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WE THE PEOPLE FOUNDATION FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL EDUCATION, INC.

A Statement of Purposes and Activities

Headnote:

The We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc. was founded for the basic purpose of conducting a statewide educational effort aimed at supplying the general citizenry with information and understanding about the New York State Constitution, about its importance in maintaining individual liberty and popular sovereignty, about the necessity for citizens maintaining an attitude of vigilance against the wrongdoings that can occur when that Constitution is misinterpreted or disregarded by the governments it governs, and about the actions that must be taken in translating citizen knowledge into productive activity that will bring remedial pressure to bear against inappropriate State and local governmental actions and activities and that will achieve necessary reforms via constitutional processes.

Above all else, the Foundation's educational program will teach that popular sovereignty is the basis for all governance in a democratic republic; that a written constitution is the first line of defense for the people's rights and privileges, as sovereign; and, that the Constitution belongs to the people, not the government. We see the necessity for a broadscale educational program operating at several levels if this teaching is to be reflected in public understanding and its corresponding benefit to the system. Public understanding of the purposes of a written constitution and of the role of the people in its initiation and preservation is essential if there is to be a salutary, active and productive citizen response when there is a need for organized vigilance and the forthright defense of constitutional principles and provisions. Our present educational system does not have the effect of inculcating this public understanding.

At this moment, we see that this teaching is inadequate in or totally missing from State/local formal education programs, and that the other informational organs of State and local governments and of their legislative processes are basically silent on constitutional issues. We hold that silence of this type is basically disbeneficial to the body social and politic, and that the disbenefit can only be remedied by a broadscale educational program with organization, communicative power and funding --- a program that can supply what is missing from the ordinary unaligned citizen's mix of information, mobilize the forces that understand the importance of written constitutions in a democratic republic, and confront and protest appropriately occasions and instances where the State Constitution is being defied or purposely misinterpreted, to the detriment of the public interest.

The principal purpose of the Foundation is to provide the comprehensive educational program that will fill this gap.

A. A TOTAL PROGRAM OF INVOLVEMENT IS NECESSARY

The extra-governmental processes available to the general citizenry to help the State of New York and its governments at all levels turn from present disbeneficial practices, return to a genuine allegiance to the State Constitution and to govern in conformity with its requirements are, basically, these three modalities: popular education, political activism and legal confrontation. The Foundation is particularly involved with the first of these three, but will begin to support and encompass legal confrontation as an educational tool and as a constitutional defense modality.

Historically, the last of these three modalities has been the province of the All-County Taxpayers' Association, Inc., (ACTA) a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit New York corporation, which has been active for over eight years. Its founder and president, Robert L. Schulz of Queensbury, New York, an engineer by training, has been taking various governments of the State to court on a pro se basis. Schulz, as an engineer and a follower of the philosophies of Thomas Jefferson, became impressed that the State Constitution is an instrument designed to "govern the governments" by providing important and workable formulae and processes, and that these formulae and processes were apparently being disregarded on a wholesale basis by the governing authorities pledged to uphold that Constitution and all that it stands for.

From the taxpayer's viewpoint, the incurrence of debt became a dominant issue because the State was using and fostering unconstitutional processes to obtain funds desired for budgetary and other purposes, even though the Constitutional requirements are couched in language whose meaning is virtually unmistakable. Research, the writing of briefs, the study of legal procedures, and the presentation of court cases, together with the mobilization of non-partisan taxpayers as a support group, became ACTA's method, and the New York Constitution soon became ACTA's "cause."

It was in the course of this activity that ACTA, and Schulz, became involved with activities outside of the ordinary purview of a tax-advocacy organization. These activities have included such courses of action as advocating and promoting a scheduled Constitutional Convention. One of these courses of action was the unique staging of a "We The People Pre-convention Convention" in Albany, and the subsequent holding of a series of public question-and-answer meetings in the Legislative Office Building there. In this way, ACTA ventured afield from a taxpayer advocacy position; Schulz was not just interested in court contests, he was also interested in solving the basic constitutional problem.

When the logic of holding a Constitutional Convention, in 1999, failed to pass public muster on Election Day, in 1997, because of the pressures of organization, power, money and ignorance that became arrayed against the ballot proposition that would have set the Convention up, the necessity for developing organization, power, money and education to work against those pressures became obvious. Hence the establishment of the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc.

The instrument available to the non-aligned, average volunteer citizens, for developing an appropriate organization, is the not-for-profit corporation. Using a variety of such instruments to challenge wayward governments appeared to be the only way that the public interest could be championed with enough power to make and enforce changes in the way that government behaves, constitutionally. And, it appeared to be a "given" that a motivational base, broader than that of tax advocacy, would be a requirement if the State were to end up having a people-oriented, people-run Constitutional Convention established at the first available opportunity. Doing this requires a sustained educational effort probably spanning several years, and forecasts the development of the Foundation into a distinguished research and teaching organization with the capability of absorbing and enhancing the "public service" legal activities now carried out by ACTA on a pro se basis.

B. A THREE-PRONGED EFFORT IS IN THE MAKING

The leadership of the pro-Constitutional movement in the State of New York has settled, then, upon three instrumentalities "in the public interest," including ACTA, whose program of challenging governments, in court, on a pro se basis, wherever and whenever necessary, had become the wellspring of the new coordinated program to direct public attention to, and foster adherence to, the State Constitution. The movement's leadership recognized the desirability of maintaining the "volunteer" nature of the work to be performed, but also acknowledged that some funds would be needed and that fund-raising would be a key element somewhere in the program. The three instrumentalities that were deemed necessary for the comprehensive development organization, power, funding and education are as follows:

ACTA, of course. ACTA is a membership organization classified as a 501(c)(4) entity. Although ACTA has been both a platform and, historically, the fulcrum for developing a pro-Constitution constituency in New York State, it, technically, as a membership organization, has a role that is narrower than the broad, multi-faceted pro-Constitution role envisioned for the program to be led by the Foundation. The taxpayer issue is grassroots and must remain on the playing field. However, the legal work can and probably will be absorbed by the Foundation in its role of providing public benefit legal services that are of constitutional significance (see C. Institutional Models, below).

The We-the-People Congress, Inc. Organized, also, on November 24, 1997, this entity is designed as an advocacy organization, to carry the message vocally and politically with the various legislative and administrative organizations of government, seeking to influence political attitudes and legislative actions. This is an organization separate from the Foundation, institutionally, but in a sense connected by a mutuality of purpose. The necessity of keeping the Foundation separated from the political milieu represented by the Congress is understood and agreed-to.

The We-the-People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc.  Organized on November 24, 1997, this organization will carry out the broadscale educational program required by the pro-Constitution leadership's plan to counteract the public ignorance and apathy they see as hampering the development of citizen vigilance and the individual and corporate acceptance of popular sovereignty essential to the proper governance of a constitutional democratic republic. The pro-Constitutional leadership has visualized this entity as a 501(c)(3) organization devoted to the a-political, public interest, teaching of civility "content" and the expression of the Jeffersonian ideal of a way of life rooted in constitutionality and civic action. Conceptually, this entity is placed at the top of the organizational "pyramid" and as exercising philosophical leadership in the total program. Eventually, combining a highly professional public education program with the penetrating analytical and legal activity and advocacy of a public- interest law firm (see C. Institutional Models, below) the Foundation will grow into a source of vital information and education, supportive funding and professional legal undertakings on behalf of situations and individuals suffering from non-constitutional governance, all aimed at what one scholar has termed "the re-invigoration of constitutional constraints on government."

C. INSTITUTIONAL MODELS

Two Washington D.C. based organizations have been useful as models for the type of all-out educational and legal undertaking perceived as necessary in New York State. These are:

· The Center for Individual Rights (CIR) - a 501(c)(3) organization, provides legal services to litigate causes which fall within its broad civil libertarian purposes. It is concentrating, particularly, on cases involving civil rights, freedom of speech, the free exercise of religion, and sexual harassment. It provides free legal representation to deserving clients who cannot otherwise obtain or afford legal counsel and whose individual rights are at risk. It holds itself out to be a litigation "boutique" using selected, important cases for litigation in advancing its broad, civil libertarian conception of individual rights against intrusive bureaucracies, meddlesome interest groups, and statist ideologues and activists. Its watchword is quality, rather than quantity, in its services. The Center's lawyers are professional, responsible and creative. CIR is supported through voluntary grants and contributions from foundations, individuals, corporations and law firms.

· The Institute for Justice (IJ) - The Institute is a 501(c)(3) Public Interest law firm that vindicates civil rights by litigating cases nationwide that expand individual liberty and reduce the scope and influence of the welfare state. In addition to litigating cases involving individual economic liberty, property rights and equality under the law, IJ works to reform educational structure and process and challenges the welfare state and its licensing power so often used to homogenize otherwise effective private social services providers. It is supported by grants from foundations, individuals and corporations. One of its educational missions is the Clinic on Entrepreneurship, set up in cooperation with the University of Chicago, particularly to serve the inner city.

CIR's address is: 1233 20^th Street N.W., Suite 300, Washington D. C. 20036.
IJ's address is: 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20006.

D. SUMMARY OF FOUNDATION PURPOSES

The following is a summary of the declared purposes of the Foundation which will be found in their entirety in the Incorporation Certificate. The summary selects the exact language used in the Certificate, leaving out portions of the explanatory, background text justifying the establishment of the Foundation.

The Foundation is established to fulfil what its incorporators believe to be a fundamental need in New York State for more information, awareness, and knowledge about the state constitution, about the sovereignty of the people whose will the constitution is designed to express, and about the government it is meant to control. The need for such an informational campaign by the We The People Foundation has most recently been shown in the circumstances of the defeat of the constitutional convention question on November 4, 1997.

The need for better information has at least three causes: first, the failure of the public schools of the state to teach the principles, history and language of the state constitution; second, the failure of the political and governmental leadership of the state to...let the people know the [constitutional convention] question was on the ballot and how the convention process would work; and, third, the need for the citizenry to always be vigilant and conscious about their right to conduct a wholesale revision and amendment process through a Constitutional Convention.

....what happened on November 4, 1997 was a grave socio-political calamity....The referendum was ordered to occur by the Constitution itself, without fail, every twenty years, unless a shorter period should be ordered by the Legislature. The question was defeated 60-40 at the ballot box....It can only be assumed that not enough supportive information was publicized about the issue to enable voters to recognize the importance and opportunity it afforded.

....Obviously, this calls for an answer that can only be supplied by a Statewide educational effort

The Foundation's educational program will work to inform the public, increase awareness, and encourage appropriate government reform through constitutional processes. The Foundation will organize throughout the State, will obtain the necessary funding for the work, through contributions, and will use its influence and funds to facilitate other programs and activities pursuing the same socially beneficial ends.

E. PURPOSE-BASED ACTIVITIES

The Foundation is in its infancy, and has but two program elements in being: the program advocating charter schools and the program for public information. There have been but two meetings of the full Board of Directors, on November 24, 1997, and on March 28, 1998, but the Executive Committee of five key people has been active, to discuss and advance the program, in an informal way, almost on a monthly basis. The following is a framework for a work program yet to be formalized, based upon a list of program items agreed to by the Board of Directors of the Foundation, during discussions in March.

This list of program items does provide a tentative but useful framework for the following statement of the projected activities of the Foundation, and indicate, in a general way the effort expected for these activities and how they conform to the stated exempt purposes of the Foundation.

All estimates of the pressure to be applied in achieving the Foundation's aims, in terms of the percentage of time and of the funding and workforce to be applied can only be expressed as "order of magnitude" assumptions for which only fragmentary justification can be alleged. In such case, we expect that we shall have the privilege of drawing a more conclusive picture in future reports, as the Foundation's program of activities matures.