William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

36 Chapter 2Chapter 2 || The Constitution and the FoundingThe Constitution and the Founding

Political Theories of the Framers

Although the leaders who gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to write the

Constitution were chastened by the failure of the Articles of Confederation, these men

still shared many of the principles that had motivated the Revolution. There continued

to be broad consensus on three key principles: (1) popular control of government

through a republican democracy, (2) a rejection of monarchy, and (3) limitations on

government power that would protect individual rights and personal property (that is,

protect against tyranny).

Republicanism First among these principles was rejection of monarchy in favor of a

form of government based on self-rule. Republicanism as understood by the framers is

a government in which elected leaders represent the views of the people. Thomas Paine,

an influential political writer of the Revolutionary era, wrote a pamphlet titled Common

Sense in 1776 that was a widely read^10 indictment of monarchy and an endorsement of

the principles that fueled the Revolution and underpinned the framers’ thinking. Paine

wrote that monarchy was the “most bare-faced falsity ever imposed on mankind” and

that the common interests of the community should be served by elected representatives.

The Founders’ views of republicanism, together with liberal principles

of liberty and individual rights, shaped their vision of the proper form of

government. The best expression of these principles is found in the Declaration

of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they

are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,

Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are

instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That

whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the

People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.

Three crucial ideas are packed into this passage: equality, self-rule, and natural

rights. Equality was not given much attention in the Constitution (later in this

republicanism

As understood by James Madison and

the framers, the belief that a form of

government in which the interests of

the people are represented through

elected leaders is the best form of

government. Our form of government

is known as a republican democracy.

The Founders wanted to create a

constitution that was general enough

to stand the test of time. Their

approach succeeded, and the U.S.

Constitution is the oldest written

constitution still in use today. However,

by leaving some passages open to

interpretation, they also set the stage

for conflict over the meaning of the

Constitution. This painting depicts

the signing of the document at the

Constitutional Convention of 1787.

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