As the founders knew, unrestrained power in either a central government or a democratized electorate who destroy the American experiment. Remember until 1776, no form of republic had survived.
Why were the founders afraid of the people – mob rule and fear of the uneducated (or better said uncommitted) voter. As Benjamin Franklin said (paraphrasing) ‘as soon as the people realize they can vote themselves money from the public treasury, the democracy will no longer stand’. I am not derogatory in my use of uneducated, but sincere – America is a complex system of government and requires an understanding of it and more importantly an investment in the American form of government. It was not hard to be a citizen of 18th century England – you did what the King said. Think of that - in America we (have to) trust that the electorate (our peers) understand why they are voting, the impact of their vote and that they believe (at a systemic level) in the ideals of those men in hot Philadelphia 233 years ago.
Interestingly enough Adams and his cohorts that risked all in this declaration, never envisioned celebrating national sovereignty. They feared national sovereignty and a strong federal government. In their estimation a movement to a strong centralized form of government suppresses individual freedoms and by its very nature violates Jefferson’s words (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.)
If you look at the Treaty of Paris which ended the war it was express in its intent:
“His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof.”
Couple of interesting facts –
- Did you know the US is the only country in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD to have won wars and not seized territory, but allowed the conquered territory to be returned to their people?
- The founders did not want freedom from religion, they wanted freedom of religion
