When our Founding Fathers first declared their separation from Great Britain in 1776, they affirmed some basic rights and freedoms for the people of the United States, including the rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Later, the Constitution, which laid the framework for the U.S. government, guaranteed U.S. citizens these rights and more, including the right to free speech, press, and worship. The Constitution also introduces some of the essential responsibilities of citizens, including obeying laws, paying taxes, and participating in democratic processes. These enable the government to protect our rights. Where did these ideas come from? The government principles laid out in the Constitution, as well as the rights the guarantee …show more content…
government is, of course, constitutionalism. Constitutionalism, which states that government is bound by the same laws and constitutional principles as citizens, is important because the government systems and citizen’s rights laid out by the Constitution are rendered useless if the government is free to disregard them. The idea that government cannot rule with disregard to the laws was illustrated in the Magna Carta, written by English citizens in the early 13th century as a response to the tyrannical rule of King John. It was the first document to place limits on the power of the monarch and subject him, and all future monarchs of England, to the same laws that applied to ordinary citizens. Another important component of the Magna Carta was the guarantee of basic liberties for citizens. The Magna Carta listed some basic rights of citizens and insisted that these rights be respected and applied to everyone under the government (“To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice”). It was an inspiration for the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, which also guarantees certain rights for all citizens and is considered a fundamental part of American society. The Magna Carta influenced the U.S. Constitution in these ways and …show more content…
This concept was originated by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and notably, Jean-Jaques Rousseau in The Social Contract. The social contract theory describes the optimal relationship between people and government in a harmonious society: a group of people agree to give power to a sovereign in exchange for protection and promotion of their well being. Rousseau believed that in this model, citizens work in the best interests of the entire citizenry by following laws and assembling to exercise legislative powers: “The opening of these assemblies, whose sold object is the maintenance of the social treaty, should always take the form of putting two propositions that may not be suppressed…” Although the government outlined by the Constitution takes a different form than the one described by Rousseau, the idea of the social contract theory remains the same; the U.S. government uses its power to promote the welfare of the state and its citizens, while citizens help to ensure the well-being of the population by following laws and participating in democratic
After the American Revolution, America had earned it’s freedom from Britain. In order to govern this new country the Articles of Confederation was created. This document was flawed by the colonists fear of putting too much power into a central government. Knowing the document needed to be fixed a constitutional convention was called. The document created at this convention has been our constitution ever since. But even the Constitution was meet with criticism. One major concern when writing the constitution was how to protect the citizens rights. The Constitution did this through the preamble, the legislative process, the limit of presidential terms, the judicial branch, and the bill of rights.
1. Our great country was founded upon a high set of principles, values, and laws. Many of these are easily seen when looking at the United States constitution. The first ten amendments are what is commonly known as the Bill of Rights. This is good and all, but until the fourteenth amendment was passed, the Bill of Rights only was applied to the Federal government. The 14th amendment has a clause that says, "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." The Supreme Court ruled against “Total Incorporation”, but instead ruled in favor of “Selective Incorporation”. This meaning that the Supreme Court would define the constitutionality of the treatment of a citizen by the state.
The origins of the first Amendment date back to when the Constitution and Bill of rights were first being debated and written down. Thomas Jefferson once said, “A democracy cannot be both ignorant and free.” The American settlers desired freedom and a sense of sincerity, or openness. The harsh oppression the British placed on the settlers left lasting a lasting impression on the settlers’ minds. They used their familiarity and experiences with the oppression to form the ideals of the Constitution and the Amendments. According civilliberty.about.com, the father of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson, was somewhat captivated with the concepts of freedom of...
The Constitution lays out the rights and obligations of the newly formed United States government. But, what of the rights and obligations of its citizens? Starting in 1791, only two years after the Constitution was ratified, the Constitution began to evolve and this process continues to this day. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights outlines the protections citizens have from the government of the United States.
This great country known as Canada, is governed smoothly because of the agreements and rules that have been in place since the beginning of confederation. The Canadian Constitution is one example of these rules. The Canadian Constitution is not just one single documentation, it is a collaboration of documents that make up one enormous document (Dyck 261). The six basic principles of the constitution are: responsible government, federalism, judicial review, the rule of law, constitutional monarchy and democracy; which all helped to shape the Constitution and therefore Canada (Dyck 266).
Since the Dawn of time, man was had many beliefs from the belief of gods or a god, democracy and communism. In the beginning days of our nation (United States of America) the bill of rights was being created due to American Revolution and the weakness of the articles of the confederation. The articles of confederation were the constitution at the time for the United States of America before and after the American Revolution, which we fought against the tyranny of the British government. The American government at the time realized the Articles of Confederation was weak and need to be changed. This resulted in the bill rights being drafted and added into the US Constitution. But before the bill rights
The Bill of Rights was created as a listing of the rights granted to citizens, the Bill of Rights serves to protect the people from a powerful government. These civil rights granted to U.S. Citizens are included in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution as well. The Constitution replaced a more weakly organized system of government as outlined under the Articles of Confederation. John Locke was an English philosopher who lived during 1632-1704.
Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect our most basic rights as citizens of the United States, and although creating the Constitution was an arduous effort, eventually the new Americans came to an agreement over what was included. “The Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the Constitution — went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, when the state of Virginia ratified it, giving the bill the majority of ratifying states required to protect citizens from the power of the federal government.” (First Amendment Center). After the first amendment went into effect, all religious minorities were now protected from persecution, and people could freely speak their
While we have a constitution that lays out our clear cut civil liberties and all the rights we possess, other countries chose to restrict those freedoms. Due to the many advantages the Constitution gives each American citizen, the US has been able to keep this document intact as long as they have while other countries have to constantly restructure their government principles. This stability leads to greater efficiency in our legislative process and a strong sense of national pride. For a nation filled with differences and mixed opinions, the Constitution is a perfect fit. It was written as unbiased as possible to ensure that it was not limiting anyone or anything, instead, giving each citizen the ability to keep their government in check and grant freedom to everyone. During the time the document was written was when the Colonist knew exactly what it felt like to live in a world of oppression and unjust government. As a result, Madison and the other leaders at the time made it a goal to put the power in the hands of the people and make freedom an utmost priority. With an Unbiased approach to government that gives no advantage to one group or another, and with amendments that only help citizens take control, the Constitution is what the early colonist left Europe and died
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Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke produced two tantamount pieces of literature that acted as both commentary and guideline for their current government systems. While Rousseau proposed thoughtful explanations for an efficient government in his work entitled The Social Contract, they were seen as noxious to the society he was a part of. While Rousseau’s social contract served as commentary and guideline to, what he felt was, a corrupt government system, Locke wrote his social contract, The Second Treatise, in response to The Glorious Revolution of 1688, in hopes of a positive communal response to characteristics he felt would make an adequate government system. Although Locke and Rousseau have differing, but comparable, ideas on the social
Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed theories on human nature and how men govern themselves. With the passing of time, political views on the philosophy of government gradually changed. Despite their differences, Hobbes and Rousseau, both became two of the most influential political theorists in the world. Their ideas and philosophies spread all over the world influencing the creation of many new governments. These theorists all recognize that people develop a social contract within their society, but have differing views on what exactly the social contract is and how it is established. By way of the differing versions of the social contract Hobbes and Rousseau agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for a society’s protection and emphasizing the government’s definite responsibilities to its citizens.
John Locke’s social contract theory applies to all types of societies in any time era. Although, Jean-Jacques Rousseau did write during the Renaissance era, his philosophy limits itself to fix the problem of an absolute monarchy and fails to resolve other types of societies. These philosophers have such profound impacts on modern day societies. For example, the United States’ general will is codified in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, meanwhile individual rights are distinguished in the Declaration of
Is this constitutional? Mr. Kuhn. According to Tenthamendmentcenter.com, “the constitution is a document to protect our freedom by imposing law on those who wield political power.” Without such law, Americans would be under the constant threat of tyranny. Many people question whether the United States are upholding the Principles of Government established in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. On the other side of the debate, people say the we are not upholding the Principles of Government because they have been passing unconstitutional laws. However, it is easy to see that the United States is upholding the Principles of Government established in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence based on education, trade,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau founded the social contract theory in 1762. A government is typically formed through an agreement between a sovereign and their appointed leader. Under the social contract theory, the government is responsible for the well-being of their citizens. When a government becomes oppressive, the contract becomes illegitimate or void and society is supposed to begin anew (Sabino). Rousseau also made a valid point by explaining how humans in a state of nature are inherently peaceful. He determined that our instincts are strictly to survive, therefore, humans tend to avoid confrontation and sustain life. He even went as far as to promote the “Golden Rule”, do unto others as others do unto you