They did three big things:
- They conducted a revolution (i.e., American Revolution) via a war (American Revolutionary War).
- After the war broke out, they published the Declaration of Independence.
- After winning the war, they created a republic, by accident!
Let me elaborate on each …
1. What is the American Revolution, anyway?
Read: What is the American Revolution, anyway?
2. What is the “Declaration of Independence”, anyway?
Two informative readings:
3. They created a republic, by accident!
After the war was over, the Founding Fathers asked George Washington to be their new king. But Washington refused, thus making it possible for America to become a republic.
Specifically, here is what they did:
- They published the U.S. Constitution.
- They created a republic by heavily copying from the Roman Republic of 2,000 years ago.
- They did not copy “democracy” from ancient Greece.
Let me elaborate on each …
3.1 What is the U.S. Constitution, anyway?
Two informative readings:
3.2 They copied heavily from Rome
Five major copied items:
- The 3-branch structure of the government. For more, read 3 Branches of Government in the Roman Republic.
- The Electoral College remains to this day a big safeguard against a “pure” democracy (i.e., one person, one vote, with a single majority rule, by the popular vote). For more, read: The Electoral College – Origin and History.
- A House of Representatives elected “by the People of the several States” (Constitution of the United States), where “the People” refer to some property-owning white men only, just like the Romans did.
- “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature” (Constitution of the United States), just like the Romans did.
- The two eagles, as shown below. Do not they look eerily alike?
3.3 They did not copy “democracy” from ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is best known for “democracy” (Athenian democracy). The Founding Fathers detested it, as highlighted in the image below.
As a result, they created a “representative” republic, which precluded the word “democracy” in the U.S. Constitution. In addition, the republic also was protected by several institutional mechanisms to prevent “rule by a simple majority” (aka “the popular vote”) from happening in the future.
For example, they instituted three different forms of majority for the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, respectively. The Electoral College is most critical as well as controversial today.
The Electoral College was invented by the Romans as a safeguard against the popular vote. The Founding Fathers copied it from the Romans. For more, go back to Section 3.2.
4. Discussion
America was founded by/of/for the rich, with money behind everything, especially in politics.
Despite all the changes over the past 200 years, America remains essentially unchanged in this regard. It is for this reason, chiefly, that Jeffersonian America may well have run its course. For more, read Has Jeffersonian America Run Its Course?
5. Closing
Repeat from my last post (Who are America’s Founding Fathers, anyway?): we study the Founding Fathers in order to truly understand America. For more, read: read History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.
