Have you ever wondered on what basis our founding fathers used to declare Independence from England and then craft a constitution that has survived the test of time? Or how fragile the principles were when exposed to who live under the freedom and rights so endowed but recklessly abandon them for self serving interests. If you do some research, philosophers such as John Locke played a key role in the formation of these principles. I would argue that natural law is not necessarily a product of a God or religious institution but rather something inherent in what we are. But rather than debate this, I will include both God and Natural law in the first principle. Locke was heavily influenced as were other early philosophers from Europe, from which western thought evolved. His parents were Puritans in England, his home country, and the early religious training became a part and partial to his writings, even though they often conflicted, such as his hand in establishing the slave trade and laws that covered it in North Carolina prior to our independence, and his writings expressing the will of all as laid out by the heavens to be free and equal. 1. Rights come from God/Natural Law, not government This Founding Principle is actually embedded in our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Founders didn’t believe governments bestowed rights, nor were they an agent to protect rights...governments were the ones that abridged rights. 2. All political power emanates from the people The Founders were strongly influenced by John Locke as noted, who advocated government as a social contract. The term, will of the governed, encapsulates this concept, which means the people are boss. The power of the people is declared in the first three words of the Constitution, “We the people …” This principle is also the underlying basis for our Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” This principle dictated that conventions of the people were the only authorizing force to ratify the Constitution. Neither Congress nor the state legislatures had the power. Delegate William Paterson, author of the New Jersey Plan, wrote, “What is a Constitution? It is the form of government, delineated by the mighty hand of the people, in which certain first principles of fundamental law are established.” 3. Limited representative republic The Founders believed in limited government in the form of a representative republic. They distrusted a direct democracy, because they equated it to mob rule. James Madison constantly preached against any system that allowed special interests (factions) to gain control of the government. He showed that throughout history, majority factions tyrannized minorities, whether the minorities be based on race, wealth, religion, or even geography. The Founders believed that to protect against government oppression, they must disperse power, and give each branch of government formidable checks on the authority of every other branch. By the end of the Constitutional Convention, the Founders also came to firmly believe that the states must act as a solid check on the national government. Last, monarchies had general power, so they would give the national government only delineated powers. 4. Written Constitution If government is a social contract, and it has only limited power formally delegated by the people, then the contract--Constitution--must be in writing. The strongest proponent of a written constitution was Thomas Paine, who said, “An unwritten constitution is not a constitution at all.” This may seem commonplace today, but England, the most powerful nation on earth, had no written constitution. This was different in America, however, where all thirteen states had a written constitution. This American tradition goes back to the Mayflower Compact. Our national heritage is a written constitution that sets the rules for governance between the people and their elected representatives. The Founders intent was that this contract would only be changed through the amendment process. 5. Private Property Rights The Founders were influenced by Adam Smith, and were firm believers in private property rights. In their minds, private property rights were intertwined with liberty. True liberty would never allow the government to come at any time and take a person’s property. That would be Divine Right, which they had fought eight bloody years to escape. James Madison said, “As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.” He meant that even if a person owned nothing else, he still owned his rights, which were the most valuable property of all. The Constitutional Convention delegates didn’t agree on everything. In fact, they possibly only agreed on these Founding Principles. After all, they did argue for four months about the design of the government. Here in Nye county Nevada and in particular Pahrump, many if not most of our local arguments and passions center around these principles and the quest of people here to demand that government reflect these principles and that no power trample on the individuals rights. And we must constantly fight the threat of ignorance when it comes to these founding principles. I wish the public schools would do more to educate and less to indoctrinate. (a subject of a later musing). Im a day late in posting this as I was away from the computer for most of July 4th. I hope it acts as a reminder during this long holiday weekend. Dwight
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 07:44:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015