Dr. Eduardo Rivera
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four
A MESSAGE TO BARACK OBAMA
Re: THE CHANGE WE CAN ALL BELIEVE IN
The Constitution presents the people with a choice: choose a leader who will take an oath to be restrained by law or pick one who will make the law as he rules. Americans thought they had chosen the right man in George Washington. The oath of Office taken by the first President of the United States proved they had picked the wrong man. The oath of Office of President of the United States was the brainchild of the great financial genius, Alexander Hamilton. By taking that oath George Washington became the first CEO of a corporation endowed with the capacity to grow into a corporate super power. The only way theUnited States can become a great government is for its leader to take the right oath. Only an oath or affirmation “to support this Constitution,” will bring the change we can all believe in.
You have the message that contains the facts that can change America and the world. If you make sure that the message gets out to everyone, it will get to Obama and McCain. On January 20, the President Elect must swear or affirm that he will, as President, “support this Constitution.” If he doesn’t, it’s business as usual and your freedoms will again be for sale by the President of the United States. Don’t hang your hopes on a presidential reformation. The Presidents of the United States have been in power for over 219 years. It will take more than the truth to make them obey the Constitution. You will have to stand behind the truth, so know the facts beginning with these:
George Washington, was elected unanimously, on February 4, 1789 to the Office of President, by the Electors appointed by each State, according to Article II Section 1 Clauses 2 & 3 of the Constitution. The first popular election to fill the Office of President would not occur until Andrew Jackson was picked by the Electors. Jackson refused the Office of President and like the Presidents before him took the oath of Office of President of the United States.
Despite the unanimity of support by the Electors, Washington refused to take this oath of Office required of “all executive and judicial Officers” by the Constitution:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. Article VI
There is no written record of Washington’s reasons for refusing the Office of President, today a written resignation of the Office of President is required by statute. Examination of the record shows that the election was held too soon. Ratification of the Constitution by nine States was “sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same,” but it was insufficient to amend the Articles of Confederation to provide for both a President of the United States of America and a President under the Constitution. Nine States could elect a President of the United States of America, but they could not elect anyone to the Office of President.
Washington, also, knew that no one in America would “be eligible to the Office of President,” until after July 4, 1790. The Constitution requires 14 Years residency within the United States:
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. Article II Section 1 Clause 5
Ever the Commander in Chief, George Washington, apparently without consulting anyone, appointed himself to the Office of President of the United States, by taking the oath of Office of President of the United States on April 30, 1789:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Article II Section 1 Clause 8
The Constitution makes provision for the appointment of the President of the United States by the President:
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law; but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. Article II Section 2 Clause 2
George Washington was duly elected President of the United States of America by the Electors of the States that had ratified the Constitution, but it was not possible for him to be eligible to the Office of President, because he did not meet the 14 Years residency requirement and two of the thirteen States had not ratified the Constitution at the time he took the oath of Office of President of the United States.
Washington could not be eligible to the Office of President after becoming President of the United States; the Constitution prohibits receiving the benefits from two Offices:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period and other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Article II Section 1 Clause 7
In the first inaugural address, Washington refused any compensation for his Services so that refusal would be evidence of the rejection of the Office of President. Having refused the Office of President by not taking the oath and compensation, Washington was in a position of legislative authority to create a government of the United States that could also claim authority over territory not considered to be the United States.
As President of the United States of America, Washington presided over no one and no territory, during his four-year term. The United States of America is a confederacy of sovereign, free and independent states established pursuant to the authority of the Articles of Confederation. Ratification of the Articles, which occurred from 1777 to 1781, did not include the transfer of any jurisdiction over territory within the states. The cession of jurisdiction to territory like the Northwest Territory made necessary a government for such territory to be administered pursuant to the legislative power of the Congress of the United States, upon the ratification of the Constitution by nine States.
The Constitution does not set a definite term for the Office of President of the United States, leaving to the Congress of the United States the removal by impeachment of any incumbent who refuses to leave Office. The precedent Washington set of two four-year terms, apparently, applied to the Office of President of the United States of America and only indirectly to the Office of President of the United States. The indefinite term of Office and the combination of legislative and executive duties confirms the limitation of the powers of that Office to territory like that of the Northwest Territory.
The entire world labors under the misapprehension that the oath of Office of President of the United States is that of the Office of President. Even the cursory examination of the facts presented in this message is sufficient to dispel the thought that the two Offices can be held by the same person. The change promised by Barack Obama must begin by the taking of the proper oath regardless of who is elected to the Office of President by the Electoral College.
The preparation of this message has taken years of research and the advocacy of the principles underlying the conclusions has subjected me to the worse kind of professional discipline and disapproval that any attorney and counselor at law can suffer. The personal and financial hardship that I have sustained will be insignificant compared to continual injuries that result from a broken Presidency operating within a broken government, if this message does not reach Barack Obama and John McCain.
This message is as much for you as it is for Barack Obama. The facts belong to everyone and are useless unless they are available to everyone. I teach my students to make facts their own by putting the facts in their own words. I invite you to do the same. We live in a connected universe—everyone should get the message.
Dr. Eduardo M. Rivera
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