Foundations Of The Us Constitution: Early Influences

The US Constitution, the oldest written national constitution in use, was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. It is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments, with the first 10 known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was written by 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the product of political compromise after long and often rancorous debates over issues such as states' rights, representation, and slavery. The ideas of unalienable rights and the separation of powers were largely influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers, like Montesquieu and John Locke, while the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was explicitly modeled after the Iroquois Confederacy.

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The US Constitution was influenced by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

The US Constitution, one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world, was influenced by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois Confederacy dates back several centuries, to when the Great Peacemaker founded it by uniting five nations: the Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, the Oneidas, and the Senecas. In around 1722, the Tuscarora nation joined the Iroquois, also known as the Haudenosaunee. Together, these six nations formed a multi-state government while maintaining their own individual governance.

The Iroquois Confederacy established the Great Law of Peace as its governing principle in 1142. Each nation maintained its own leadership, but they all agreed that common causes would be decided in the Grand Council of Chiefs. The concept was based on peace and consensus rather than fighting. The confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Confederacy, as were many of the democratic principles incorporated into the US Constitution.

The US Constitution was influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy's form of government, which was a stacked-government model. Each nation within the Iroquois Confederacy maintained its own council with Chiefs chosen by the Clan Mother and dealt with its own internal affairs but allowed the Grand Council to deal with issues affecting the nations within the Confederacy. The Clan Mothers have been compared to a high court; they serve for life, have been selected by consensus, and have the authority to remove council members.

The US Constitution's framers sought to borrow aspects of the Iroquois Confederacy's government that enabled them to assert the sovereignty of the people over vast geographic expanses. They were impressed by the Confederacy's ability to unify through mutual defense and conduct foreign affairs. The Iroquois Confederacy's democratic principles and governmental practices influenced the thinking of the framers of the US Constitution, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

The Founding Fathers were inspired by European Enlightenment thinkers

The Founding Fathers of the United States were influenced by a variety of sources when drafting the US Constitution, including European Enlightenment thinkers. The Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasised natural law, liberty, equality, progress, constitutional government, and the separation of church and state. These ideas spread across the Atlantic, fuelling debates and discussions that inspired revolutions, including the American Revolution.

The Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, John Locke, Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These Enlightenment philosophers emphasised the importance of liberty, equality, and natural human rights. For example, Hume's view that no high office holder in the government should draw a salary influenced Benjamin Franklin, who proposed the same clause at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Similarly, Kant's views on freedom of speech and religion were later embodied in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Rousseau's writings on political philosophy, including the belief that people would give up unlimited freedom for the security provided by a government, may have influenced Jefferson as he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

While the Founding Fathers were inspired by Enlightenment ideas, they also had reservations about the existing forms of government in Europe. Franklin noted that they had examined different forms of governments, including ancient and modern European states, but found none suitable for their circumstances. Jefferson agreed, arguing that most European governments were autocratic monarchies that did not align with the egalitarian character of the American people.

In addition to Enlightenment thought, the Founding Fathers were also influenced by other sources, such as the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. The democratic principles and governmental practices of the Iroquois Confederacy are known to have greatly admired by Franklin and other members of the Constitutional Convention. The Founding Fathers also grappled with the question of how to balance state power with a strong central government, with figures like Madison advocating for a middle ground that maintained state power while also "support [ing] a due supremacy of the national authority."

The Constitution was written by 55 delegates at the Constitutional Convention

The US Constitution was written by 55 delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia between May and September 1787. The convention was held to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The delegates created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.

The 55 delegates are considered the Framers of the Constitution, though only 39 delegates signed it. The states had originally appointed 70 representatives, but some did not accept or could not attend, leaving 55 who crafted the document. Almost all of the 55 Framers had taken part in the Revolution, with at least 29 having served in the Continental forces, most in positions of command. All but two or three had served in colonial or state government during their careers, and about 75% had been members of the Confederation Congress. Several had been state governors.

The convention was fiery and intense, with delegates bringing specific ideas about the role of government in the new nation. General George Washington, who had been unanimously elected president of the convention, oversaw the debates and helped shape the final document. While Washington made only one substantive contribution to the text, his presence provided a sense of focus and direction.

Another key player was James Madison, who came to the convention with a strong nationalist vision and was a driving force behind the proceedings. Madison's Virginia Plan, which called for a supreme national government, formed the basis for the coalition that dominated the convention. After the Constitution was written and signed, Madison wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to persuade states to ratify it.

Other notable contributions to the convention included James Wilson's desire for a single executive with absolute veto power, and George Mason's concerns about the amount of power given to the federal government and the convention's unwillingness to end the slave trade.

The final version of the Constitution was produced by the Committee of Style in early September 1787 and was voted on by the delegates. It was then inscribed on parchment, signed by 39 of the 55 delegates, and ratified by the necessary number of states. It came into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the US government ever since.

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The Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers

The US Constitution was modelled on the ideas of European Enlightenment thinkers, such as Montesquieu and John Locke, and the principles of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. The Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, a concept known as "Enumerated Powers Federalism". This means that the national government was given limited and defined powers, while the states retained all other powers.

The Constitution's Article I, Section 8 describes the specific powers of the federal government, which include the power to tax, build roads, and create lower courts. These powers are referred to as ""enumerated powers". The Tenth Amendment reinforces this federalist structure by stating that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people. This amendment protects state power by limiting the federal government's ability to act.

The Founding Fathers intended to create a unified national government with limited powers while maintaining state autonomy. They wanted to address the fears of anarchy and provide order and stability through a strong central government. This balance of power between the federal and state governments is a key feature of the US Constitution.

The federal system has evolved through four distinct phases: post-Founding, post-Civil War, post-New Deal, and from the Rehnquist Court to the present. The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately challenging, requiring ratification by three-fourths of the states. This has resulted in the persistence of undemocratic institutions that other democracies have reformed.

The US Constitution's federal structure, influenced by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Enlightenment thinkers, established a federal government with specific enumerated powers. This system has contributed to the country's prosperity and contentedness, allowing states autonomy and the flexibility to experiment with government programmes.

The Founding Fathers wanted a strong central government to provide order and stability

The US Constitution was influenced by a variety of sources, including European Enlightenment thinkers, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the British government. The Founding Fathers, an elite class, wanted to create a strong central government that would provide order and stability, moving away from the weak central government that had existed under the Articles of Confederation. They sought to prevent "mob rule" and debated how the new government should be structured, ultimately settling on a republican form of government.

James Madison, a key figure in this process, believed that a strong central government was necessary to maintain order and stability. He proposed a "middle ground" that would uphold the supremacy of the national authority while allowing states to maintain some power. Madison argued that a large republic would counterbalance various political interest groups and prevent oppression by a single group. He and his allies, known as nationalists, successfully persuaded others that any new constitution should be ratified by the people rather than by Congress or state legislatures.

The Founding Fathers' desire for a strong central government was also influenced by their rejection of direct democracy. They did not trust the masses to make decisions and preferred a representative democracy where elected officials would make policies. This is reflected in Alexander Hamilton's statement on the merits of a representative democracy: "a representative democracy, where the right of election is well secured and regulated, and the exercise of the legislative, executive, and judiciary authorities is vested in select persons, chosen really and not nominally by the people, will, in my opinion, be most likely to be happy, regular, and durable."

The Founding Fathers' decision to create a strong central government was a response to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which had left the nation on the verge of collapse. They sought to establish a government that could effectively manage trade, currency, and laws that would be universally agreed upon by the states. Their efforts culminated in the creation of the US Constitution, which has been recognized as one of the most challenging constitutions in the world to amend.

The US Constitution was also influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy, with figures like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington admiring their concepts, principles, and governmental practices. Additionally, European Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu and John Locke influenced the ideas of unalienable rights, separation of powers, and the structure of the Constitution. However, Franklin and Thomas Jefferson had reservations about the existing forms of government in Europe, particularly the autocratic monarchies that clashed with the egalitarian character of the American people.

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