Prior to the American Revolution the world was ruled by the idea that some people were born to power, because God created them to be superior to others. All societies of that time had a caste/class system that considered some groups of people to be entitled to riches and a good life, to rule over others, and to create the law based on their whim and by their decree. From the top caste, royalty, the next level was nobility, then followed professional, merchant/artisan, agrarian farmers/herders, the serfs and peons, and finally slaves. There had been a few ancient experiments in a form of democracy, most notably by the Greeks and Romans, but even within those there was a noble peerage class that controlled the wealth and government. They also considered themselves to be divinely endowed to rule over any other societies, races, or governments that existed. Within a few centuries these societies disintegrated under the weight of the government, bringing a return to kingdoms, land barons, tribalism and strong man government in various forms. America was colonized by over a dozen different countries or political entities amid much conflict with each other and the indigenous tribes. Most of these early efforts aimed at enriching the king and nobility of the counties involved. All of these countries practiced despotism, serfdom, and slavery. Eventually the King of England dominated North America, the King of Spain dominated South and Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean were held by several different counties, most notably Spain, England, Holland, and France. So the concept of government at the time of the Revolution was that everything and everyone within the realm belonged to the king who granted them permission to use his land in return for taxes and loyal support; and in reality granted them the right to live or not. That is why that simple phrase in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal” was a truly revolutionary concept; it was the ultimate rebellion and something that none would dare utter within hearing of the rulers. This concept was also the very basis for the Constitution. The purpose of the constitution was to relegate government to the will of the people, rather than the other way around. It specifically limits what the government can do, while also specifically protecting certain individual rights. The Constitution was founded to equalize people within a consistent framework of law. Think about that. What a bold and daring idea to put into place. America as a colony had the English class and peerage systems, English slavery, and every aspect of life was controlled by the Crown. They had to figure out how to dismantle this well-established system without also destroying both the economy and civilized order while still surviving against the super-powers of the day. A big problem was slavery; slaves existed in every single one of the colonies. In fact many of the founders of the Constitution were slave holders themselves. They struggled for decades to find a solution that would end slavery without destroying the young country. Small gains were made as each of the northern states banished slavery, and importing of slaves into the US was outlawed. Other gains were made as new territories were brought into the Union with slavery outlawed. Finally, seventy years after the Constitution went into effect the argument of the states right to self-governance and the concept of equality came to a head in 1860 in the form of the Civil War, which concluded in abolishing slavery. So powerful was the concept of equality that the privileged class, mostly white, mostly economically secure, mostly Christian, twice rose up to give their time, their blood, their means, first to secure the concept as a principle, and second to assure that all Americans could enjoy the freedom under law that the Constitution established.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:33:04 +0000
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