In the formulating of a constitutional democracy, the Framers wereinfluenced by two governmental theories: John Locke’s natural rightsphilosophy and the ideals of classical republicanism from the Greeks andRomans.
Locke’s philosophy pondered on the importance of individual rightsand self-interest. People who live under a certain government have a “social contract”with their political representatives, or the government. The have anagreement that as long as the government protects the natural rights of thepeople, then they consent to give up a portion of their freedom and abideby all the laws of the said government. George Washington, one of theFounders of the US Constitution, told members of the Tuoro Synagogue in1790, “Happily, the government of the United States that gives to bigotryno sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who liveunder its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving ittheir effectual support.
” However, what happens when the government stopsworking for it’s people. The Right to Revolution allows for assembly ofthe people to overthrow the government. Since the Constitution was really a compilation of all the knowledgeand wisdom from the past, it is very obvious that much thought and time wasput into the writing of this document. Its ideas and principles wereworking for the citizens of the United States up to this present time.
TheUS government is still the authority of the country and despiteoccasionally being questioned, has never been overthrown. We agree withWebster that the US Constitution is a collection of the wisdom for allages. Some people might think that there’s no way for it to include allthe knowledge and wisdom for all of time. Some of its addressed items areslightly indirect.
One such clause that contains enough elasticity to bebroad and cover a wide range of rights is the “necessary and proper”clause, which enables Congress to create the “necessary and proper” laws inorder for them to carry out the powers delegated to them by theConstitution. There are also the 27 Amendments to the Constitution thatwas written and approved to protect the individual and in the 14thSelective Inclusion Clause to demand that states now protect individualrights. This Constitution, with the help of the ninth Amendment of”unenumerated rights”, was left broad enough to cover every aspect ofcitizenship, government and the protection of natural rights. An empire of reason could be considered a system under which thecountry is run on sensible and realistic views and principles: views thataccentuate on common welfare, principles that are broad enough to refer toall people yet still strict enough as to restrict certain unreasonablebehavior, and views that address the people with a sense of authority thatstill leaves room to show respect towards its citizens. It is reasonableto assume the American Republic is an “empire of reason. ” Many great mindsworked together to create this “miracle at the Philadelphia Convention.
“Thomas Jefferson argued that although the Constitution was well written, itstill needed a Bill of Rights, which it later received. While Jeffersonwas President, his Secretary of State, James Madison, continued his workwithin the government. He highly approved of the idea of the federalgovernment being that natin’s ultimate authority over each individualstate’s government. Both ideas of Jefferson and Madison were incorporatedin the Constitution, and add to the sensibility and reason of theConstitution as a whole.
In 1990, Czech President Vaclav Havel imposedupon the US Congress, “Wasn’t it the best minds of your country. . . who wroteyour famous Declaration of Independence, you Bill of Human Rights, and youConstitution?.
. . those great documents. .
. inspire us all; they inspire usdespite the fact that they are over two hundred years old. They inspire usto be citizens. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocrat, believed thatdemocratic citizenship was the equivalent of enlightened self-interest. Hewas also extremely impressed by America’s experiment with democracy, andhow well it worked. With observations made by important figures from oldcountries, it is only fair that we call the American Republic, since it hashad such an impact on the world since it was established as well.
Nowonder we stand straight when we pledge allegiance to our country through aflag salute of a nation with liberty and justice for all.
