Authoritarian rule was common in the world for hundreds of years. King George III of England believed God made him superior and gave him the divine right to rule. Divine right grants kings and Queens the authority to make decisions for their subjects.
When the colonists fought for and won our independence from England, a council of men came together to define a new nation. They are the founders. When they wrote our constitution, they created a government respecting and incorporating our God-given rights. This was and still is a unique form of representative government that empowers the people to address their interests and concerns in the governance of the country. Congress is comprised of two groups. The House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives represents the people in a defined district within their state. The Senators represent the state in which they are elected.
After our revolution ended governance by Britain our leaders struggled to create a government with a balance of power. It was extremely important that no part of the new government become so powerful that it could limit or take away your God-given rights.
The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were established during the second continental congress to protect our individual freedoms with a system of checks and balances. There are three branches of government. The executive (President), the legislative (Congress), and the judiciary (Supreme Court) branches guide and watch each other branch.
Our democratic republic gives us, as citizens, self-governing power through the representatives in our government. It is dependent upon our congress working together to decide on issues that are in the best interests of the people who elected them. We, the people, hold our representatives accountable to our needs.
Following the Revolutionary War against the British there were significant issues: How states held power versus the country. How to maintain an army. How America settled our war debt to Spain, France and others who had aided us in defeating Britain to have our freedom.
The framers of our Constitution drafted the articles of confederation at the second Continental Congress. This first United States constitution established how our new government would work. In reaction to the harsh laws imposed by Britain the Continental Congress created a weak central government; however, several states were more influential than others with stronger economies and armies. These states had more power in Congress. This was an inequity, an imbalance. This is not what the founders wanted. Some states owed more money than others after the Revolutionary War. The articles created a representative congress; however, the big states had more influence. What about the rights of the people? What about national defense as a united country? As the founders intended a true representative government the only course of action was to meet again to study and improve the new constitution.
A new constitutional convention to address the issues using our basic God-given rights as a basis was convened in 1787 to prevent any part of our government from becoming too powerful. No part of our government can limit or take away our God-given rights.
Our constitution is awesome; however, not perfect. James Madison was concerned about the influence of factions who are united and compelled with a common interest, enthusiasm or belief that is averse to the rights of other citizens or the common interests of the community. Today we call “factions” special interest groups and influencers.
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