Political Heritage: Influences on the American System of Government

Was the American Revolution justified?
How can breaking away from a country be justified?
The Founding Fathers were inspired by Enlightenment thinkers to protect established rights.

A movement in Europe (especially Great Britain and France).
Shift from attributing events to God to using logic and reason to solve societal problems.
Isaac Newton: Believed in natural laws governing nature, politics, economics, justice, and religion.

What happens without government or rules.
Life is "nasty, brutish, and short" due to people taking advantage of each other.
Government aims to provide safety and security by individuals giving up some rights.

Wrote Leviathan, describing life without government as chaotic.
People are inherently selfish and greedy, leading to a constant power struggle.
Social Contract: People give up some power to an absolute monarch for an organized society.

Wrote Two Treatises of Government, expanding on Hobbes' ideas.
People are shaped by their environment (tabula rasa or blank slate).
Believed people generally do the right thing and have faith in humanity.
Natural Rights:
- Life
- Liberty
- Property.
Governments exist to protect these rights.
If a government fails to protect these rights, the people have the right to overthrow it.
Justification for the Declaration of Independence.

"Man is born free, but everywhere is in chains."
Expanded on Hobbes and Locke in The Social Contract.
The government is a mutual contract between the people and the ruler, existing to protect natural rights.
Advocated for government intervention only when necessary.
Believed in democracy, where the government is chosen by the people.

In The Spirit of the Laws, he reviewed historical governments.
Identified the problem of absolute monarchs taking too much control, leading to corruption.
Advocated for separation of powers and checks and balances to prevent corruption.
Legislative, executive, and judicial functions should be separate, with each branch checking the others.

Forced upon King John due to his abusive taxation.
Recognizes ancient liberties for all free men (natural rights).
Limits the king's ability to raise funds (taxes), as reflected in Article 1, Sections 7 and 9 of the Constitution.
Protects due process of law and trial by jury (found in the American Bill of Rights, 5th-8th Amendments).
Establishes early forms of a democratic republic with majority rule.
Establishes rule of law: nobody is above the law.
Basis for British law and justification for overthrowing the British government.

Established a "civil body politic" among settlers arriving in the New World.
Agreement to protect and respect each other, recognizing the distance from British governance.
First social contract formed in America.
Governing themselves.

Further limited the power of the monarch.
Established a representative government with a Parliament selected by the people.
Consent of the governed: people select who governs them.
Protected free and fair elections without king's interference.
Ordered government: different offices and positions.
Protected rights, including parliamentary approval for taxes and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Forced the king to give up more power to Parliament.
Protected due process, including trial by jury and no cruel/unusual punishment or excessive bail/fines.
Guaranteed the right to bear arms and petition the government.

Written by George Mason; influenced the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Outlined rights later protected in the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Ideas for the Consitutional Convention came from already existing documents.

Rights in Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Virginia Declaration of Rights, and American Bill of Rights (1791) show plagiarism and historical precedent.

Justifies forming a new government because the existing government failed to protect established rights.

Five Native American tribes united to create peace in the Northeast and Midwest.
Demonstrated that democracy and self-governance could work in America.
Inspired the Founding Fathers with the idea of unity and peace through self-governance.