Foundations of American Democracy: Founding Principles & Ideals

Foundations of American Democracy

Chapter 2: Founding Principles - The Ideals of Democracy

  • What gives the government a right to govern?
  • Where are the boundaries of government authority?
  • Medieval scholars argued that kings had a right to rule bestowed upon them by God.
  • Other medieval scholars proclaimed that nobles had a birthright to rule.
  • Enlightenment thinkers challenged these doctrines, seeking alternative sources of legitimacy beyond divine will or noble birth.
  • These ideas are rooted in the Enlightenment.

British Colonies in North America

  • 1607: Britain establishes a permanent colony at Jamestown, Virginia, named after King James I (r. 1603-1625).
  • 1620: English Separatists (radical Protestants) on the Mayflower land at Plymouth Bay.

The Mayflower Compact (1620)

  • Document signed on the English ship Mayflower prior to landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
  • The first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States.
  • Rough seas and storms prevented the Mayflower from reaching its intended destination of the Hudson River, instead steering toward Cape Cod.
  • Because of the change of course, the passengers were no longer within the jurisdiction of the charter granted to them in England by the Virginia Company.
  • Within this legally uncertain situation, friction arose between the English Separatists (the Pilgrims) and the rest of the travelers.
  • Some threatened to leave the group and settle on their own.
  • To quell the conflict and preserve unity, Pilgrim leaders drafted the Mayflower Compact before going ashore.
  • The brief document (about 200 words) binds its signers into a BODY POLITIC for the purpose of forming a government
  • They pledge to abide by any laws and regulations that will later be established “for the general good of the colony.”
  • Signed by nearly all of the Mayflower’s adult male passengers (41 of a total of 102 passengers)
  • John Carver, who helped organize the expedition, is chosen as governor of the new colony.
  • Not a constitution but rather an adaptation of a Puritan church covenant to a civil situation.
  • As a provisional instrument adopted solely by the colonists, the document does not solve the matter of their questionable legal rights to the land they settled.
  • Mayflower Compact becomes the foundation of Plymouth’s government and remains in force until the colony is absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.
  • With its fundamental principles of self-government and common consent, it is an important step in the evolution of democratic government in America.

The English Civil War (1642 – 1649)

  • Conflict between the king and Parliament about where sovereignty lies and what are its limits.
  • King Charles I believes in absolutism and the divine right of kings.
  • He wants to raise taxes to pay for his many foreign wars.
  • Rising middle class—many are members of Parliament—want political power
  • Cromwell & his Roundheads defeat King Charles I & his Cavaliers
  • Parliament votes to behead King Charles I for treason.
  • 1649 - 1660: England is a republic (The Commonwealth) led by Cromwell.
  • 1660: Charles II returns to the throne (Stuart Restoration).

Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679)

  • Hobbes is horrified by the turmoil of the English Civil War (1642-1649).
  • Convinced that humanity is depraved.
  • Humans are like animals, stimulated by appetites rather than by noble ideas.
  • Due to English Civil War, Hobbes spends a decade in exile in Paris, where he writes his masterpiece, Leviathan.

Hobbes’s Leviathan (1651)

  • Argues for a strong, centralized government and against challenging royal authority.
  • Humans want to maximize power and act according to self-interest; acting otherwise threatens self-preservation.
  • Government must guarantee peace, protection, and prosperity.
  • In a State of Nature (society without government), humans pursue survival and self-interest without regard for others' rights or needs.

Hobbes’s State of Nature

  • No common authority to solve disputes or protect the weak.
  • Each individual decides what he/she needs to survive, free and independent, with no duties to others.
  • There will always be a scarcity of goods, and people will be equally vulnerable.
  • Some will go into conflict to secure food and shelter; others will seek power and glory.
  • This chaos is the natural end point of uncontrolled human freedom.
  • Life would be “SOLITARY, POOR, NASTY, BRUTISH, and SHORT.”
  • We must surrender rights and freedom to a sovereign authority whose power must be absolute.
  • Freedom is always a secondary concern, an ill-afforded luxury.
  • To prevent the State of Nature, a government must have INDIVISIBLE POWER and authority to control its subjects.
  • However, Hobbes does not base authority on the divine right of kings, but on the idea of a SOCIAL CONTRACT that all rational people would agree upon.

Legitimate Rule

  • To rule legitimately, there must be either an explicit or tacit (silent) agreement: a sovereign will protect citizens' natural rights, and citizens must surrender individual freedom and submit to subordination.
  • A government with limits on its power could not command the respect and fear necessary to tame and control naturally violent, self-seeking nature.
  • A social contract bestowing indivisible authority to a sovereign is a NECESSARY EVIL to avoid the cruel fate if a strong power cannot keep individuals' destructive impulses in check.
  • Because we are rational, we can see that State of Nature is undesirable, thus, we must invest all power in an absolute sovereign, as long as he can protect us.
  • Hobbes does not favor democracy.
  • The main aim of government is stability and peace, not individual freedom.
  • A strong, centralized rule must exist.
  • Political obedience is needed to keep the peace.
  • Citizens have a right to defend themselves if their lives are threatened, but in all other questions, the government is to be obeyed to prevent factional strife or political paralysis.

John Locke (1632 – 1704)

  • In contrast to Hobbes, Locke argues that we are not naturally dangerous to one another, that our mind at birth is a blank slate (TABULA RASA).
  • That we are born neither good nor bad.
  • That we derive all knowledge from what we experience with our senses.
  • That we humans are governed by natural law endowed by a creator.
  • Therefore, we possess natural rights that come from the creator.
  • Many of his beliefs are shaped by his Puritan upbringing.
  • Unlike Hobbes, who saw the horrors of the English Civil War, Locke lives through the peaceful transformation of power brought about by the Glorious Revolution.
  • Parliament negotiates the ascension of William and Mary to the crown, along with the English Bill of Rights (1689).
  • Locke, thus, presents a more positive view of human nature than Hobbes.

Locke’s Two Treatises of Government (1690)

  • People are born with basic and inalienable rights, including LIFE, LIBERTY, and PROPERTY.
  • Even in a State of Nature, no one has the right to harm another.
  • The role of government should be limited.
  • Laws constrain and enable freedom.
  • Like Hobbes’s theory, we are willing to enter into a SOCIAL CONTRACT and submit to being ruled by a government if we expect the government to regulate disagreements and conflicts in a neutral manner.
  • There must be CONSENT of the PEOPLE.
  • This does not have to mean democracy
  • A majority of people can reasonably decide that a monarch, aristocracy, or a democratic assembly should rule; people must grant the right to rule, and people are entitled to take back this privilege.
  • Unlike Hobbes’s theory, that the purpose of government is to protect people’s natural rights. Should the government fail to protect people’s natural rights, the people can replace it with a new government.
  • In fact, government exists only because of the tacit (silent) consent of the governed, and government is answerable to the people.
  • Civil and political rights reside with the people and are not bestowed upon them by God or king.
  • Locke argues against a strong, absolutist sovereign.
  • A powerful figure will limit individual freedom unnecessarily.
  • Total subordination is dangerous. “I have reason to conclude that he who would get me into his power without my consent would use me as he pleased when he got me there, and destroy me too when he had a fancy to it; for nobody can desire to have me in his absolute power unless it be to compel me by force to that which is against the right of my freedom [i.e., make me a slave].”
  • Unlike Hobbes, who favors absolute rule, Locke maintains that the powers and functions of GOVERNMENT must be LIMITED.
  • Lawmaking is the supreme function of government.
  • A legitimate government upholds the principle of separation of the legislative and executive powers.
  • The LEGISLATIVE POWER is superior to the executive because the legislative has the supreme power to establish general rules in the affairs of government and because the executive is only responsible for enforcing the law in specific cases.
  • Locke is the first to articulate the LIBERAL principles of government and the purpose of government is to preserve its citizens’ rights to freedom, life, and property, to pursue the public good, and to punish people who violate the rights of others. Locke’s ideas about natural rights and limited government will be influential with the American founders.
  • Humans are rational, independent agents with natural rights; Humans join political society TO BE PROTECTED by the rule of law; The purpose of law should be to PRESERVE and ENLARGE FREEDOM; LAWS, therefore, both CONSTRAIN and ENABLE FREEDOM; “Where there is NO LAW, there is NO FREEDOM”
  • We have a right to take back power we gave the government because we are free and rational beings.
  • When we enter into a social contract with the state, we do not give up our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property.
  • Governments must craft good laws that protect the rights of the people and enforce them with the public good in mind.
  • Hobbes:
    • 2 years after execution of Charles I
    • Horrors of English Civil War influence him.
    • Beliefs on human nature: We are naturally self-centered and prone to violence. We are motivated to increase pleasure and minimize pain. We engage in a “perpetual and restless desire” for power.
    • Beliefs on the State of Nature: In a State of Nature, we know neither peace nor security. Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
    • Arguments for a strong government: Without government, life would be intolerable and civilization impossible. Government is the result of human necessity rather than divine ordination. We surrender personal liberty to attain security and order. Fearing the dangers of anarchy more than tyranny, rulers should have absolute and unlimited political authority.
  • Locke:
    • Justifies the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which transfers power permanently from the monarchy to Parliament
    • Later inspires Jefferson and his Declaration of Independence.
    • Beliefs on human nature: Rejects view that we are innately brutish. We are instead the products of our training, education, and experience. We are creatures of reason and goodwill
    • Locke’s “law of nature”: We are born with basic rights to “life, liberty, and property”. These rights are derived from “law of nature,” which exists before the creation of government.
    • Arguments for limited government: We form governments to preserve our natural rights. Government is a contract in which the rulers promise to safeguard the our natural rights. If rulers betray our trust, we have the right to replace them.

Montesquieu (1689 – 1755)

  • French philosopher who wants to limit the abuses of royal absolutism of Bourbon monarchs.
  • 1748—The Spirit of the Laws Published anonymously, praised elsewhere in Europe, has a hostile reception in France, often cited as representing the spirit of both the American and French revolutions.
  • The IDEAL GOVERNMENT SEPARATES POWERS among executive, legislative, and judicial branches to avoid despotism.
  • This system of divided authority WILL PROTECT the RIGHTS of INDIVIDUALS by preventing one branch of government from gaining unrestricted control over the entire society -- a system of checks and balances.
  • Since these powers are separate from and dependent on one another, the influence of any one power cannot exceed that of the other two.
  • A great admirer of the English parliamentary system
  • Despotism is the single greatest threat to liberty.
  • Monarchies and republics risk degenerating into despotism unless regulated by a constitution.
  • Montesquieu’s ideas have a significant influence on the writers of the American Constitution (1789).

Rousseau (1712 – 1778)

  • French philosopher who despises the rigid, unjust, and inequality of French society
  • Develops the idea of the NOBLE SAVAGE, that civilization has corrupted humankind and that life in the state of nature is purer, freer, and more virtuous than “civilized” man.
  • In Rousseau’s State of Nature, two principles guide us -- a natural self-love and desire for self-preservation and a compassion for our fellow human beings.
  • Happiness is crushed by private property. Private property imposes an immediate inequality on humanity that previously did not exist.
  • “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” -- i.e., property, when regarded as more important than people, causes social injustice. It is impossible for any of us to hand over our liberty to the state without also handing over our humanity and, therefore, destroying morality.

Rousseau's Social Contract (1762)

  • One of the most influential books on political theory in European history.
  • Hobbes and Locke argued that individuals enter a social contract with their rulers.
  • In contrast, Rousseau argues that individuals enter into a social contract with one another. This creates a community or organized civil society.
  • 2 fundamental concepts: Popular Sovereignty and The General Will
  • To achieve freedom, the whole people must become sovereign; people must also be equal. In Rousseau’s new world, liberty and equality march together, not in opposition.
  • Rousseau is not advocating for democracy; democracy requires all citizens to participate in the state and is prone to corruption and civil war.
  • Instead, Rousseau envisions sovereignty being invested in popular assemblies capable of delegating the tasks of government—via a new social contract, or constitution—to an executive.
  • The sovereign people will embody the “general will,” an expression of popular assent. Day-to-day government, however, will depend on specific decisions, requiring a “particular will.”
  • True sovereign power in a state does not lie in a ruler, rather in the general will of the community as a whole.
  • Rulers are servants of the community; if they fail to carry out the people’s will, they should be removed.

British Colonies in North America (1607-1776)

  • American colonies are in a continuous state of political self-development.
  • Long distance from England; indifference of the colonists to the king’s authority; disputed political authority in England (Parliament vs. Monarchy)
  • As the colonies develop, they continue English legal traditions but make changes to create a new and unique style of government.
  • This new government is founded on the principles of equality, liberty, and limited government.
  • As the colonies grow, so do problems with Britain.
  • Prior to 1750, the British provide defense and manufactured goods for the colonies; the colonies, in return, provide raw materials and markets for the manufactured goods. Britain allows the colonies to control their own internal affairs.

French-Indian War (1756 - 1763)

  • Britain is at war with France in Europe (Seven Years’ War) and on North America.
  • Britain wins the war but at a heavy cost.
  • Britain now expects the colonies to pay the cost of the war and for their own future defense.
  • Thus, Britain enforces new taxes to replenish the king’s treasury.
    • Sugar Act (1764)
    • Stamp Act (1765)
    • Townshend Acts (1767)

First Continental Congress (Fall 1774)

  • Meets in Philadelphia.
  • Included delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia).
  • Resolves to send a Declaration of Rights to the king in protest of Britain’s policies.
  • Creates the CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION for implementing a trade boycott with Britain.
  • By imposing economic sanctions, they could pressure Britain into addressing the grievances of the colonies, in particular repealing the Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament. Aims to alter Britain's policies toward the colonies without severing allegiance.
  • Agrees to meet again in the following year.

Road to Independence 1770 - 1776

  • As the colonists protest, violence and conflict begin to break out.
  • After Boston Massacre (1770) and Boston Tea Party (1772), Britain passes a series of punishing acts collectively known as the COERCIVE (or INTOLERABLE) ACTS.
  • In response, the colonies begin to unite in an effort to influence the British government and to exercise dissatisfaction with British policies.
  • More colonists are convinced that British Parliament intends to take away their freedom.
  • Parliament is determined to bring its unruly American subjects to heel.
  • Britain begins to prepare for war in early 1775.
  • April 1775: The first fighting breaks out in Massachusetts at Lexington & Concord.

Second Continental Congress (1775 - 1781)

  • May 1775: The Second Continental Congress meets (one month after the battles of Lexington and Concord).
  • This Congress becomes America’s 1st national government.
  • The delegates adopt strict rules of secrecy to protect the cause of American liberty and their own lives.
  • Delegates from all 13 colonies are present.
  • June 1775: Creates the Continental Army and appoints Washington as its commander-in-chief.
  • August 1775: King George III declares the colonists “in a state of open and avowed rebellion.”
  • January 1776: The publication of Thomas Paine’s stirring pamphlet Common Sense lights a fire under this previously unthinkable idea so the movement for independence is now in full swing.
  • In less than a year, most of the delegates abandon hope of reconciliation with Britain.
  • June 1776: Richard Henry Lee (Virginia) introduces a resolution “that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states.”
  • They appoint a COMMITTEE of FIVE to write an announcement explaining the reasons for independence.

Drafting the Declaration of Independence (June 1776)

  • The Committee of Five includes Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), John Adams (Massachusetts), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), and Roger Livingston (New York)
  • Jefferson takes the lead on the draft, borrows freely from existing documents like the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and incorporates accepted ideals of the Enlightenment.
  • Jefferson later explains that “he was not striving for originality of principal or sentiment” but instead hoped his words served as an “expression of the American mind.”

Declaration of Independence

  • Is designed for multiple audiences: the King, the colonists, and the world.
  • Is also designed to multitask: to rally the troops, to win foreign allies, and to announce the creation of a new country.

Structure

  • Divided into 3 parts:
    • A theory of government based on social contract and natural rights
    • A list of grievances against the king and “others” (Parliament)
    • A statement of colonial unity and separation from Britain

Section 1

  • Supports and provides the foundation for popular sovereignty (people rule).
  • Declares the causes that force them to the separation.
  • States the Declaration’s main purpose
  • Explains the colonists’ right to revolution.
  • Congress must prove the legitimacy of its cause.
    • It has just defied the most powerful nation on Earth.
    • It needs to motivate foreign allies to join the fight.
  • 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.
    • Given by God, not the king.
    • Based on Locke’s “life, liberty, and property”
  • That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
    • Governments are created by men, not the divine right of kings
  • That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government
    • If a government does not act on behalf of the people, the people have not only a right, but a duty, “to alter or to abolish” the government.
  • These stirring words are designed to convince Americans to put their lives on the line for the cause.
  • Separation from the mother country threatens their sense of security, economic stability, and identity.
  • Jefferson is seeking to inspire and unite them through the vision of a better life.

Section 2

  • The middle section goes on to proclaim a right to rebel against and replace an unjust government.
  • Provides an extensive list of “repeated injuries and usurpations” to justify the separation. The list of 27 complaints against King George III constitutes the proof of the right to rebellion.
  • The Declaration is simply a “breakup letter.”
  • We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved

Section 3

  • Colonial unity and separation from Britain
  • The most important and dramatic statement comes near the end: “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.”
  • It declares a complete break with Britain and its King and claims the powers of an independent country.
  • July 2: Continental Congress votes to declare independence.
  • July 4: Continental Congress ratifies the text of the Declaration.
  • The 13 colonies are officially separated from the British government, thus creating the United States of America.
  • Copies are quickly made and distributed.
  • One copy crosses the Atlantic, reaching King George III months later; the official British response scolds the “misguided Americans” and “their extravagant and inadmissible Claim of Independency.”

The Revolutionary War (1776 - 1781)

  • The Continental Army, led by Gen. George Washington, suffers early defeats.
  • The French join the American cause and help turn the tide of the war.
  • 1781: Battle at Yorktown, Virginia, concludes the war.
  • 1783: Treaty of Paris settles the terms of the war.

Articles of Confederation (1781 — 1789)

  • 1777 - 1781: Second Continental Congress convenes to create a confederation or “league of friendship” among the states.
  • 1781: The Articles of Confederation are ratified, creating the first constitution of the United States.
  • As we will see in a subsequent chapter, the Articles are weak and a new constitution needs to replace it.

U.S. Constitution (1787 - 1789)

  • May to September 1787 in Philadelphia.
  • James Madison (Virginia) “Father of the Constitution”
  • Thomas Jefferson is U.S. ambassador in France (witnesses the early stages of the French Revolution 1789)
  • George Washington presides over the Convention
  • Grand Committee: made up of one delegate from each of the states and it was instrumental in forging the compromises needed to work out the many conflicts.
  • 17 September 1787: The Constitution is complete and will be sent around to the state legislatures to ratify over next 2 years.

U.S. Constitution: Blueprint for Representative Republic

  • A relatively brief document
  • Sets out the structure and functions of this new republican form of government
    • Representative Republic: A collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense
    • Representative Democracy: People entrust elected officials to represent their concerns
  • Frequently vague and lacking in detail; the Framers anticipated that future adaptation will be necessary to adjust to real-world conditions.
  • Its simple provisions have been expanded and interpreted since its adoption, therefore, a “living document” and the oldest national constitution still in use today.
  • Preamble: “We the People . . .”
  • Article 1: Legislative Branch
  • Article 2: Executive Branch
  • Article 3: Judicial Branch
  • Article 4: Intergovernmental Relationships
  • Article 5: Amendment Process
  • Article 6: Supremacy of the Constitution
  • Article 7: Ratification Process
  • 27 Amendments (First 10 = Bill of Rights)
  • An Enlightened Document: Separation of powers, Government's power comes from the people, checks and balances, Guaranteed individual rights

Limited Government

  • Government is not all-powerful; government has only those powers given to it; principles of John Locke

Popular Sovereignty

  • The people are the source of the government’s authority
  • Declaration of Independence: “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”
  • Constitution: “We the People”
  • principles of Rousseau

Natural Rights

  • Basic rights guaranteed to all people and cannot be denied or restricted by any government or individual; governments exist not only to provide order (Hobbes), but also to protect the natural rights of citizens (Locke)
  • Declaration of Independence: “unalienable rights”

Separation of Powers

  • Power is separated among 3 branches each has its own powers and duties; each is independent of and equal to the other branches

Republicanism

  • People give authority to government and exercise their power by delegating it to representatives chosen by them through the election process; rooted in Ancient Rome (509 - 31 BCE)

Social Contract

  • A voluntary agreement among the members of society and the government that defines and limits the rights and duties between the government and the governed, according to Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.