Jonah Patel
The US Constitution was influenced by a variety of ideas, including the study of the Magna Carta, the theory of representative government, and the desire to protect individual rights and liberties. The Constitution was written and signed in 1787, during the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, which was convened to revise the existing government. The delegates, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, ended up creating a new form of government, with a powerful central government and a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch had too much power. The Constitution was also influenced by the belief in the separation of powers, as advocated by Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and John Locke, and by the desire to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, and provide for the common defence. The ideas and political concepts of the Iroquois Confederacy may have also influenced the Constitution, according to some scholars.
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What You'll Learn
The Magna Carta and other federations
The US Constitution was influenced by the study of the Magna Carta and other federations, both ancient and modern. The Magna Carta, which translates to "Great Charter", was a foundational document in English liberty, asserting the rights of the people against the arbitrary power of a ruler. The Due Process Clause of the US Constitution, for example, was partly based on the Magna Carta.
The US Constitution also owes a debt to the theory of representative government, the idea of a supreme law, and judicial review, all of which were influenced by the eighteenth-century interpretation of the Magna Carta. The fifth to tenth articles of the proposed amendments to the US Constitution, which correspond to the fourth to eighth amendments as ratified, also embody this tradition. They guarantee speedy justice, a jury trial, proportionate punishment, and due process of law.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, which was incorporated into the US Bill of Rights, also drew on the Magna Carta. The influence of the Magna Carta on the US Constitution was shaped by what eighteenth-century Americans believed it signified: a reassertion of the rights of the people against oppressive rulers. This interpretation of the Magna Carta was reflected in the inclusion of declarations of rights in most state constitutions, intended to guarantee individual citizens a list of protections and immunities from the state government.
The US Constitution was also influenced by other federations, including the Iroquois Confederacy, whose political concepts and ideas are said to have influenced the US Constitution. The Iroquois League, for example, is said to have influenced the Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin's plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies.
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Enlightenment philosophers
The US Constitution was influenced by a variety of Enlightenment philosophers. The idea of the separation of powers in the Constitution was largely inspired by 18th-century Enlightenment philosophers, including Montesquieu, John Locke, Edward Coke, William Blackstone, David Hume, and others. These philosophers were frequently referenced by the authors of the Constitution, and their ideas were evident at the Constitutional Convention.
Montesquieu, for example, advocated for a system of checks and balances to limit the power of the government and protect individual liberties. Locke's ideas on natural rights and the social contract theory also influenced the Constitution's emphasis on individual rights and limited government. Locke believed that individuals had natural rights, such as life, liberty, and property, and that governments were created through a social contract to protect these rights.
The Scottish Enlightenment, including the work of Hume, was particularly influential, according to historian Herbert W. Schneider. Hume's ideas on human nature, morality, and politics may have shaped the Constitution's emphasis on personal liberties and the role of government in protecting those liberties.
Other Enlightenment philosophers, such as Coke and Blackstone, contributed to the understanding of common law and the role of the judiciary. Coke, for example, emphasised the importance of due process and the rule of law, while Blackstone's work on English common law may have influenced the Constitution's provisions on individual rights and liberties.
The influence of Enlightenment philosophy can be seen in the Constitution's structure, which separates powers into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. This separation of powers, along with the system of checks and balances, ensures that no one branch has too much power and protects against the concentration of power that was common in European autocratic monarchies.
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Iroquois Confederacy political concepts
The Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, is a multi-state government formed by the unification of six nations: the Mohawks, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Oneida, the Seneca, and the Tuscarora nation, which joined in 1722. The Confederacy emerged from the Great Law of Peace, said to have been composed by Deganawidah the Great Peacemaker, Hiawatha, and Jigonsaseh the Mother of Nations. Hiawatha is credited in Native American tradition as the founder of the Iroquois Confederacy.
The Iroquois Confederacy is considered to have influenced the creation of the US Constitution. The constitutional framers, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, admired the concepts, principles, and governmental practices of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois Confederacy provided a real-life example of some of the political concepts the framers were interested in adopting, such as federalism and unification through mutual defense. Each of the Six Nations rules themselves while enjoying the peace and support brought by the Confederacy.
The Iroquois Confederacy's influence can be seen in the US Constitution's recognition of individual rights and the principle of the rule of law. The idea of a separation of powers in the Constitution was also inspired by Enlightenment philosophers such as Locke and Montesquieu, who were themselves influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy. The framers of the Constitution sought to borrow aspects of Iroquois government that enabled them to assert the sovereignty of the people, which they found lacking in the governments of Europe.
The Iroquois League, which existed prior to European contact, was a politically united Native American polity that exerted significant influence in North American colonial policy. The League's Council of Fifty ruled on disputes and sought consensus, and the Iroquois became skilled at diplomacy, playing off the French against the British. The political cohesion of the Iroquois made them one of the strongest forces in 17th- and 18th-century northeastern North America.
The US Constitution was also influenced by other factors, such as the study of the Magna Carta and other federations, both ancient and extant. The framers of the Constitution were also concerned with addressing the shortcomings of America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress rule-making and funding powers but lacked enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce or print money.
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State constitutions and declarations of rights
The US Constitution was influenced by the study of the Magna Carta, federations, and the philosophies of the Enlightenment. The Due Process Clause, for instance, was partly based on the Magna Carta, which was seen as a foundation of English liberty against the arbitrary power of a ruler. The idea of the separation of powers was inspired by Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu, Locke, Coke, and Blackstone.
The Constitution was also influenced by state constitutions and declarations of rights. In May 1776, the Continental Congress recommended that each colony create a new state constitution. These constitutions included provisions that protected individual rights from state actions. They articulated explicit declarations of rights, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the prohibition of excessive bail or fines, the right to a jury trial, and protection from loss of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The last of these rights was often expressed using the language of Chapter 29 of the Magna Carta. Most of the state constitutions included declarations of rights intended to guarantee individual citizens a list of protections and immunities from state governments.
The amendments to the Constitution proposed in 1791 were strongly influenced by state declarations of rights, particularly the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, which incorporated protections from the 1689 English Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta. The fifth through tenth articles of the proposed amendments guarantee speedy justice, a jury trial, proportionate punishment, and due process of law. These articles embody the tradition of state declarations of rights most directly.
The Constitution was also influenced by the desire to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but provided no enforcement powers and did not allow for the regulation of commerce or the printing of money. The disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. The Constitution aimed to address these issues by creating a powerful central government.
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Checks and balances
The US Constitution was influenced by a variety of ideas and historical documents. One of the key concepts that influenced the Constitution was the idea of checks and balances, which aimed to ensure that no single branch of government held too much power. This concept is reflected in the Constitution's separation of powers into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The legislative branch is responsible for making laws, while the executive branch executes or carries out those laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws and ensures that they are applied fairly and consistently. Each branch has its own set of powers and responsibilities, and they are designed to balance each other out, providing a system of checks and balances that prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful.
The legislative branch, for example, has the power to create laws, but the executive branch can veto those laws, sending them back to the legislative branch for changes. The legislative branch can override this veto with a supermajority vote, but this requires a significant amount of consensus. Similarly, the judicial branch can review laws passed by the legislative branch and deem them unconstitutional, effectively striking them down. This system of checks and balances helps to ensure that the law-making process is deliberate and that the interests of various branches are considered.
The system of checks and balances also extends beyond the federal government, with power divided between the federal government and state governments. This division of power helps to ensure that states retain some autonomy and that the federal government cannot impose its will unilaterally on the states. This aspect of checks and balances was particularly important to the founding fathers, who were wary of centralized power and loyal to their individual states.
The concept of checks and balances in the US Constitution was influenced by various sources, including the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the Enlightenment philosophies of thinkers such as Montesquieu, John Locke, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone. These influences helped shape the American understanding of individual liberties, limited government, and the separation of powers, which are fundamental principles in the US Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written and signed in 1787 as a charter of government to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn’t regulate commerce, or print money.
The US Constitution was influenced by the study of the Magna Carta, the common law, and other federations, both ancient and extant. The ideas of eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosophers, such as Montesquieu, Locke, Edward Coke, Hume, and William Blackstone, were also significant influences.
The US Constitution was shaped by the theory of representative government, the idea of a supreme law, and judicial review. It was also influenced by the concept of separation of powers, which divides the government into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial, with a system of checks and balances to ensure no branch has too much power.
Yes, there is a debate among historians about the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the US Constitution. American Indian history scholars Donald Grinde and Bruce Johansen claim there is "overwhelming evidence" that Iroquois political concepts influenced the Constitution, while others reject this idea.
The US Constitution has been a notable model for governance worldwide, influencing other constitutions through similarities in phrasing, borrowed passages, and principles such as the rule of law, separation of powers, and recognition of individual rights. It has also played a significant role in spreading democratic ideals and empowering citizens with civil rights and liberties.
