Our Founding Fathers were very careful when they came to establish this great nation. Through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and through the correspondence among the Founders, the words to describe their vision were chosen carefully. The words of personal letters, public addresses, and our founding documents were carefully crafted as they were expected to live for the ages. In this, our Founders succeeded, as these documents are as relevant today as when they were written. Initially, from the First Continental Congress, through the early 1800’s, following the War of 1812, being a member of Congress was basically a part-time job. Then, as now, Congress sat in regular session for about six months per year. Pay for Congressmen at the time was $6 per day they were in session. It is difficult to give a direct comparison in today’s dollars since most colonial Americans still used barter as a primary means to acquire goods. However, an ill