Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Introduction
Where is the United Territories of Liberty located?
The United Territories of Liberty (UTL) is currently located in the plans and voices of its supporters, and in these pages. It’s a concept with a new constitution, waiting for a geographic home. It will probably take decades to establish anything geographically. Land could be acquired by purchase from one or more existing nations.
Why “Territories”, and not “States”?
They’re called “Territories” simply to distinguish them from the existing United States.
Why create a new constitution? The U.S. Constitution is already perfect. The problem is, it's just not enforced.
The U.S. Constitution is often not enforced, but it’s also imperfect and insufficient for maximum liberty. It allows too much government power, and it isn't specific enough on individual rights.
The Founders composed an inspired and revolutionary document that launched the greatest, freest nation in history.
They wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787. How might they write it today, after more than 230 additional years of historical and technical knowledge? We believe they would write it very much like we have, here.
This new constitution isn’t just an academic exercise. It’s the basis for a future nation.
It maximizes individual liberty, minimizes government power, and is more specific on rights. It's based on the U.S. Constitution, and contains about 90% of it.
Is there any chance the U.S. will adopt this new constitution?
No. That would require replacing the entire U.S. Constitution, and we know that’s not going to happen. This new constitution of the UTL is not designed to appeal to people currently entrenched in big government or benefiting from bureaucracy. We are not concerned with making this new constitution more marketable or more popular. It’s for people to debate and consider as a basis for a new nation. But we also encourage policymakers in today's nations to adopt as much of it as possible.
Is this a Libertarian constitution?
No. Currently, the Libertarian Party doesn’t defend national boundaries or prenatal children. This constitution defends both.
Perhaps the citizens of the UTL could be called Libertyans.
Near the bottom of the Home page, it says “…the U.S. Constitution contains flaws and gaps that have been exploited by unscrupulous politicians.”
But the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment basically says that the U.S. federal government can claim no powers except for the enumerated powers. So why didn’t the 10th Amendment prevent the abuses of power you listed?
The 10th Amendment, the final provision in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights, reads “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
In other words, where the Constitution has not granted a specific power to the federal government, nor excluded that power from state control, then that power is left under the control of a state or of the people.
The enumerated powers delegated to the United States (federal government) are listed in Article 1, Section 8.
But the general welfare clause, in the first sentence of the enumerated powers, empowers the federal government to “…provide for the common defence and general Welfare of the United States”.
The term "general welfare" has been expanded by politicians to make the enumerated (federal) powers practically unlimited.
Politicians have used this expansion to create ever-growing federal programs and agencies on the premise of providing for the welfare of individuals, not merely for the welfare of the nation. This “welfare” for individuals comes in the form of “free” schooling, subsidized housing, government jobs, money, etc. It’s used to bribe citizens into voting for the politician who promises them the most goodies. The result is today’s bureaucratic mess, including the federal Department of Education, the Transportation Security Agency, and “affirmative action” laws.
Powers prohibited to the states are listed in Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution. But to maximize liberty, even more powers should have been prohibited. There are many areas of society where even state government doesn’t belong, such as individual and corporate welfare, medical care, and carbon taxes (California’s AB 32). Of course, the 18th century Founders couldn’t have foreseen a 21st century state carbon tax, but they could have prohibited the states from imposing all taxes except for sales taxes, for example.
In contrast, the UTL constitution Section 2.1 specifically lists many common things that politicians typically seek to control, and declares those things off limits. It states that the list includes, but is not limited to, those things. It also lists the very limited number of things that government is empowered to do.
Note that the UTL constitution contains the equivalent of the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment, but contains no “general welfare” clause.
Now that you’ve identified those flaws in the U.S. Constitution, why don’t we just repair them with a couple of Constitutional Amendments?
It might be possible to amend the U.S. Constitution, if the U.S. were not so politically divided. But in areas ranging from protection of unborn human life, to a balanced budget requirement, to immigration law, there are so many provisions needing to be added or improved that only a complete rewrite will suffice.
Even with more specific provisions and no “general welfare” clause, what makes you think that future politicians won’t violate this new constitution whenever it’s politically advantageous?
We believe the politicians will not get away with violating this constitution, because the UTL will be different from the U.S. in several major ways. One difference is the absolute ban, at all levels of UTL government, against borrowing money. This makes it nearly impossible for a politician to buy votes by adding government projects and growing agencies.
With no borrowing possible, a politician will also find it very difficult to enrich his campaign donors with new government contract money, with the unwritten understanding that the donors will give some of that money back to him for his next campaign. There just won’t be much government money available for these abuses which are so common in the U.S. today.
Unlike in the U.S., statutes passed by the UTL Congress can also be overridden by a majority vote of two-thirds of the Territory Legislatures.
However, the voters still need to be vigilant, raising objections and replacing politicians whenever they violate any part of the UTL constitution, especially if a court fails to stop the violation.
Is it a secessionist movement?
No, it’s not a secessionist movement. As stated above, land for the UTL could be acquired by purchase.
Far too many secessionist movements have started before the participants created a constitution to guide them. The only thing they seem to agree on is that they want independence from the mother country. It’s as if their sole focus is to win independence, then maybe they will design a system of government afterwards. What makes them think that a majority of residents in their newly-formed nation will then agree on specific governing principles? If they really wanted more than just “change”, wouldn’t it be wise to let everyone know what specific changes they are fighting for, before they secede? Otherwise, they run a high risk of destructive divisions within their new nation.
Would it take a revolution to make it happen?
No. We support only peaceful means to promote and adopt this constitution.
Who is behind this project?
United Territories of Liberty is run by an unfunded group of American volunteers who believe that a more free and more just society is vital – and possible. We want to encourage people who are discouraged about current political and economic conditions.
We believe that people will eventually require a better society in which to live. They need a lifeboat to a new land, so to speak.
That’s why the effort behind the United Territories of Liberty is called the Liberty Lifeboat Project. The link LibertyLifeboat.org leads directly to our home page. (It's easier to remember and faster to type than UnitedTerritoriesOfLiberty.org, but gives the same result.)
Why be anonymous?
We expect aggressive opposition to our stated positions. We have families to protect. The value of this new constitution does not depend on the identity of the authors. It speaks for itself. As more people come to appreciate this constitution, its supporters will publicly advocate it.
Are you QAnon? Are you associated with QAnon?
No, and no.
Why don't you have a blog?
We have no blog because we have no resources to review and approve blog posts. We encourage readers to submit comments to our Contact Us page instead.
Do you accept donations?
Currently, we are not set up to accept monetary donations. United Territories of Liberty is not any kind of 501(c) organization. We don’t intend to raise funds or sell anything. Depending on public interest, we may someday offer or license logoed merchandise. But realistically, we are here to offer solutions for free, and for liberty, to the world. The best contributions you can make are to pray for this effort, spread the word, share the website address LibertyLifeboat.org, send suggestions to us via our Contact Us page, or Email us.
