventions duly called for such purpose. E T° become a msrribsr °f the Alnencan Lrbsrtv
Nor ie eee League e eeeee ned alone with eee acts : Lsssss merely mss s¤4 mss! *hs ¤**¤¤h¤d
{ th F d 1 G t th t d , t f th I membership blank; and if you care to make
O B C cla Ovcmmcn a wm C mm 6 e   any contribution mail it also to the American
accepted principles of the charter of government : Liberty League’Washingt°n’ D_ C_
that has for nearly 150 years sheltered America. ` E  
Conspicuous threats against constitutional govern- ,  
ment have arisen in a number of States in the last I
three or four years. The League will be as vigilant I Date ----·-·---—---·----—-------·----·-··- ·— ---- -
in seeking to inform the voters of America on the i I
meanin of State trans ressions as in ex lainin Z American Liberty League
g S P S _
Federal usurpations of the rights of the people. Z National Pyaag Building
“We are militantly determined to carry on this fight E Washington'   C'
with all our resources and all our energies to keep our § I d _ b   h _ _ 1
government within its appointed bounds and to make I Bsue to su SCH 6 to t e punclp es
representative government truly representative of the :
imsrssrs sf all ps<>pl<=·"   and enroll as a member of the American Lib-
"We are enlisted for as many years as may be neces- •
sary to enforce respect for the Constitution as the Z  
charter of principles of human liberty and property I any Bague‘
rights. It was bequeathed to us by the founders of the E
Republic as the living voice of the Declaration of j Name H   _ _ _ H
A Independence, designed to preserve, to defend and to I
maintain the liberties of all people.” E
; Address .................................... . ......... . ...........................
" j As a contributing member I desire to
’€ contribute $ ............................ (without incurring
   
  legal liability) payable as noted below:
· I Cash .................................... `
  Installments as follows: .........................................
n   Please
; sign here ........................................................................
6 .   € s