Broken Oaths
So if we want to begin solving what truly ails our country today, let the first step be this: honor your oath to uphold the Constitution.
Broken Oaths: How the Constitution is Ignored by Those Sworn to Defend It
Every federal officer, legislator, judge, and military servicemember in the United States takes a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Yet the written Constitution—the supreme law of the land—is routinely violated, bypassed, or reinterpreted beyond recognition.
This document catalogs fifteen such violations, each one a breach of the Constitution's explicit text, not merely its spirit or intent. Together, they reflect a systemic pattern of federal overreach, erosion of state sovereignty, and centralization of power far beyond what the framers authorized.
1. Money Creation Reserved to Congress
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 8 – "To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof"
Violation: The Constitution grants Congress—and only Congress—the power to coin money and regulate its value. Today, however, money is largely created by the Federal Reserve, a privately controlled central bank system operating outside direct Congressional control. The Fed creates money not by minting coin or authorizing Treasury notes, but by expanding the balance sheets of private banks through debt-based mechanisms, such as open market operations and quantitative easing. This money enters the financial system through banks, not directly to the public, and is often used to inflate asset prices rather than support real economic activity.
2. Excessive Federal Land Ownership
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 – Limits federal land to forts, dockyards, and needful buildings with state consent
Violation: The federal government now claims ownership over roughly 28% of all U.S. land, including over 80% of Nevada. This vast dominion contradicts the Constitution’s requirement that land be used only for limited federal purposes and only with state consent. Agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service administer lands without direct constitutional authority. Western states have protested this imbalance for decades, citing lost tax revenue, development restrictions, and federal overreach.
3. Permanent Standing Army
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 8 – Army funding limited to two years; no such limit for the Navy
Violation: The framers feared standing armies, associating them with tyranny and foreign entanglements. The Constitution thus permits Congress to fund an army only for two years at a time. Even more crucially, the federal army was never meant to be a permanent institution. Instead, the expectation was that the military force of the Union would be composed of militia men—citizen-soldiers—from the individual state militias. The federal government was granted power to call forth these militias to defend the nation in cases of invasion or rebellion.
This decentralized model was designed explicitly to prevent imperial overreach and to avoid granting the president—who serves as commander in chief—unfettered access to a permanent war-making machine. The Founders understood that if a standing army were readily available to the executive, it would create a structural temptation toward unnecessary wars abroad and military interventionism.
Furthermore, the constitutional language focuses exclusively on repelling invasions and suppressing insurrections—not on initiating foreign wars or acting preemptively. There is no constitutional provision that allows for sending troops abroad to "prevent" future attacks. Such actions would have been considered deeply un-Republican and contrary to the founding vision of a non-interventionist republic.
Today, that safeguard has been obliterated. The United States maintains a continuous, global military presence—a modern phenomenon that runs directly counter to the Constitution's language limiting army use to repelling invasions. Rather than a temporary, defensive posture, this global footprint reflects an enduring offensive capability under executive control, undermining the original legal framework designed to prevent imperial entanglements. with over 800 bases in more than 70 countries and a defense budget exceeding $800 billion annually. State militias—once considered essential to national defense—have been effectively sidelined or absorbed into the federally controlled National Guard.
4. Lawmaking Reserved to Congress
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 1 – "All legislative Powers... shall be vested in a Congress"
Violation: Today, executive orders are used as quasi-legislation, and judicial rulings frequently set binding precedents with the force of law. Additionally, administrative agencies—EPA, IRS, ATF, CDC, and many others—issue thousands of rules and regulations every year, many of which affect citizens and businesses more directly than acts passed by Congress. This reality creates a shadow government of unelected bureaucrats who legislate without accountability.
5. Unconstitutional Federal Income Tax
Constitutional Text (pre-1913): Article I, Section 9 – No direct tax without apportionment by population
Violation: Prior to the 16th Amendment, any direct tax had to be apportioned according to state populations. The income tax, introduced in 1913, has been criticized both for its dubious ratification process and its use as a tool of social and economic engineering. It coincided with the creation of the Federal Reserve, effectively linking citizens' labor to centralized debt mechanisms. Critics argue that the income tax represents a form of financial bondage enabling unchecked federal expansion.
6. Federal Undermining of State Militias and Second Amendment
Constitutional Text: Second Amendment – "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State"
Violation: The federal government has eroded the constitutional link between militias and the right to bear arms. The original design empowered states to maintain armed forces independent of federal control. Today, the National Guard, often considered the modern equivalent of the militia, is federally regulated and can be deployed by the President, even against the will of state governors. Meanwhile, gun control measures imposed by federal agencies restrict civilian arms ownership, further concentrating force under federal authority.
7. War Requires Congressional Declaration
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 8 – "To declare War"
Violation: The U.S. has engaged in dozens of foreign conflicts without formal declarations of war. From Korea and Vietnam to Iraq, Libya, and Syria, presidents have relied on vague congressional authorizations or claimed executive authority to initiate military action. The 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) have been stretched far beyond their original intent, undermining Congress's sole war-declaring power.
8. Treaty Power Requires Senate Consent
Constitutional Text: Article II, Section 2 – Treaties require two-thirds Senate approval
Violation: Presidents now bypass this requirement by enacting "executive agreements" with foreign governments. These agreements—like the Iran nuclear deal or the Paris Climate Accord—often have binding policy consequences, but lack constitutional legitimacy. This tactic circumvents democratic oversight and marginalizes the Senate’s treaty authority.
9. Revenue Bills Must Originate in the House
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 7 – Revenue bills must start in the House
Violation: The Origination Clause is routinely ignored or skirted. Notably, portions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and other modern tax measures originated in the Senate and were later re-labeled. Courts have been reluctant to enforce this clause, effectively nullifying a key procedural protection.
10. Foreign Emoluments Prohibited
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 9 – No officeholder may accept gifts from foreign states without Congress's consent
Violation: Despite this clear prohibition, politicians and officials have accepted payments, honors, and donations through foundations, business ventures, and diplomatic channels. The Clinton Foundation, Trump Organization dealings abroad, and family business ties to foreign entities (e.g., China, Ukraine) have raised widespread concern—yet enforcement remains nonexistent.
11. Habeas Corpus May Only Be Suspended in Rebellion or Invasion
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 9 – Habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in rebellion or invasion
Violation: The indefinite detention of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, and provisions in the 2012 NDAA permitting detention without trial, violate the explicit language of the Constitution. These policies continue without a declared rebellion or invasion, eroding fundamental due process protections.
12. Uniform Immigration Laws Required
Constitutional Text: Article I, Section 8 – Congress must establish a uniform rule of naturalization
Violation: Immigration law is now fractured across local jurisdictions. Sanctuary cities openly defy federal immigration enforcement. Presidents have altered immigration enforcement policies through executive orders, undermining uniformity. This undermines the Constitution's directive for consistent national standards.
13. Speedy and Public Trial Required
Constitutional Text: Sixth Amendment – Right to a speedy and public trial
Violation: Many defendants are held for extended periods without trial, particularly those lacking resources. Prosecutors exploit plea bargains, coercing confessions to avoid costly trials. High-profile detainees at Guantanamo have been imprisoned for over a decade without formal charges or trial.
14. Federal Judicial Power is Enumerated and Limited
Constitutional Text: Article III, Section 2 – Limits federal court jurisdiction to specific case types
Violation: Federal courts now rule on issues traditionally reserved to states, including education, family law, and local governance. Judicial activism, often justified by broad readings of the Commerce Clause or Fourteenth Amendment, has extended federal judicial reach beyond what the Constitution permits.
15. States Guaranteed a Republican Form of Government
Constitutional Text: Article IV, Section 4 – U.S. shall guarantee every state a republican form of government
Violation: Gerrymandering, voting manipulation, and federal imposition of policies on unwilling states have eroded the representative nature of many state governments. Furthermore, federal agencies override state regulations, marginalizing state legislatures and undermining the balance of federalism.
Conclusion
These fifteen violations represent not isolated incidents, but a systemic failure of constitutional fidelity. The Constitution’s written text is no longer the operating manual of government, but a symbolic relic—cited in speeches, ignored in action. Citizens and officials alike must reckon with the oath they have taken, and ask: What does it mean to defend the Constitution, when its words are cast aside?
So if we want to begin solving what truly ails our country today, let the first step be this: honor your oath to uphold the Constitution. Follow the fundamental law of the land—which holds supremacy over all other statutes, regulations, or mandates—the United States Constitution.