Corporate lobbyists "Agents of change". Indeed!

Today U.S. Corporations are operating illegally and criminally according to the framers of the Constitution, the letter of the laws set up by our founders show that they are operating as tyrannical as the British who we fought against to rid ourselves of their tyrannical ways.

The Preamble of the Constitution of the United States begins with these words:

“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.”

In 1776, American colonists declared independence from England, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our country's founders retained a vigorous fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Read carefully what the formers said and see if the logical conclusion that I have come to is not correct regarding the illegal and criminal manner in which our corporate special interest groups operate.

The corporations from the onset were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society. Our current “Lobbying system” is the process of petitioning government to influence public policy. Today, Corporate America spends $3 billion annually to “buy” legislation; this is contrary to the letter of the law. While this right is one of the most treasured rights in a democracy. The manner of “contributing” to Congressmen/women makes them forget whom they represent.

From the beginning, the privilege of incorporation was granted selectively to enable activities that benefited the public, such as construction of roads or canals. Enabling shareholders to profit was seen as a means to that end. The states also imposed conditions (some of which remain on the books today) such as: Corporate charters (licenses to exist) were granted for a limited time and could be revoked promptly for violating laws; they could engage only in activities necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose; they could not own stock in other corporations nor own any property that was not essential to fulfilling their chartered purpose; they were often terminated if they exceeded their authority or caused public harm; the owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts committed on the job; they could not make any political or charitable contributions nor spend money to influence law making.

For about 100 years after the American Revolution, legislators maintained tight control of the corporate chartering process. Then came the American Civil War, which history shows was caused by the freeing of the slaves, when in reality, it was Northern States corporations that practiced tyranny with the Southern State farmers.

In 1864 Abraham Lincoln wrote the following in a letter to his friend William Elkins:

“We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing its end. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood…. It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic; but I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless.”

The States also limited corporate charters to a set number of years. Unless a legislature renewed an expiring charter, the corporation was dissolved and its assets were divided among shareholders. Citizen authority clauses limited capitalization, debts, land holdings, and sometimes, even profits. They required a company's accounting books to be turned over to a legislature upon request. The power of large shareholders was limited by scaled voting, so that large and small investors had equal voting rights. Interlocking directorates were outlawed. Shareholders had the right to remove directors at will.

In 1819 the U.S. Supreme Court tried to strip states of this absolute right by overruling a lower court's decision that allowed New Hampshire to revoke a charter granted to Dartmouth College by King George III. The Court claimed that since the charter contained no revocation clause, it could not be withdrawn. The Supreme Court's attack on state sovereignty outraged citizens. Laws were written or re-written and new state constitutional amendments passed to circumvent the Dartmouth ruling. Over several decades starting in 1844, nineteen states amended their constitutions to make corporate charters subject to alteration or revocation by their legislatures. As late as 1855 it seemed that the Supreme Court had gotten the people's message when in Dodge v. Woolsey it reaffirmed state's powers over "artificial bodies."

But the men running corporations pressed on. Contests over charter were battles to control labor, (such is the auto bailout by Bush) resources, community rights, and political sovereignty. More and more frequently, corporations were abusing their charters to become conglomerates and trusts. (Better known today as the Special Interest Groups.) They converted the nation's resources and treasures into private fortunes, creating factory systems and company towns. Today they run the nation as if it were a plantation.

The industrial age forced a nation of farmers to become wage earners, and they became fearful of unemployment--a new form of terror or fear that corporations quickly learned to exploit and control. Company towns arose and blacklists of labor organizers and workers who spoke up for their rights became common. When workers began to organize, industrialists and bankers hired private armies to keep them in line. They bought newspapers to paint businessmen as heroes and shape public opinion. Corporations bought state legislators, then announced legislators were corrupt and said that they used too much of the public's resources to scrutinize every charter application and corporate operation.

Government spending during the Civil War brought these corporations fantastic wealth. Corporate executives paid "borers" (lobbyists) to infest Congress and state capitals, bribing elected and appointed officials alike. They pried loose an avalanche of government financial gifts. During this time, legislators were persuaded to give corporations limited liability, decreased citizen authority over them, and extended durations of charters. Attempts were made to keep strong charter laws in place, but with the courts applying legal doctrines that made protection of corporations and corporate property the center of constitutional law, citizen sovereignty was undermined. As corporations grew stronger, government and the courts became easier prey. They freely reinterpreted the U.S. Constitution and transformed common law doctrines.

A United States Congressional committee concluded in 1941,

"The principal instrument of the concentration of economic power and wealth has been the corporate charter with unlimited power...."

Many U.S.-based corporations are now global, but the corrupted charter remains the legal basis for their existence. To reclaim Democracy we must believe citizens can reassert the convictions of our nation's founders who struggled successfully to free us from corporate rule in the past. These changes must occur at the most fundamental level -- the U.S. Constitution.

We hope that President Elect Barack Obama will do just that. Bring back the power of Democracy in the hands of the people, where it was meant to be!