Hal Shurtleff

Director and Co-Founder of Camp Constitution.

I Want to Get into the  Not Having Any Children at My Daycare Business

Published January 1, 2026 | By Hal Shurtleff

Some years ago, a letter was circulated in some circles that pointed out the waste, abuse, and ludicrousness  of federal programs. There were various versions but here is a condensed one:

Subject:

Application to Enter the “Not Raising Hogs” Industry

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my keen interest in joining the highly esteemed and, I understand, quite lucrative field of not raising hogs.

For years, I have successfully refrained from raising hogs of any breed, size, or temperament. In fact, my property has remained entirely hog-free, and I have maintained a spotless record of zero hog-related activity. I believe this demonstrates my exceptional qualifications for this line of work.

If accepted into the program, I am prepared to continue my diligent efforts in not feeding, not housing, and not marketing hogs. I am also open to expanding my operations into not raising other animals, should such opportunities arise.

Please advise me on the proper forms to complete, the payment schedule for my non-efforts, and whether there are any government-approved breeds of hogs I should specifically avoid not raising.

 

In the spirit of the above letter, I want to get into the Not Having Any Children at My Daycare Business:

Dear Congressman:

I am thinking about getting into the Not Having Any Children at My Daycare business.  Unlike our Somalian friends and fellow Americans who are in the business, I am not asking for much.  Maybe $1 million a year for not having 100 children at my daycare business.  This modest request isn’t meant to be critical my fellow American Somalian Not Having Children at Daycare colleagues.  I can only imagine how m much it costs to recruit, train and fund private militias in Somalia.

While the funds that I hope to get won’t be used for daycare purposes, I pledge to spend the funds supporting local businesses which I know you care about so much.   And unlike my Somalian colleagues, not that I am passing judgement on them, I pledge not to support Sharia Law.  I cannot possibly get my wife to wear a burka.

May I hear from you.

Sincerely,

Your faithful constituent

P.S.   I may get into the Learing Center” business as well, but I need to do a little more research to see just what is a “Learing” Center

American Minute with Bill Federer How did January 1st become New Year’s Day? and How is it connected to Leap Day?

Published January 1, 2026 | By Hal Shurtleff
 Camp Constitution wishes all a Happy and Blessed New Year.

Why is January 1st New Year’s Day on our calendar.

It is a simple question, but one has to go on a journey to find the answer.

First, we must look at the origins of our calendar … continue reading …

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MIRACULOUS MILESTONES in Science, Medicine & Innovation – And the Faith of Those Who Achieved Them

Prior to the invention of clocks, watches and digital devices, ancient peoples used calendars based on the moon, whose lunar cycles incrementally shifted through the seasons every 19 years, serving as an enormous generational clock.
Countries had their own calendars, usually connected to agricultural growing seasons:

Sumerian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Elamite (ancient Persia), Zoroastrian, Greek, and Hebrew.

These calendars had different numbers of days in a week and different number of weeks in a month, often with an extra “catch-all” month in the winter of varying lengths.

The ancient Babylonian calendar began with the first new moon after the Spring Equinox, March 21.

The Egyptian calendar was tied to the annual flooding of the Nile River.

The word “calends” is the Latin name of the first day of each month in the Roman calendar.

As the Roman Empire conquered other countries, it found it difficult to sync all the different calendars.

To fix this, in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar borrowed from Egypt and instituted a single solar calendar based on the sun.

It was called the Julian Calendar, with 365 days, the amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate around the Sun.
There was a problem. Each year was six hours short, so to keep it accurate, ever four years the Julian Calendar added an extra day – a “leap” day, on February 29.

The Julian Calendar also officially recognized that the Romans moved the beginning of the year from March to January first.

January was named after Janus, the Roman god in charge of doors, from where we get the word “janitor.”

March was named after Mars, the Roman god of war.

Remnants of March being the old first month is still in our calendar, with the names: September, October, November, and December.

“Sept” is Latin for seven, but now September is the ninth month.

“Oct” is Latin for eight, as in octagon – an eight- sided figure, but now October is the tenth month.

“Nov” is Latin for nine, but now it is the eleventh month, and

“Dec” is Latin for ten, as in decimal, divisible by ten, but now it is the twelfth month.

Rome’s old fifth month, Quintilis, was renamed after Julius Caesar, being called “July.”

Since it only had 30 days, Julius Caesar took a day from the old end of the year, February, and added it to July, giving the month 31 days.

The next emperor, Augustus Caesar, renamed the old sixth month, Sextilis, after himself, calling it “August.”

He also took a day from the old end of the year, February, and added it to August, giving that month 31 days, and leaving February with only 28 days.

Augustus Caesar also had his version of global surveillance to track everyone. It was called a census or tax enrollment.

Luke 21:1-3 “In those days … there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”

Romans persecuted Christians for three centuries in ten major persecutions until Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., legalizing Christianity.

Just as Julius Caesar unified the Roman Empire with the Julian Calendar, Constantine wanted to unify the Christian Roman Empire by having everyone use the same date to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, the most important event in the Christian calendar.

The Apostle Paul wrote in First Corinthians 15:20

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Constantine insisted that Easter be on a Sunday.

This was a defining moment. It separated Jewish Christians — as Jesus and his disciples were Jewish – from the emerging Gentile Church.

Prior to Constantine, Christians would ask Jewish rabbis when Passover would be celebrated each year, which was the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan.

The Latin word for “fourteenthers” is Quarto-deciman.

Since Constantine wanted Easter on Sunday, and the Jewish day related to Passover could occur on any day of the week, it turned into the Quarto-decimanism controversy.

Constantine ended the controversy by creating a non-Jewish formula to determine the date of Easter on a Sunday.

It would be the first Sunday after the first paschal full moon falling on or after the Spring Equinox.

“Equinox” is a solar calendar term:

“equi” means “equal”

and

“nox” means “night.”

Thus “equinox” is a day when there is an equal amount of daylight and nighttime.

It occurs in the Spring around March 20-21 and in Autumn around September 22-23.

In the year 325 A.D., Constantine’s new date for Easter was March 21. Those not complying with his new formula were persecuted.

A liturgical table of church dates was compiled with all the future dates of Easter.

Not everyone was happy with Constantine’s formula, in fact it was a big sticking point between Celtic Christian tradition in the British Isles and Roman Catholic tradition.

The Celtic date of Easter was very meaningful as that was the day Saint Patrick confronted the Druid chieftain King Loigaire – “King Leary,” circa 433 A.D., resulting in a large number of Irish converting to Christianity.

Nevertheless, at the Synod of Whitby Abbey in 664 AD, King Oswy of Northumbria agreed to have the Celtic Church come under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and adopt its liturgical table of church dates.

In 526 A.D., during the reign of Christian Emperor Justinian, the scholarly monk Dionysius Exigus thought it inappropriate that dates were still being recorded in relation to the reign of anti-Christian Emperor Diolcetian – “anno Diocletiani.”

He began making notations marking down dates in relation to the birth of Jesus – “anno Domini,” which in Latin means “in the year of the Lord’s reign.”

Gradually, this method of recording became the dating system used throughout the world, with all dates being either B.C. “Before Christ” or A.D. “Anno Domini.”

In the late 19th century, secular academia popularized the use of BCE – “Before Common Era” and CE “Common Era.”

The futility of this is displayed with the question, when did time change from Before Common Era to Common Era?

The answer is the birth of Christ. In their attempt to ignore Christ, they nonetheless acknowledge Him.

In 567 A.D., the Council of Tours considered January first a pagan date since it was associated with Rome, so it moved the beginning of the year to Christmas Day.

The Council of Tours also made the twelve days between Christmas, December 25 and Epiphany, January 6, when the wise men visited, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The days were called “holy days,” which later came to be pronounced “holidays.”

During the Middle Ages, France celebrated New Year’s Day on Easter.

Henry the Eighth’s Tudor England celebrated the New Year’s Day on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation.

The Julian Calendar, upon which the liturgical church tables were based, had one slight discrepancy – it was off each year by 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

Because of this, the date of Easter incrementally moved ten days ahead of the liturgical church table of dates based on Constantine’s formula tied to the Spring Equinox.

In 1582, Pope Gregory the Thirteenth decided to revise the calendar by eliminating ten days.

He kept the leap day every 4th year but added a minor adjustment.

There would be NO leap year in years divisible by 100 unless they are also divisible by 400.

For instance, there IS a leap day in the years 1600, 2000, 2400, but there is NO leap day in the years 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100.

 

It sounds complicated, but it is so accurate the Gregorian Calendar is used internationally today.

Pope Gregory’s “Gregorian Calendar” also reversed the Council of Tours and moved the beginning of the New Year BACK to Julius Caesar’s January 1st date.

Catholic countries quickly adopted the Gregorian Calendar, but Protestant countries continued to use the Julian Calendar for nearly two more centuries.

England was an Anglican Protestant country and therefore reluctant to adopt the more accurate Catholic Gregorian Calendar.

This gave rise to some interesting record keeping.

For example: ships would leave Catholic Europe on one date in the Gregorian Calendar, called “New Style,” and arrive in Protestant England at an earlier date on the Julian Calendar, called “Old Style.”

Another example is that England’s William Shakespeare and Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote of La Mancha, died on the same date, April 23, 1616.

But when the differences between England’s Julian Calendar and Spain’s Gregorian Calendar are taken into consideration, Cervantes actually died ten days BEFORE Shakespeare.

The Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts on November 11, 1620, in the Old Style Julian Calendar, which equates to November 21, 1620, in the New Style Gregorian Calendar.

In 1752, England and its colonies finally adopted the Gregorian Calendar, but by that time there was an 11-day discrepancy between the “Old Style” – OS and the “New Style” – NS.

When America finally adjusted its calendar, the day after September 2, 1752, Old Style, became September 14, 1752, New Style. There were reportedly accounts of confusion and even rioting.

As countries of Western Europe, particularly Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch and English, began to trade and establish colonies around the world, the Gregorian Calendar came into international use.

Eventually, it was used to date all events globally, and with it, the first day of January became recognized as New Year’s Day.
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The Betrayal of China: “Again May God Forgive Us”

Published December 31, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

 Again, May God Forgive Us is an updated version of Robert Welch’s May God Forgive Us- a book which exposes the people in the United States that helped betray the Chinese people into the hands of the communists.

 

ON July 14, 1951 an American business man sat down to write a letter to a friend. It was a letter that took some thirty days, and ran to thirty-seven typewritten pages. In these pages, Robert H. W. Welch, Jr., set forth brilliantly and convincingly a straightforward clarification of some important recent history in Asia. At the same time he poured into paragraph after paragraph his indignation at the stupidity and suspicions of treason revealed by this history, and his alarm at the continuing course of events. This book is his letter, now published only after his friends had distributed several thousand mimeographed copies.

Robert H. W. Welch, Jr., gives here the historical background of events which culminated in the dismissal of General MacArthur. Using on the public information available to him, he goes back twenty-five years to the first Communist uprising in China, Step by step he traces the blunders, betrayals, and deceptions which formed the United States foreign policy, the policy which led to sweeping Communist victories in China. As a concise, thorough summary of these events this book is invaluable.
The final part of the book is a short biographical sketch of Chiang Kai-Shek (1887-1975), leader of the Republic of China between 1928-1975, first in mainland China until 1949 and then in Taiwan until his death.

“Your treatise is just the kind of concise exposition of a whole picture which, as a publisher, I was constantly seeking and so seldom found. It presents for the first time in brief compass, with convincing honesty, crucial and appalling facts of a foreign policy that has led from one Communist victory to another; a foreign policy that, in spite of all revelations of stupidities and betrayals, has not been corrected and is still heading in the same direction. If your small book is read widely enough it can have far-reaching results.”—W. T. COUCH, Former Director, University of Chicago Press

We have paperback copies of the book available for $15. shipping included.

For a free PDF version of the book, please E-mail me at campconstitutiion1@gmail.com

 

Vietnam: Background to Betrayal

Published December 31, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

The best book I have ever read on the subject of the Vietnam War is Background to Betrayal by Hilaire du Berrier.  It was published by Western Islands in 1965.   The author was a friend of the Emperor of Vietnam and his family.  In the early 1990s, I was invited to a private meeting with the author but had a prior engagement.

 From the foreword by Robert Welch:

At the time this book is being published, the heated words of dispute over what is really happening in Vietnam have soared into a conflagration. Everybody from Suzanne Labin and Senator Dodd to Henry Cabot Lodge and Maxwell Taylor has versions to give you of who is doing what to whom, and why and for what purpose. And in some of these versions, anyway, any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental.

This book, however, is not concerned primarily with the present tragedy in Vietnam. Its subtitle is “the tragedy of Vietnam,” which indicates a far longer perspective. The carefully stage-managed horror now being acted out in that unhappy country is of great interest because of the undisclosed purposes for which this fraud is being perpetrated and prolonged. But this volume is history, not conjecture. It was the destruction and demoralization of anti-Communist groups and leaders in South Vietnam, already carried out by the end of the Eisenhower Administration through the regime it had imposed on the Vietnamese people, to which the current confusion is but an epilogue. And regardless of whatever whole new tragedy this confusion may be intended to serve in turn as a prologue, the author of this book is simply attempting to make clear the background to the total betrayal.

It is apparent, to anybody who will study all of the antics on this stage with prerequisite knowledge and objective vision, that Communist influences are pulling strings and determining actions on both sides, exactly as we now know to have been the case in the Korean War. And it is entirely possible that a repetition of that sham, on a far more extensive scale and with far more serious aspects and results, might be in the making.

A war between ourselves and the Chinese Communists, in and supposedly over Vietnam, exactly as took place in Korea, would enable leftwing influences in the present Administration, and their Soviet allies, to make even more effective use, than has been achieved so far, of the highly publicized but wholly fictitious feud between Red Russia and Red China. As in World War II, the Soviets would again become our “noble allies.” The rapprochement between our government and the Soviet government could be made visibly far greater, and in detailed practical effect far more extensive, than it is today. And the regimentation that could be imposed on the American people, by an Administration which has already shown itself to be hell-bent for tyranny, with this war against Red China as the excuse, would make the government controls of World War II look like a study in free enterprise and personal liberty.

When Communist-led students and Communist front groups parade and picket against our remaining in Vietnam, right while the actual results of our staying there continue to be so damaging to any residue of real anti-Communist strength in that country, you can be sure that the plotters activating these poor misguided puppets are seeking to support the belief, of the even more misguided American people, that we really are trying to save Vietnam from Communism – and are willing to use force to do so. This psychological buildup of a willingness on the part of the American people to accept a state of war against the Red Chinese is just one of a great many straws in the wind, indicating that such a phonily controlled, play-acting, but horribly cruel, war may be blowing towards us.

Readers who would like a free PDF version of the book, may E-mail me at campconstitution1@gmail.com 

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Mafia At It Again

Published December 30, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

It has been my observation that the two times that the Green Mafia raises the crescendo of its fright peddling is when we are experiencing unusually warm weather or unusually cold weather.  This month, of course is the latter especially in the Northeast.  Over the past few days, fake news outlets have been reporting that 2025 was the warmest in history, etc, etc.

Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to interview weather historian Tony Heller who offers a sound perspective on the subject of heart waves and the world is coming to an end.

 

‘You missed the point’: Inspired governor smacks down anti-God folks demanding Christ-less Christmas

Published December 23, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff
The following article is reposted with permission from World Net Daily.  Note that the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed an “amicus brief” against Camp Constitution’s “Shurtleff v Boston” case back in 2021.

“Though you may enter this season with bitterness, know that Christ is with you, that He loves you, and that He died for your sins just the same as He did for mine and everyone else’s’

By Bob Unruh

Christmas lights are illuminated beneath a full moon at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, Pennsylvania, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Photo by Joe Kovacs)
Christmas lights are illuminated beneath a full moon at Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, Pennsylvania, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Photo by Joe Kovacs)

The governor of Arkansas, former Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has publicly rebuked a group of “foundation” folks who wrote to her after she announced state offices would be closed for Christmas to demand she make the holiday Christ-less.

It was the leftist Freedom from Religion Foundation, whose leaders routinely object loudly to any acknowledgement of Christianity, the Bible or even faith in a multitude of venues, that told Sanders to promote what they called an “end-of-the-year holiday” that has “broadly observed secular cultural aspects.”

Baloney, she responded, only more politely than that.

“I issued a proclamation closing state offices on Friday, December, 26, to celebrate Christmas and offer state employees more time with their families. I am in receipt of a letter from your organization calling on me to rescind that proclamation because it ‘gives a detailed theological narrative presenting core Christian doctrines, including the divinity of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion for the sins of mankind, his resurrection, and his anticipated return ‘in glory,'” she wrote.

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Not happening, she confirmed.

“You say that my communications as governor must be neutral on matters of religion. I say that, even if I wanted to do that, it would be impossible. Christmas is not simply an ‘end-of-the-year holiday’ with ‘broadly observed secular cultural aspects,’ as your letter states. It’s not gifts, trees, and stockings that make this holiday special. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and if we are to honor Him properly, we should tell His miraculous, world-changing story property, too.”

President Donald Trump and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a town-hall event in Flint, Michigan, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 (Video screenshot)
President Donald Trump and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a town-hall event in Flint, Michigan, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024

She continued, “Ironically, I received your letter claiming I was alienating my non-Christian constituents as I was leaving a Menorah lighting celebration with people from all across Arkansas. I doubt they would say that my administration alienates non-Christians. In fact, many would say the opposite: that only by voicing our own faith and celebrating other faiths can we make our state’s diverse religious communities feel seen and heard.

“I will end by saying that you missed the point of my proclamation. It was not to browbeat readers with Christian doctrine, but rather to point to the humility of Christ’s birth and to the amazing fact that the King of Kings was born not in a palace or temple, but in a humble manger attended only by poor shepherds. It is in that spirit of humility that I am reminded that Christ did not dine with wise Pharisees or rich men but rather with fishermen and outcasts.

“Though you may enter this season with bitterness, know that Christ is with you, that He loves you, and that He died for your sins just the same as He did for mine and everyone else’s.”

 

 

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Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh’s articles here.

First Circuit: Nashua Violated First Amendment by Censoring Citizens’ Flag Requests

Published December 23, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

Camp Constitution wishes to congratulate our friends Beth and Steve Scaer for their victory against the anti-Christian bigot Mayor of Nashau.

Federal appeals court finds city unconstitutionally censored citizens’ requests for use of “Citizen Flag Pole” under guise of “government speech”

December 22, 2025   •  By IFS Staff   •  

Stephen and Beth Scaer / Photo by: Visuals by Mugsy

Boston, MA — Can a city invite residents to fly flags on a “Citizen Flag Pole,” then censor the messages it doesn’t like by claiming those flags represent government speech?

The First Circuit has answered that question with a clear “no.”

In a major victory for free speech, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously reversed a lower court decision earlier today, holding that the City of Nashua, New Hampshire violated the First Amendment when it engaged in viewpoint discrimination by denying Bethany and Stephen Scaer’s requests to fly flags on the city’s Citizen Flag Pole. Attorneys from the Institute for Free Speech and local counsel Roy S. McCandless represent the Scaers in the litigation.

In a decision authored by Judge Sandra Lynch, the First Circuit panel rejected Nashua’s attempt to characterize its censorship as “government speech.” The court found that, between 2017 and 2024, Nashua’s Citizen Flag Pole operated as a forum for private speech, not government expression—making the city’s viewpoint-based denials unconstitutional.

“As the First Circuit recognized, governments cannot get away with censorship by labeling that censorship ‘government speech,’” said Institute for Free Speech Attorney Nathan Ristuccia, who argued the case before the First Circuit. “We are delighted that the First Circuit intervened to prevent Nashua from doing exactly that.”

“After years of being told our flags weren’t ‘in harmony’ with the city’s views, it’s vindicating to have the First Circuit confirm that was unconstitutional,” said Beth Scaer. “No one should have to face government censorship for expressing their beliefs. We’re thrilled with this victory for free speech rights throughout New England.”

The Scaers had multiple flag requests denied by Nashua, most recently a request to fly the historic Pine Tree Flag that commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill. The city provided no explanation beyond stating that the Scaers’ flags were “not in harmony” with the city’s message.

The court’s analysis revealed the fundamental flaw in Nashua’s position: From 2017 to 2020, the city approved every single flag application without exercising meaningful control over content. Private citizens supplied their own flags, raised them themselves using a borrowed tool, organized ceremonies typically without any city officials present, and retained ownership of their flags throughout. The city even required applicants to indemnify it for damages—hardly the hallmark of government speech.

Only after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Shurtleff v. City of Boston protected speech in such forums did Nashua hastily adopt a new policy claiming the flagpole constituted “government speech”—while continuing to invite and accept citizen applications.

The First Circuit correctly assessed the purpose of this maneuver. As the court noted, Nashua initially approved Bethany Scaer’s “Save Women’s Sports” flag in 2020, then revoked permission just one day later—not because of any change in government policy or perspective, but, rather, after receiving complaints. The court observed that this sequence resembled “a classic heckler’s veto”—the government silencing speech because others found it offensive.

The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of Nashua’s policy, arguing that the city imposed viewpoint-based restrictions on speech, created an unconstitutional prior restraint, and enforced impermissibly vague standards.

“Nashua’s flag policy gives city officials unbridled discretion to censor speech they dislike,” Ristuccia explained when the Institute for Free Speech originally filed the suit. “The First Amendment doesn’t permit the government to turn a longstanding public forum into a personal billboard for city officials’ preferred views.”

The court’s decision sends an important message about free speech to municipalities throughout the First Circuit, which includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.

While Nashua has since closed the Citizen Flag Pole to all private expression—a choice the city remains free to make—today’s ruling prevents cities from creating forums that invite citizen participation, only to discriminate based on viewpoint under a pretense of “government speech.”

The court remanded the case with instructions for the district court to enter declaratory relief in the Scaers’ favor, formally declaring that Nashua’s actions violated the First Amendment. This declaratory judgment should prevent Nashua and cities throughout the First Circuit from adopting or reinstating similar citizen flag poles that discriminate on the basis of viewpoint and violate citizens’ free speech rights.

To read the First Circuit’s decision in Scaer, et al. v. City of Nashua, et al., click here. To visit our case page, which includes all filings and other case resources, including client photos, click here.

About the Institute for Free Speech

The Institute for Free Speech promotes and defends the political speech rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The Pilgrim Story: A Presentation by Leo and Nancy Martin

Published December 18, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

Last Saturday (December 13), Camp Constitution held its annual “Reason for the Season” Potluck in Lexington, MA.  Our guest speakers were Leo and Nancy Martin of the Jenney Museum   https://thejenney.org/   The Martins are experts on the Pilgrims.  Mr. Martin conducts tours of the Forefathers Monument, and was a consultant for the documentary “Monumental”

 

 

America250 Spotlight: Dr. Soon Dr. Willie Soon, Climate Realist

Published December 17, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

 

America250 Spotlight: Dr. Soon Dr. Willie Soon, an esteemed astrophysicist and aerospace engineer, offered a fast-moving and engaging journey through science, history, and American innovation at the America250 FieldWerx Summit. He began with Galileo’s pioneering use of observation and experimentation, then traced humanity’s growing understanding of the sun—from its immense scale to early sunspot records by figures like John Winthrop and Humphrey Marshall. These discoveries, he explained, revealed how careful observation and persistence have shaped scientific progress and helped connect solar activity to historical climate shifts such as the Little Ice Age.

Dr. Soon then turned to today’s challenges, arguing that solar variability plays a central role in climate change and urged continued debate grounded in data rather than consensus. He closed by looking ahead, highlighting artificial intelligence as a powerful new tool for discovery if guided by a commitment to truth-seeking. Framed by the America250 vision, his message is ultimately optimistic: America’s strength has always come from scientific freedom and bold thinkers, and those same qualities will drive innovation for the next 250 years!

Hsu Educational Foundation  https://hsu-foundation.org/     kicked off America250 with a FieldWerx Summit on September 3, 2025 gathering leaders, visionaries and budding innovators to convene ideas for strengthening America’s future. Join us as we share a series with inspiring remarks from moving presentations of military, industry, local and state government, academia and the non-profit sector. Special appreciation to Florida Power & Light and HSU Educational Foundation.

Camp Constitution is a New Hampshire based charitable trust. We run a week-long family camp, man information tables at various venues, have a book publishing arm, and post videos from our camp and others that we think are of importance. Please visit our website www.campconstitution.net

December 16, 2025, Marks Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

Published December 16, 2025 | By Hal Shurtleff

December 16, 2025 marks the anniversary of The Boston Tea Party where on this date in 1773 members of the Sons of Liberty-some dressed up as Mohawk Indians- boarded three ships docked at Griffins Wharf in Boston and dumped 46 tons of tea into the harbor.

Background to the Tea Party:

The British Parliament passed the Townshend Act in 1767 which levied direct taxes against the Colonists.  Prior to this, colonial governments elected by the people were the only entities that levied taxes.  There was much opposition to the Townshend Act on both sides of the Atlantic.  In 1770, Parliament repealed the Townshend Act with the exception the tax on tea. On May 10, 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act giving, for the first time, the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea. The East India Company would appoint certain colonial merchants-consigners- the sole right to sell the tea to the detriment of other merchants who lost their livelihoods. While “Taxation without Representation” was one of the rallying cries of the Revolutionary War-along with “No King But King Jesus, the biggest objection Boston colonists had was that the tax was used to pay the salaries of the governor, and other colonial leaders, making these officials beholding and dependent to the Crown instead of the colonists.

In the fall of 1773, seven ships loaded with tea and other cargo sailed to America-four to Boston, one to Philadelphia, one to Charlestown, SC., one to New York City.  Local Patriots in Philadelphia and New York convinced the consigners to resign, and the tea went back to England. In Charleston, S.C, the tea was never claimed and ended up rotting in storage. The Dartmouth was the first ship to arrive at Boston’s Griffin Wharf.   By law, it had 20 days to land the tea, or it would be confiscated. Two other ships, the Beaver and Eleanor arrived a few weeks later.  A fourth ship ran aground on Cape Cod.  Colonists petitioned Governor Thomas Hutchinson to let the ships return the tea to England.  His sons Thomas and Elisha just happened to be the consignees.  Indeed, if the ships did not unload the tea, the owners were told that their ships would be fired upon as they sailed past Castle Island.

  The Tea Party

The 16th of December fell on a rainy and chilly Thursday. It was the last day that the Dartmouth had to unload its cargo.  The meeting at the Old South Meeting House was held in the morning where attendees were read letters of support from surrounding towns. The meeting ended and reconvened in the afternoon.   The meeting lasted a few hours and instructed that the ship owners are to have an interview with Governor Hutchinson to get permission to sail without unloading the tea.  At 6PM, close to forty percent of the 16,000 Bostonians arranged themselves in and out of the Old South Meeting House. No word as of yet from Hutchinson and the ship owners.   Josiah Quincy (member of the Committee of Correspondence) spoke of the peoples’ resolve and popular acclamations of willing to gives their lives. Others spoke in similar tones to the attendees.  Finally, around 7PM, they receive word that the ships must unload the tea.

Samuel Adams stands and says the words “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country,” In the back of the room and outside in the street, the Sons of Liberty- reacted to that remark by moving swiftly to Griffin’s Wharf and board the three tea ships Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver. The men, some dressed as Mohawk Indians, extracted the tea from the cargo holds and disperse the leaves into the waters of the harbor. They were given strict orders not to do any damage or hurt any of the crew members of the three ships.  Men were posted in small boats preventing anyone from taking the tea.   The Caption of the Beaver, Hezekiah Coffin, turned over the keys to the storage holds and encouraged his men to participate in “Tea Party.” Forty-sic tons of tea worth approximately $2 million in today’s money ended up in the Harbor.

The British government’s response to the “Tea Party” was the passing of what became known as The Intolerable Acts which included the closing of Boston Harbor. This helped further unify the colonies and led our nation’s independence.

I highly recommend a visit to the Tea Party Museum located on Congress St and close to the location of the Tea Party.  The museum has two replicas of the ships-the Beaver and Eleanor, reenactors with attendee involvement and a multi-media presentation that brings history alive.  Among the museum’s collection is an original tea chest recovered from the event.  Their website:  https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

 

In 2018, I had the opportunity to attend the Tea Party Reenactment with media credentials.  A link to the video of the event:

In 1874, Oliver Wendall Holmes wrote a poem entitled “A Ballad of the Boston Tea Party” A portion of that poem is found at an historic plaque at the site of the original location of the Tea Party on Boston’s Atlantic Ave.

 

 

Designed by Eric Conover.