Background: Principles of the American Revolution

Learn about the principles of the American Revolution.

Introduction

Why did the American colonists believe that they had the right to overthrow their government? By examining the principles of the American Revolution, this Unit will engage with key concepts from the revolutionary period. Importantly, these key principles also remain relevant today.

Every revolution (or push for change) needs a sturdy foundation rooted in key principles that answer a simple (but essential) question: Why?

Think about the American Revolution. The American colonists were small in number, were mostly farmers, and against the odds still chose to pick a fight with the most powerful country in the world. That took courage, but it also took powerful ideas. What principles made them believe that they could win—and that the American Revolution itself was a fight worth winning?

Below explore the definitions of three key principles that helped drive the American Revolution. These key principles – popular sovereignty, natural rights, and the rule of law – helped to support the colonists’ claim for independence. As you explore these key principles, ask yourself the following question: how do these principles serve as the foundation for the American Revolution and continue to define the American idea today?

Three principles of the American Revolution

There are three key principles at the heart of the American Revolution.

Popular Sovereignty: Popular sovereignty is the idea that a constitution (or a social contract) should establish a government based on the consent of the governed. The sovereign power is held not by a King or by an aristocracy but by the American people.
Natural Rights: Natural rights are rights that are given by God or by nature. They come not from a law passed by the government but rather are inherent in all individual human beings from birth.
Rule of Law: The rule of law is the basic idea that we have a neutral government of laws, not an arbitrary government of one person. In other words, no one is above the law.

Let’s explore these three principles in a bit more detail.

Popular Sovereignty

Think about the opening words of the Constitution: “We, the People.” Generally, when we refer to “popular sovereignty,” we are talking about “rule by the people” and the idea that ultimate power and authority for a government rests not with the government itself or its officials, but with the people themselves. The President, Congress, and the courts are limited by this principle. “We, the People” are the boss, and the three branches of government get their power from us. The principle of popular sovereignty has been the engine of American constitutional development since the Founding and remains the ultimate source of our Constitution’s legitimacy.

At its core, popular sovereignty is the idea that the people are the source of the government’s authority and, in turn, can alter the government whenever they deem it appropriate—whether in response to tyrannical misrule or smaller-scale deficiencies in the Constitution’s design. These can be big changes like a revolution or a new Constitution, or small changes like new laws or a new constitutional amendment.

Example: The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution establishes this principle, rooting the legitimacy of the U.S. government in the authority of “We the People.”

Natural Rights

Natural rights are rights that are given by God or by nature and thus come not from a law passed by the government but rather are inherent to all individual human beings from birth. You get these rights because you’re a human—because you were born.

Where does this idea come from?

Most famously, it comes from John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government. Locke takes us from the state of nature to political society. He discusses the social contract in which “We the People” give away some power to the government for the common good (especially our security).

The Founding generation broadly believed that all human beings were endowed by God or nature with certain inalienable rights in the state of nature—and that the people can’t surrender these rights to government when they create a civil society.

An alienable right is something like the right to self-defense (in other words, the right to punish). In political society, I give it away to the government. The government then takes on the duty of protecting me (and the rest of us). If it doesn’t, then I have a right to alter or abolish the government.
An inalienable (or unalienable) right is a right that you can’t give away to the government. The quintessential example of an inalienable natural right is the right of conscience. Because my religious beliefs (or my lack of religious beliefs) are the product of my reason, I’m not able to give them up. We have a right and duty to make up our own minds about matters of conscience.

The Founders also believed deeply in the right to alter or abolish government. This shouldn’t surprise us since our nation was born in revolution. The whole point of the social contract is to promote happiness and to ensure greater security and safety for the rights that “We the People” have retained. When the government fails to hold up its end of the contract, the people have the right to alter or abolish it.

Example: The Declaration of Independence says that everyone is endowed at birth with certain natural rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Rule of Law

The basic idea surrounding the rule of law is that we have a government of laws, not a government by man or by arbitrary rule. In this sense, no one is above the law.

This idea can sometimes be tough to define. The Roman Emperor, Caligula offers a classic example of when the rule of law is violated. Caligula wrote down the law in small print. He posted it up so high on a pillar that no one could ever read it and be sure about his or her legal responsibilities. The emperor wrote down the law and even published the law, but no one had access to it, knew how to comply with it, or knew when they could be punished for violating the law. This is a classic example of when the rule of law is violated. Under Caligula’s rule, anyone could be punished for anything. The law lay solely with the Emperor and was determined by his whim. There was no process, no fairness, no equal treatment – not even a requirement to follow reason! Just the whims of one person.

The rule of law depends on stable laws—laws that are knowable by the people, possible to understand, possible to follow, that treat people equally and fairly, and that provide advance notice of what’s expected.

Non-Example: The Roman emperor Caligula passed laws, but he posted them on a pole so high that no one could read or understand them. Caligula was able to prosecute his enemies without anyone knowing what the law of the land truly was. To have a rule of law, the people must know and understand the laws. And even the rulers must be held accountable to them.

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devans
Posted 9 days ago. Direct link to devans's post “Can you add reflection/di...”
Can you add reflection/discussion questions during or after each of the two background sections and the primary source section to help the students bring relevance into their personal lives before getting to the understand and apply sections? This would also help the teacher facilitate discussion if the teacher decides to use the background and primary source sections in a whole group setting.
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