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American Constitutional Heritage
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American Constitutional Heritage
Essay #1
Savannah Nalls
GOVT 421
Liberty University
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Within James McClellan’s work, Liberty, Order, and Justice, McClellan advocates that
“the American Constitution is an evolutionary document rather than a revolutionary,” one as it
embraces some of the principles developed through practical experience of the country’s colonial
age and foundational history.1 The American Constitution was formed from a melting pot of
Greco-Roman and English common-law tradition as proven by the principles of political theory
and human rights laid out within the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower
Compact, and the Fundamental Order of Connecticut, which all have components to them that
can be found woven into the American governmental structure.
I. Greco-Roman Tradition Influence on America
The Framers of the American Constitution had learned from the experience of Greece,
Rome, England, and scripture that all forms of government are vulnerable to corruption due to
the inherent sinfulness of mankind. Additionally, because most of the Framers read works from
authors such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero; all philosophers who spent
most of their career writing about ancient Greek and Roman society, the doctrines of
republicanism, political virtue, and the theory of checks and balances would ultimately transfer
to the American system of government.1 One such example of the influences of these societies
can be found in the way the first president of the United States chose to lead the country. In fact,
George Washington patterned his conduct in war and politics on that of Cincinnatus, the great
Roman patriot and statesman who never sought power for himself.1
While many of the founders were influenced by the positive factors of governance and
leadership displayed by the Romans and the Greeks, they also analyzed its history to discover the
empire’s pitfalls. In fact, Thomas Jefferson once wrote that, “History informs us what bad
1 McClellan, James. Liberty, Order, & Justice 3rd ed. The Liberty Fund, 2000.
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government is”. One example of this was the grim consequences of political centralization under
the Roman Empire which resulted in many Framers believing that the American government
should be federal rather than central.
II. English Tradition Influence on America
The founders were stark components of the concept that those who forget the mistakes of
the past are bound to repeat it and as such constructed a system of government that would not
create some of the same issues that their mother country, England had. One of the gravest
mistakes of England of course, is that its monarchial system of government neglected to account
for the depravity of human nature. Another issue was the fact that the rule of law was constantly
changing, especially after a new king for the country was named.
However, while the American founders believed that the extreme changes of policies and
regulations experienced under England was mostly negative, it also formed a notion that lasting
governments would need to be able to adapt to modern issues as, “change is the means of
[government] preservation”. Additionally, the English Constitution, the English Charters, and the
English common-law legal system had significant influence on American constitutional
development.
American views on representative government and civil liberties were all born out of the
English experience which can be shown through America’s implementation of some of the
principles of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, and the
Fundamental Order of Connecticut.
a. Magna Carta
The Magna Carta exercised a strong influence on the United States because of what
eighteenth-century Americans believed the document signified. American citizens alike held the
Magna Carta to be the people’s reassertion of rights against an oppressive ruler, a fact that would
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mold into a legacy that captured American distrust of concentrated political power.2 It also more
explicitly affected the creation of the Constitution in the documents mention of Habeas Corpus,
or the right to due process of a jury of his or her peers.2
b. The English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights marks a fundamental milestone in the progression of English
society from a nation of subjects under the “plenary authority of a monarch to a nation of free
citizens with inalienable rights”.2 This process was defined by a gradual shift which began with
the Magna Charta in 1215 and advancing intermittently as subsequent monarchs were compelled
to recognize limitations on their power. Ultimately, the establishment of the English Bill of
Rights was hastened by repeated abuses of power by King James II during his reign from 1685 to
1689.3
The provisions found within the English Bill of Rights heavily influenced the American
Bill of Rights and even the state Bill of Rights for Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Massachusetts.
The states’ Bill of Rights set forth many of the same rights within the English document such as
requiring a trial by jury, search warrants, protection from cruel and unusual governments, and
freedom of the press.4
c. The May Flower Compact
The May Flower Compact was a set of rules for self-governance established by the
English settlers who traveled to the New World on the Mayflower. It was the first governing
2 Kelly, Martin. The Importance of the Magna Carta to the US Constitution, Thought Co. March 4, 2018.
3 Wilkes, Donald. The English Bill of Rights and its Influence on the United States Constitution, Alexander Campbell King Law Library, June, 27, 2017.
4 Id. McCellan, James.
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Document of the colonies. While it was not as an in-depth as the American Constitution, it did
form as an agreement to a crude form of government as well as a voluntary submission to the
will of the majority and as such was a small baby step towards a representative government.
d. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders, inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May 31, 1638,
provided the foundation for the government of Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662.5 The
Orders served as an important milestone in the growth of a democratic and representative
government as it utilized three separate branches of government unlike the one in England.
III. Covenant, Charter, then Constitution
From the earliest beginnings of colonial America, the people and organizations
compromising the United States have bound themselves together through covenants to erect their
new world order and deliberately followed biblical precedents to establish that end. Covenantal
ideas were first brought to the colonies by the Pilgrims and Puritans through writings such as the
The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. The May Flower Compact
in particular allowed for American colonists to get used to being governed by a written charter
which defined the context of their politics that could be eventually amended, if necessary. 6
After the creation of the Mayflower Compact, the Charter of 1606, also known as the
First Charter of Virginia, was established by King James I for the sole purpose of spreading the
5 Andrews, Charles McLean. Connecticut’s Place in Colonial History; an Address Delivered Before the Connecticut Society of Colonial Wars, 28 May 1923. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1924.
6 Hyndeman, Charles & Lutz, Donald. Colonial Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History ed. Liberty Fund, 1998.
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Christian religion.7 Ultimately, the charter assigned land rights to the colonists and granted those
born in the colonies all of the rights of British citizens. Consequently, the Charter resulted in
increased migration to America from England, which would gradually result in the population
having enough citizens to be capable of disbanding from England altogether. Had these rights not
been given, it is doubtful that people who were originally born in England would decide the
American colonies would be a suitable place to move to long term. Of course, the Virginia
Charter (as well as biblical principles) would also eventually support the Constitution’s
protection of and ultimate right of personal property.
Ultimately, the Framers of the United States Constitution did not have to “reinvent the
wheel,” completely as many of the foundations of the document were derived from Greek,
Roman, and English traditions. The Framer’s creation of a governmental structure which utilizes
checks and balances as well as a written form of Constitution which can be amended has allowed
for the country to have the longest living Constitution in the world.
7 King James I. The First Charter of Virginia, 1606.
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References
Andrews, Charles McLean. Connecticut’s Place in Colonial History; an Address
Delivered Before the Connecticut Society of Colonial Wars, 28 May 1923. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1924.
King James I. The First Charter of Virginia, 1606.
Kelley Martin. The Importance of the Magna Carta to the US Constitution, Thought Co.
March 4, 2018.
Charles Hyndeman, & Donald Lutz. Colonial Origins of the American Constitution: A
Documentary History ed. Liberty Fund, 1998.
James McClellan. Liberty, Order, & Justice 3rd ed. (The Liberty Fund) 2000.
Donald Wilkes. The English Bill of Rights and its Influence on the United States
Constitution (Alexander Campbell King Law Library) June, 27, 2017.
