Group Project: History of Government and its Influence on US Government

POLS 1100
Project Synopsis
What were some ancient and contemporary influences on the founding fathers, and how
do we differ from some of their ideas?
“I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I
know of no way of judging of the future, but by the past” –Patrick Henry
Ancient Influences and Governments
Where did the founding fathers get their ideas from? They knew history, especially
Greek and Roman, as well as Judeo-Christian. They were “Classically Educated,”
which at the time meant a thorough grounding in Greek and Latin.
• Athenian Democracy
o Pierce Butler (Philadelphia Convention), “We must follow the example of
Solon, who gave the Athenians not the best government he could devise,
but the best they would receive.”
o Aristotle, Solon
o Why does direct democracy not work? What led to the fall of Athens?
• Roman Republic
o Plato’s Republic
o Why are we not a republic? Weaknesses of a republic: Caeser, voice of
people
• Israelite System, 1000 BC
o People’s Law instead of Ruler’s Law, Moses’ change
• Anglo-Saxon Government, 400 AD
o Commonwealth of Freemen
o Representative government
Contemporary Influences
• Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, who was there, what did they believe?
• Age of Enlightenment (Reason)
o Questioning of traditional institutions, customs, and morals
o John Locke – Second Treatise on Government, “life, liberty, and the
protection of property rights”
o Baron Montesquieu – Spirit of the Laws
• Federalist Papers
o No 47: separation of powers “no political truth is certainly of greater
intrinsic value”
• John Adams, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It
is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”
• Ben Franklin, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become
corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
• Samuel Adams, “Neither the wisest Constitution, nor the wisest laws, will secure
the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”
Researchers
• -Ezra Taft Benson
• -Cleon Skousen
Philosophers
• Plato, The Republic
• John Locke, Two Treatises on Government
Founding Fathers to look into
• -John Adams, Thoughts on Government
• -Thomas Jefferson
o freedom formula came from the Bible
• -James Madison
Our founding fathers believed in moral standards, and based the Constitution on this.
Everything in our constitution that came into force through consent of the people came
from Exodus
Death Penalty was used for murder and treason
When the time came for the United States of America to adopt a Constitution, our fore
fathers modeled it after the perfect Israelite system of administration.
Classical Education – latin and greek
-Virgil, Horace, Justinian, Nepos, Caesar, Tacitus, Lucretius, Eutropius, Phaedrus,
Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato
-John Taylor, John Tyler, George Rogers Clark, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson,
Alexander Hamilton
Jefferson knew his Greek, Adams preferred Latin
www.memeoriapress.com/articles/founding-fathers.html
Separation of Power
www.mlloyd.org/mdl-indx/polybius/intro.htm