Founding Principles

Listed below are the founding principles — the central values on which our country was founded. You will find suggested definitions of each principle.

Individual Liberty:

Each person is born with freedom from arbitrary or unjustified restraint

Federalism:

In this system of dual sovereignty, the people delegate certain powers to the national government, while the states and the people retain all other powers.

Limited Government:

The national government has only those powers granted in the Constitution. If a power is not listed, the national government is assumed not to have it.

Representative Government:

A republican system in which the people select representatives to represent their interests as they make and carry out laws.

Private Property:

Individuals have the right to obtain and control possessions, as well as the fruits of their own labor.

“All Men Are Created Equal”:

There is no natural class of rulers among people, and everyone is born with the same unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances:

The Constitution estalishes a system of distinct powers to prevent an accumulation of power in one branch of government, and to ensure that each branch can stop the others from growing too powerful.