By: Joel Stephen Mattson
How a Wartime Scam Rewrote Freedom, Citizenship, and the Constitution
1. The Lie That Changed America Forever
The 14th Amendment is hailed in modern law as a pillar of equality and civil rights. Yet few Americans know that it may be the most profound legal fraud in U.S. history. Behind its promise of equal protection lies a coordinated war-era scam that redefined citizenship, usurped state sovereignty, and placed every man, woman, and child under the control of a corporate federal entity. This wasn’t an amendment—it was a hostile takeover. And the evidence of its illegitimacy is overwhelming.
2. What the Constitution Requires for Lawful Amendments
Article V of the U.S. Constitution outlines the lawful procedure for amending the supreme law of the land:
- Proposal by two-thirds of both Houses of Congress OR by a national convention;
- Ratification by three-fourths of the States (not federal territories, not corporate proxies).
At no point does the Constitution authorize Congress to override state legislatures, occupy states militarily, or force political compliance as a condition of readmission to the Union. Yet this is exactly what happened with the 14th Amendment.
3. The Reality of 1866–1868: Martial Law and Puppet Governments
After the Civil War, 10 Southern states lawfully rejected the proposed 14th Amendment. Under any valid process, this should have been the end of it. But Congress, under Radical Republican control, responded by enacting the Reconstruction Acts of 1867––1868. These acts:
- Dissolved lawfully reestablished Southern state legislatures;
- Placed the South under military rule (martial law);
- Installed “rump legislatures” loyal to Washington;
- Demanded ratification of the 14th Amendment as a condition of statehood.
This was not law. It was occupation. It violated Article V and the principle of republican government guaranteed under Article IV, Section 4. The Southern states, having lawfully rejoined the Union, were stripped of representation, denied equal suffrage in the Senate, and forced to act under duress.
4. The Louisiana Resolution and the 1967 Congressional Record
On June 13, 1967, Congressman John R. Rarick of Louisiana entered into the Congressional Record a bold declaration: the 14th Amendment was never legally ratified. He submitted:
- House Concurrent Resolution 208 of the Louisiana Legislature;
- An in-depth legal memorandum by Judge Leander H. Perez.
Resolution 208 stated, in part:
“The purported 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was never lawfully adopted… Eleven states of the Union were deprived of their equal suffrage in the Senate in violation of Article V… The Reconstruction Acts unlawfully overthrew their existing governments, removed their lawfully constituted legislatures by military force, and replaced them with rump legislatures which pretended to ratify the 14th Amendment.”
Congressional silence followed. There was no rebuttal.
5. Judge Leander H. Perez’s Bombshell Legal Analysis
Judge Perez laid out the fraud with surgical precision:
- The original legislatures of ten Southern states rejected the amendment.
- These states were declared “lawfully reconstructed” by President Andrew Johnson.
- Their votes should have blocked ratification.
- Congress then replaced those governments by military force, in open violation of Article V.
Even more damning:
- Ohio and New Jersey voted to rescind their earlier ratifications.
- Their rescissions were ignored, and their previous votes falsely counted.
In total, more than one-fourth of the 37 states rejected the amendment, making ratification mathematically impossible under Article V. That’s game over. Amendment not passed.
6. Secretary of State Seward’s Doubts and Forced Compliance
On July 20, 1868, Secretary of State William H. Seward issued a proclamation listing the states that had ratified the 14th Amendment. But he also admitted doubt:
“It is deemed a matter of doubt whether the ratifications…are valid…”
That should have triggered a full constitutional review. Instead, Congress passed a joint resolution ordering Seward to proclaim it ratified anyway. This move alone reveals the desperation to fabricate legitimacy at any cost.
7. The New Citizenship: Why They Needed Everyone to Be Property
Prior to the 14th Amendment, there was only state citizenship. Each man or woman was a citizen of their state, and through that, a member of the Union. The 14th Amendment introduced a new construct: citizen of the United States.
This was not just a clarification—it was a reclassification. All Americans were now:
- Identified as property of the federal government;
- Made subject to federal jurisdiction regardless of state laws;
- Considered corporate sureties to the United States Inc.
This new status became the legal basis for:
- Income taxation;
- Federal policing and prosecution;
- Mandatory identification and licenses;
- The erosion of common law rights.
8. The Missing Original 13th Amendment and the Rise of the Legal Class
Before the current 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery), there was another:
- Ratified in 1819;
- Known as the Titles of Nobility Amendment (TONA);
- It barred any person with foreign allegiance or titles (such as “Esquire”) from holding office.
This original 13th Amendment vanished during the Civil War period. In its place, Congress:
- Installed a new 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery);
- Then rolled out the fraudulent 14th and 15th;
- Re-numbered the sequence, erasing history.
TONA would have disqualified most lawyers from office—and still would today. No wonder it had to disappear.
9. The Organic Act of 1871 and the Corporation Called “United States”
With the groundwork laid by the 14th Amendment, Congress passed the Organic Act of 1871:
- Created a municipal corporation named UNITED STATES;
- Converted Washington, D.C. into a corporate district;
- Allowed this corporation to create its own statutes, jurisdiction, and citizenship designations.
This is how:
- The real Constitution was replaced by a corporate charter;
- Citizens became employees or subjects of a foreign entity;
- Federal agencies assumed jurisdiction over private men and women under color of law.
10. Supreme Court Cases That Quietly Confirmed It All
- Downes v. Bidwell (1901): Confirmed Congress could operate outside the Constitution in territories.
- Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt (1945): Acknowledged three distinct definitions of “United States”.
- De Lima v. Bidwell (1901): Addressed whether U.S. law applied in territories acquired from Spain.
These cases show the legal gymnastics used to support an unconstitutional framework of dual systems: one constitutional, and one corporate.
11. Why the Government Can’t Admit the Truth
If the 14th Amendment were proven fraudulent (and it is), the consequences would be earth-shaking:
- Federal courts would lose jurisdiction over most people and property;
- The IRS would lose its statutory grip;
- Nearly all statutory crimes would collapse;
- Courts, police, and bureaucrats would be liable for fraud, conspiracy, and treason.
That’s why they deny it. That’s why judges get nervous. That’s why attorneys play dumb.
12. The Final Nail: Fraud Vitiates Everything
The legal maxim is clear:
“Fraud vitiates everything it touches.”
No law, no amendment, no statute built on fraud has any legal force. It is null from inception. If the 14th Amendment is fraudulent—and it is—then the citizenship status it created is a legal fiction. And if that citizenship status is a fiction, then everything built upon it (taxation, jurisdiction, obligations) collapses under its own weight.
The truth is buried in the record. But once it’s exposed, there’s no unseeing it.
Next in the Series: Turning the 14th Amendment Fraud Into Your Legal Weapon
This exposé was only Part 1. In Part 2, we’ll show you how to use this knowledge:
- To rebut presumptions in court;
- To challenge jurisdiction;
- To reclaim your true status;
- To build a legal toolkit that flips the burden back on the system.
This isn’t just history—it’s leverage.
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