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What were the Founding Principles?
Everybody talks about Founding Principles—sometimes called First Principles—but what are these bedrock values that formed the basis of the American Experiment. I believe there were five principles of government that were firmly held by all fifty-five delegates to the Constitutional Convention. These principles directed the design of the Constitution of the United States of America.
1. Rights come from God, not government
This Founding Principle is actually embedded in our 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.”
The Founders didn’t believe governments bestowed rights, nor were they an agent to protect rights—governments were the ones that abridged rights.
2. All political power emanates from the people
The Founders were strongly influenced by John Locke, who advocated government as a social contract. The term, will of the governed, encapsulates this concept, which means the people are boss. The power of the people is declared in the first three words of the Constitution, “We the people …” This principle is also the underlying basis for our Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
This principle dictated that conventions of the people were the only authorizing force to ratify the Constitution. Neither Congress nor the state legislatures had the power.
Delegate William Paterson, author of the New Jersey Plan, wrote, “What is a Constitution? It is the form of government, delineated by the mighty hand of the people, in which certain first principles of fundamental law are established.”
3. Limited representative republic
The Founders believed in limited government in the form of a representative republic. They distrusted a direct democracy, because they equated it to mob rule. James Madison constantly preached against any system that allowed special interests (factions) to gain control of the government. He showed that throughout history, majority factions tyrannized minorities, whether the minorities be based on race, wealth, religion, or even geography.
The Founders believed that to protect against government oppression, they must disperse power, and give each branch of government formidable checks on the authority of every other branch. By the end of the Constitutional Convention, the Founders also came to firmly believe that the states must act as a solid check on the national government. Last, monarchies had general power, so they would give the national government only delineated powers.
4. Written Constitution
If government is a social contract, and it has only limited power formally delegated by the people, then the contract—Constitution—must be in writing. The strongest proponent of a written constitution was Thomas Paine, who said, “[A]n unwritten constitution is not a constitution at all.” This may seem commonplace today, but England, the most powerful nation on earth, had no written constitution. This was different in America, however, where all thirteen states had a written constitution. This American tradition goes back to the Mayflower Compact. Our national heritage is a written constitution that sets the rules for governance between the people and their elected representatives. The Founders intent was that this contract would only be changed through the amendment process.
5. Private Property Rights
The Founders were influenced by Adam Smith, and were firm believers in private property rights. In their minds, private property rights were intertwined with liberty. True liberty would never allow the government to come at any time and take a person’s property. That would be Divine Right, which they had fought eight bloody years to escape.
James Madison said, “As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.” He meant that even if a person owned nothing else, he still owned his rights, which were the most valuable property of all.
The Constitutional Convention delegates didn’t agree on everything. In fact, they possibly only agreed on these Founding Principles. After all, they did argue for four months about the design of the government.
James D. Best is the author of Tempest at Dawn, a novel about the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
23 comments
I’m an 8th grade student in civics class and we are reading this article and answering questions on it. I just wanted to let you know that this article is cool and thanks for the info.
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Martin Reply:
September 15th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Thanks George! I guess you never know who might stop by.
You might also be interested in some of the crossword puzzles.
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Ember Reply:
October 16th, 2017 at 2:32 pm
I agree this article is amazing and it gave me great information for my essay. I am a 7th grade student and I just wanted to let you know that this really helped me with my essay.
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Hello James
This article is absolutely spectacular.
Thank you for supplying the general public with such stunning information. This article is easy-to-read and full of rich vocabulary.
I used this with my students last week and they learned a lot.
Thanks,
Lady Gaga
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Martin Reply:
September 15th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
James is out of town, but I’m glad you found this useful. You may also like some of the interactive crossword puzzles we’ve done. I’d be interested to know what you think. Click on the crossword category to check them out. There’s even a printable version.
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In these words, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness”, lie the roots of protection from tyranny. However, the right to re evaluate, even to address the overall unjust behavior of those seen as fomenting it, has been taken from the people in incremental parts until it is virtually impossible to exercise. I speak of the vote of ” no confidence” in the government. Well into the mid 20th century, the ability to cast a direct vote of no confidence was provided every citizen. The opportunity to perform this very basic form of protest no longer exists. What alternative do “we the people” have to exercise this right?
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Howard Nelson Reply:
November 6th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Various States permit recall votes of elected officials prior to the next election date. Elections for legislatures, President, Governor, … still occur.
Use your head; plan ahead with others.
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Augustus Reply:
December 10th, 2016 at 6:06 am
Peaceful protests and peaceful civil disobedience. Clarity about the government’s responsibilities and what happens when those responsibilities are not fulfilled.
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[…] read more – http://www.whatwouldthefoundersthink.com/what-were-the-founding-principles […]
The SIXTH principle:
“If anyone will NOT work, neither shall he eat.”
(Sluggishness and free-loading SHALL be abolished.)
P.S. I am NOT talking about needy, sick, disabled, old People.
I am talking about YOUNG and HEALTHY people
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Colin Derek Reply:
April 20th, 2017 at 4:09 am
No truer words of tyranny were spoken. Impose upon yourself all you want but refrain from imposing upon others! No matter how just you think it may be. Creator does not impose so neither may you! That attitude is exactly the one that has gotten our servant Government to become tyranny over its creator, the people.
Remember too that story of the man that hired two men. One at the beginning of the day and the other at midday. He paid both the same and when the man who had worked all day complained the man simply asked, “did you and I have an agreement?” Yes, “Then what business is it of yours as to my pleasure and to make another agreement with this man? (My way of expressing it not direct quote). If Creator chooses to feed, house and cloth one of his own though he do nothing all day except give thanks, what business is it of yours?
When you realize that you man can never be a “taxpayer” and fight to not be compelled to be compelled to do something you are not obligated to do (involuntary servitude, prohibited by 13th among others), then you will no longer begrudge any others of their Blessings. All things come from Creator. Give thanks and give Kindness and experience the unlimited gifts of Creator. Begrudge and it will be begrudged unto you!!
Remember “Kindness is the only true currency of the Universe”
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JDB’s point #1, 2nd paragraph, “The Founders didn’t believe governments bestowed rights, nor were they an agent to protect rights — governments were the ones that abridged rights” is correct in its 1st and3rd segments, but wrong at its center.
Our government’s Constitution’s Bill of Rights, demanded by the anti-Federalists, finally enlisted the State’s approval. This Bill gave responsibility to the Federal government for ensuring certain rights of the citizenry, that is to say, “… to protect rights …” — not all asked for but various rights most essential at the time.
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James D. Best Reply:
November 8th, 2014 at 7:02 am
I see your point but have a different perspective. Most of the Framers did not believe government protected rights. They believed that rights could only be protected by limiting government power. The Bill of Rights doesn’t list rights insured by government, it states that government cannot infringe on certain rights. It is the balanced and separation of powers which provide a vehicle to protect those rights. You are correct that the Bill of Rights only lists the “most essential” rights, as the 9th amendment makes clear.
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Howard Nelson Reply:
November 10th, 2014 at 9:21 am
It appears that we have a semantic problem. As stated in the DoI, 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted …”
To my mind ‘secure’ is to ‘ensure’ is to ‘protect’ those rights, some of which are noted in para 2, 1st sentence of the DoI. The Constitution’s Amendment 1, for example, clearly conforms to the DoI position.
The government is obliged therefore to protect rights, to prevent violation, and I would hope, to punish via lawful means, violators of those rights.
Thank you for your viewpoint; it’s given me a better appreciation of non-unanimous decisions of the SCOTUS. Logic, meanings, real world — no wonder we have different opinions.
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Colin Derek Reply:
April 20th, 2017 at 4:33 am
“and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect (cause, bring about, enable, maintain, provide) their Safety and Happiness.
so we have unalienable Rights endowed (and entitled to) by our Creator (no matter what “God” you believe in, money. power, greed, stinginess, love, kindness, unlimited abundance…) and “That to secure these rights Governments are instituted… and its limited specific powers (granted by the people, thus if the people do not have the power to impose or tax an other then they can not grant that power they do not have!!! Only the creations of the State can be regulated and taxed… as they were created to benefit man. No man can impose upon another nor create any Thing which imposes, a trespass is a trespass whether directly or indirectly. Which is why we the people need to get up to speed on 42 USC 1983, 18 USC 241, 242 to mention a few and go after the Principle of the agents violating us, depriving us of due process, equal protection of the law and malfeasance, misfeasance, dereliction of fiduciary duty, embezzlement of the office of public trust etc.
So yea the government in “any Form” is a subject of the people and the people need to govern it. Yes it is created and given “powers” in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”!!!!!
“Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to [201 U.S. 43, 75] act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation.” (Hale v Henkel p. 75)
“The individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He is entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the state or to his neighbors to divulge his business, or to open his doors to an investigation, so far as it may tend to criminate him. He owes no such duty to the state, since he receives nothing therefrom, beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the state, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself, and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under a warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights.” (H v H p. 74)
you don’t build a bicycle to ride you!
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Your first point is profoundly wrong. Nowhere in the Constitution will you find the word, “God”. Your point here is misleading and does nothing more than feed people the wrong information, thereby giving them the wrong impression.
The founding fathers weren’t even necessarily deists, the biggest doubters being Madison and Jefferson, particularly the latter. Notice the world “Creator” is used, not “God”. The reason for this lies in the firm belief of the framers and all founding fathers that to limit a person’s beliefs to just one deity was to limit their right to grow spiritually and religiously according to their own personal beliefs.
You need look no further than Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1801 to understand the gravity with which the founding fathers viewed the necessity of religious freedom.
Furthermore, the Constitution wasn’t founded on religious principles, but on what was commonly referred to as natural principles, out of which evolved our freedoms. For example, the right to free speech and religious freedom weren’t considered freedoms stemming from the Bible, but from the firm belief that we ALL have certain inalienable rights. While subscribing to the belief there is a Creator, not one of the framers would name this creator, firmly believing it was a natural right of man to believe according to what he/she believed to be their creator and thus named said creator according to their personal beliefs.
A NATURAL right is a basic human right. In its simplest form, one would say we all have the basic human right to anything essential to sustaining and maintaining life; this would apply to the air we breathe, water, sleep and food.
Please do not submit such opinions as statements of facts without viable proof to back it up. In this case, you are like many Americans, very misinformed. It is, in my view, the responsibility of any person who posts such things as this on the internet to also add evidence of the truth of such statements. Opinions and assumptions are not valid representations of the truth. They are one person’s point of view based on that person’s personal beliefs which have nothing to do with fact.
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Pokerfacetodd Reply:
July 1st, 2016 at 1:12 pm
The Declaration of Independence created our govt. The Constitution is just the leash the govt. must wear. Who would be the creator of man? Read what the founders said in other writings concerning the creator. Then you will see the word creator and God are interchangeable. Unless you can show another meaning for that word in common use for that time. The founders believed all should have the right to believe as they will, they all were men who were not Atheist and who probably never met one in real life.
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In contrast, it is inconceivable for a foreigner to “become” English or French or Latvian. In such places, the new citizen has the task of adopting a culture that is hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years old, and the individual also battles a lack of lineage that guarantees that one is English or French or Latvian. In America, because we are a country founded on a paradigm of values, principles, and actions, the new citizen adopts this paradigm and instantly becomes part of the American family and thus an heir to all our country represents. Our lineage, and therefore the inheritance we both received and pass down to future generations, is bound up in the constant translation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness into the embodiment of gratitude, personal responsibility, and sacrifice. Chris Salamone is a noted attorney, entrepreneur, social worker and author or two best seller books, one of them is Rescue America which focus on restructuring America. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-salamone-2a329b7
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Hello, and thank you for your post on this. I’m doing a civics class and am doing a section on the Constitution, and am seeing various sites cite 6 or 7 principles of the Constitution, but I’m wondering if these are legitimate and where they come from. In searching for an answer, I found your post, and am wondering if you could tell me your take on what I’m finding elsewhere? From a quick reading, it looks like you’re coming from a conservative perspective, which is what I’m looking for. Here’s an example:
Major Principles of the Constitution:
Popular Sovereignty
Republicanism
Limited Government
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Federalism
I’m teaching for a Christian homeschooling group, if that helps to know where I’m coming from. Thank you!
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[…] This might help What Were The Founding Principles? | What Would The Founders Think? […]
Thank you so much for the information! I’m in an Odysseyware government class and this was the first link that I clicked on and this was all the information that I needed.
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Supernatural powers may not exist, but rights are essentially permissions. I give myself the permission to create and experience well-being and to protect myself from those who would create well-being for themselves by creating ill-being for me. I believe all human beings have those two rights as well. I also believe we all have the responsibility to respect each other’s rights and the right to expect others to respect our rights as well.
The right to do or expect something does not equal the ability to do or expect something. In order to increase the ability of every citizen to exercise and protect their rights, governments are created by every citizen’s partial delegation of the right to protect themselves to the government. Therefore, the primary role of the government is to protect every citizen’s rights. Every citizen does not abdicate their right to protect themselves. They partially delegate it. That means that if the actions of government officials do not protect the rights of citizens, those officials are acting unlawfully and lawful government officials have a duty to stop them. If they do not, then every Citizen has that same duty. Violence should always be the measure of last resort after attempt to protect ourselves using all other remedies have been exhausted.
Those who prey on others are the primary reason why people need to protect themselves and why people are justified in creating governments to enhance their ability to do so. Military and police acting justly are clear examples of government providing protection to citizens.
Taxation is not theft, if taxes are used effectively, efficiently and ethically. Taxes are one of the ways that every citizen provides support to the government, so that it can protect every citizen. If we want a world without taxes or government, we need a world without those who prey on others.
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Thank you for this info. This is definitely helpful in my civics and economics class…