"The Great Charter, as it was called, was obtained by the English barons from King
John in 1215. This name is also given to the charter granted to the people of England in the ninth year of Henry III and confirmed by Edward I. It is a fundamental constitution which guarantees rights and privileges."
     ~ Noah Webster, 1828

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"Although Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston comprised the committee charged with drafting the Declaration, the task fell to Thomas Jefferson, regarded as the strongest and most eloquent writer.

Jefferson emphasized the contractual justification for independence, arguing that when the tyrannical government of King George III of England repeatedly violated "natural law," the colonists had not only the right but the duty to revolt. The Declaration of Indepen-dence was accepted on July 4, and 56 members of the Second Continental Congress began their formal signing of the document on August 2, 1776."
     ~ Thomas on the Internet

View the Declaration of Independence

Constitution and Bill of Rights

To allay the fear that a monolithic centralized government in which all power was vested would readily lead to tyranny, the principle of separation of power among the executive, legislative and judicial branches was devised. This system of checks and balances would maintain the delicate balance between the authority of the federal government and the rights and liberties of the individual citizen.

View the Constitution

Ratification of the Constitution in most states depended upon the adoption of the Bill of Rights -- as the first proposed amendments to the Constitution. Of the 12 amendments proposed in September 1789, 10 were ratified by the states, and their formal adoption occurred on December 15, 1791. "The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its
powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added..."  

  ~ The Founders' Constitution

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This work has always commanded widespread respect as the first and most authoritative commentary on the Constitution of the United States because it
provides the context in which the Constitution was written. Its importance is
especially emphasized in light of recent judicial activism that has introduced dif-
ferent meanings to the concept of "constitutional rights" in order to achieve political agendas.

"Conceived in the pressure of a great crisis in human events, written with a haste
that often bordered on the frantic, printed and published as if it were the most perishable kind of daily news, The Federalist bore few marks of immortality at birth.
It was, in fact only one of several hundred salvos in the loud war of words that accompanied the protracted struggle over ratification of the Constitution.

Alexander Hamilton, in an energetic effort to win over his home State of New York, began the series of essays explaining and defending the Constitution. These were published in New York City newspapers under the pseudonym Publius. He was aided
by James Madison and John Jay. The efforts of these three men resulted in the Federalist Papers - an authoritative analysis of the Constitution of the United States."     ~ Introduction by Clinton Rossiter, the Federalist Papers.

Federalism began as the concept of having a strong constitutional federal government to unify the states. This idea was promoted in the Federalist Papers, and was ultimately used as the basis of our government. The writers of the Federalist Papers had strong opposition, however. Points and counterpoints mentioned in the Federalist Papers are debated in the Anti-federalist Papers.

Statesmen such as Patrick Henry and John DeWitt argued for a decentralized government with a minimal central government. These men saw that the government as depicted in the Constitution would not represent the people adequately and that rights and liberties recently won from England would be lost.

Their biggest concern was that the federal government would become too powerful and the states rights' would be lost. Another problem the antifederalists posed was that a big government would inevitably become corrupt.

View the Anti-Federalist Papers