The Day Our Country Was Stolen:
How the 14th Amendment Enslaved Us All Without a Shot Fired

by: L. C. Lyon

Most Americans would agree that we, as a people, are treated by our public

The bankers' plans doomed Abraham Lincoln to assassination at their hands. Papers found in Booth's locker show communications with an agent hired by the Rothschild family.

servants -- the judges, politicians, law enforcement and bureaucrats who are paid their salaries by our taxes -- as if we were in complete bondage to them. When we joke about being slaves to the Government, we don't realize that we are exactly correct, joke or not. In fact, all those 99% of Americans who call themselves "U.S. citizens" are actually subjects of the corporate United States Government -- not the sovereign states of the Union.

The moment you uttered your first cry on American soil, you became the chattel property of the corporation known as the United States of America which, because of the federal debt, handed title (Birth Certificate) to your body and soul to the Federal Reserve Bank, to be held in the archives of the Department of Health and Human Services.

As incredible as this sounds, it is sadly true. The next question is: How did I automatically become subject to a government, when I'm supposedly a free American? How did this all happen, that I should be made to register myself, my family, and all that I own; be made to obey oppressive laws; and forfeit almost half of my earnings upon threat of jail?

Only those who are "subject" to a government can be made to do these things. Free American Inhabitants are subject to no one but God, and all the laws and responsibilities which that Divine allegiance entails.

Which "United States" Do You Live In? The answer to the above questions goes back to the American Civil War. The war that was supposedly fought to free the slaves from bondage actually did just the opposite -- for all Americans then and in the future. By enacting the 14th Amendment (which technically is an Article, not a true amendment, but that's a topic for another discussion), a whole nation of newly freed slaves and free-born white American Inhabitants became "citizens of the United States", i.e. of a federal government corporation, at the stroke of a pen and without a shot being fired.

Because we Americans are a different breed and demand the right to personal freedom, those who had planned decades ago to enslave us (even if it took generations to do so) knew that, as long as we were armed and willing to fight to maintain our freedom, the only way to accomplish this enslavement was by deception.

To proceed further, we must understand that there are two "United States." There is the "united States" (note the small "u" in "united") which describes the ideological and geographical position of the sovereign states of America. An individual was the voluntary inhabitant of the state in which he resided. If he did not like the laws or practices of that state, he could simply move to another state. Each state was sovereign to itself, and could not be forced to accept the laws and practices of any other state.

The "United States of America", however, is the name of the corporate entity (note the capital "U" in "United") that exists to carry out the functions delegated to it by the States for the protection of the Union. This corporate entity's jurisdiction is supposed to be (according to the Constitution) confined to the District of Columbia, the federal territories and the federal enclaves. Enclaves are areas within a State's boundaries which are ceded to the Federal Government by the State Legislature.

Anyone can come under the direct jurisdiction of the corporate United States in three ways: (1) by living in one of its territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, etc.), (2) by living in the District of Columbia, or (3) simply by choice. Back when America still had vast territories not-yet-become  states and several thousands of people lived in these territories, these people had no rights protected by state sovereignty. They lived under federal jurisdiction, which was the reason why people living in territories were so anxious to achieve statehood. The President could order federal troops into any territory and enact any edicts he wanted. Once a territory became a state, it had sovereignty and, from that point on, the state's rights prevailed.

So, if you don't live in a territory or enclave, and you don't live in the District of Columbia, then the only way you could have fallen under the jurisdiction of the United States Government is by choice. But neither I, nor anyone I know, voluntarily or knowingly surrendered their personal sovereignty to the Government, which means that it (our sovereignty) was taken from us by deception.

This deception, which took place in the year 1868, is what this article will explain -- how our ancestors were tricked and coerced into giving up their rights (and ours!) to the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.

Civil War Sets the Stage for Takeover

The Constitution for the United States of America specifies in the opening paragraph that the Constitution was written for the newly formed corporation, not for us, the People living in America. Our rights come from God and are inalienable. They do not come from a piece of paper. And, because the Federal Government exists only on paper -- a man-created entity -- it can also be dismantled anytime We the People decide it has become a threat to our inalienable God-given rights of sovereignty.

The Constitution is the contract between those who administer the Government's affairs and the People of the united States. In essence, it states that the People will give the Government certain powers necessary to administer the defense of the States, and control the commerce into the States from foreign countries. In exchange, the State governments (not the individual people -- direct taxation by the Federal Government is unconstitutional) would provide the Federal Government the money it needs to operate. The Federal Government had limited powers; in fact, the Bill of Rights was hotly debated at the time of its passage because there were several people who wisely cautioned that the Bill of Rights would eventually be construed as rights endowed by the Constitution, not protected by it (which is exactly what has happened).

How often do you hear patriots mistakenly vow to defend "their Constitutional rights"? This thinking reflects the decades of public school brainwashing to which we have all been subjected. We need to correct each other and understand that our rights are God-given, not constitutional.

So, how does the Civil War enter into this present-day power struggle between the Federal Government and Us the People? Slavery was not the true underlying reason for the war. It was an emotional, social issue that was used as an excuse to incite people to go to war, people who did not realize that foreign agencies were responsible for that conflict. International bankers, seeing the slavery issue as an opportunity not only to divide the country, but make millions of dollars as well, fanned the flames of debate until, under cover of the most bloody war in the history of the world, they were to accomplish that very objective -- the complete takeover of America. They almost succeeded years sooner, except for the intervention of one man -- President Abraham Lincoln.

"Honest Abe" Knew the Truth

President Lincoln was against slavery, but he understood that it was wrong to force the southern States to give up slavery -- to force Federal jurisdiction over the issue of States' Rights. Four of the southern States were already considering the abolition of slavery, but they couldn't just abandon it overnight. It would take time. After all, their whole economy was built upon slavery; a sudden disruption would bankrupt the South.

Lincoln understood this. But, it wasn't until Lincoln got into office that he began to see the whole picture. He learned that the war was begun by the International Bankers as a means of dividing the country in two, forcing both sides to borrow heavily from the Bankers to pay war debts. Then, when failing to repay those loans, the divided America would be forced into bankruptcy. The Rothschilds and other bankers could then simply foreclose on the corporations known as the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. President Lincoln knew he had to keep the nation together at all costs -- including war.

Saved by the National Banks

Near the end of the war, the South was on its knees and the U.S. Government was nearly bankrupt. Seeing their opportunity, the Bankers offered to loan the U.S. Government enough to see it through. Lincoln said no. He would find another way.

What he did then was to ask Congress for permission to print paper money. Even though he knew it was unconstitutional (only gold and silver are lawful U.S. money), it was the only way he knew to buy provisions for the Army -- but only if the U.S. banks would accept it. They did. When Lincoln gave his word that the Government would redeem those notes for gold and silver at a later time, they believed him and honored the notes. By doing this, the planned takeover by the Bankers was averted-- at that time.

The Bankers' Revenge -- Assassination

Because he had given his word to the nation's bankers; because he had promised the South that, upon surrender, the Government would help them rebuild; and because he had promised the Southerners there would be no recriminations or punishments if they again swore loyalty to the Union, Lincoln knew he had to get re-elected, though he was tired, tormented by migraine headaches, and worried about his suffering family life. He had to make sure those promises were kept.

Lincoln's complete thwarting of the International Bankers' plans doomed him to assassination at their hands. Papers found in Booth's locker show communications with an agent hired by the Rothschild family.

Weeks before he was killed, Lincoln knew he would die in office. His spies were reporting plots to kill him; it was only a matter of who got to him first. So, he met regularly with his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, and educated him as quickly as he could so that he could follow through on Lincoln's promises. Johnson listened carefully and understood what was expected of him, and why. Then, after Lincoln's murder, he did exactly as he was supposed to do.

In school, when we were taught this part of American history, we were told that Andrew Johnson was uneducated and ignorant, and fumbled continuously in office, which was supposedly why he was impeached. Johnson was of humble origin, but he was an honest, self-educated man who stood firmly for what he saw clearly were the best interests of his country. This is what got him impeached.

Impeachment!

At this time, the only men in Congress were those representing the northern States. After Fort Sumter, all the southern States had seceded. After Lincoln's death, Congress began passing laws to punish the South, in contradiction to Lincoln's promise. Johnson began vetoing them, sometimes three and four times, until Congress began passing them over his veto. One particular bill that he vetoed, the Civil Rights Bill, was intended to make all former slaves automatic citizens of the Federal Government, and under its direct jurisdiction (and protection). This seemed like a compassionate and generous gesture to the newly freed slaves but, as Johnson pointed out, it would have serious consequences for the Negroes. In his veto message in March of 1866, Johnson pointed out the pitfalls of this bill:

He [the Negro] must, of necessity, from his previous unfortunate condition of servitude, be less informed as to the nature and character of our institutions than he who, coming from abroad, has to some extent at least, familiarized himself with the principles of a government to which he voluntarily entrusts "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The 1st Section of the bill also contains an enumeration of the rights to be enjoyed by these classes so made citizens "in every state and territory in the United States." These rights are "to make and enforce contracts; to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property"; and to have "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens." So too, they are made subject to the same punishment, pains and penalties, in common with white citizens ...

Johnson could clearly see that to immediately place a string of governmental "rights and benefits" upon a totally naive and uneducated people as the Negroes,would also make them easy prey for every carpetbagger who would trick them into contracts, in which they would have no knowledge of the legal ramifications. This bill would, in effect, make the former slaves as slaves again to different masters: unscrupulous businessmen, attorneys and judges.

Johnson saw that this bill was also a means of foisting unconstitutional jurisdiction of the Federal Government in every state: Thus a perfect equality of the white and colored races is attempted to be fixed by federal law in every state of the Union over the vast field of state jurisdiction covered by these enumerated rights.

If Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands, who shall testify, who shall have capacity to make a contract in a state, then Congress can by law also declare who, without regard to color or race, shall have the right to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and finally, to vote "in every state and territory of the United States."

The legislation thus proposed invades the judicial power of the state. It says to every state court or judge: if you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you refuse, under the prohibition of a state law, to allow a Negro to testify; if you hold that over such a subject matter the state law is paramount ... your error of judgment, however conscientious, shall abject you to fine and imprisonment.

The Legislative Department of the government of the United States thus takes from the Judicial Department of the states the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision and converts the state judge into a mere ministerial officer, bound to decide according to the will of Congress.

Johnson then continued with an additional warning as to the virtually unlimited power given to appointed agents:

The Section of the bill provides that officers and agents of the Freedman's Bureau shall be empowered to make arrests and also that other officers may be specially commissioned for that purpose by the President of the United States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the United States and the superior courts of the territories to appoint, without limitation, commissioners, who are to be charged with the performance of quasi-judicial duties. These numerous agents are made to constitute a sort of police, in addition to the military, and are authorized to summon a posse comitatus, and even to call to their aid such portion of the land and naval forces of the United States or of the militia ...

This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents irresponsible to the government and to the people, to whose number the discretion of the
commissioners is the only limit and in whose hands such authority might be made a terrible engine of wrong, oppression and fraud.

The 7th Section provides that a fee ... shall be paid to each commissioner in every case brought before him, and a fee ... to his deputy or deputies for each person he or they may arrest and take before any such commissioner ... All those fees are to be "paid out of the Treasury of the United States" whether there is a conviction or not; but in the case of conviction they are to be recoverable from the defendant. It  seems to me that under the influence of such temptations, bad men might convert any law, however beneficent, into an instrument of persecution and fraud.

To me, the details of the bill seem fraught with evil. It is another step, or rather stride, toward centralization and the concentration of all legislative powers in the national government.

It is plain to see here that President Johnson saw far into the future as to the potential for legal and political abuse of such arbitrary powers -- powers that had never before been placed into the hands of a bureaucracy that had not been subjected to referendum by the people or constitutional question by any federal court. This bill (which was passed over Johnson's veto) did, in fact, set the precedent for hundreds of federal, state and local bureaucracies that have since choked the lifeblood of millions
of Americans.

Also, this bill blatantly usurped all States Rights and opened a very wide door for the further usurpation of these rights, using other social agendas.

The reason Andrew Johnson was impeached was because he fought so hard against this bill and the subsequent 14th Amendment. His enemies purposely did not mention to the press (nor to the public) the legal and political ramifications of this bill which Johnson had so succinctly pointed out; but instead they broadcasted the notion that he was reneging on Lincoln's promises to "heal the wounds" of the nation by fighting full rights for the Negro -- thus making it an emotional social issue.

In fact, Johnson was keeping Lincoln's promises by trying to protect the rights of the newly freed slaves, as well as the rights of those states which knew their own former slaves better than anyone, and knew the Negroes were not yet ready for the responsibilities of citizenship. As Johnson had predicted, after passage of the bill, so many of the Negroes had indeed been robbed of goods and property by white charlatans and/or thrown into jails for breaking commercial laws they did not understand that, when the Negroes did come to full awareness of the massive duplicity perpetrated by these scoundrels, a racial hatred and mistrust of all whites became a nationwide phenomenon that has never been erased to this day.

The Final Axe Falls

After the bill was passed over Johnson's veto, and there was no general hue and cry from the public, Congress then proceeded with the next step -- the 14th Amendment. In order to understand the ramifications of this heinous act of Congress, it must be analyzed section-by-section:

ARTICLE XIV. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

In the very first line, the amendment states that all persons born (all babies from this point on) or naturalized (the newly freed slaves who were then just inhabitants of America) are now citizens of the United States (the Federal Government) and of the State (the State Government) where they lived.

From the Declaration of Independence on, all people in America who lived here were Americans, residing in a particular geographical state, and free to move from state to state, or even to another country. The Federal Government, according to the Constitution, is a corporate fiction that does the bidding of the body of collective states called Congress. At this time, the state governments had similar limited jurisdiction over their inhabitants, as did the federal government. The state government's primary function was to act as a collective voice of all its inhabitants to convey their wishes to Congress. Congress controlled the federal government.

The rule of Common Law, which was the law of the land at that time, was carried out exclusively by the County Sheriff -- the Common Law concept of Posse Comitatus. Neither the State nor the Federal Government had any jurisdiction in the County, where Home Rule was the law. Only by permission or invitation by the Sheriff could either of the other two governments step foot in his County. The Civil Rights Bill, in one bold act, forced Federal Government jurisdiction into the sanctity of State rule. But Posse Comitatus still reigned in each state, and the conspirators found the way to usurp jurisdiction here through the 14th Amendment.

Citizens, Subjects = Slaves

In order for any government to grab power and maintain it, it must have "subjects" or "citizens." According to Black's Law Dictionary (Sixth Edition), "Citizens are members of a political community who, in their associated capacity, have established or submitted themselves to the dominion of a government for the promotion of their general welfare and the protection of their individual as well as collective rights. (Herriot vs City of Seattle, 81 Wash.2d. 48, 500 P.2d. 101, 109)"

So, by declaration of the 14th Amendment, all persons born from that point forward, and all naturalized people, had just become citizens (i.e. subjects) of the United States Government, obviously without their knowledge (babies) or understanding (the Negroes). The Federal Government had just reached past the jurisdictional boundaries of the state and county lines and claimed all its babies and all Negroes.

In Section 2, it then states that only males 21 years of age who are citizens of the United States may be allowed to vote in Federal and State elections. That means that only those men who willingly claimed U.S. citizenship on voter's registration cards (though they didn't realize the implications) were also brought in as subjects of the Federal Government. (The Federal Government's power and control are growing fast!) However, it stipulated that those who had participated in rebellion (the South) were excluded.

The Back Door

At this point, any intelligent person can figure out that the Conspirators who were using this Amendment to claim all Americans as its citizens -- by deception -- were obviously performing an illegal and unconstitutional act. The conspirators in Congress (and every Congressman knew what was being perpetrated, and either promoted it or simply pretended not to notice) established a "loophole" for themselves and to cover themselves in case people began to catch on. This loophole was 15 States at Large, Chapter 249 (Section 1), enacted July 27, 1868, one day before the 14th Amendment was declared "ratified." You will not see this statute published anywhere except in very old books. The Conspirators do not want their "citizens" to know it exists, and it has never been repealed. The text follows:

Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and whereas in the recognition of this principle this government has freely received emigrants from all nations, and invested them with the rights of citizenship; and whereas it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments thereof; and whereas it is necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowed: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officers of this government which denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation, is hereby declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles of this government.

On the surface, this seems to guarantee that "foreigners" who live in the borders of America cannot be forced to claim citizenship. But, what this also says is that anyone who wishes to expatriate (i.e. renounce their U.S. citizenship) may do so, by inherent right, and no one can deny him this right.

The Conspirators knew that, the "letter of the law" having been satisfied with this exemption from compelled performance (having U.S. citizenship thrust upon us), they could then hide the exemption from general view, start promoting the "benefits" of U.S. citizenship in the media (and later, in public schools) and begin setting up all of us for manipulation to obey millions of codes, statutes, and laws; exacting fines for breaking these laws; and extracting license fees and taxes upon penalty of seizure or jail.

Free American Inhabitants are not subject to the Federal Government by virtue of their not claiming U.S. citizenship. Those of us who have renounced our U.S. citizenship and declared our status as American Inhabitants, using 15 Statutes at Large as the legal foundation for this Declaration of Status, are the only ones living in the united States of America. The rest of America (U.S. citizens -- about 99%) are living in a 4th dimension, i.e. in a fictitious corporation called the United States of America. As far as America is concerned (except that 1%), there's nobody home!

Slavery by Election

We can see that, in the 14th Amendment, those Southerners who had participated in the Civil War were excluded from this "benefit" (U.S. Citizenship) on purpose -- to punish them so severely with sanctions, punishing fines and terrorism from the newly formed Freeman's Bureau, that a few years later, the Southerners would be grateful for any consideration the Federal Government would extend to them. When the opportunity was ripe, such a consideration was enacted -- the 15th Amendment.

It reads (in part):

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

By this gracious gesture, Congress extended full forgiveness to the South, and restored their right to vote (at that time, considered to be the most sacred right of an American). At the next national election after the enactment of this amendment, there was the largest turnout of voters this nation had ever seen. The South wanted desperately to be restored to the Union and heal their wounds. When they heard that, in order to vote, they had to swear allegiance to the United States of America and thus become a "citizen of the United States" (as required by the 14th Amendment), they did so willingly and without a clue as to what they had just done to themselves and to their posterity.

With the stroke of a pen, the 14th Amendment, and the subsequent 15th Amendment, had just enslaved an entire nation without a shot being fired.

The "Forgotten" Clause

Obviously, this treacherous act by Congress was enough to have all of them hanged as traitors; but, there was one more act of treachery that has been overlooked by most people. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment reads:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

At that time, a hue and cry was raised concerning Lincoln's promises to "forgive" the South's debts as part of Reconstruction, with good reason. But mainly overlooked was the first part of Section 4, which says that the debts incurred by the U.S. government were not to be questioned, that the enforcers whom the Government hired to quell insurrection (today, the CIA, FBI, BATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, etc.) would be paid by the Government. And where was the Government's money to come from? Answer: Its newly acquired subjects -- U.S. citizens. The States had just signed into constitutional amendment the permission for the Federal Government to hire thugs and thieves to control us, to pay them with our own money, and that no question could be brought to court about the constitutionality of these actions. This is why any effort to bring a suit against the Government about the Federal debt will never be entertained by the Supreme Court!

A Dangerous Game

In Europe, Africa and other places in the world, a despot simply took over a country by waging war. Here in America, however, as long as Americans were armed and prepared for hostile armed takeover, the Conspirators knew that a different technique -- a grand deception by manipulation of the laws, the courts, the schools, the media -- must be employed to obtain the same results. They waged war on us long ago, but we've been too naive to see it.

There are many who are waking up now, but they don't see the whole picture. They think that if they reverse a certain portion of Government abuse, we can take our country back. Tax protestors (as IRS calls them) have perfectly correct reasons to point out that they are not required to file -- but they forget they are still U.S. citizens (i.e. subjects). Home schoolers fight bravely for their right to protect their children against Government control -- but they forget they are still U.S. citizens. Legal eagles have found many statutory "loopholes" to win a few battles in court -- but they forget they are still U.S. citizens.

Playing the "patriot game" without fully understanding the constitutional hold the Federal, State, and local governments have over them is playing a dangerous game. They may win a few skirmishes in their battles with Government (the Government allows these "wins" to encourage us to continue wasting our energies in useless effort), but they will never win the war, and will only bring the wrath of Government down upon the head of yet another one of its subjects.

For now, at least, the Government is respecting the status of American Inhabitants. We (your publisher L. C. Lyon and writer George Sibley) have not had any legal hassles from any Government entity, because we are no longer U.S. citizens. We are the same as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and all the other patriots were in their time -- free American Inhabitants.

Any U.S. citizen can give up this enslaving status at any time, but it must be done properly. If everyone in America were to take back their rights as free Americans again, through the revocation process, the Government would have no more subjects, and no more power!

IT'S TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!