Summary:
Richard Hofstadter reveals his thoughts on the true motives and ideas of the Founding Fathers in his article The American Political Tradition. The road to the creation of The Constitution was filled with much debate and controversy over the structure of the government. The Founding Fathers fought with trusting the common population to make logical decisions because the writers believed that the human population was naturally self-serving and untrustworthy. The writers also did not want to give too much power to too few people. The constant battle between these ideologies led the Founding Fathers to create the government we know today. The three branches all exist as a separation of power to prevent one person or group from having too much power. Similarly the checks and balances keep each branch from having too much power. This system created by the Founding Fathers has survived the test of time as it is still in place and functioning in todays society.
Analysis:
The Founding Fathers aimed to protect liberty with the Constitution, however they defined liberty a little differently than the average American. Most people define liberty as democracy. The Founding Fathers define liberty as the freedom to own and use private property. This contrast is somewhat ironic because the Constitution aims to protect the writers’ definition of liberty rather than the people’s definition. In some cases the Constitution directly stands in contention with true democracy. In a true democracy the people would vote on absolutely everything the government did. Not only would this be logistically impossible, it is also a situation the Founding Fathers aimed to avoid. The writers of the Constitution agreed with Thomas Hobbes who believed that all people were self-serving and untrustworthy. This ideology made the writers fear too much democracy. However James Madison said that the common population needed to have a say in the laws they must follow. If the people had no input in the government they would basically be in the same situation of taxation without representation while the states were still colonies. So these opposing ideas left the Founding Fathers with the task of finding the perfect balance between true democracy and a unitary form of government. Being that the writers believed all people were inherently selfish they set up a system that uses selfishness to check selfishness. Madison stated in Federalist number 51 that “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition… It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government.” The system they set up is the system of checks and balances used in our government today.
Political Terms and Definitions:
· Checks and Balances – A system in the government that gives powers to each of the three branches to control the other branches.
· Thomas Hobbes – (1588 – 1679) An English theorist who believed that people were naturally self-serving and strong government was the only way to counter the “state of nature” he believed humans were prone to.
· Separation of power – A way of dividing up the power of the federal government between the House of Representatives, the Senate, the President, and the judicial branch.
Richard Hofstadter reveals his thoughts on the true motives and ideas of the Founding Fathers in his article The American Political Tradition. The road to the creation of The Constitution was filled with much debate and controversy over the structure of the government. The Founding Fathers fought with trusting the common population to make logical decisions because the writers believed that the human population was naturally self-serving and untrustworthy. The writers also did not want to give too much power to too few people. The constant battle between these ideologies led the Founding Fathers to create the government we know today. The three branches all exist as a separation of power to prevent one person or group from having too much power. Similarly the checks and balances keep each branch from having too much power. This system created by the Founding Fathers has survived the test of time as it is still in place and functioning in todays society.
Analysis:
The Founding Fathers aimed to protect liberty with the Constitution, however they defined liberty a little differently than the average American. Most people define liberty as democracy. The Founding Fathers define liberty as the freedom to own and use private property. This contrast is somewhat ironic because the Constitution aims to protect the writers’ definition of liberty rather than the people’s definition. In some cases the Constitution directly stands in contention with true democracy. In a true democracy the people would vote on absolutely everything the government did. Not only would this be logistically impossible, it is also a situation the Founding Fathers aimed to avoid. The writers of the Constitution agreed with Thomas Hobbes who believed that all people were self-serving and untrustworthy. This ideology made the writers fear too much democracy. However James Madison said that the common population needed to have a say in the laws they must follow. If the people had no input in the government they would basically be in the same situation of taxation without representation while the states were still colonies. So these opposing ideas left the Founding Fathers with the task of finding the perfect balance between true democracy and a unitary form of government. Being that the writers believed all people were inherently selfish they set up a system that uses selfishness to check selfishness. Madison stated in Federalist number 51 that “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition… It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government.” The system they set up is the system of checks and balances used in our government today.
Political Terms and Definitions:
· Checks and Balances – A system in the government that gives powers to each of the three branches to control the other branches.
· Thomas Hobbes – (1588 – 1679) An English theorist who believed that people were naturally self-serving and strong government was the only way to counter the “state of nature” he believed humans were prone to.
· Separation of power – A way of dividing up the power of the federal government between the House of Representatives, the Senate, the President, and the judicial branch.
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