Birth of America: Republic, Declaration, and Constitution

The Republic, Democracy, and Founders’ Views

• Madison’s claim: a republic can share the mischiefs of faction; a democracy cannot. This is a recurring contrast in Federalist and founder debates.
• Madison, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson all critique pure democracy:
  • Hamilton: a pure democracy, if practicable, would be the most perfect government, but experience shows it’s false. Ancient democracies deliberating themselves tended to tyranny and decay. See the reference to Plato: democracy leads to tyranny.
  • Adams: democracy has never been as durable as aristocracy or modern forms; when it lasts, it can be more bloody. He cites the French revolutionary excesses as a caution.
  • Federalist 10 and 48: democracy where the masses directly legislate can verge toward tyranny; a republic with checks and balances mitigates faction and concentrates power in a durable structure.
  • Jefferson: there is one form of government that respects freedom—the republic. He emphasizes that freedom requires a republic rather than a pure democracy, even as he remains the most democratic among the founders.
• Summary takeaway: Founders distinguish republics (stable, governed by law and representation) from democracies (potentially mob-rule and self-destruction). They warn against conflating the two.

The Birth of America: From Colonies to Independence

• Pre-revolution setting:
  • Each of the original 13 colonies had its own charter and constitution, with royal governors whom colonists frequently resisted (kicking out or resisting governance).
  • Salutary neglect: England was distracted by wars with France and did not effectively govern, regulate, or tax the colonies. This nurtured self-government habits.
• Post-French and Indian War turning point:
  • Britain’s war debts lead to taxation of colonies; colonists demand representation in Parliament (no taxation without representation).
  • Magna Carta and common law underpin a tradition that taxes require consent and due process; the colonists anchor their rights in longstanding English legal and constitutional culture.
• Key date: on 06/10/1776, the Continental Congress authorizes a committee of five to draft the Declaration of Independence; Thomas Jefferson is chosen to write it. It is ratified on July 4, 1776.
• The Declaration as the first united act of independence by the thirteen states.

The Declaration of Independence: Text, Structure, and Implications

Title analysis

• Title: "Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America".
  • Unanimous implies no dissent within it, yet it acknowledges thirteen separate states acting in concert.
  • The capitalization note: United is not capitalized as a proper noun in the original phrasing; this signals a federation of independent states, not a single United States at that moment.
  • Implication: the unity is political, not a single indivisible nation at the outset; it’s a statement of joint secession by separate polities.

Opening: opening lines and their significance

• Opening claim (quote 11):
  • "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…"
  • The phrase "in the course of human events" signals universal, timeless principles—not bound to a specific era.
  • The assertion that a people may dissolve political bands and assume separate and equal station under natural law grounds independence in Nature’s law and Nature’s God.
  • A "decent respect for the opinions of mankind" requires declaring the causes of separation; transparency and justification are framed as universal duties.
• Key themes:
  • Anticolonialism: rejection of imperial authority that is not grounded in consent.
  • National self-determination: peoples have the right to govern themselves.
  • Justice as a social objective: public justification matters to legitimacy.

The Second Paragraph: foundational liberal rights and government by consent

• Text (quote 12):
  • "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, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
  • Government exists to secure these rights; just powers derive from the consent of the governed.
  • If a government becomes destructive of these ends, the people have the right to alter or abolish it and institute a new government.
  • Foundation: liberal, Lockean rights theory embedded in natural law; government’s legitimacy rests on protecting basic rights, not on divine or hereditary prerogative.
• Significance:
  • Establishes universal rights and the social contract basis for revolution if the contract is betrayed.
  • The explicit naming of the “pursuit of happiness” anchors happiness as a legitimate objective of government, though later notes in class remark that this phrase is often treated differently in other texts.

Prudence and the right to revolution (quote 13)

• “Prudence indeed will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.”
• Prudence (an Aristotelian/Platonic ideal) suggests right governance requires weighing costs and benefits; revolution is only warranted when abuses are grave and persistent.
• Implications discussed in class:
  • Small grievances (light and transient) should not trigger revolutionary action because the costs and risks are high (destruction, invasion, confiscation, etc.).
  • The moral duty to protect one’s family and property, and the risk of state collapse if revolution over minor issues.

The long train of abuses and the need to overthrow (quote 14)

• When a long train of abuses and usurpations pursue invariably the same object to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their security.
• The claim is not a philosophical abstraction; it is a political justification based on continuous tyranny.
• The analysis in class highlighted the practical risk calculus: rebellion is perilous but becomes a duty when oppression is persistent and intolerable.

List of grievances (quote 15, 16)

• The Declaration lists specific wrongs the Crown committed against the colonies:
  • Enslavement and interference related to the slave trade; failure to end or prohibit the slave trade despite attempts.
  • Taxation without representation; denial of Parliament access and redress; quartering troops in colonists’ homes; charter and legislative interference; creation of monopolies; suppression of internal insurrection by external means.
  • A pattern of laws and actions designed to establish a monopoly and to subjugate colonial rights.
• Petitioning and appeal (quotes 16-17): repeated petitions to redress grievances yielded only injuries; attempts to address fellow English subjects and Parliament failed.
• Conclusion: “We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America… solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.”
• Powers asserted: to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all acts and things that independent states may rightfully do.

The closing and the pledge (quote 18, 19)

• “For the support of this declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
• Two layers of meaning:
  • Spiritual/moral: reliance on Providence (God) as a source of protection and legitimacy.
  • Personal commitment: radical personal sacrifice and honor among the signers, including a discussion of honor culture and its role in revolutionary legitimacy.
• The section on reputation and character (quote 19) notes that in some founding documents, reputation is considered a natural right because injuries to character can ruin a person’s life prospects; this reinforces the honor-based culture of the era.

Implications of the Declaration

• Natural law and rights: rights are in your nature as a member of the human species, not granted by government; governments exist to protect life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
• Foundational influence on later American political thought: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Civil Rights rhetoric tie back to the Declaration’s universality of equality and rights.
• The Declaration anchors the American project in universal principles that can be invoked to evaluate and justify political reform across generations.

Aftermath of Independence: From Articles to Constitution

The Articles of Confederation (1777–1789)

• Intent and design: a wartime alliance among sovereign states with a fear of centralized power; the central government was deliberately weak.
• Structure:
  • Unicameral Congress; each state had one vote.
  • No executive branch; no national judiciary; no power to tax; no standing army; no national currency; no capacity to enforce laws or regulate commerce effectively.
  • Amendments required unanimous consent of all 13 states, making change nearly impossible.
• Consequences:
  • Inability to address debt from the war; economic and political instability; domestic conflicts among states.
  • The federal government could pass laws but lacked enforcement power; states retained sovereignty and peacetime military power.

Shays’ Rebellion and the push for a stronger union

• Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787) highlighted vulnerabilities of the Articles: economically distressed farmers faced seizures and taxes; the national government could not mobilize troops to quell the rebellion.
• The rebellion demonstrated that a weak central government could not maintain public order or pay debts; a private militia funded by a merchant ended the rebellion, underscoring the need for a stronger central authority.

Constitutional Convention and the Great Compromise

• Founders met in 1787 to address the weaknesses of the Articles and to design a new framework for governance.
• Central debates: small states vs. large states; representation and legislative structure.
  • Virginia Plan (large states): representation by population; three branches; bicameral legislature.
  • New Jersey Plan (small states): equal representation for each state; three branches; unicameral legislature.
• The Great Compromise (Ratified 1787):
  • Bicameral Congress: House of Representatives (representation by population) and Senate (equal representation for each state).
  • Combined with a stronger national executive and an independent judiciary; separation of powers and checks and balances.
• Federalists vs Anti-Federalists:
  • Federalists: favored ratification, strong central government, supported the Constitution and the Federalist Papers as explanatory commentary (notable figures: Franklin, Hamilton, Jay, Washington).
  • Anti-Federalists: skeptical of centralized power, advocated for states' rights or a Bill of Rights; notable figures include Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Mason, etc.
• Ratification process and sequence:
  • The Constitution faced initial resistance in some states (North Carolina initially rejected; Rhode Island delayed ratification).
  • The debate culminated in a compromise and eventual adoption, leading to George Washington’s inauguration as the first president under the new framework.

Implications for American political thought

• The Constitution represents a deliberate design to resolve the key tensions between liberty and order, majority rule and minority rights, and federal vs state sovereignty.
• The Federalist Papers become the most famous vehicle for explaining and defending the Constitution.
• The anti-federalist critique laid the groundwork for a Bill of Rights, emphasizing protections against centralized power.

Connections to Foundational Figures and Later Beliefs

• Thomas Jefferson and the republican ideal: the Declaration articulates the republic as the form of government that respects freedom and equality; Jefferson’s political philosophy undergirds the revolution and the subsequent constitutional framework.
• Abraham Lincoln and Civil Rights: Lincoln’s rhetoric reframes equality as a defining national principle, linking democracy, liberty, and equal rights to the nation’s core identity.
• The role of natural law and liberalism: natural rights and the consent of the governed become enduring anchors for American political philosophy and constitutional design.

Some Contextual Clarifications from the Lecture

• The lecture’s pedagogical notes:
  • Class logistics and engagement metrics were discussed, including attendance and reading rates, and the correlation between reading and exam performance.
  • A temporary classroom relocation occurred due to a department event; a video on Texas Chapter 2 would be posted, but it is not essential for exam content.
  • The instructor emphasizes the importance of primary sources (e.g., the Declaration’s quotes and the Federalist Papers) for understanding foundational ideas.

Key Dates and Numbers (for quick reference)

• 06/10/1776: Continental Congress authorizes Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence; Thomas Jefferson is selected.
• July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence ratified by the Continental Congress.
• 1777–1789: Articles of Confederation serve as the United States’ first constitutional framework.
• 1787–1789: Constitutional Convention and ratification process leading to the current U.S. Constitution.
• 1783: End of the American Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Paris; postwar financial and political instability begins under the Articles.
• Key terms: ext{life}, ext{liberty}, ext{pursuit of happiness}, ext{universe of natural rights}, ext{consent of the governed}, ext{prudence}, ext{usurpations}, ext{despotism}, ext{federal vs state sovereignty}.

Why this matters (practical and ethical implications)

• The Declaration’s claim that rights are natural and universal challenges tyranny and supports reform when governments violate fundamental rights.
• The constitutional design seeks to balance liberty with order, and to prevent the concentration of power by distributing authority across branches and levels of government.
• The long arc from colonial grievance to federal constitutional order reflects a sustained debate about what constitutes legitimate government, how consent is expressed, and how rights are protected across generations.