Foundations of American Democracy

The United States of America has a unique origin story in that its creation was as much an experiment as it was a necessity. When European colonists began arriving on the shores of North America and creating colonies, a massive shift in human thought was taking place in Europe. This shift included new methods of political organization, religious outlooks, an emphasis on tolerance, a revival of republican thought, and leaps in scientific advances amongst other things.

As British rule over the American colonies began to squeeze the population and force resistance, those individuals at the forefront of the situation decided to apply these new ideas which had arrived on American shores and put them into practice through the creation of a new state. The United States of America, though a young country, has undergone drastic changes in its 200-plus years of existence. From slavery to the Civil War and World War 2 to becoming the sole superpower on the planet at the end of the 20th century, it has, for better and worse, pushed the Enlightenment Age ideas that birthed it past what could have been imagined when it was established as a sovereign state.

Unfortunately, The United States of America has a history marked by atrocities such as slavery, colonialism, and the eradication of North America's indigenous population. On the other end of the spectrum, The United States of America has achieved heights of success that were unrivaled until the 21st century. From putting humans on the moon to spearheading the creation of the United Nations at the close of World War 2, The United States has a rich history worth understanding and it all starts at the foundations!

Foundations of American Democracy Definition

The Foundations of American Democracy are the principles and ideals that form the basis for the United States government.

Foundations of American Democracy Review

American democracy was influenced by the historical events and ideas that were happening when it was created. The ideas that came out of the Enlightenment inspired the colonies to fight for independence and create a new country with democracy as its base.

Enlightenment Ideals

Many of the ideas that inspired the American Revolution came out of the Age of Enlightenment

The idea of Humanism had grown during the Renaissance period and inspired advancements in science, art, and philosophy. During the Enlightenment, those ideas translated into people starting to challenge the ideas of politics and governance.

The Social Contract

The Social Contract speaks to the idea that there is an implicit, invisible agreement between those who govern and the governed. The central idea is that those who govern a country, whether it be a king, president, or legislators, only have the right to do so because of the consent of the governed. The people will give power to the government in exchange for benefits like security, social welfare, and infrastructure. On the other hand, if the government violates the social contract, then the people have the right to revolt against the government.

A picture depicting William III sailing to England to take the throne after the Glorious Revolution. S. Fokke, CC-BY-4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons

John Locke touched on the ideas around the social contract in his Two Treatises on Government, which he wrote during the Glorious Revolution when the people of England overthrew King James. The term "social contract" wasn't coined until Jean-Jacques Rousseau published Le Contrat Social (The Social Contract) in 1762.

Natural Rights

The idea of Natural Rights also gained importance during the Enlightenment period. Up until that point, people didn't really have anything that was their "right" or entitled to them. Protection came from having wealth or status. The idea of Natural Rights said that everyone, regardless of their wealth or status, had a claim to the same rights. It also meant that no one could take away those rights. Philosophers like John Locke talked about the right to life, liberty, and property.

Limited Government

The Enlightenment saw people growing sick of tyrannical rulers who abused their power and mistreated their citizens. Monarchs used the idea of the "divine right" to rule to justify their power. Once people started taking back some power from the monarch through institutions like parliament, they started to prioritize limited government. It also meant that there would be consequences if a ruler or public official abused their power.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea of Popular Sovereignty also grew during the Enlightenment. Popular Sovereignty is the idea that government is subject to the will of the people. The ultimate authority for government comes from the people - not God or an aristocratic class.

Important Documents

The Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson is the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, which the Second Continental Congress approved on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence was a huge step for the colonies because it said officially that they were no longer a part of the British Empire and that they were going to fight for independence.

Some of the most famous lines from the Declaration are inspired by Enlightenment principles:

A depiction of the Declaration of Independence being presented to Congress. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Author: John Trumbull, CC-PD-Mark

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation were the first framework for the United States. Before the Constitution, the new country wanted to be a Confederation, which meant that the ultimate authority was in the state government. The central government didn't have much power outside of conducting the war.

The Articles of Confederation had some major flaws - while it preserved the sovereignty of each state, it didn't give Congress the ability to tax the states to pay for the war or much power to resolve disputes between the states. So, in 1787, Congress came together for the Constitutional Convention to develop a new constitution from scratch.

The Constitution

The Constitution marked an important shift in the United States from a loose collection of independent states to a country that was unified under one central government.

Federalism

One of the most important features of the Constitution is that it shifted the United States from a Confederation to a Federation. The Supremacy Clause made it clear that the federal government had the ultimate authority - not the state governments.

Branched Government

The idea of branched government became popular during the Enlightenment. The framers of the constitution didn't want to give any aspect of government too much power, especially an executive. But they also realized that under the Articles of Confederation, only having one governing institution (Congress) made it far too difficult to make decisions quickly and effectively. They created three separate branches of government, each with its own area of authority.

The Supreme Court (building pictured above) is considered the head of the Judiciary Branch. Kurt Kaiser, CC0 1.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Checks and Balances

A key component of branched government is that each branch has a check on the power of the other branches, which helps balance power among all three. For example, Congress can impeach the president, and the president can veto legislation that comes out of Congress. The Supreme Court has the power to determine whether laws passed by Congress or policies implemented by the President are constitutional, and the President gets to nominate people to the Supreme Court.

Republicanism

Republicanism is the idea that government should be run by public officials who represent the people. Instead of the people directly voting on policies, they vote for officials who then make decisions about policies. The framers of the constitution preferred republicanism to direct democracy. They didn't think common people could be trusted to understand or have enough background knowledge to make good decisions about policies. They only gave white men who owned land the eligibility to vote - it took almost 200 years to expand the right to vote to all citizens.

The Bill of Rights

One of the major debates at the Constitutional Convention centered around whether the Constitution should include a list of rights. The framers believed in the importance of individual rights, but some of them thought that it would cause too much controversy or that it wasn't necessary to spell out each right. However, some states said they would only approve the Constitution if a Bill of Rights was added. Congress passed the Bill of Rights in 1789, which included provisions like freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and rights of the accused.

Major Debates

Framing the new country's government wasn't an easy task, and some issues became so controversial that the Constitution almost didn't happen. The delegates all had their own ideas about what the new country should look like, especially when it came to the issues of slavery and federalism vs. antifederalism.

Slavery

The issue of slavery infiltrated almost every debate at the Constitutional Convention. As some northern states moved to abolish slavery, the southern states became nervous that they would try to end slavery throughout the whole country. The North moved away from industries that relied heavily on slave labor, but the Southern delegates continued to depend on forced labor for their wealth and livelihood. They made it clear that if the Constitution tried to end slavery, they wouldn't sign it. Even though many delegates thought slavery was wrong, they didn't want to jeopardize the southern delegates' support for the Constitution.

Compromises like the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Slave Trade Clause were seen as wins for Southern slaveholders.

Federalism vs. Antifederalism

Federalism and antifederalism were major themes throughout the Constitutional Convention and ratification process. The delegates formed two camps: the federalists wanted to have a strong central government to unite the country and provide oversight, while the antifederalists were worried about a strong central government that could gain too much power and trample their rights.

It also touched on the issue of slavery. A strong federal government could have the power to abolish slavery (which it eventually did as a result of the Civil War). Many Southern states felt that the best way to protect their livelihoods was to push for the right of states to make their own decisions about slavery.

Federalist delegates created the Federalist Papers to argue in favor of a strong central government. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC-PD-Mark

Foundations of American Democracy Summary

The ideals of the Enlightenment inspired the colonists to challenge British rule and push back on policies that they thought were unfair. They argued that Britain had violated the Social Contract and their Natural Rights.

When creating a new government, they wanted to focus on ideas like limited government, republicanism, branched government, and a system with checks and balances.

Major documents that formed the basis for American democracy include the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. While some of the Enlightenment ideals helped unite the new country, they still had some major debates to work through, especially around federalism vs .antifederalism and slavery.