History Essay Final

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Truckee Meadows Community College *

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History

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Oct 30, 2023

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Running Head: THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL 1 The Constitution and The Bill Of Rights Lexie Hughes HIST 111 Section 3001 Truckee Meadows Community College December 10th, 2019

The U.S Constitution and the Bill of Rights contain both elements of natural Constitutionalism and Classical Republicanism, the ideas about citizenship as well as the Bill of Rights and the issues with the Articles of Confederation. The U.S Constitution and the Bill of Rights contain both elements of natural Constitutionalism and Classical Republicanism, the ideas about citizenship as well as the Bill of Rights and the issues with the Articles of Confederation. These ideas are very important in shaping our government because they have been used throughout history to create a strong foundation for our nation and they were used by the founding fathers to make sure that we would not be ruled by tyranny or oppression. The Influence of Classical Republicanism and Natural Rights Philosophy on ideas about citizenship differences between these philosophies regarding the balancing of individuals and community natural rights and negative liberty; classical republicanism and positive liberty; classical republican view of community; natural rights and factions; focus of the Constitution (Laskar, 2013). Classical Republicanism is a form of government that was developed by Thomas Jefferson, who believed in individual rights and natural rights. Classical Republicanism stressed the importance of civic virtue or in other terms helping out the community and benefit from the common good and not always wanted something in return. The framers of the constitution, in their view, were not only concerned with protecting individual liberties but also with ensuring that all citizens have a fair chance at life. The framers believed that the government should be able to provide for its people without interference. Jefferson, believed that people should have the right to choose their own government, but should not be limited by the state or religion. As for The Natural Rights Philosophy, this stressed the importance of individual rights. It was founded in the Declaration of Independence. Nearly one hundred years before the Framers met in Philadelphia to write and publish the United States Constitution. John Locke, an english

publisher, published the “Second Treatise of Civil Government” and the immediate purpose for this was to justify the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and to contradict the claims of absolute monarchy based on divine right. The result of this Revolution, of course , was the establishment of the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy in England. Locke held that the inalienable rights of individuals form the basis of all right governments. According to him, individuals possess these rights only by virtue of their humanity (Smith, 2017). They antedate the existence of any government. The authority exercised by governments is exercised on the basis of the consent of those governed and they consent to the exercise of the authority in order to acquire protection for their natural rights to life, liberty and estate. The United States Bill of Rights consists of 10 amendments added to the Constitution in 1791, as supporters of the Constitution had promised critics during the debates of 1788. (National Archives and Records Administration, 2019) The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights (1787). They both require jury trials, contain a right to keep and bear arms, and prohibit excessive bail and forbids "cruel and unusual punishments". Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the Bill of Rights. This document is considered one of the most important documents in American history. The Bill of Rights was written to protect the people's right to freedom and liberty. Many people also believe that the ideas of John Locke greatly influenced the content of the Bill of Rights, he proposed that the role of the government is to protect its citizens’ natural rights. The Constitution was a new plan of government that was developed because the old plan, the Articles of Confederation, wasn’t working well as the Constitution explains the structure of the new government, the Articles of Confederation were created to protect the states against

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foreign attacks. The articles also stated that the federal government would be able to enforce laws without any interference by state or federal governments. This is why the articles of Confederation was so important. The articles of Confederation made it easier for people to keep their jobs and keep their money. (Benedict, 2017). They also gave them more power over the government. The Constitution fixed the issues that were in the Articles of Confederation. Under the Constitution, Congress had the power to tax, but all taxation bills started in the House of Representatives because this house of Congress was theoretically the one most connected to the people. Congress also had the power to declare war. An executive branch was instituted to enforce the law and a judicial branch was put in to interpret the law. In order to safeguard the public's natural rights, the Founders created a Bill of Rights. In conclusion, we can see that the American revolution was a very important event in history. It was a time when many people felt that they needed to fight for their rights. Natural Rights Philosophy, Classical Republicanism, the English Bill of Rights, The Bill of Rights and the Articles of Confederation all contributed to the development of our country. I think that the declaration of independence is one of the most significant documents in our history. We have seen how the declaration of independence influenced our government. We have also seen how the constitution has shaped our nation and how it has changed over time and how these all helped shape our society today.

References Michael Les Benedict, “The Blessings of Liberty” Retrieved: 2017 Duane Smith. "AN INTRODUCTION TO THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION" https://www.civiced.org/papers/political.html Editors, “Articles of Confederation” Retrieved: September 25th, 2019 https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/english-bill-of-rights Editors, “John Locke” Retrieved: September 20th, 2019 https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/john-locke National Archives and Records Administration. "National Archives Article on the Bill of Rights". Retrieved December 16, 2007.