Introduction Essay: The American Experiment
Written by: Kirk Higgins, Bill of Rights Institute
Guiding Questions
What ideals motivated the American Revolution? How did the Declaration of Independence encapsulate those ideals?
Introduction
Americans expect that their government will protect their individual rights and operate based on the consent of the people. The origins of these ideas were explored in the previous section of this study guide. But these philosophical ideas were more than just theories. They were tested, refined, and expanded through the experience of individuals and governments. The clearest connection in the United States can be made to English history. Often called the English tradition of rights, these experiences and ideas significantly impacted how the role of government was understood. From this understanding emerged the structure of American constitutional government.
The English Tradition
One of the earliest documents in the English tradition, the Magna Carta, was a limitation on the powers of King John. It limited the King’s authority and protected the rights of free men, which at this period in England was limited to the barons and the minor nobility. Many of these rights, like habeas corpus, are still protected today. In addition to the rights themselves, the Magna Carta, or great charter in English, established the tradition of legal documents putting limitations on government and the rights of the people into law.
The English Bill of Rights (1689) follows this same tradition. Drafted after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the English Bill of Rights declares that the monarchy was required to seek the consent of people as represented in Parliament and outlined individual rights.
When English colonists settled in North America, they brought with them a historical understanding of rights and the importance of having laws. The Mayflower Compact was signed by the settlers of the Plymouth colony in 1620 before they went ashore. It outlined, in basic terms, the method by which the colony would be governed. In other words, the colony outlined its own method of self-governance to make good laws that were just and served the common good.
American Revolution: Changing Circumstances
The English tradition of rights and self-government found fertile ground in the North American colonies. By the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the colonies had begun to develop a strong identity of their own, rooted in their understanding of these rights and self-government. They had legislatures in which representatives made laws based upon popular consent. British colonists in North America had supported the British war efforts during the conflict, but when the British sought to tax the colonies to help pay for the cost of defense, they balked. When the colonists refused, the British responded with reasserting their authority. The documents included in this section highlight colonists’ objections and the British response. In the colonists’ objections you will notice appeals to the English tradition of rights and self-government.
American Revolution: The Cause
Throughout the 1760s and 1770s, tensions between Great Britain and colonists in North America continued to build. They repeatedly appealed to King George III with documents like the Declaration and Resolves, the Olive Branch Petition, and the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms. In each, they appealed to King to correct what they saw as violations of their rights and a breach of the social contract they believed governed their relationship with Great Britain.
The frustrations with Great Britain were not universally held by people in the colonies, and many still hoped for a reconciliation. Even after Lexington and Concord in April of 1775 and the Battle of Bunker Hill in June of the same year, the colonists were not independent. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense. It became hugely popular, selling thousands of copies and galvanizing support for Independence. Paine called for Independence from what he saw as a tyrannical monarchy.
American Revolution: The Break
In June of 1776, the Second Continental Congress considered a resolution declaring that the colonies “are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” The Congress called upon a young Thomas Jefferson to draft a declaration of independence. The draft eventually passed by the Congress rang out with familiar themes of individual natural rights, government by consent, and the purpose of government. The Declaration stated all were created equal, that their equality entitled them to certain natural rights, and that government was instituted in order to protect those rights. The Declaration also included a list of violations that showed how the King and Parliament had violated their sacred trust and so justified Independence.
An American Nation
The Declaration of Independence would form the philosophical foundation for the United States. It shapes our civic conscience by providing us a standard of justice by which to judge the actions of our government.
In the months after Independence, the United States worked to establish its first government, the Articles of Confederation, which sought to frame a government around the principles of the Revolution. It was ratified four years later and eventually proved ill designed for its task, as is outlined in James Madison’s Vices of the Political System.
After a series of events in the 1780s like Shays’ Rebellion, a convention was called to meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles. The result was a new Constitution, which the Framers hoped would better align with the principles of republican self-government contained in the Declaration of Independence.
During this period, discussions over individual rights were not confined to the national stage. James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance and the Virginia State of Religious Freedom highlight important ways to protect individuals’ rights to think, act, and believe as they see fit. These understandings represent an emerging shared civic understanding of principles and virtues that would shape the history of the United States.