short-essay-2-govt-421-grade-a Essays 2019.pdf

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Short Essay 2- GOVT 421 - Grade: A

American Constitutional History (Liberty University)

empire through the Declaration of Independence in what will prove to set in motion a chain of

events that concludes in the rise of democracy in the western world. The document drafted by the

Framers served two roles. The first was to announce the departure from England and the second

was to define the philosophical justification for the succession itself. The main ideas that shaped

the Declaration of Independence included the theory that all men were created equal and entitled

to certain inalienable rights, and the concept of limited government as according to the founders,

men are entitled to abolish their government if it fails to fulfill its obligations. Ultimately, these

concepts both were derived from the theory of natural law and supported through scripture.

main ideas and philosophical thought woven within the founder’s reasoning for drafting the

Declaration of Independence were dominated with principles of equality, natural law, limited

government and contract theory.

importance that all men were equal and that each individual inherently held basic human rights

that could not be taken away by a government. As such, the Declaration of Independence

established the Christian founded argument that Britain’s authority over the American colonies

was invalid because England denied basic rights guaranteed by God. Thomas Jefferson,

alongside of all the others who signed the Declaration, argued that basic rights are universal and

exist despite whether a government wished to uphold them or not as people, "are endowed by

their Creator with certain inalienable rights." This emphasis on equality and limited government

has defined the early beginnings of the country.

government which was brought from Europe by the Pilgrims and reinforced by philosophers like

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke (p.77 & p. 107). 1 The contract theory states that man creates

government in order to seek safety out of the grim reality of the state of nature. For Thomas

Hobbes, man created government to escape the realities of the state of nature. In his view, life

without government would be “brutish and short” due to the depravity of man; while John Locke

advocates that government is created to protect property rights.2

insurmountable to ignore.

Independence is that God endowed mankind with rights and that governments are instituted by

men. The Bible is the source of this distinction as according to Scripture no person, even a king,

lives above the law of God (Deuteronomy 17:14-19, Exodus 18, and 1 Samuel 8).

(Romans 13:1)

principles largely influenced the creation of the Declaration of Independence.4 In fact, “the most

often cited [source] by the founding fathers was the Bible” (p.51).5 Additionally, the founding

fathers were heavily influenced by the writings of Sir William Blackstone and John Locke, both

whom referenced God throughout their work (p.56 – 61)6 . In the Blackstone commentaries, for

example, the founders read that God was the source of all law and that the purpose of judges

were to apply rather than make law, which were both founded on biblical concepts. Blackstone’s

views of the role of judges ultimately is rooted in natural law and that God has already revealed

founders were highly influenced by Judeo-Christian principles which can be seen in the founders

references of a “creator”, promotion of equality of man, and the importance of legitimate

governments obeying natural law.

to the Constitutional Principles of American Government, initially there was an overwhelming

sense of disagreement on deciding whether their rights ought to be based on the laws of nature,

the English common law, or American colonial charters (p.124).10 These disagreements among

the colonists would eventually lead to many issues during the drafting of the Declaration of

Independence. In fact, while the preamble references the right of revolution founded on natural

rights, the enumerations of rights listed within the Declaration of Independence only mentioned

constitutional, common law, and charter rights (p.124).11 Partly due to the disagreements of what

Independence is the absolute guarantee of equality, even for white men. While it is true that the

founders involved a crude sense of equality during the draft of the Declaration of Independence

in their writing that, “all men are created equal,” the founders in no way promoted coercion on

the basis of creating more equality. Therefore, those forms of equality that are not clearly

compatible with individual liberty were not supported by the founders.

political tradition that developed from the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, just like the

modern day, American society was very much diversified, and inequalities respecting wealth,

property ownership, education, and social status were part of natural order.

history of the United States, the main themes of the Declaration of Independence such as the

notion that all men were created equal and limited government were influenced by the

fundamentals of Christianity.

References

Bishop Mattera. The Christian Influence Behind the Declaration of Independence,

Charisma News (2013) Referenced at https://www.charismanews.com/us/40100-the-christian-

influence-behind-the-declaration-of-independence.

James McClellan. Liberty Order and Justice 3rd ed. Liberty Fund (2000).