The following are the 28 Principles of Liberty as put forth by the 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen and the National Center for Constitutional Studies. My own thoughts, commentary, or quotes by Founding Fathers are added after each principle.
Principle 1
The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are laws which govern in affairs of men which are "the laws of nature and of nature's God." Natural Law is God's Law.
Principle 2
A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." --Benjamin Franklin
Principle 3
The most promising method of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.
"Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend to liberty of his country who tries to promote its virtue, and who.....will not suffer a man chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man." --Samuel Adams
Principle 4
Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
Though the Founding Fathers had a problem with how organized religion had been used by tyrannical leaders to control the people in Europe, which led them to write in the First Amendment that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," they also recognized the importance of the American People being a deeply religious people - so the First Amendment was also designed to protect religion from the government: "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports...And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion." --George Washington
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --John Adams
Principle 5
All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
The American Founding Fathers understood that protecting our rights and freedom is dependent upon the existence of the Creator.
Principle 6
All mankind were created equal.
The Founding Fathers believed we are equal at birth in the eyes of God, the law, and in our rights that we receive from God. What we do with that afterward is our own individual decision.
Principle 7
The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
The Founders recognized that the people cannot delegate to their government any power except that which they have lawful right to exercise themselves; also, equal opportunity can only be provided by government when government literally gets out of the way - Equal opportunity, not equal results, is what they felt government should provide. The result must be the responsibility of the individual.
Principle 8
Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
If our rights are not given to us by God, that would make our rights government-given, and government could then take them away.
Principle 9
To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.
"The doctrines delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found by comparison to be really a part of the original law of nature, as they tend in all their consequences to man's felicity." --William Blackstone
Principle 10
The God-given right to the govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
We the People of the United States - as individuals, and individual States - this government was designed to operate under the rule of law provided by the U.S. Constitution, which is by the consent of The People.
Principle 11
The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
Shays' Rebellion prompted Thomas Jefferson to express the view that "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing" for America. Jefferson felt that it was necessary for the people to express their grievances against the government when the government acted in a tyrannical manner, even if those grievances might take the form of violent action.
Principle 12
The United States of America shall be a republic.
A Republic is not a democracy, but is governed by the rule of law, which in our case is the U.S. Constitution (not the opinions of a bunch of judges). All legislative powers are granted to a body of representatives that are to legislate within the authorities of the law of the land, and according to the will of the people if the will of the people is also within constitutional bounds.
Principle 13
A Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.
The Founding Fathers understood the flaws of humanity, which is a biblical principle. "If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary...But lacking these you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." --James Madison
Principle 14
Life and liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure.
Virtually nothing was as important to the Founding Fathers as protecting individual property rights. These men held that “concerns for freedom could not be separated from concerns for property.” The Founding Fathers also recognized that “inadequately secured property rights could render vulnerable even the fundamental liberties of speech, press, and meaningful political participation.”
If a society was to lose the willingness to recognize that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, then the system would become a transitional government doomed to fall into the clutches of anarchy and tyranny.
If “Thou shalt not covet,” and “Thou shalt not steal,” were not commandments of heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free. --John Adams
Property is surely a right of mankind, as really as liberty. --John Adams
Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own. --James Madison
Principle 15
The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and minimum government regulations.
Prosperity depends upon a climate of wholesome stimulation with four basic freedoms in operation:
The Freedom to try.
The Freedom to buy.
The Freedom to sell.
The Freedom to fail.
Principle 16
The government should be separated into three branches.
The Legislative Branch was the voice of the people (House) and the States (Senate) whose voice manifested in the ability to "make law." The Executive Branch was the voice of the federal government, given the authority to "executive the law." And the independent judiciary was set up to "apply the law."
Principle 17
A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the different branches of government.
The branches of the federal government were given limits. The Congress' authority to make law was limited to only making laws that was within the authorities granted by the U.S. Constitution. The Executive's powers were limited likewise, and no legislative power was given to the President in any way, shape, or form. The Judiciary was tasked with applying the law to cases dealing with issues that fell within the authorities granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution.
"It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." --James Madison
Principle 18
The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.
The American form of government is one that is limited to the powers provided by the people through the U.S. Constitution. A limited government is one that acts only within the limitation of authorities granted to it. If the federal government acts beyond the limitations vested in the system, the freedom of the people are at risk by a potentially tyrannical government.
Principle 19
Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being restrained by the people.
The 10th Amendment was carefully written to clarify the limitations of the federal government, and the broad powers of the States.
10th Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
If the authority is not given to the federal government on an issue, to make law regarding that issue is unconstitutional, and therefore illegal. Powers not granted to the federal government, nor prohibited to the States, are exclusive powers of the States.
Principle 20
Efficiency and dispatch require that the government operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
The State's voice in Congress was given through the U.S. Senate (that voice was erased by the 17th Amendment). The Senate gave each State an equal voice through two Senators each so that even the minority States had reasonable consent in their government. The Electoral College was also set up to provide the minority states with a greater voice than they would have if the elections were through a popular vote by the people. Note that until 1824, the electors were appointed by the State Legislatures.
Principle 21
Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
Local issues can be best governed by local government. This allows a division of power over the issues, as well as an opportunity for the local governments and state governments to act in a manner similar to the Free Market system, where issues are tried by the various states, realizing success and failure, and ultimately innovation.
One must understand also that local issues are best governed by local jurisdictions because each jurisdiction has its own individual differences that cannot be governed properly by a one-size-fits-all bureaucracy.
The best way to limit power is to divide it in as many ways as possible.
"The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent." --Thomas Jefferson
Principle 22
A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
The rule of law is based on governing according to the Law of the Land, which is the U.S. Constitution, not the opinions of politicians and judges. If the law must be changed, the Constitution provides for it through an amendment system. Without law, there is no freedom.
"The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence of others, which cannot be where there is no law." --John Locke
Principle 23
A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson
Principle 24
A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
The strength of a nation lies in its ability to defend itself militarily, and to defend itself from a potentially tyrannical government within. A governmental system that uses big government principles such as the "general will," or socialism, destroys the independence, fortitude, strength, and moral fiber of the people. How can a people be strong and independent when they have become frightened, dependent wards of the government?
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." --George Washington
Principle 25
"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none."
This principle comes from Thomas Jefferson, given in his first inaugural address. The Founding Fathers understood that there is a fine line between foreign affairs we should be involved in, and those we shouldn't. The Barbary Pirates, for example, were directly affecting our trade routes, so we fought two wars against the Muslims of the Barbary States because failure to do so would prove detrimental to our system. However, when our foreign policy is one that intervenes when our nation is not directly affected, or potentially directly affected, such policies can be counterproductive.
“Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” -- John Quincy Adams.
We should be armed to the teeth in America to retaliate fully against anyone who attacks us, and by all means preemptively destroy specific, imminent threats to our own territory and interests. However, any situation that does not immediately threaten us, or could potentially threaten us, is none of our business.
Where disagreement among many that are right-of-center occurs is often when trying to determine if a target is a threat and should be dealt with, or not. This is why government should seek all answers carefully before acting, if possible.
Principle 26
The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore the government should foster and protect its integrity.
"There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated." --Alexis de Tocqueville
Principle 27
The burden of debt is as destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.
Heavy government spending is dangerous, especially when it builds a national deficit that we cannot possibly overcome within our lifetimes.
"We are bound to defray expenses within our own time, and unauthorized to burden posterity with them....We shall all consider ourselves morally bound to pay them ourselves and consequently with the life of the majority." --Thomas Jefferson
Principle 28
The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God's law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race.
The Founding Fathers recognized the divine providence involved in the forging of this nation.
"I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth." -- John Adams
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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