Influences On The Us Constitution's Framers

The US Constitution, written and signed in 1787, was influenced by a variety of factors, including the study of the Magna Carta, other federations, and the ideas of European Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and John Locke. The Constitution was also influenced by the desire to create a strong central government that could address issues such as disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, which had threatened to tear the country apart. The ideas of unalienable rights, the separation of powers, and the structure of the Constitution were also influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers. Additionally, there is some debate over the extent to which Iroquois Confederacy political concepts and ideas influenced the US Constitution.

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The European Enlightenment

The ideas and works of several European Enlightenment thinkers influenced the writing of the US Constitution. The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, was a cultural movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasised reason, individualism, and scepticism of religion and traditional authority. These Enlightenment ideals had a profound impact on the philosophical and political foundations of the US Constitution.

One of the key Enlightenment influences on the US Constitution was the idea of separation of powers. This concept, advocated by Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and John Locke, held that the powers of government should be divided into separate branches to prevent the concentration of power and ensure liberty. The US Constitution reflects this idea by establishing three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each with distinct roles and responsibilities.

The works of Montesquieu, in particular, had a significant influence on the drafters of the US Constitution. His book, "The Spirit of the Laws," published in 1748, explored the principles of political liberty and the separation of powers. Montesquieu argued that the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government should be kept separate to prevent tyranny and protect individual freedom. This idea resonated with the drafters of the US Constitution, who sought to create a government that balanced power and safeguarded the rights of its citizens.

Another Enlightenment thinker, John Locke, also left an imprint on the US Constitution. Locke's "Two Treatises of Government," published in 1689, articulated a theory of natural rights, including life, liberty, and property. Locke argued that governments were established to protect these inherent rights and that individuals had the right to overthrow governments that failed to do so. These ideas influenced the US Constitution's emphasis on individual liberties and its establishment of a government derived from the consent of the governed.

In addition to Montesquieu and Locke, other Enlightenment philosophers, such as Edward Coke and William Blackstone, also shaped the thinking of the Constitution's drafters. These philosophers explored concepts such as the rule of law, due process, and individual rights, which resonated with the ideals of the American Revolution and the desire for a government that protected the freedoms and liberties of its citizens.

Overall, the European Enlightenment played a crucial role in influencing the writing of the US Constitution. The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, individual rights, and limited government power provided a philosophical foundation for the drafters of the Constitution as they sought to create a just and equitable system of government that protected the freedoms and liberties of the American people.

The Iroquois Confederacy

The constitutional framers, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, admired the concepts, principles, and governmental practices of the Iroquois Confederacy. In a 1751 letter, Franklin described the need for the 13 colonies to form a "voluntary Union" similar to that of the Iroquois Confederacy. Additionally, descriptions of Native American governments, including the Iroquois Confederacy, appear in the three-volume handbook John Adams wrote for the Constitutional Convention, surveying different types of governments and ideas about government.

Magna Carta

The US Constitution was a federal constitution that drew influence from several sources, including the Iroquois Confederacy, the study of other federations, both ancient and extant, and the European Enlightenment. However, one of the most significant influences on the US Constitution was the Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta, or "Great Charter", was a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England in 1215. It was Europe's first written constitution, and it curbed the monarch's power, which had previously been considered absolute. The Magna Carta introduced legal concepts that would persist over time and influence American law. For example, it provided protections for the clergy and nobility, assuring them protection from illegal imprisonment and access to swift justice, an early form of due process. It also established a council of barons as a predecessor to Parliament, which monitored the king's actions and ensured he abided by the law.

The Founding Fathers of the United States admired the Magna Carta's rebellious nature against the English throne and the ideas it came to represent. While the actual text of the Magna Carta was mired in medieval law and outdated customs, it symbolised individual liberty and the natural rights of man against an oppressive or unjust government. The phrase "by the law of the land", which was used in all American documents prior to the Constitution, originated from the Magna Carta. The Founding Fathers viewed themselves as creating a Magna Carta for a new era.

The influence of the Magna Carta can be seen clearly in the US Constitution and its first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. The Due Process Clause of the Constitution, for example, was partly based on the Magna Carta. The Eighth Amendment, which prohibits excessive bail and fines, can be traced back to the 20th clause of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta's legacy is also reflected in the US Constitution's protection of individual liberty and justice and its restrictions on the powers of the government.

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The Articles of Confederation

The Articles established a weak central government, which prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. It 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 states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the national Congress, which was empowered to make war and peace, negotiate diplomatic and commercial agreements with foreign countries, and resolve disputes between the states.

The Articles were a flawed compromise, but most delegates believed that it was better than an absence of formal national government. The first state to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777, and 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779. However, Maryland refused to go along until the landed states, especially Virginia, ceded their claims west of the Ohio River to the Union. Maryland finally ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781, and Congress was informed on March 1, officially proclaiming the Articles of Confederation to be the law of the land.

Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse due to the limitations of the Articles. Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787.

The Declaration of Independence

The founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, played pivotal roles in both the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent formation of the US Constitution. These individuals shared a common goal of creating a government that protected individual liberties and ensured justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, and general welfare.

The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States, became apparent in the years following the Revolutionary War. The Articles created a weak central government, giving most of the power to the state governments. This led to disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young nation apart.

Influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and John Locke, the founding fathers sought to establish a government that guaranteed unalienable rights and separated powers. They turned regional commercial conferences into a national constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787, marking the beginning of the Constitutional Convention. This convention, which included delegates from various states, debated and ultimately created a powerful central government with a system of checks and balances to ensure that no single branch held too much power.

The US Constitution, written and signed in 1787, was a groundbreaking document that put governance directly into the hands of the people. It established a federal government with three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it came into operation in 1789, with the first ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights, protecting individual liberties and restricting government powers.

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