Many great mind and ideas were needed to create such a masterpiece as the constitution. However, our wise founding fathers didn't make up everything in our constitution. Many ideas were taken from philosophers and other, successful governments.
British Documents
The Magna Carta (1215) - An English document that placed limitations on the King. Parliament, the lawmaking body of Great Britain, was created as a power which financed the government. Similarly, colonial assemblies controlled the finance of a colony. This idea and document of limiting powers and having a powerful assembly inspired many parts of the constitution.
The English Bill of Rights- Another English document, which had given English citizens basic guaranteed rights. This inspired the American Bill of Rights.
Enlightenment Philosophers
John Locke- A radical English philosopher who believed all people had natural rights. In Two Treatises of Civil Government, he said that government is based on the contract between the people, who lets the government led them and follow their duties, and the ruling body, which protects the people's natural rights and rules justly. This idea is know as the Social Contract Theory. The constitution is a contract between American citizens and their government, and government power was limited in order to help protect peoples natural rights and to keep up the government end of the social contract bargain.
Baron de Montesquieu- In his The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu said that government powers should be separated and balanced, preventing any group from getting too much power. This idea can be seen in our government's three branches and system of checks and balances, where power is separated and carefully limited.
The Constitutional Convention
James Madison- often called the Father of the Constitution, because he created the basic plan of government which is included in the Constitution.
Gouverneur Morris-Wrote the final draft of the constitution.
The Virginia Plan and Edmund Randolph-Edmund Randolph proposed that the constitution create a strong national government with a bicameral, or two-house, legislature. In his plan, the number of representatives per state in each house were proportional to a state's population. This plan, called the Virginia Plan, favored large states over small ones, and states like Delaware and New Jersey objected.
The New Jersey Plan and William Paterson- William Paterson came up with the the New Jersey Plan as an alternative to The Virginia Plan. This plan simply enhanced the Articles of Confederation. It had a one-house legislature where each state got one vote, just like it was under the Articles of Confederation. He wanted smaller states to have just as much power as the smaller ones.
The Great Compromise- Roger Sherman proposed a compromise between the two plans. In his compromise, the legislature would be bicameral, one house would be called the House of Representatives, and the other would be called the Senate. In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives per state would be determined on the state's population. However, each state only got two senators. His compromise was accepted and is known as The Great Compromise.
The Three-Fifths Compromise-Another major, and rather sad, compromise was the Three-Fifths Compromise. The delegates were arguing whether are not to count slaves for representatives. Southern states wanted slaves to be counted for representatives, while the northern states did not want them to be counted or wanted them to be counted only for the purpose of taxation. The Three-Fifths compromise agreed that a slave would count as Three-Fifths a free man for the purpose of representatives and taxation.
Bill of Rights- A bill of rights was proposed by George Mason, since he and other delegates worried that the government might abuse it's power without a bill of rights. However, most felt confident in the constitution, so a bill of rights was not added at first. At the end, the American Bill of Rights was amended into the constitution due to other pleas for one and to get states that supported a bill of rights to ratify it.
British Documents
The Magna Carta (1215) - An English document that placed limitations on the King. Parliament, the lawmaking body of Great Britain, was created as a power which financed the government. Similarly, colonial assemblies controlled the finance of a colony. This idea and document of limiting powers and having a powerful assembly inspired many parts of the constitution.
The English Bill of Rights- Another English document, which had given English citizens basic guaranteed rights. This inspired the American Bill of Rights.
Enlightenment Philosophers
John Locke- A radical English philosopher who believed all people had natural rights. In Two Treatises of Civil Government, he said that government is based on the contract between the people, who lets the government led them and follow their duties, and the ruling body, which protects the people's natural rights and rules justly. This idea is know as the Social Contract Theory. The constitution is a contract between American citizens and their government, and government power was limited in order to help protect peoples natural rights and to keep up the government end of the social contract bargain.
Baron de Montesquieu- In his The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu said that government powers should be separated and balanced, preventing any group from getting too much power. This idea can be seen in our government's three branches and system of checks and balances, where power is separated and carefully limited.
The Constitutional Convention
James Madison- often called the Father of the Constitution, because he created the basic plan of government which is included in the Constitution.
Gouverneur Morris-Wrote the final draft of the constitution.
The Virginia Plan and Edmund Randolph-Edmund Randolph proposed that the constitution create a strong national government with a bicameral, or two-house, legislature. In his plan, the number of representatives per state in each house were proportional to a state's population. This plan, called the Virginia Plan, favored large states over small ones, and states like Delaware and New Jersey objected.
The New Jersey Plan and William Paterson- William Paterson came up with the the New Jersey Plan as an alternative to The Virginia Plan. This plan simply enhanced the Articles of Confederation. It had a one-house legislature where each state got one vote, just like it was under the Articles of Confederation. He wanted smaller states to have just as much power as the smaller ones.
The Great Compromise- Roger Sherman proposed a compromise between the two plans. In his compromise, the legislature would be bicameral, one house would be called the House of Representatives, and the other would be called the Senate. In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives per state would be determined on the state's population. However, each state only got two senators. His compromise was accepted and is known as The Great Compromise.
The Three-Fifths Compromise-Another major, and rather sad, compromise was the Three-Fifths Compromise. The delegates were arguing whether are not to count slaves for representatives. Southern states wanted slaves to be counted for representatives, while the northern states did not want them to be counted or wanted them to be counted only for the purpose of taxation. The Three-Fifths compromise agreed that a slave would count as Three-Fifths a free man for the purpose of representatives and taxation.
Bill of Rights- A bill of rights was proposed by George Mason, since he and other delegates worried that the government might abuse it's power without a bill of rights. However, most felt confident in the constitution, so a bill of rights was not added at first. At the end, the American Bill of Rights was amended into the constitution due to other pleas for one and to get states that supported a bill of rights to ratify it.