"Of all the things that can be forced upon men; freedom cannot; this each man must take for himself. Freedom being the most precious of commodities; it is not obtained at bargain prices; it is costly; and by Heaven rightfully so. Honor, courage, sacrifice, and vigilance are the coin by which freedom is obtained. A day gone without payment rendered – is a day without freedom."

The True American Way, 1st edtion, 4th revision
Copyright at common law, 1996
Thomas J. Clark

• Preface, iv
• Chapter One: Founded on Principle, 1
• Chapter Two: Chain of Authority, 14
• Chapter Three: Law of the Sovereign, 20
• Chapter Four: The Power of the Sovereign, 27
• Chapter Five: Usurpers, 34
• Chapter Six: The de facto Judicial System, 52
• Chapter Seven: The Ball and Chain, 60
• Chapter Eight: The Modern Players, 66
• Chapter Nine: Restoration, 71
• Appendix A: Author's Notes, 77
• Appendix B: Example Letters, 78
• Appendix C: Notorious Bills of the U.S. Congress, 79
• Appendix D: Current War & Emergency Powers Resolutions, 82
• Appendix E: 10th Amendment Resolutions, 86
• Appendix F: Federal Reserve Resolutions, 88
• Appendix G: Order Form, 92

In keeping with my desire to divulge the true story of our Nation, new revisions will be printed to reflect the facts as best they can be established. For if in falsehood lay the way to Freedom, then I shall not make it there with you.

Caveat: The reader will note that I have an unconventional composition style. I offer special thanks to for those who have taken the time for pointing out most of my intentional & unintentional composition eccentrics. Thank you, gentlemen, for your patience with this rulebreaker.

The content of the "True American Way" is faithful to it's title. We need more writers like Tom Clark to help us pass the torch. [Ted Pedemonti] [Director, Constitutional Common Law Library]

Having read the "True American Way" by Tom Clark, I am only too happy to lend whatever support and encourgament I can to his efforts. I very nearly discarded it when it came as it was unsolicited and I figured "Another crank with a burr under his saddle."

As soon as I got into it I knew it was an exceptional piece of writing and research, both for the clarity of its arguments and its factual content. I was certain Mr. Clark was a lawyer who had somehow managed to retain a graps of layman's English. As I read on, I became equally convinced that hew was also an economics scholar, probably had an American History degree, and most likely had vast writing experience. I was looking for a guy about 70 years old! Imagine my surprise when we met and the answer was… "E. none of the above!" [Keith Lunders, Elk River Idaho]

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!"
[Everett Hale]

In 1992, I – quite by accident – stumbled upon a process that turned into an incredible fact finding odyssey. I did not set out with any intention of writing a manuscript on any subject, but what I learned during the years that followed was so contrary to the teachings of popular society, that I felt it my obligation to record and distribute the truth.

As you may recall, 1992 was a presidential election year, and as is usually the case, there were many hot issues brought forth; national health care, balancing the budget, welfare reform, tax relief for the middle class, and corruption in government to name a few. I remember Bill Clinton beating out Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas for the Democratic Party presidential nomination; George Bush saying that things we're marvelous; Dan Quayle taking a flogging from the media; and then, the emergence of Ross Perot.

I've always been fascinated by politics and I was no more confused than usual by the race and the issues that year. Then I noticed a recurring theme among the voters that began to trouble me deeply. I observed this first in the Democratic Party nomination and then in the election itself when Ross Perot entered. Many of the people I knew confided in me that they weren't going to vote for the candidate they wanted, instead they were going to vote for a front runner. They would say things like, "I am not going to throw my vote away." It finally dawned on me that he who joins the bandwagon is the one who throws his vote away, and the vote who counts is he who votes his conscience. You see, when we don't vote for our candidate of choice, we're voting as we've been commanded to. In other words, when someone tells us our candidate of choice can't possibly win, we believe them and vote for someone else. The general mindset of the voter's is that this is like a day at the track, where you can place your bet anytime before the horse crosses the finish line. C'mon folks this ain't a horse race, it's an election. You cannot win by placing your bet with the finishing horse. IN AN ELECTION YOU CAN'T WIN WHEN YOU VOTE FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S CANDIDATE!

As this began to take root, I began to ponder the solution to get folks to vote for who they wanted to win, rather than voting for who they thought might win. As time wore on I came to the realization that this all seemed to be tied into a general lack of self-reliance. The more I contemplated the matter, the more I became convinced that I had stumbled upon America's great tribulation. That's when I knew that I, Thomas John Clark, had to shoulder some of the burden.

With this in mind, and having meager means to reach the public with my message of accountability, responsibility, and conscience, I began my crusade. Although limited in its ability to reach the masses I had my own bulletin board system. I thought that my BBS would be an opportunity to launch me into political service, or in the very least, afford an enriching exercise in understanding problems within our society. As it turns out, the only the latter effect was realized. At any rate, I wrote at some length about gun control, education, crime, term limits, balancing the budget, and other topics.

To make people aware of my efforts I came up with an idea: Why not write a better Constitution than the Convention did back in 1787? That's sure to stir up a lot of controversy!

Logically, one should study the imperfections of the original Constitution before attempting to write a better one. At long last, in my 28th year of life, my 7th year of majority, my attention turned to those documents upon which the whole of our way of life was founded. I have read, reflected, digested (figuratively), or studied the following reprinted documents and books:

• The Constitution of the United States, its Bill of Rights and all other Amendments to.
• All 85 Federalist Papers
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Declaration of Independence
• Declaration And Resolves Of The First Continental Congress
• Declaration Of The Causes And Necessity Of Taking Up Arms
• The Northwest Ordinance
• The Bill of Rights for all fifty State governments
• The Constitutions of the original thirteen States
• Concerning Civil Government, Second Essay, An Essay Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government by John Locke
• The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
• The American Crisis by Thomas Paine
• Of the Origin and Design of Government In General With Concise Remarks on the English Constitution by Thomas Paine
• The Law by Frederick Bastiat
• That Which Is Seen, That Which Is Not Seen by Frederick Bastiat
• Two hundred eighty seven letters authored by Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson's Inaugural Address
• Washington's First Inaugural Address
• Washington's Farewell Speech
• Joseph Story's Commentaries on the U.S. Constitution
• Leviathan by Thomas Hobbs
• The Jefferson Bible
• John Stuart Mill on Liberty
• Giants of America - Banking and Currency and the Money Trust by Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh.
• Origins of the Common Law by Arthur R. Hogue
• Principles of Common-Law Pleading by John Jay McKelvey
• The Rights of an American Citizen; with a Commentary on State Rights, and on the Constitution and Policy of the United States by Benjamin L. Oliver
• The Federal Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure
• The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence
• The Uniform Commercial Code
• Hundreds of Supreme Court decisions

This was the bulk of my reading and studying, but I am sure that I have forgotten to include some other documents and such that I have occasioned on my odyssey. Now let it be known that I have placed this partial bibliography (the remainder is in the appendices) at the front of my dissertation because I want to impress upon the reader that before he discount my work due to my composition skills he should have a measure of faith about my conclusions. Furthermore, I invite everyone to try to discredit me, for in their search to do so I am wholly confident that they will realize any assertion made by myself herein is the undeniable truth.

It would be a needless torture to take you through all the twists and turns, backtracking, and double-checking I have borne to make this information known to you. From here on I will try my best to present to you a clear vision as to how our country was founded, how it has changed in color, but not in truth, and what's in store for America.

My friend, we live in interesting times indeed. If you thought your life was boring, that was then. I can guarantee you that the very near future holds events of such magnitude that your life will be changed forever. This work isn't just about the past, it's also about the future, and it can help you get a handle on where we're headed.

As I said earlier, this book stands in contrast to popular wisdom. That being a very important claim, then it becomes an obligation of sorts to bring that to the forefront. I have prepared a list of ten questions that will bear me out on this. If you will take the time to answer these questions you will either discredit or confirm this supposition.

Circle what you remember learning in school, or what you believe the general population thinks. Toward the end of the manuscript you will be asked to review the questions and answers.

1. The United States of America is most correcty defined as a:

a. A Democracy
b. A representative Democracy
c. A Republic
d. This was never taught.

2. Your right to Life, Liberty , and Property is granted to you by:

a. The Declaration of Independence
b. The Constitution
c. God
d. This was never taught.

3. In America, you are supposed to take the law into your own hands when:

a. Never
b. When appointed
c. When justice requires it
d. This was never taught.

4. "This is a Nation of Law, not of Men." is given to mean:

a. You must obey laws enacted by the government.
b. Due process
c. That nobody shall be above common law.
d. This was never taught.

5. The forefathers founded a three branch federal government primarily:

a. To safeguard our rights.
b. To limit federal power over the states.
c. To simply separate the functions of government into appropriate bodies.
d. This was never taught.

6. To check against unjust laws, the People have:

a. President
b. Supreme Court
c. Jury
d. This was never taught.

7. The balance of power considered most important to the Founding Fathers was:

a. The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the Federal Government.
b. The political party system (i.e.Democrats, Republicans).
c. The state governments and the Federal Government.
d. This was never taught.

8. It is generally understood that your vote counts. In respect to Liberty it counts most when you:

a. Vote for the President.
b. Vote for a Congressman.
c. Cast your jury vote.
d. This was never taught.

9. The doctrine of the seperation between church and state is found in:

a. The Declaration of Independence.
b. The Constitution.
c. The fear of religious persecution.
d. This was never taught.

10. How many states does it take to ratify an amendment to the Constitution?

a. A majority
b. Two out of three
c. Three out of four
d. This was never taught.

For now, I will give you the answer to number ten. It requires three out of four states, not two out of three as popular wisdom would have it.

Before we jump right into this work I must further prepare the reader for what is to come. There are many poignant suppositions and conclusions that may cause the reader to exclaim, "You've got to be kidding!" or perhaps, "That just can't be!" Whatever your reaction, I caution the reader not to fall into the trap of merely letting a contradiction stand.

We have to understand that there is no such thing as a contradiction in the natural universe. Contradictions exist solely within our mind. To illustrate this let us suppose that thought did not exist. Man, then being a creature of instinct, would not then contemplate the nature of the sun; to him the sun would just be. Yet the moment we gain thought, and the nature of the sun is contemplated a plethora of contradictions arise: The sun is stuck in the sky, but an apple will not stick. The sun is hot like fire, but emits no smoke. The sun arises up out of the earth, but from where it comes cannot be found.

Thus we can see that contradictions arise from our own false premises. It then follows that should we discover our false premises; contradictions can be resolved. It is an absolute maxim of logical thinking that all premises in a contradiction cannot be correct; viz, contradictions do not exist in the natural universe. Contradictions (gray areas) are merely the manifestations of our own unacknowledged ignorance. Erase this ignorance and at least one of your premises will be shown to be false. Without a firm understanding of this maxim, all are easily led astray. Thus, I arm the reader with this tool prior to the general work in order that nothing that I have written shall be closed from your thorough and thoughtful consideration.

Copyright Family Guardian Fellowship