The 5000 Year Leap

: Summary Notes

PART ONE: STRUCTURING A NEW GOVERNMENT

The common notions of left and right in political philosophy ismisleading. More accurate is the yardstick introduced by theFounders measuring power instead of parties.The extremes were

Ruler's Law

(tyranny) and

No Law

(anarchy).The Founders sought the balanced center, which they called

“People's Law”

Peoples Law

reflected the system of the Anglo-Saxons andIsraelites, both of which had control resting primarily withfamilies and with lessening control approaching the ruler.The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt at People'sLaw but failed because they tended closer to anarchy.

The Three Headed Eagle:

•

3 heads represent the executive, legislative, and judicialfunctions of government

•

2 wings represent (1) the

problem solving wing

whichleverages compassion and (2) the

conservation wing

,which leverages conservation of resources andindividual rights. Jefferson's Democratic-Republican party represented the problem solving wing and JohnAdams' Federalist party represented the conservationwing.

•

The Founders recognized the need to maintain balance between both wings and guard against extremism oneither side.

PART TWO: THE FOUNDERS' BASIC PRINCIPLES1st Principle: The Genius of Natural Law

Cicero first explained

Natural Law

based on the premise that it isGod's universal and unchanging law governing the universe andthat man can and should, by reason, model his affairs according toit.

God's Law

= “right reason” which when understood equals“wisdom” and when applied to government equals “justice”,which binds people into a commonwealth.

2nd Principle: A Virtuous and Moral People

Public Virtue:

A special quality of human maturity in character where an individual will sacrifice his private interest for the goodof the community.Thomas Paine's

Common Sense

called on Americans to reject themoral corruption of Europe and his encouragement, coupled withthe early American moral reform movement, hastened the move toindependence.The Founders knew that their form of government depended onthe virtue of the people and that it had to be continually cultivatedin homes, schools, and churches.

3rd Principle: Virtuous and Moral Leaders

Since people are not perfect, they need the guidance of the mostvirtuous leaders possible who can use their private virtue to foster public virtue.The Founders believed the best, most virtuous citizens should pursue public service, which according to Thomas Jefferson,would create a “

natural aristocracy

”.The Founders wanted public office to hold the attraction of highhonor but recognized that it should not also be a means of high profit because that would attract people with less sincere motives.The Founders' beliefs in self evident truths gave them strongmoral character and which they carried to their churches, schools,and families. They also used their ability to reason to back up their beliefs with empirical evidence.

4th Principle: The Role of Religion

The Northwest Ordinance emphasized the need to teach religionin schools.George Washington felt religion and morality were necessary for prosperity.Religious education was restricted to those fundamental beliefswhich were common to all denominations, in what BenjaminFranklin called the

“Religion of America”

.Clergy stayed out of politics but their influence on the public became manifested in laws based on love of freedom.The Founders believed religion should be a state matter so thestates could have the authority to ensure religious equality for all.

5th Principle: The Role of the Creator

John Locke explained the how one can rationally arrive at theexistence of God, reasoning that since a person knows he exists,he can ration that something must have created him (andeverything else), and that this creator must be superior to be ableto create him, and give order to the universe.Since God is superior, he comprises at least all of the qualities of the people he created in his image, including cognition,compassion, and a sense of right and wrong.According to Blackstone, our laws depend on the foundations of

“Human Law”

(revealed by God) and

“Natural Law”

(knowable by science), which both comprise

“God's Law”

.The Founders believed God was benevolent and actively involvedin human affairs, so they often petitioned his divine assistance.

Central Illinois 9/12 Project: Thomas Jefferson Chapter www.centralillinois912project.com

6th Principle: All Men are Created Equal

The Founders recognized people are not alike, but can be equal inthe sight of God, in the sight of the law, and in protection of their rights. Society's job is to guarantee equality before the law and protection of rights rather than make people equal in every way.Minorities often have not acquired their equal rights, but this isdue to human nature. When they start as newcomers to the nation,they are often treated a second class until their persistence finallyleads them across the culture gap and they acquire the rights theydeserve. The black minority had a setback in this process when inthe 1960's a push favoring government gratuities, coupled withMarxist agitators, set back the progress of the reform which holdsthe real promise of equality.The 13

, 14

, 15

, and 19

amendments ensured equal rightswhile recognizing that government should not attempt to provide“equal things”.

7th Principle: Equal Rights, not Equal Things

The Founders recognized the only authentic power thegovernment holds is that which the people have delegated to it.Redistribution of wealth may seem benevolent, but since peopledon't already have the right to take each other's property, theycannot give that right to the government.Protecting the freedom to prosper meant not punishing the fewwho become very rich. As for the poor, they have the freedom toescape poverty through their independent effort.The Founders knew that government sponsored welfare was not asolution to poverty because it would suppress the incentive of those who receive it. They preferred Ben Franklin's method of

“calculated compassion”

which provided assistance only for aslong as necessary, encouraged people to help themselves, and wasmanaged at the local level. This, coupled with private charity,would be sufficient to help those truly in need.

8th Principle: Man's Unalienable Rights

The Founders knew

unalienable rights

were basic rights whichcome exclusively from God, do not depend on human laws toexist, and cannot be destroyed by human laws.In addition to unalienable rights are

vested rights

, which arecreated by the government and which the government can changeor repeal.The

Declaration of Independence

listed some, but not all, of man'sunalienable rights.All unalienable rights are based on the rights of personal security,liberty, and private property and since these are necessary to protect our lives, they are considered to be founded on the preeminent right to life.

9th Principle: The Role of Revealed Law

Unalienable rights need the protection of being enforceable under a code of divine law. God disclosed these through directrevelation: the

Holy Scriptures

and

Ten Commandments

, whichserve to preserve those rights.Unalienable rights are coupled with

unalienable duties

in theDivine Law. There are two types of duties: (1) Public, which aresupported by local or state ordinances and (2) Private, which areonly between the individual and God. Private duties should only be publicly enforced when they have a public consequence.God's revealed law encouraged “reparations” where after a crime,the offender, and not the taxpayers, must repay the victim.

10th Principle: Sovereignty of the People

England in the 1600's was governed by the

“divine right of kings”

which held that royal families had a God given right torule.The Founders, just like the Anglo-Saxons, believed instead thatthe people had sovereignty over their leaders and the authority toremove them.

11th Principle: Who Can Alter the Government?

The Founders felt governments should not be changed for lightreasons but if the government becomes despotic and destroys the property rights of the people, it forfeits its power and the peoplehave a right and duty to throw it off.Since government is established by the majority, only the majorityhas the right to alter or abolish it.

12th Principle: Advantages of a Republic

Democracy

: full participation by all. This doesn't work because people are too occupied with their daily life. Democracy alsooften results in turbulence and violence.

Republic

: government via elected representatives. Power isindirectly held by the people and can be effective over a widearea.America is a republic and not a democracy. The confusion beganwhen the Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) used the term“democracy” to mean socialism and after the Soviet Union put acast a bad light on socialism in the 1920's, the ISS renamed itself to “The League for Industrial Democracy”.The Army tried to preserve the correct terminology in its trainingmanual but Woodrow Wilson and early influential members of theISS equated America with “democracy”.After socialism failed following World War II, people continued tocall the United States a democracy, but used the term to mean aConstitutional republic, which was a different use of the term thanEurope was using.

13th Principle: Protection Against Human Frailty

The Founders knew there was a danger of a loss of rights whentoo much trust is put in leaders who might seem benign. Sinceleaders are human, they have a natural tendency to use the power of government for selfish ambition. Therefore, government mustcontrol itself, and does so by being bound by the Constitution.The Constitution will never be obsolete because it addresses theunchangeable qualities of human nature.

Central Illinois 9/12 Project: Thomas Jefferson Chapter www.centralillinois912project.com

14th Principle: Property Rights Essential to Liberty

Property rights exist because earth was given to man who had theresponsibility to subdue (control) it. Developing one of the earth'sresources requires someone to own it because he needs theincentive to do so and needs to be able to do so with security.The right to property is sacred because it is bound along with theother two great rights of life and liberty.Government's main purpose is to protect property rights and notredistribute property because those rights are essential to liberty.Care for the poor is the job of anyone

but

the federal governmentand private charity has always proven more effective.

15th Principle: Free Market Economics

Adam Smith's

Wealth of Nations

explained a free enterprise basedeconomic system and its place in Natural Law.Free enterprise is based on the four laws of economic freedom: (1)Freedom to try, (2) Freedom to buy, (3) Freedom to sell, and (4)Freedom to fail.Smith explained the laws of economic freedom must operateaccording to natural supply and demand and that the role of government is to protect free market competition.Adam Smith fell out of favor early in the 20

century wheninternational elites and the populist movement gained influenceand Marxist ideology became popular. However, the failures of socialism have since cause Smith's ideas to regain favor.The Founders intended Congress to have the sole authority over printing and issuing money but when the power to issue moneywas handed to private banking consortiums, they engaged infractional banking lending practices, which to this day has led toinflation, boom/bust economic cycles, and escalating debt.

16th Principle: The Separation of Powers

Polybius proposed a mixed Constitution combining the ancientforms or government: (1)

Monarchy

, with the power of a singleruler, (2)

Aristocracy

, where elite families protect wealth andresources, and (3)

Democracy

, which represents the interests of the people. The monarchy would be represented by the Executive,the aristocracy by the Senate, and Democracy by the Assembly.Baron Charles de Montesquieu proposed a mixture of: (1) A singleexecutive, (2) Legislative, consisting of an upper and lower house,and (3) Judiciary.John Adams was the key advocate for separation of powers andwith perseverance he successfully got it implemented, eventhough he did not receive appreciation.

17th Principle: Checks and Balances

James Madison championed checks and balances where theexecutive, legislative, and judicial branches were separate butcoordinated. No department of government can usurp the power granted to oneof the others and this helps protect the will of the people would be protected.Judicial legislation and executive orders are examples of usurpation.The system the Founders created for us goes beyondMontesquieu's formula and incorporates checks and balances atmany levels throughout government.

18th Principle: The Importance of a Written Constitution

From the time of Anglo-Saxon common law, England had nocomplete written Constitution, which was a weakness theAmerican Founders avoided.The

Mayflower Compact

was the first charter in America andevolved into the

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

, which mostclosely represented the eventual Constitution.

19th Principle: Limiting the Powers of Government

The first ten Constitutional amendments were written to protectthe unalienable rights from the power of central government(especially the 9

and 10

amendment, which specifically invokethe power retained by the people).The Founders balanced the federal government and the states sothe federal government could be strong enough to conductnecessary business but yet not encroach on the sovereignty of thestates.The 17

amendment changed the election of Senators fromappointment by state legislatures to popular election. TheFounders would disagree with this change since it threatens tomake popular acclaim become more influential than the interestsof the state governments.

20th Principle: Majority Rule, Minority Rights

Unanimous approval of government decisions would be ideal, butsince that is impractical, a simple majority is the next best option.A super majority is not a good idea because it carries the possibility that the government would capitulate to turbulentvoices in the minority.Although the minority doesn't hold the deciding voice ingovernance, it is protected by rights encoded in the law.

21st Principle: Strong Local Self government

When the English migrated to America, they brought the ideas of small decentralized government which ancient England had butwhich was being lost.The Founders were committed to protecting individual freedom by maintaining local self government with authority reserved tostates and the people.

22nd Principle: Government by Law, not by Men

The Founders subscribed to the Anglo-Saxon idea of

CommonLaw

, which defined everyone's rights and duties and gave the people the security of knowing the government was as bound tothe law as they were.

Central Illinois 9/12 Project: Thomas Jefferson Chapter www.centralillinois912project.com