Fisher Ames: The Great Founding Fathers

The reasoning behind the Constitution of the United States is presented as 'based upon the philosophy of Hobbes and the religion of Calvin. It assumes the natural state of mankind in a state of war, and that the carnal mind is at enmity with God.' Throughout, the struggle between democracy and tyranny is discussed as the Founding Fathers who envisioned the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787 believed not in total democracy, but instead saw common man as selfish and contemptuous, and therefore in need of a 'a good political constitution to control him.' Being a largely propertied body, with the exception of William Few, who was the

When asked if the Founding Fathers were democratic reformers, the likely response is that yes, they were, because they believed in democracy and strove to create a nation that would be successfully governed by the people. Although this answer may be correct, the debate between historians on this subject shows that the motives of the Founding Fathers cannot be so easily discerned. According to historian Alfred F. Young, the Founding Fathers were not democratic reformers because they were elites and did not represent the interests of the general public, because they admired the British model of a strong national government that protected the wealthy from the people, and because they only included democratic accommodations to ensure that the people

The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action, written by John P. Roche, addressed the difficulty that the Founding Fathers had in constructing the U.S. Constitution because of the high level of stress they received and the limited amount of time that they had to carry out the formation of this document while keeping the best interest of the country as a priority. John P. Roche starts of by commenting on why the creation of the Constitution was so effective and how the Articles of Confederation benefitted the ratification of the new U.S. Government. As it turns out, the delegates elected to attend Pennsylvania were mainly people who had served in Congress and had experience in the weakness of the Articles in granting too little power to the national government. In addition, the delegates were appointed by the state legislatures, not by the people, as justified by the Articles of Confederation.

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 and died July 4, 1826. He was an early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, a major figure in the Continental Congress author of the Massachusetts constitution, signer of the Treaty of Paris, first American ambassador to the Court of St. James, first vice president, and second president of the United States. Although Adams was looked as one of the most significant statesmen of the revolutionary era, his reputation faded in the 19th century, only to grow again during the last half of the 20th century.

John Adams was born on October 30th, 1735 (History.com). Adams was the oldest of three sons and his father was a shoemaker/farmer and an official for the local government (History.com). John Adams was a very hard working student and his hard work payed off when he graduated from Harvard in 1755 (History.com). In the beginning Adams taught for many years and then went on to study law (History.com). John Adams went on to marry Abigail Smith in 1764 and they decided to have six children throughout the years (History.com). When Adams started his law career in 1758, he because an outstanding attorney in Boston (History.com).

The Founding Fathers put their blood, sweat and tears into the making of the Constitution and created a government out of practically nothing, all while having a vision for the future. This future consisted of a government that focused on liberty over security; a government of minimal intervention. To say that the modern version of the United States government is exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned is a very debatable topic. There are many instances where todays government has followed the Constitution for the most part, but then there are a lot of other areas where the Founders visions have been twisted to the point that they are unrecognizable anymore. To start off, the basic concept of the United States government is one of checks and balances. This was put in place to ensure that the government never became too powerful. One very good example of checks and balances is the media. Even the founding fathers knew the extreme power of the media and its ability to keep the government in check. Two men by the names of William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were even able to create the Spanish American War by the process of yellow journalism, or the crude exaggeration of events. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The government today reflects this belief that the media is a watchdog or “fourth estate” as it is so often referred to. Political parties and everything that comes with it, including

However in document F it says: “ Because of his firmness in opposing the “great monied (rich) aristocracy (upper class). which seeks to master our government, and threatens to overthrow our free institutions. Meaning that stayed strong in believing the right and wrong thing. Which was respected

Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and Hamilton accepted it with all his pride and honor. Burr was “justified” in challenging Hamilton because of their many differences in politics and character. One specific example

John Adams was many things in his long and illustrious career. He was a lawyer, diplomat, farmer, Vice President and President. He is most well-known for being the second president. He did some good things and some bad things. Although the four years of John Adams’ presidency were quiet and somewhat forgotten, his successes in foreign policy and his control no doubt outweighed his failures in the Sedition Act and with his cabinet, in part to his background and characteristics.

From the beginning, America has been a safe place for the fostering and cultivating of new thoughts and ideologies, but not without repercussion. This is evident in the life of both John Winthrop and James Madison. From early on in their political careers, both leaders faced political opposition. John Winthrop left familiarity in search of religious freedom and the pursuit of a life pleasing to God. James Madison, in creativity, thought of an entirely renovated way to successfully restructure the government of a nation that acted more as separate states. By using their backgrounds as a driving force for innovation they renovate governmental systems and lead the people from the ground up, inspired by Reformation and republicanism. Their implementation of government was different in emphasis, but the republican ideals behind it were the same.

Like many thinkers of his time, he believed in Natural Law and due to this belief he was of the opinion that if the government were to stay of the economy and business self-interest and private businesses would allocate funds and wealth fairly—due to skills and ambition. Furthermore, in his letter to Gideon Granger, only a few months before the 1800 election, he states that “Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government.” His belief in a small government that had little taxation and substantial freedom was both carried out and contradicted by his decisions.

Ultimately, he had a short, angry temper, possibly murdered someone, defied the supreme court, was a slave owner, caused a banking crisis, and was very racist against Indians and decreed the Indian removal act which led to The Trail of Tears. Unfortunately, all these things are true. However, he did do many terrible things that can’t be justified and is not the American way, but he did pave the road for a better future. Therefore, he included the people in many important events and was brave enough to exceed in being the

Of course, as history can tell us, Jefferson, an Antifederalist, or a Republican as they called them back then, favored little federal government control and more say for the small farmers and states (Davis 86-7). He believed that all Americans should be educated enough to read and understand the issues that were being voted on so that they could choose their own leaders and run for office themselves. In fact, he proposed a bill, which would guarantee some public education for all children, excluding slaves. He felt that this would allow people to have an opportunity to better themselves based on “talent and virtue” instead of “wealth and birth.” Even though his bill was voted on three times, it didn’t pass due to the fact that the majority of the Virginia Assembly thought that it was “too radical, too expensive, and too unnecessary (Davis 52-3).” Antifederalists were also anti-British, but friendly to France, their ally at the time (Davis 87).

War and saved the Union and efforts to abolish slavery. He is the only one during his time to be a

William J. Bennett is best known as a politician who served as a Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, and a Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W. Bush. Not surprisingly, he has gotten for himself many remarkable diplomas. For instances, he earned a Ph. D. in Political Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard. He is also the author of many bestselling books such as The Book of Virtues, The Educated Child, and the two-volume series America: The Last Best Hope. Beyond all that, one of his famous and inspiring books, Our Country’s Founders, emphasized many valued speeches and letters that America’s founders have left for this generation. It also