Liberty's Law Art Print
The links below offer my reasons for creating this art print and some of the acknowledgement
I have received to date. -- Dale C. Carter
What Freedom and Liberty Means
How a Nation Determines Identity
Constitution Day is every day in Anoka, Minnesota
Reasons for Creating Liberty's Law
This Art Print is dedicated to the men and women, past and present, of our Armed Forces and our Law Enforcement, the Presidency, Congress, State Legislators, Federal, State, Local Government Officials, and anyone who has officially taken an Oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, which is the Supreme Law of the Land: Article VI
COMMANDER IN CHIEF: The President "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
MILITARY OATHS: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. So help me God."
LAW ENFORCEMENT OATH OF HONOR: "On my honor, I will always uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve."
What Freedom and Liberty Means*What do these two words mean in the large circle design?
Freedom
1. The state of being free or at liberty rather than confinement or under physical restraint
2. Exemption from external control
3. The power to determine action without restraint
4. Political or national independence
5. Personal liberty: slaves who bought their freedomLiberty
1. Freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2. Freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3. Freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, etc.
4. Freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint.
5. A female figure personifying freedom from despotism.
* Webster's American Dictionary, College Edition
How a Nation Determines IdentityAre we as a nation in danger of losing our true identity? How does any nation achieve its true identity?
A Nation's True Identity is Determined in two ways: First, by how that nation began and by what principles and laws its new government was founded upon. Included are its culture and its economy. Second: By what that nation is like today, including its current principles, laws, government, economy, and culture.
No Nation's TRUE IDENTITY can be complete without both!
The Power of SYMBOLISM "Foreign & Domestic"Experts in communication tell us that the moment we hear a "word", our mind tries to make a "picture or symbol" of that word because "we think" in pictures and symbols. Symbols are a powerful way to communicate because our eyes retain an image longer than it retains a word. Symbols can represent "good or evil."
Letters of Recognition
The “Thank You” Letters Below Are Replies For The Customized Art Work I Designed and Gave to These Individuals.
They are “Not Endorsements” of My Tribute to Liberty.
I Am Deeply Honored To Have Received Them.
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Wayne LaPierre, NRA - 2006
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Office of the Vice President, 2003
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John Ashcroft, Attorney General 2003
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M.W. Hagee, General, The following letters are responses to the 2nd version below. Liberty's Law has gone through three revisions before its completion.
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| Office of the Vice President, 2002 1st version: 3 color poster print using the original 1987 design. Final Version is in full color. |
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| Below is the 1987 original design for the Bicentennial celebration of the U.S. Constitution. The largest MN teachers organization: The Minnesota Education Association (MEA) put this simplified logo on t-shirts and sold them for their most successful fundraiser's for scholarships |
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Reasons for Creating Liberty's Law1. Lack of American History Education
"Our children don't know much of anything about American History," Diane Ravitch, a historian of Education at New York University, is a member of the board that governs the teaching history and is a former "Assistant Secretary of Education" (St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 20, 2002)
This and six articles on my website disturbs me because when I was in school American History lessons were fun and very exciting! It was interesting to learn about how our nation began and the sacrifices our great early leaders made to win our freedoms.
My Art print titled "Liberty's Law" is a great early American History lesson in picture/design. It answers the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? about the creation of our Constitution.
2. September 11, 2001
The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was a direct attack on America! It was an attack on the Constitution of the United States, attacking the "Preamble" which is the mission statement for our country.
3. My Family
My son, Shawn, has been a police officer for more than fifteen years in a Twin Cities suburb. Each day he and his fellow Minnesota law enforcement officers go to work, they not only put their lives on the line to enforce the The U.S. Constitution and protect our freedoms, but they also save lives.
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Residents and Police Officers help save man's life. Officer Shawn Carter was among those who helped revive heart attack victim. |
Newspaper Articles and TranscriptsNo Founding Fathers? That's Our New History
by Ellen Sorokin (Washington Times, January 28, 2002)George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are not included in the revised version of the New Jersey Department of Education history standards - a move some critics view as political correctness at its worst... "This is what you call historical irresponsibility," said David Saxe, a Penn State University education professor who reviews state history standards nationwide for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in Washington.
Nation Lost Much When Schools Got Rid of Washington
by Kathrine Kersten (Star Tribune, August 14, 2002)Which American president is known as "the Father of his country"? Not long ago, every American child of 10 could promptly fire back, "George Washington." These days, however, young people are more likely to scratch their heads. There's growing evidence that contemporary Americans know little about the most important leaders and events of our nation's history. No American hero has suffered from this historical amnesia than George Washington-our nation's first president, and traditionally its most revered leader. Indeed, historians have begun to warn of something that our forebears could scarcely have imagined. In the course of a single generation, they tell us, George Washington has essentially vanished from our national consciousness. For Washington-more than any other public figure-was the progenitor of our heritage of freedom and self-government.
Ideology Burdens 'Multicultural Bandwagon'
by Katherine Kersten, Senior Fellow, Center for the American Experience (StarTribune, August 4, 2002)Today, according to a survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, only three of the nation's 55 top-ranked colleges still require a course in Western Civilization. (None requires American History.) Many institutions, however, require 'world cultures' or 'ethnic studies' courses. At some colleges, in fact, these are the only courses that all students must take.
What Our Kids Don't Know About History Could Hurt Them
by Susan Fields, Syndicated Columnist,
(St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 20, 2002)Our children don't know much of anything about American history.... Diane Ravitch, a historian and professor of Education ay New York University, is a member of the board that governs the history tests that identified the Achilles heel (who was he?) of history teaching. 'Our ability to defend - intelligently and thoughtfully - what we as a nation hold dear depends on our knowledge and understanding of what we hold dear. We can't take that for granted, can we?
What We Don't Know Could Hurt Us
by Cal Thomas, Syndicated Columnist ( September 27, 2002 )What do you know about the First Amendment? That it protects freedom of religion and speech? What else? That it protects freedom of the press and the right of people to peacefully demonstrate when they object to something their government is doing, or trying to do? ... Just 14% know that freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Constitution. Just 18% are aware that freedom of religion is protected. Just 10% know they have a constitutional right to peaceably assemble. And a minuscule 2% think they can petition their government to redress grievances. Fear can limit freedom, as President George W. Bush noted when he addressed the nation September 20, 2001 . He said, "(the terrorists) hate our freedom: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other." A major contributor to the vast ignorance about the First Amendment is our educational system, which fails to teach the Constitution.
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren
Transcript (FOX Networks, May 13, 2002)VAN SUSTEREN: ...What's astounding is that the students old enough
to fight for their country know less than the kids in elementary school. What's the problem and who's to blame?DIANE RAVITCH, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF EDUCATION:
I think one of the reasons is because most of the people who teach history in American schools haven't studied it. The two fields that have the most teachers who haven't studied their field are physics and history...
Our Schools can do a far Better Job of Teaching Patriotism
by Katherine Kersten, Senior Fellow, Center for the American Experience
(StarTribune, September 11, 2002)That word is "patriotism," which means love of one's country and devotion to it's welfare. Young people, especially, need to reflect on patriotism, for they will soon hold the future of our democracy in their hands. Currently, however, our schools are not in a position to lead the discussion. Most educational groups have urged teachers to mark Sept. 11 with lessons that stress the need for enhanced "tolerance" and "diversity." Few have called for lessons about America's founding principles, or the cost at which our freedom was won....
...But patriotic sentiment is likely to develop if we tell America's dramatic story in a way that engages young people's imagination, excites their gratitude, and reveals what is at stake in the American experiment...
...We must acquaint them with America's great statesmen, lawgivers, military heroes and social crusaders, and lead them to say, "I want to be like that.
Letter From An 8th Grade Public School Teacher who Used the Poster for a Very Successful Art Project To Use In Her Curriculum Unit on the Constitution
March 20, 2003
Mr. Dale Carter
C/O Great Northern Financial
2150 3rd Avenue, Suite 110
Anoka, Minnesota 55303Dear Mr. Carter:
I received a copy of "Liberty's Law" Poster and used it to generate a "U.S. Constitution" activity for my 8th grade students here at Lane Middle School. My students have been studying the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the various branches of government and I wanted a way for the students to do some research for their unit of study. To my delight, I found that your poster highlighted many of these topics.
Students were instructed to use the poster to locate and document the following information:
A summary of all seven articles
The preamble
Information on all 27 Amendments
As a direct result of looking at your beautifully designed poster, I also asked students to create some artwork, depicting several symbols of freedom, including the statue of liberty, American bald eagle, Roman numeral I-VII (representing the seven articles), and thirteen stars (representing 13 states). The format for this project was a "foldables" notebook, which could then be used as a study tool throughout the rest of our unit study on the Constitution.
The project was extremely successful in helping students' retention of facts regarding the Constitution. In fact, it was so well received by my students, that the rest of my 8th grade team also had their students do the same project in their own classrooms, with equal success.
I have included several samples of these "foldable" projects that I thought you might enjoy looking through.
Thank you for your contribution to student learning.
Sincerely,
Kehaulani Minzghor
8th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies Teacher
Lane Middle School
7200 SE 60th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97206
© Dale C. Carter, 2008
