Myth or Fact?

               The argument is whether the great depression was caused by the free market economy, and fixed by government intervention is a myth or a fact.  I personally believe that it is a myth, at least the second part is.  Yes the great depression was created because of free market and the lack of control the government over it, however government intervention did not fix this terrible crisis.  Many believe the FDR’s New Deal was the main thing that brought this economy back up, but I believe that these government involvement actually made the great depression actually last longer.

                FDR was elected president in 1933, he promised many things of which the people of America thought was exactly what they needed, when in reality, they were wrong.  FDR’s plans, such as the New Deal or the monetary policy, made things worse in the nation’s economy.  Instead of getting America out of a recession, it dug a bigger pit that would be much harder to get out of.  For example, the banks started to fail, and then after FDR’s so called genius plans of making bank holidays and trying to spend more money nationally, 5000 more banks close, of which 2000 would never re-open their doors again.

                The monetary policy was supposed to create a system were money was spent in businesses to try to bring them all up, however this plan also failed and interest rates went up, expenses to run a business were demanding, and the profits of many were diminished.

                Government intervention, such as the New Deal, monetary policy, and many other acts, did not bring the American economy out of the Great Depression.  I believe that if the government did less, the recession could have been over in a very short period of time.  The original argument is a myth.  

Charter City

What is a free market?  What is considered a well-structured economy?  In The Success of an Idea (reading 2) it states, “…the right to property is the key institution to the establishment of a free market economy”.  A free market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined freely, or in other words, by supply and demand.  Now for the second question, I believe that such an economy does not exist here on earth.  Many are close, but all have some sort of corruption within.  The problem is to create the perfect system that enhances opportunities and gives people brand new starts.  If someone were to ask me what I think would make the perfect economy, my answer would consist of three main concepts; good rules, uninhabited land, and choosing great leaders to form loyal partnerships between other nations.  This flawless economic system, as called by Ted, is the charter city.

First off, in my perfect system, we would need good rules.  Rules are the boundaries of an economy or government.  We couldn’t just tear down with the rules, we would need to find ways to make effective rules that make our economy better and build it up.  We need not to force, but encourage and uplift.  Rules essentially determine how citizens under them interact with each other.  Rules can be bad because the government is weak.  In some economies, also stated in reading number 2, “…rules are road blocks for entrepreneurs and crush creativity.”  Instead, “The system of rules in which entrepreneurs can flourish in and in which technological change results is often called economic freedom. Economic freedom is created by a system of rules where property rights are protected and the rule of law prevails. Countries with economic freedom have low tax rates, low amounts of regulation, and very little corruption.”  This is what the perfect system should be based on, economic freedom, where rules are limited to success.

Uninhabited land is key to a charter city.  To start on fresh land, away from others, will enlarge our opportunities to be innovative and isolated.  The land should be large enough but not too big.  If it is more of a town, too small, then you won’t get the benefits you need.  On the other hand, nations are too big, if you change a rule, it is far too hard to regulate it and we can’t have some abiding by old rules while others are going in a different direction.   However, cities are the perfect size, they give us new opportunities and new rules where everyone can follow to create benefit within the economy.  People can come live under the new charter, but no one is forced to.

Finally, we need to choose appropriate leaders.  To achieve these proper people, we need to be open to creating loyal partnerships between nations.  We can work together using our different strengths; we can get certain benefits that we could not get without them.  We need leaders that understand, listen, and are loyal.  We need not leaders of greed and lust, as shown in the video Greed; these characteristics harden people’s hearts.  We need a leader that only cares for the welfare of the citizens souls.  We need to be innovative and we need to share ideas.

We need to follow the market model, to create charter cities.  These cities would have great rules, that only uplift and benefit the market economy.  They would be in uninhabited lands where a new economy could come to pass.  Charters would also provide the perfect leaders who will guide these free market economies to success and well-being.

James Madison's Federalist 51

What do the Constitution and the Federalist papers have in common? Correct, they have the same author, none other than James Madison himself. The Federalist papers are a collection of essays that Madison wrote that promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. His 51st article more specifically depicts his views on how checks and balances can and should be created in a government system. Madison sees problems and writes these papers to give solutions to different situations. In this particular essay, he sees a government that is out of control and shouldn’t be doing certain things that they are doing anyways.



Madison is describes that we currently have men governing over men. It’s a faulty government. We are not all angels and we all have different wants and views regarding politics and such. It is extremely hard to decide on government laws this way. When we give individuals power, they can just use their judgment and take control us. The government needs to be governed itself. We believe in popular sovereignty, where we, the people of America, get to voice our opinions. Madison suggested some auxiliary precautions to be taken. First he said a proper government should have good checks and balances. He continues and also says that we need a division of power, which separates the power from national government and state government so that the national government doesn’t have all of the power. This concept is made a law in the tenth amendment, which is basically federalism. He also believed in the necessity of the separation of power, both nationally and state-side. This consisted of dividing the government into three branches; legislative, judicial, and executive. An extra precaution was when the House of Representatives and the Senate were formed, because separating powers even more.




A wise man once said, “A constitution can only be as powerful as it is in our hearts”. I believe this statement is very true because a lot of how well any government works is based on the support of its people. Madison also brings up a good argument on how national government is doing stuff that there not supposed to be doing. For example; welfare, such as social security, medical care, and health care. Minimum wage and discrimination laws should be kept to the state government and not leave that much power to the national government. The more power in the states, the more control the people have, isn’t that what a perfect Republic is supposed to be? Each state is different; most of the power should be left to the states and not at the national level.




Our Democracy is not freedom; the rule of law has been infringed upon many times. The founding fathers created the amendment process to allow the constitution to be susceptible to change. Amendments also give the government checks and balances, which is a necessity for a flawless government. Of course a flawless government is no government at all, but that would only work if we were all angels, which last time I checked…we’re not. In conclusion, James Madison depicted his personal opinion of our government today and it summarizes as; every state is different so the primary power should be left to the states and not at the national level. The proper role of government is to abide by its own governing and to provide proper checks and balances within itself. Federalist 51 is consistent with our constitution; it’s just that the government now a days doesn’t perfectly abide by every little detail. This is why James Madison wrote the federalist papers; to reassure his allegiance and beliefs about what he previously exclaimed within the Constitution of the United States of America.

Inspired Constitution

In the very beginning, Lehi takes his family to the promise land, which is America, and has already been consecrated by God to be Zion of these latter days. In 2 Nephi 1:7 it reads, “7 Wherefore, this aland is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of blibertyunto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.” America, or The United States of America, is God’s designated place for a free land to come and be the nesting place of his sweet and everlasting church. It was part of his plan the whole time, even since the time of Nephi. Heavenly Father knew that the promise land would soon be the land in which the Declaration of Independence pertained to.






The Declaration of Independence, what a great and marvelous documentary of the country we live in today. A plethora of people believe that the writing of this important document was inspired by God. I happen to be one of themJ. There is no shame in that, for it is the truth. Our founding fathers were great and noble men who were sent to earth at that specific moment in time to create a free country where in Christ’s only true church could be built up in the land of Zion. In Doctrine and Covenants 101:77-80 it states;


“77 According to the laws and aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for thebrights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;


78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be baccountable for his own sins in the day of cjudgment.


79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in abondageone to another.


80 And for this purpose have I established the aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the bshedding of blood.” In these scriptures, God himself tells us as church members that our constitution was basically written by him only through the hands of his servants. This illustrates how the Constitution was inspired by God. Despite the direct inspiration of God, some people still lack faith in this document…not this guy.


Ezra Taft Benson gave a talk in the October 1987 General Conference. He speaks of our ‘Divine Constitution’ and he states, “I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—among others—men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution.


I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.


I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it”.


Along with inspiration, God also gave blessings to those in the act of creating the wonderful nation we live in today. I believe that our founding fathers were very united in making decisions. I also believe that when you have unity it is far easier to receive revelation, and in this case revelation was the key to inspiration. The men who formed this government were prepared, they had done their homework, they had experience, and most importantly, they were motivated. These men are men of action. They were also very wise men who believed in God and were very spiritual. Their hearts were in the right place and they were all very humble, ready for freedom and change and they were alright with God helping them out. They knew and god knew that those times were going to be far too hard for man to bare it, so God helps them out. They took time to compromise and work together to come up with the ideas that would far exceed any one man’s capacity of thinking. One specific example of help from the Lord is that somehow at the constitutional conventions everyone was able to agree on one idea as a whole. I don’t think that The Declaration could have been organized as well as is it was without the help from God. For example, in the constitution (articles 1-7) it enumerates what the national government CAN do. All other rights not mentioned are left for individual states to regulate.


They don’t just establish the constitution, they sustain it as well. The constitution is consistent with the natural rights of man, the preamble states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”. It is evident in the introduction to the constitution that the founding fathers base there compromises entirely surrounding the natural rights of man; life, liberty, and property. When it states “we the people” it literally resembles that the power is in the people of the United States of America, which is a key part in our nation’s government.


Our founding Fathers created this nation with pure inspiration from God. I firmly believe this with all my heart and this is the Nation of the Lord, wherein we have the appropriate freedoms to bring to pass The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints here on earth. This nation and the Declaration of Independence were inspired by and through our Lord, God, even our eternal Father which art in heaven.

Moral Foundations to Independence

Independence is a condition of a group of people in which its group members exercise self-government over their territory. Independence is where the members of the group act upon their own choices; they are free from opposing rules. Independence is what the thirteen colonies struggled for as they rebelled against the British Government in the late 1700's. The thought of what Independence meant for the colonies gave them determination and the will-power to struggle for it. There were many reasons as to why the colonies wanted independence, but the main reason was that the British government was making decisions that went against the rule of law. This is why the colonies where morally justified in declaring their independence from Great Britain.




First, the inalienable rights, or the natural rights of man were completely violated by the British government. While the thirteen colonies were rapidly expanding the British passed many laws that were called acts that violated these rights. Natural rights are the rights that all men are given by God and cannot be taken away. If these rights are threatened, then any group or person, or in this case the American colonies, are justified in rebelling against the unlawful government. Also, there are many freedoms that the colonies desired that the British took away from them, such as, the freedom of religion. The want to be able to worship what you want to and in your own ways, played a big part in an individuals yearning to become independent from Britain. King George III was trying to be a great and powerful king, unlike his two predecessors, but his rulings created a government where many wanted to rebel because of all the restrictions. After the American colonies were formed, King George III continued to make laws that he thought would prevent the colonies in rebelling even further, when in reality made all of the patriots do the exact opposite and got even angrier with the British Government.

Many of the Acts, or laws, that the British enforced during the late 1760’s and 1770’s included the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and the Quartering Act. First, the stamp act was a law passed where all printed materials were taxed, including; newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards. This law was the first direct tax on the colonies. The patriots were morally justified to become independent because this law represented taxation without representation and an absurd amount of taxes on everything that even correlates to stamps and such. Next, the tea act was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially trouble East India Trading Company in its London warehouses. This made it so all tea companies had to be imported to Britain first before it went to the colonies. This created larger taxes and tea. However there was one exception, the east India trading company was the only one who could import straight to the colonies. This created a monopoly and shut all other businesses down. In response, the patriots executed the Boston Tea Party where hundreds boycotted this specific company to try to send them a message. The tea act took away the colonist’s freedom to choice for themselves of what tea company they wanted to purchase from. Also, the tea act displayed taxation without representation. Following, the Quartering acts were put in place. The quartering act was a law that forced families to give up their own home and food to house a British soldier at any time. This act went against man’s natural rights the most because it violated man’s rights to property. When someone has to give up what is personally theirs, such as part of a house, is certainly justified to rebel and desire independence from the government that enforced that law.


Along with the previous acts, the Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice Act were also key laws that justified the patriots in rebelling and claiming their own independence. The Massachusetts Government Act made it so the government of Massachusetts was now under the rule of the crown. This meant that Massachusetts no longer had the freedom to make up their own laws. This also desecrated man’s natural rights in that the right to liberty or freedom is not observed. When the king took away Massachusetts right to government, it took away man’s right to liberty, making it okay for the colonists to rebel and eventually declare independence from independence. Next, the Administration of Justice Act made it so royal officials no longer had to face trial for crimes, or in other words, could just go straight for death☻. Just kidding, I was being sarcastic, that is the exact opposite of a smiley face:(. Yes, that is more like it. Anyways, George Washington called it the “Murder Act” because the royal officials did not even have the opportunity to face trial. This went against man’s natural right of life, probably the most important one because without life, there wouldn’t be an opportunity to have liberty or property. If the British government takes away one’s right to their own life, I am pretty sure that it would be alright if the colonies become independent.


Finally, to take the final steps in becoming independent many of the colonial citizens started to voice their opinions. For example, Patrick Henry once uttered a phrase, “Gentlemen may cry peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God—I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” These types of speeches were very common and completely accurate. When Patrick Henry said give me liberty or give me death was no understatement. The men that signed the Declaration of Independence were signing their lives away because of how unlawful their actions were. If the declaring of their independence didn’t work then all 56 men that signed that document would have probably be swiftly executed.


These are many of the reasons why the colonies’ rebellion and declaring of their independence was morally justified. Moral justification is the reason why we are here today and why the United States of America is what it is today.