15 - -7-C-page-11x11-w-pths compressed - Flipbook - Page 15
OUR FOUNDERS FIGHT
AGAINST TYRANNY
Although this amendment is hardly controversial —
the Pentagon does not house service members in
private homes and it is hard to imagine the
circumstances in which it might – yet the
amendment is nonetheless highly relevant. It was a
reminder of the tyranny the Founders had fought to
win our independence.
After the Boston Tea Party (1773), the British crown
imposed heavy penalties on the colonies. The
colonials referred to these strictures as the
Intolerable Acts. One, the Quartering Act of 1774,
stipulated that the colonials had to pay for the
quarters of British troops. Further, if the local
barracks didn’t have enough space, the townsmen
had to provide the troops with lodgings, even in
private homes.
The Quartering Act helped push the colonials to
revolution. The quartering of troops was cited in the
Declaration of Independence as one of the
Founders’ chief grievances with the Crown. As the
great patriot Patrick Henry said, “One of our first
complaints, under the former government, was the
quartering of troops among us. This was one of the
principal reasons for dissolving the connection with
Great Britain.”
While the Third Amendment has never been a
central focus of a United States Supreme Court
decision, it shows the framers of the Constitution
meant to limit the powers of the executive, even
during wartime. And indeed, it’s a reminder of how
our forefathers fought a tyranny that sought to
impose its will on communities and even families.
Protecting the individual rights of Americans is a
guiding principle in the fight for freedom.
Protecting families and communities.
15
