Philosophies and influences on the founding fathers

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Philosophies and influences on the founding
fathers
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Natural Rights Review

• Natural rights philosophy
• Natural rights- life, liberty and pursuit of
  property
• Social contract- to protect everyones natural
  rights agree to create and live under a
  government and give it power to make and enforce
  laws
• Two Treatises of Government

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Purpose of government..

• To protect natural rights
• Right to govern by consent of people- explicit or
  implicit
• Right to revolt if do not protect natural rights
  of people

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What is a Constitution?

• Is a set of laws, rules, customs and traditions
  that sets forth the way a government is organized
  and operated.
• Constitutional/limited government
• Protect individual liberties and keep government
  powers in check
• Checks and Balances

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Types of Constitutional governments

• Monarchy, republic, democracy
• REPUBLIC
• Devoted to public good
• Political authority shared
• Political authority exercised by chosen
  representatives

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Classical Republicanism- American
republican

• Civic virtue moral virtue small, uniform
  communities
• Civic virtue vs. natural rights
• Representative democracy
• Common good protected by separation of powers and
  check and balances

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Individual rights

• Judeo-Christian moral principles
• Private morality, justice, liberty, dignity and
  worth of each individual person, place in
  society, other worldly interests
• Renaissance- greater interest in world around
  them, progress, change, individual opportunity

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Individual rights

• Reformation- return to original principles of
  Christianity, each individual equal before God,
  printing press
• Nation-states- development speeded by Renaissance
  and Reformation, citizens of states or country
  with rights and duties
• Capitalism- individual had more say over life

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Individual rights

• Renaissance and Reformation- greater emphasis on
  individual than previous history
• Age of Enlightenment-intellectual movement that
  celebrated human reason
• Voyages, scientific discovery- towards politics
  and society as well