The Roots of the United States

The Roots of the United States Constitution 

The United States Constitution is often depicted as emerging wholly from the minds of the Founding Fathers, like Athena from the brow of Zeus. In fact the Founders were keenly aware of Greek, Roman and British history, and of all the writings of the Enlightenment philosophers, so they took the best ideas from these sources and avoided the failures of the remainder.

Starting with Ancient Athens, the Founding Fathers were very skeptical of Athenian democracy, where the assembly of citizens had the power to appoint generals and vote to initiate war. Aristotle wrote, "There are thus three forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional republic. The perverted forms of these are tyranny, oligarchy and democracy.  The constitutional republic is regarded as the best attainable form of government, especially as it secures that predominance of a large middle class, which is the chief basis of permanence in a state." Another factor in Plato's and Aristotle's rejection of Athenian-style democracy was Socrates death sentence by the Athenian Assembly. James Madison pointed to this in the Federalist Paper No. 55 as follows, "Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob". The result of the Founders' distrust of the immediate passions of citizens is very clear by the buffers built into the Constitution, especially when it comes to the selection of the President.

The next historical root of the Constitution is Rome. Rome had both an Assembly and a Senate, this was the beginning of a bicameral legislature. It split the executive power between two Consuls, one which acted as field general for their never ending warfare and the other to administer the government. However there was a weakness with the Roman Republic and it was the generals were given too much authority. Sulla, Marius and Caesar had marched on Rome to claim power for themselves so to prevent this from happening the Founders decided to give the executive power in one elected person - a civilian head over the military.

The third root of the Constitution was from British History. From this we have two important additions:

* The Writ of Habeas Corpus from the Magna Carta (1215 AD)

                    Habeas Corpus, literally in Latin "you have the body" is a term that represents an important right granted to individuals in America. Basically, a writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate requiring that a prisoner be brought before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue detaining them. The individual being held or their representative can petition the court for such a writ.

According to Article One of the Constitution, the right to a writ of habeas corpus can only be suspended "in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety." Habeas corpus was suspended during the Civil War and Reconstruction, in parts of South Carolina during the fight against the Ku Klux Klan, and during the War on Terror.

* The charge of treason requires two witnesses. This was dramatized by the trial.

                   In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. In English law, high treason was punishable by being hanged, drawn and quartered (men) or burnt at the stake (women), or beheading (royalty and nobility). Treason was the only crime which attracted those penalties (until they were abolished in 1790, 1814 and 1973 respectively)

The United States Constitution was written to protect the people of the United States from its own government, as well as to keep the government from having total control over the people. There were many events and historical documents such as The Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Federalist Papers which were influential in developing the United States Constitution.

The Founding Fathers searched for historical documents to inspire them while writing the Constitution. One such document was the Magna Carta, which was originally created in 1215.  This document was influential to the framers and the writers of the Constitution by acknowledging that no man is above the law. The Magna Carta also established the rights of the individual, which is the legacy of the Bill of Rights. The Magna Carta stood against Tyranny and protected the individual freedoms of its people.

In 1620, the Mayflower Compact created laws and offices which aided the people. It brought about the Lockean idea of government, which was created by John Locke. John Locke believed that Monarchy was a false form of government. He believed that liberty and political order could co-exist and that men should work for what he receives. He also believed that men are subject to Gods laws. His ideas influenced that the Constitution would be written for One Nation under God, that men are created equal and have the right to "The Pursuit of life, liberty and Happiness." The Mayflower Compact brought forth the idea that all men are created by God and belong to God, and the “government” should be separate from mans religious freedoms.

The Declaration of Independence had a very strong influence on the writing of the Constitution. The idea that everyone is created equal was included the Declaration just as it was in the Mayflower Compact. The Declaration secured these rights by stating that the government DID NOT have the power over the people, but rather THE PEOPLE ARE THE GOVERNMENT. If the government becomes corrupt, the people have the authority to change or abolish it and start over with a new government. The Declaration also broke the ties between America and Great Britain influencing the Constitution by creating principals of a fair and just government.

The Articles of Confederation influenced the writing of the constitution in many ways. Even though they did not create a strong National Government, they gave each state the rights to their own government and independence. The Constitution allows states to govern, however the Federal Government monitors and controls the states to be sure that the states are working for the people and not against them. The Articles of Confederation also gave the states the rights to their own courts and laws for which each state would enforce. Congress did not have the power to tax people, which influenced the writers of the constitution to allow congress to collect and impose taxed fairly so that the government could function for the people.

The Federalist Papers consisted of eighty-five articles asking for the ratification of the Constitution. The primary influence that the Federalist Papers had on the development of the constitution was that the authors of the letters wanted to assure limited government control over the people. They wanted the government to belong to the people, and the government officials to work for the people with their best interests at heart. The Federalist papers also offered warnings to those writing the Constitution, making them aware that big government could easily become corrupt. They wanted the Constitution to be a fair document that would protect the people and the Nation.

 The Northwest Ordinance (1787) The Northwest Ordinance was one of the few accomplishments of the Articles government.  It dictated how the western territories would be governed and specified “equal footing” terms on which they would be eventually admitted as states. It was an enlightened piece of legislation: the ordinance banned slavery in the territory, promised decent treatment of Native Americans, made the first national provision for public education, and safeguarded freedom of religion and other important liberties. 

As we have learned several different events and documents were influential in the process of creating the United States Constitution, which was created for the people by the people to insure the Freedom for all Americans to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. The Framers of the Constitution used the influence of The Magna Carta, The Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers and the Northwest Ordinance when writing the Constitution. They used these influences to protect the people of America from its own government, and ensure that every man and woman could enjoy the freedoms that come with being One Nation Under God.