Cleon Skousen’s The 5000 Year Leap described the twenty-eight fundamental principles which established the Constitution. It argued that application of these principles is absolutely necessary for successful function and advancement of the American government and people; it emphasized the importance of morality and virtue in a society of free people. An analysis of The 5000 Year Leap ultimately disproved Skousen’s claim that the fundamental principles which established the Constitution are responsible for the “five thousand-year leap”. The 5000 Year Leap was, in essence, educational; it provided the reader with an overview of the Constitution by recounting the twenty-eight principles with which the Founding Fathers wrestled to establish the …show more content…
He frequently quoted notable historical figures, including the Founders, Roman philosopher Cicero, Alexis de Tocqueville, and several others. Skousen wrote in the introductory essay, “[Our] Founding Fathers believed that the Constitution was destined to bless all mankind - and that it was ‘incumbent on their successors’ to preserve and defend our national charter of liberty (i).” It was apparent that the Founders firmly believed in the power of the Constitution’s principles to mold American society, and this idea formed the basis of the book. John Adams insisted, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government by any other (56).” This assisted in describing the necessity of virtue and morality within a society of free people. Additionally, the Founders undertook great measures to ensure a system of checks and balances was implemented by the American government. James Madison explained, “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny …show more content…
The foundation upon which all of his principles are laid was that our basic law originated in God; however, Skousen’s argument for this fundamental premise is futile. He fruitlessly quoted individuals that will be recognized as authorities to form a cogent argument; nevertheless, he failed in proving his view that the American Constitution is founded solely upon Biblical law. Although emphasized frequently throughout the book, the Constitution never implied that the existence of a Creator is necessary for freedom in a body of people. Skousen never once acknowledged to readers that Mormon theology is the source for many of his ideas, although his depiction of America is primarily dominated by his devout Mormonism. In this book, many fallacious quotations were used to support Skousen’s viewpoints. These quotations were blindly accepted due to the attached name without proper insight into the context of the quotation. It seemed as if Skousen frequently misinterpreted his sources purposely to authenticate his argument, often without proper justification or a well-reasoned argument. The audience was ultimately misled to believe flimsy assertions with unproven conclusions; Skousen achieved this by supporting axioms that will be widely accepted and by jumping to conclusions with which we have
Since its very conception, the Constitution of the United States has while holding great reverence, been a great topic of debate amongst the political scholars left to analyze it in all its ambiguity. Two such scholars, John Roche and Charles Beard, in their analyses of the Constitution aim to tackle a layer of the uncertainty: how democratic the Framers truly intended the Constitution to be. John Roche speaks in unquestionably high regard of the Framers in advocating that they so evidently compromised their own values in order to create a democratic document that would strengthen the US as a whole. Charles Beard conversely insists that as the economic elite of their time, the Framers were influenced primarily by their private interests to
When the American founding fathers etched the first words into the Constitution, they formulated the timeless document around three basic principles: logos, ethos, and pathos. Essentially, the Framers envisioned a society and country where free speech allows people to utilize these core fundamental principles as a symbol of American freedom following secession from the British. In fact, these core principles were first operated in a political scheme by the Athenians and Romans. But over many centuries, these principles finally gained recognition in a revolutionary setting when they were first employed by social theorists such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire. Following the Humanist Revolution, these same principles
In this paper we will discuss the different point of views on the revolutionary war period that lead up the creation of the constitution between Howard Zinn and Larry Schweikart. It is true that the constitution as created by the rich, however the rich were more educated than the poor at the time, making them the reliable leaders of the society. This said, the rich might have tweaked the Laws to their slight advantage. Schweikart explains the creation of the constitution in order to fulfil the needs of the population. However Zinn emphasizes the fact that the government is controlled by the elites who benefit the most form the foundation of the constitution.
Madison states several things in his papers that will be used in the United States Constitution. He says: “authority will be derived from and dependent on the society, because society is broken into so many parts, interests and classes of citizens…”, ”government must protect the weak as well as themselves.”. “Principles of justice” and the “general good” of the people are also mentioned.
Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists, a name referring to a balance of power between the states and the national government. They argued for a federal system as in the Constitution. James Madison claimed that the Constitution was less dangerous that it looked because the separation of powers protected people from tyrannical abuse. The Federalists compile a group of essays, known as The Federalist Papers. In No. 51, Madison insisted that the division of powers and they system of checks an balances would protect Americans from the tyranny of centralized authority. He wrote that opposite motives among government office holders were good, and was one of the advantages of a big government with different demographics. In No. 10, he said that there was no need to fear factions, for not enough power would be given to the faction forming people; thus, they wouldn't become tyrannical. Hamilton, in No. 84, defended the Constitution with the case that the Constitution can be amended by representatives, who are there to represent the citizens' interests.
It was established for the United States to have a document based foundation for the country to be run on. These Enlightenment thinkers got our founding fathers John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington all questioning God, Nature and Society. John Locke inspired our founding fathers to state in the document that all power should lie within out people. John Locke believed all people should have right to choose their leader. Montesquieu’s idea was also used in the United States Constitution. Montesquieu believed in the power of checks and balances, which means that not one branch of government gets too much power. Rousseau’s ideas were also presented in the United States Constitution. Rousseau’s idea was that all people get to vote for the president and congressmen. Other Enlightenment thinkers also have an influence on the United Sates Constitution. Voltaire’s ideas were also used he believed in religious freedom. The final thinker that is present in the structured law today is Cesare Beccaria. Beccaria believed that the accused have rights and that torture is unjust
In the making of the United States, there were many events that are important. This paper intends to highlight a few of those events including; Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers. Many events in America’s history helped to establish the United States as a free and independent country. The Declaration of Independence in particular explains the rights and freedoms that Americans. Each document is like a stepping stones that leads to the next and building upon the pervious document.
In 1789, the Confederation of the United States, faced with the very real threat of dissolution, found a renewed future with the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. This document created a structure upon which the citizens could build a future free of the unwanted pitfalls and hazards of tyrannies, dictatorship, or monarchies, while securing the best possible prospects for a good life. However, before the establishment of the new United States government, there was a period of dissent over the need for a strong centralized government. Furthermore, there was some belief that the new constitution failed to provide adequate protection for small businessmen and farmers and even less clear protection for fundamental human rights.
During and after the turmoil of the American Revolution, the people of America, both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, strove to create a new system of government that would guide them during their unsure beginning. This first structure was called the Articles of Confederation, but it was ineffective, restricted, and weak. It was decided to create a new structure to guide the country. However, before a new constitution could be agreed upon, many aspects of life in America would have to be considered. The foremost apprehensions many Americans had concerning this new federal system included fear of the government limiting or endangering their inalienable rights, concern that the government’s power would be unbalanced, both within
The constitution is the bedrock in which our country is based off of today. When it comes to learning and understanding the origins of our country the constitution is a highly important piece. This book goes into great depth explaining how the constitution was forged which makes its relevance to the course very significant.
Specifically, the idea that man is endowed with certain liberties that were granted by God and/or nature was advocated by the Enlightenment thinkers. Many people took aim at arbitrary governments and the “divine right of kings.” John Locke in return offered principles of constructing a constitutional government, a contract between rulers and the ruled. In Document 7, John Locke in The Two Treatises of Government stated that men consent to enter society in order to preserve their natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. The government should protect people's natural rights and if not, then the people can remove their consent because the government derives its power from the consent of the people. John Locke wrote during the time period of the Enlightenment; therefore, his thoughts were based on the emerging idea of individualism furthermore man's inherent rights and powers. Thomas Jefferson wrote in The Declaration of Independence (Document 9) that are all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain natural rights. The Declaration of Independence was written because of England's tyrannical rule over the American colonies thus, the citizens felt that their natural rights were being abused by the English government. Individualism was indeed formed in response to the skepticism of the Church as
James Madison was no stranger to opposition. In publishing an essay referred to today as Federalist Essay No. 10, Madison participated in a persuasive attempt to ratify the Constitution, a document he drafted and for which he is credited as its “Father”. Along with John Jay, who became the United States’ first Supreme Court Chief Justice, and Alexander Hamilton, who became the first Secretary of the Treasury, Madison articulates in his writing the necessity of the Constitution as a remedy for the extant ills of an infant nation recently freed from the grasp of distant monarchical rule. This young nation faltered under the first endeavor of organized government, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were designed during a period of emerging
The Constitution, when first introduced, set the stage for much controversy in the United States. The two major parties in this battle were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists, such as James Madison, were in favor of ratifying the Constitution. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists, such as Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, were against ratification. Each party has their own beliefs on why or why not this document should or should not be passed. These beliefs are displayed in the following articles: Patrick Henry's "Virginia Should Reject the Constitution," Richard Henry Lee's "The Constitution Will Encourage Aristocracy," James Madison's "Federalist Paper No. 10," and "The Letters to Brutus." In these documents, many aspects of the Constitution, good and bad, are discussed. Although the Federalists and Anti-Federalists had very conflicting views, many common principals are discussed throughout their essays. The preservation of liberty and the effects of human nature are two aspects of these similarities. Although the similarities exist, they represent and support either the views of the Federalists or the Anti-Federalists.
During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms. Assuring the people, both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison insisted the new government under the constitution was “an expression of freedom, not its enemy,” declaring “the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.” (Foner, pg. 227) The checks and balances introduced under the new and more powerful national government would not allow the tyranny caused by a king under the Parliament system in Britain. They insisted that in order achieve a greater amount of freedom, a national government was needed to avoid the civil unrest during the system under the Articles of Confederation. Claiming that the new national government would be a “perfect balance between liberty and power,” it would avoid the disruption that liberty [civil unrest] and power [king’s abuse of power in England] caused. The “lackluster leadership” of the critics of the new constitution claimed that a large land area such as America could not work for such a diverse nation.
Throughout history, America has faced disagreements that led to various complications, one of them being religious freedom. Americans claimed to have always supported religious freedom and that the First Amendment backed that up. However, according to David Sehat, this was only a myth. The myth he argued that there was a moral establishment that constrained religious liberty, therefore American religious freedom was only a myth. Sehat overstated this claim because there have been many historic measures that have shown American religious liberty, such as the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious movements, and religious liberty court cases.