What Did Thomas Jefferson Mean by “Hither, Swarms of Officers” in the Declaration of Independence?Guest post by “Wisco” Rolf LindgrenMy favorite quote from the Declaration of Independence is the 10th grievance against the British. It is astonishing that such a radical, hard-hitting sentence could be found in an official government document. It says:“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.”YIKES!!!!! Ever since I read this in high school and fully absorbed it, I have felt like the swarms of officers are still around today. I read the Declaration and Constitution, less than ten pages total, and wondered “Where the heck do all these government people come from!!!” It wasn’t always this way. When the Founding Fathers took over and the dust settled, the early American Republic DIDN’T have swarms of officers eating out our substance. The first federal administration under President George Washington had just a few, necessary government agencies. They were: 1. Secretary of State 2. Secretary of the Treasury3. Secretary of War4. Attorney General5. Post OfficeThe Navy was added in 1798, because they didn’t have enough money for one at first.The controversial National Bank was created in 1791, dissolved in 1811, re-created 1816, and then dissolved by Andrew Jackson in the 1830s.The National Bank was a temporary evil deemed needed to pay off debt from the Revolution and then the War of 1812. It wasn’t required to “help the economy” as modern propaganda tells us.So that’s it. Our Founding Fathers got rid of the swarms of officers and replaced them with a small, lean government that didn’t eat out our substance.What happened since?Big government was enabled in 1913 when the 16th Amendment legalized income tax, and the 17th Amendment took the states completely out of the federal power structure with the direct election of Senators.Then we had constant pressure for big government, namely WWI, Great Depression, WWII, Cold War, War on Drugs, and War on Terror, etc.Now we have 448 total government agencies. This number is so vast that no one agrees on whether it’s really the exact number.I recommend everyone read…“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.”…three times a day and then vote accordingly!Rolf Lindgren is the Pints & Politics Director of the Republican Party of Dane County, Wisconsin. He is a singer known as Wisco Rolf and his website is WiscoRolf.com – The Badger State’s Musical Maverick & Liberty’s VoiceThe post What Does “Hither, Swarms of Officers” in the Declaration of Independence Mean? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.